The Fated Book 2: Vicious Fury

CLARA

Clara was surprised she hadn’t been immediately apprehended and executed. She briefly pondered this before concluding that no one had probably been audacious enough to hurl fruit at Alex’s head. As she briskly navigated through the den toward the exit, she sucked her lips between her teeth, picturing him in her office, dumbfounded, his mouth agape in shock.

A giggle escaped her, but it was short-lived as the gravity of her actions sank in. She had essentially provoked his wolf with her stunt, and there was no way he was going to let it slide. Damn it.

What was she thinking, launching that apple at him? Sure, she’d been annoyed by people before, and she’d been angry, but never to the point of physically attacking someone. Her mom had always warned her that her temper would land her in trouble someday, and it seemed that day had finally come.

But why Alex? Why did he have to be the one to push her to the point of hurling fruit at him? She would have felt better about throwing an apple at her alpha over Alex, but Zach didn’t inspire such dramatic reactions.

He wasn’t as irritating as—Her heart pounded a little harder, and she abruptly halted her thoughts, not wanting to even think his name for fear of summoning him. She managed to exit the den without any further incidents or encounters, and out of sheer stubbornness, she refused to look back to see if he was following.

The entrance to the Silver River den opened up to a large clearing, nestled in front of the largest and central mountain of the Calmerial Ranges. A large boulder, riddled with natural footholds for the pups to climb, sat in the middle of the clearing. The area was currently deserted, except for Anna and one of the Immortal males, engrossed in a conversation off to the side.

Clara felt a wave of relief, unsure if she could handle any social interaction at the moment. Or an audience for the impending showdown. As she crossed the clearing, the hairs on the back of her neck stood up and her stomach twisted. She didn’t look back. She didn’t need to.

She knew an irate wolf was hot on her trail. Self-preservation urged her to turn around and submit to the dominant beast, but that voice was drowned out by her anger, which was internally shouting Fuck you, Alex! She kept it internal, though, because she didn’t have a death wish.

“Clara! Get back here!”

Oh, he was definitely pissed.

“Get lost!” she retorted.

Her wolf was growling, urging Clara to turn around and take a bite out of the infuriating male. Not convinced that biting him would help her situation, she suppressed her animal instincts and quickened her pace away from him. She wasn’t running—not quite—because nothing says “chase me” like fleeing from a predator.

As she left the clearing behind, she knew there was no way she could outrun a dominant wolf, especially an angry one. Even if she shifted and he didn’t, he’d likely still catch her, so she didn’t even bother trying. Maybe this was the universe’s way of telling her she needed to exercise more, hit the gym more often.

Pushing that thought aside, Clara decided that if she couldn’t escape him, she could at least choose the location of their confrontation. That was probably the only thing she could control in this situation, including her own temper, which seemed hell-bent on getting her into trouble.

She headed south—toward the inner perimeter border. She knew there was a cabin in that direction, isolated in the middle of nowhere. It was used by the patrols when they needed a break and didn’t want to return to the den, so Clara hoped it would be vacant now.

It was about a forty-minute walk, and she didn’t doubt that she would make it, but a dilapidated shack might provide the refuge she needed to nurse her wounds after Alex ripped into her. After several minutes of brisk walking, Clara began to slow down, her breath coming out in hard bursts and a sharp pain stabbing her side. Just another glaring reminder of her lack of fitness, but she didn’t need that reminder right then.

Alex was like a silent, lurking shadow behind her, a constant reminder that this situation wasn’t going to just vanish into thin air. She quickly figured out that he wasn’t trying to catch her anymore. Instead, he was just trailing her, biding his time, waiting for her to let her guard down.

This was making her wolf side even more restless than it already was, both her human and animal instincts feeling like they were being hunted. Clara was many things, but being prey was not one of them. Yet, she didn’t tell him to get lost.

