Fighting to go on

Chapter 12

*Ryan’s POV*

            Sam’s scream jolted me from my pleasant dreams of her and I bolted upright. I saw a figure at the entrance of our tent and I reacted without thinking. I grabbed Sam and put her behind me before leaping up and lunging at the figure.

            Another feminine scream ripped through the air, but this time it came from the person I had tackled to the ground. I jumped back and kept myself between Sam and the person that was lying flat on the ground. I scrambled for my flashlight and as soon as I found it, I flicked it on and aimed it at the entrance.

            “Ashley?” Sam screeched.

            I stared at the brunette who had been bugging me all weekend. What the hell was going on? I heard other voices and a bunch of scrambling around as my friends all piled out of their tents and rushed over to mine. I grabbed Sam’s hand and pulled her out of the tent, making sure that neither of us stepped on the girl that was still sprawled on the ground, half in and half out of the tent.

            My friends all surrounded us, talking over one another to try and get answers. I could feel a headache coming on, so I finally barked out “Enough!” and they all quieted down.

            I turned to Sam and looked at her in the moonlight. I cupped her cheek in my hand. “Are you okay?” I asked.

            She nodded, but I could hear her heart racing still. She looked over at the tent. “What the hell was she doing coming into your tent?”

            My eyes narrowed. “I don’t know, but we’re going to find out.” I stalked over to where Ashley was slowly sitting up and I grabbed her arm, yanking her to her feet. I ignored her squawk of protest as I dragged her into the middle of the group and released her. I went back to Sam and wrapped one of my arms around her waist, pulling her tightly into my side.

            All eyes were on Ashley when we suddenly heard more voices approaching. Sarah popped out of her tent to join us and then Sam’s friend Brittany and the other three girls from that site came running up.

            Brittany came up to Sam’s other side. “What’s going on?”

            Samantha shrugged. “I don’t know. Ryan and I were sleeping and I woke up when I heard a sound. I saw someone coming in and screamed. Next thing I know, Ryan jumped up like a freaking ninja and tackled the person to the ground. Turns out the person was your lovely cousin Ashley.”

            Brittany’s eyes widened, but I was looking at Sam with amusement. “A ninja, huh?”

            She waved her hand dismissively. “That’s the best way I could describe it. You’re pretty damn quick when you need to be.”

            I grinned, but then I returned my attention to the center of the circle and my face hardened as I saw Ashley crying. “What the hell are you crying for? You’re the one who nearly gave my girlfriend a heart attack by sneaking into our tent.”

            “I didn’t know she would be in there!” she wailed.

            “So what? You thought you’d sneak into my bed?” I shouted. “What the hell would possess you to do that? I told you that I wasn’t interested!” I was shaking as my wolf was trying to take control of the situation.

            Sam suddenly placed herself in front of me and reached up to stroke my cheek. “Calm down, Ryan. You need to get a hold of your temper. She didn’t hurt me, we’re both okay.”