He is Ghost

Another One

Shade didn't get the chance to take another step, neither did Judd.

An auburn wolf hit the dirt before either of them got a chance to even snarl.

Not that it would have been heard with the snarls shaking the sex out of the female's fur, Neira's fur. It rippled as she snarled, making her body look red. Her hackles were sharp, picking up toward the sky as unbidden aggression washed from her.

She would have taken the challenge for him, Judd realized. She didn't burst from his bedroom to cheer him on nor did she ignore the threat that thrummed through the air like a drum. Impulse had pushed her from the window before she could even register why. She would take on this male, for whatever reason, and Judd wasn't sure she would win. He wasn't even sure he could win.

That was the problem with the heat. Perhaps it was worse for Neira than other females since she had been alone for so long.

Here she had a male, he may not be of her choosing but he was willing and strong and that was enough. Just for now, for this wave of the heat, she and Judd were matched. It didn't matter how much she disliked him in the light of day, or how much he wished she hadn't walked into his territory. Right now, with the heat beating down on their bodies, they were taken property.

And when Neira had looked out the window, she had seen someone pissing on her property.

It was like she was protecting her food, her belongings, no matter the expiration date.

The sheet that had been wrapped around her body was snagged on the edge of the window. It fluttered above their heads, a navy flag, signalling more than she knew.

The snarl faded away from Shade's face as he registered what stood before him. Who stood before him, the wicked scent coming off her body like the richest whiskey. It was the very thing that had made him hike his ass all the way down here. The female, dominate and undefeated. Unclaimed...

A Cheshire grin spread over his face, turning his onyx eyes brutal before they flashed white for just a second.

"Shewolf," Shade said, the aggression leaving his body like a cloth in a breeze. Neira didn't falter, in fact, her stance widened, the lips pulled up over her teeth going higher. Shade glanced at Judd with a grin on his face, "she's ferocious." Shade had his hands out, palms turned toward Neira like he could dispel the threat she pressed. He was still grinning, eyes on the prize.

Judd crossed his arms over his chest. There was nothing he could do now. If he stepped in Neira could easily decide to kill him instead for challenging her right to end this male, for implying that she couldn't handle herself.

Neira took a step toward Shade, paws digging into the dirt. She was coiled up, ready to leap at any moment.

"Easy," Shade said taking a step back, the smile never wavering. His teeth were too white, a blinding smile, like the snow in the north.

Neira didn't stop, she just took another step toward Shade, teeth bared.

And then the smile fell from Shade's face like water over a candle. Something flashed in his eyes again. Something that was gone too soon for anyone to place. "You marked her," Shade snapped realizing the matted fur on her neck. The anger was back, rolling off of him like steam. It poured from his body, crashing into Neira like a tidal wave.

Judd didn't say anything. How could he even try to explain this?

Hope left his face, his onyx eyes falling closed for only a second. "You fucking marked her," he half yelled beginning to ignore the wolf before him, the one snapping her teeth. "Without her permission."

Those words cut Judd. He couldn't let it show.

It didn't matter now why Shade had come here, not when Neira couldn't be swayed now. He hadn't even entertained the thought that Judd would be so cruel as to do it again.

Males were not supposed to mark females first. Only because a male's claim was too hypnotic. If an unwilling female was marked without consent... A male's mark was like a trap. At first, it may not cause any effect, but as time went on, as the talons dug in deeper... It was like a spell was cast. It wasn't love or companionship or even an equal partnership. It was slavery.

That's why females were supposed to choose their males.

"I didn't have a choice!" he yelled back. His copper eyes glowing, taking on a haunting look of despair. Neira looked back at him, too blue eyes watching his tormented face.

"The fuck you did!" Shade screamed back and for a moment he thought ...

Judd started to shake, the aggression rolling off his body. "Leave."

Shade glanced at Neira as she turned back to face him. Her hackles were still up. He couldn't do anything now, not during the heat, not without Neira doing something about it first. But she didn't have many options. "I'll be back before the heat is over. I won't let you do this to another one." Shade slipped away quietly, moving back towards the trees before taking off as an onyx wolf.

Neira's head whipped around when he was gone, blue eyes landing on Judd with chilling ferocity. She had heard enough then...

For once she had thought she had caught a break. She didn't think Judd had marked her out of a sick minded need for control, but now she wasn't so sure.

She took a step toward him, beginning to stand as a woman instead of a wolf. Her eyes were wild as she eyed him, looking for any hint of his guilt. "What was he talking about? Another one?"

It was all over his face.

Judd put his hands out in front of him. "Let me expl-"

"You have done this before, haven't you?" she half yelled. "You've already had one."

"Neira I-"

She didn't say anything else, just dashed away from him and into the woods. Following a different scent.

"You knew she was going to find out eventually," Lincon said shrugging.

"Fuck off," Judd snapped.