She didn’t even glance over her shoulder at him or acknowledge his existence. Instead, she acted as if he wasn’t there at all. She might not be able to handle a dominant shifter, but Theresa had taught her a few tricks. One of the quickest ways to get a reaction was to bruise their ego.

By the time she—they—arrived at the cabin, Clara was covered in a cold layer of sweat, causing her to shiver. It was clear that the cabin was vacant, and relief was a fleeting sensation amidst the whirlwind of emotions she was experiencing. It was a cocktail of agitation, anger, anxiety, and then…anticipation?

It was as if her body was expecting something else to happen, something other than her impending doom. Clara began to pace in front of the cabin, her body too on edge to even think about going inside and sitting still. She tried to instill some calm into her system, waiting for him to show up.

Her eyes constantly scanned the trees for any sign of him, her wolf side showing no signs of calming down. The animal’s ears were perked up, fur standing on end, as it mirrored Clara’s movements in her mind. The wolf’s restlessness kept Clara’s temper from cooling down until she felt like she would pounce on Alex the moment he showed up.

If he sensed that, it might be why he kept his distance. After several minutes of him not showing up, she finally forced herself to sit down on the cabin’s front step, disregarding the sagging, damp wood. If she ended up with splinters in her ass, it would just be the icing on the cake of this day.

She rested her forehead on her knees, her fists clenched as she wrapped her arms around her legs. Her entire body was taut, as if a strong gust of wind would topple her over, but she couldn’t get her muscles to relax. Her mind was a whirlwind of thoughts about what she would say when he finally decided to show up, and none of it was going to prevent the situation from blowing up.

When he finally made his move, there was no warning. Every step was completely silent, even as he navigated through the forest debris, almost as if his feet weren’t touching the ground. At some point, he must’ve circled around to be upwind from her, as if planning a surprise attack.

But it was almost as if she was so in tune with him that she couldn’t miss him even if she tried. Another shiver ran down her spine, more goosebumps dotted her arm, and she scowled.

She turned her head to the side, scanning the trees for anything unusual, and then…there he was. She almost didn’t see him, thinking her mind was playing tricks on her, but there he was, hidden in the darkest shadows of a large tree.

His eyes looked black in the shadows, his gaze fixed and unblinking on her. She knew that his ability to blend into his surroundings, his stealth, was one of the many reasons why he was not just a lieutenant but also Silver River’s second-in-command.

When Clara finally lifted her head, acknowledging him with a slight tilt of her chin, Alex took a step closer, emerging from the shadows. His face was expressionless, but even from where she sat, Clara could see a muscle twitching in his jaw.

If it wasn’t for that muscle, he would’ve been completely unreadable. She wished she could know what was going through his mind.

She waited, growing slightly impatient, but the silence stretched on for another minute. And then another. He wasn’t going to break it, she finally realized. His eyes were still on her, dark and intense. Evaluating.

Clara sucked in a shaky breath, eager to get this over with.

“I’m sorry, okay? I shouldn’t have thrown the apple core at your head. It’s been a rough day and you were—you said… Forget it. I’m sorry. The system just needs a few more tweaks, but I have finished it. I was the right person for the job. If not the only person,” she muttered the last part before clearing her throat to continue. “No one else could’ve… That’s not important. An error popped up and I got stressed, but it’s fixable. I just needed a moment to breathe because I wanted to do a good job, and I have. I just need to fix—”

She abruptly stopped when he moved, closing the gap between them until his boots were brushing the bottom step. He towered over her, and she wasn’t about to let him lecture or intimidate her. Not today, Satan.

She stood up, attempting to appear taller—a laughable effort considering she only reached his shoulders. Thankfully, the steps gave her a slight height boost, bringing them almost eye-to-eye. She only had to tilt her head slightly to meet his dark brown eyes—not that she planned on meeting his gaze.

She focused on his chin instead. Now standing face-to-face with him, her wolf retreated, all signs of agitation vanished as she tried to make herself as small as possible. Clara wanted to growl at her beast, irritated that her wolf had stoked her temper before abandoning her to deal with the aftermath alone.

