Kieran barely noticed the blood seeping into his jeans, the specks littering his arms and black shirt, before Tyler and a few other pack members pulled him away from the broken mess that was Joe.
They must have arrived sometime during the beating. Kieran roared, the need to fight nearly driving him madder with blood lust.
Now that his wolf was awake and alert, Kieran struggled to fight the sway of the full moon, which must have been the driving force behind his need to kill Joe and his desire for the witch, McKenzie Lancaster.
His beast rumbled the name into his brain, pleased.
Tyler had filled him in on the witch during the drive over. An informant had revealed a few details about her, so they knew to expect a hostile, dark practitioner.
She didn’t seem hostile then, knocked unconscious and injured. But wasn’t that always what her kind wanted? To seem innocent until they could strike?
He spat Joe’s blood out of his mouth, relishing the way the liquid smacked the prone male in the face as the piece of shit groveled on the ground, pleading for his life.
A few words from his beta had Kieran calming down just enough to pull his wolf back.
This was no easy task. He was known as “the Mad Alpha” for a reason, and he was being pulled in several directions. He wasn’t nearly stable enough to sort the situation out easily.
Tyler walked off to check on the witch, turning her onto her back. A low growl rumbled from Kieran’s chest, the intent behind it clear.
His wolf wanted Tyler to fuck off away from her, to not touch her.
Tyler cast a startled look at him before backing off.
There was no mistake.
A witch had called out to Kieran for protection.
It was absurd enough that Kieran wouldn’t have believed it himself if he hadn’t heard her pain-filled cries.
The echo of his name on her lips beat at his mind like a drum.
He hadn’t anticipated taking out one of his own in pursuit of the witch, but he wouldn’t allow a rapist to live.
“Please, Alpha, I was only saving her for you,” Joe begged, drool and blood spewing from his lips.
The lie was almost enough to send Kieran back over the edge until he grounded himself with the scent of lavender and vanilla.
Strange that the scent of her could pull him back from the edge, could allow him a moment to think now that the threat to her had abated.
Kieran crouched down next to Joe, a sardonic smile on his lips. He was going to rip that motherfucker’s head off.
It was the roaring that woke her, followed by loud grunts and pained cries.
Could whoever was making all that noise shut up and let her rest? Her entire body ached, and she couldn’t move her left arm without pain lancing through it.
Wincing, Kenzie tried to sit up. She slumped back down after the first pitiful attempt, then managed to right herself, eyes adjusting to the soft light of dawn.
It was only then that she noticed the spectacle going on.
Baldy was on the ground, beaten to a near pulp.
His arm looked broken, his leg was twisted completely around, and his face was nearly unrecognizable as he cowered in fear at the male in front of him.
She did her best to ignore the dark, black-looking substance pooling at their feet.
The sight of blood usually made her squeamish, but instead, vindictiveness powered through her at her assailant’s misery.
Her rescuer was crouched down in front of Baldy with a massive hand wrapped around his throat. Everything about him looked massive.
He exuded enough power that even she could sense he was an alpha. But it was his aura that gave him away.
She had seen it in her dream. Shades of blue, from midnight to deep ocean.
This was Kieran Gallagher. The Mad Alpha.
She swallowed back her tears of relief. She was beyond stupid to feel safe anywhere near him.
He stood abruptly and turned in her direction as if he could sense her gaze lingering too long on his broad back and muscular shoulders.
Her breath caught, her body reacting of its own accord as she took him in for the first time.
All of her pain was wiped away under the force of his presence, leaving her flabbergasted and oddly giddy.
His hair was black as night and cut to just above his ears.
He was tall, his powerful legs clad in dark blue, blood-soaked denim.
A black T-shirt covered his powerful frame, not concealing the muscles bunching along his chest.
She couldn’t make out much of his face. A chiseled jaw. A hard stare. Then he turned back to the man he’d been beating up, saying something too low for her to hear.
Based on Baldy’s reaction, whatever passed between them wasn’t going to work out well for him.
Good. She hoped he didn’t make it through the night. She winced in pain as she began to notice her bruised body and dislocated shoulder again.
At least calling out to the Mad Alpha had ensured this fiend would die at his hands before she did. Hopefully.
Kenzie knew when she’d abandoned Sam that she would face Kieran tonight, but what she didn’t understand was why she felt safe near him.
Or why she found him wildly attractive.
Yet she was practically panting in his direction like a dog in heat. Next, she’d be begging for scraps of his attention.
Gods, she regretted being a sex-deprived woman at that moment. Clearly, she was on some other level of horny, not even concerned for her own welfare. What the hell was wrong with her?
A movement to the right brought her attention to the wolves lingering nearby, over half a dozen burly and buff shifters that she hadn’t even noticed while she’d been sitting on the dirt, ogling their alpha.
She looked away from the group, her nerves finally setting in. Maybe she could find a way to sneak off unnoticed? No, that wouldn’t work. Her entire plan was to surrender and save her family.
Her attention whipped back to the scene in front of her as a jarring noise filled her ears. Bones snapped, and Baldy collapsed, his head at an odd angle.
Kenzie made a startled scoot back before agony sliced through her. Gods, her body was practically killing her. She winced again, eyeing the now-dead body.
Kieran stood up quickly, wiping his hands on his jeans. He turned, his long strides eating up the distance between them in less than two seconds.
Their eyes locked.
She let out a breathy gasp before she could stop herself.
His eyes were dark, the menace in them causing a spark of lust to ignite in her. Suddenly, her breasts ached, and heat pooled low in her belly.
Even the shape of his nose was perfect.
Yup, she was definitely malfunctioning.
He had a strong jawline covered in a few days’ worth of growth, a full lower lip, high cheekbones, deliciously tan skin, thick brows, and the darkest eyes she’d ever seen.
A long, jagged scar started from the edge of his left brow and down his cheek, disappearing into the scruff.
The scar appeared again on his neck, only to be covered by his shirt. She wondered how far down it went and what had caused it.
It must have been a horrific wound to scar an immortal.
Or he’d been a child.
When her eyes wandered back up to his obsidian gaze, she found him staring at her with a hard glint in his eye.
A shameful blush spread across her face and neck.
Kieran expected her fear. He was, after all, a large male who had come to kill her. The scowl on his face was permanent, the scar along his cheek gruesome, and he was built for war.
He knew he was an intimidating fucker, which under normal circumstances didn’t bother him.
He should want her to be afraid of him. He usually relished the fear before a kill. It drove him. And yet, the idea of her being scared of him left him unsettled.
Even worse, the thought of killing her was abhorrent.
It felt so fucking wrong.
He took stock of the little witch before him. She was short with creamy skin that practically glowed under the waning moon.
Waist-length black hair, bangs that covered her forehead and made her blue eyes seem darker.
She wore a ripped, dirty sweater, but from what he could see, her legs were shapely, and she had curves in all the right places.
He felt his cock grow painfully hard before his scowl deepened and the familiar burn of rage began to take hold.
Attraction to a witch? Only if a spell was involved.
She was the enemy.
So why was she staring up at his chest, biting her lower lip as her eyes slowly perused his body?
When their gazes finally locked again, a jolt went through his body, like raw electricity.