Her body trembled, adrenaline draining from her system as she assessed her situation. Anxiety churned in her stomach, and she clenched and unclenched her fists, feeling the sweat on her palms. Her body felt simultaneously too hot and too cold, her mind spinning with worst-case scenarios of how this could end.

What was she thinking? She’d thrown an apple at him, told him to get lost, and essentially challenged him. She felt a wave of despair, even as her heart pounded with the realization that she was definitely in the wrong. He might be an asshole, but he’d earned the right to be one. He was the pack’s second, and she was just…Clara.

“Have you calmed down, or are you going to throw something else at me?” His voice was so soft, a low rumble, that she barely heard him over the blood rushing in her ears. There was no anger in his voice, just a quiet intensity and an underlying tone of…something she couldn’t quite identify.

The corner of his lips twitched, almost a smile but not quite, and she blinked rapidly, convinced she’d imagined it. Then she found herself imagining what he’d look like if he truly smiled—a wide, genuine smile that reached his eyes. She doubted she’d ever see such a smile on him, but if she could, she wished she’d be the one to cause it…but he probably didn’t smile at people who threw fruit at him.

“I d-don’t usually throw things at people,” she stammered, still fixated on that corner of his mouth. “I’ve never thrown an apple before, not even at a trash can, let alone a person. I did throw a mouse once. Not a mice mouse, but a computer mouse. And I didn’t throw it at a person, but if I had, I probably would’ve missed because I usually have terrible aim—”

She abruptly closed her mouth, halting her rambling just as he stepped up onto the bottom step, reclaiming his height advantage. They were so close now, their bodies nearly touching, and if Clara moved, his shirt would brush against her face, which she absolutely did not want. She didn’t.

She took a deep breath, his scent enveloping her and clouding her mind. His broad body filled her entire field of vision, blocking out the rest of the world, making it seem as if they were the only two people in existence at that moment.

His arm lifted in a slow, cautious motion, as if he was worried about startling her. Then, he gently placed two fingers under her chin, nudging her head upward until she was forced to meet his gaze. The warmth of his fingers on her skin sent her thoughts spiraling, leaving her wondering what the rest of his skin might feel like against hers.

She swallowed hard, unsure of her next move or what words to say. The only thing she was certain of was the overwhelming desire to wrap herself around him like a vine, but that would be wildly inappropriate. Right? He was here to scold her. About the apple. And to discuss the security program. That was all.

He remained silent, his intense stare making her feel as if he could see every fleeting thought in her mind. She wondered how much she was revealing through her expression because, unlike him, she didn’t have a poker face.

Her wolf was alert now, observing Alex with the same intensity as Clara, a stark contrast to the caution it had shown earlier. The urge to break free from Clara’s skin, to explore the male and properly introduce herself, was almost palpable, causing her skin to prickle and her nails to tingle.

The animal within her wanted to meet Alex’s wolf, to play, but Clara was pretty sure that neither Alex nor his wolf were the playful type. He was too serious, too intense. He definitely wasn’t one to frolic.

Frolic. Such a peculiar word. You’ve got to appreciate a good frolic.

“Clara.”

His voice snapped her back to reality, her thoughts suddenly crystal clear. She attempted to step back, lifting one heel onto the cabin’s porch. Before she could retreat, he casually wrapped his free arm around her waist, pulling her tightly against him.

He was firm. Everywhere.

Clara swallowed hard. Before she could attempt to escape again or say something to ease the tension, he began to lean down, his head moving toward hers. A wave of disbelief washed over her, unsure if this was reality or a figment of her imagination.

Maybe she had fallen and hit her head. Dominant wolves weren’t interested in a submissive like her…especially a male like Alex. She briefly wondered if she had fallen and hit her head while trying to escape from him.

Maybe she was lying unconscious somewhere, not actually being kissed on the porch of a decaying cabin.

Holy shit, he was kissing her.