Chapter 16 - Ava #2
The footsteps pause at the landing. There’s a long moment of quiet, so thick I can hear my own heart pounding in my ears, and then…
a rattle of the handle. I almost scream, but I’m too busy trying to force air into my lungs.
The knob turns a couple of times, testing the lock, and then pauses.
Then a rough, heavy palm slams the door so hard the hinges scream.
My wolf rises, wild and terrified, and there’s a bitter taste in my mouth as I realize I’m not only afraid, I’m aroused.
The pheromone haze in the room is so thick it’s like being submerged in omega syrup.
I try to crawl further from the door, but there’s nowhere to go except the tiny closet or under the bed, and even in my panic, I know I’d never really be able to hide.
“Ava.” The voice is unmistakable, and my blood runs even colder. Maddox. Not playful, not even angry. Just…hungry.
I stare at the door, willing it to hold. The wooden frame is old, the lock obviously not intended for genuine security, but Maddox doesn’t try to force it again. Instead, his voice sounds almost amused. “You know I can open this whenever I want, right?”
I say nothing. My body is shaking, a full-body tremor that makes my teeth chatter with fear and arousal.
There’s a long, deliberate silence on the other side of the door, broken only by the slow exhale of someone who enjoys the anticipation.
Then Maddox speaks again, voice low and casual, like he’s offering a friendly warning.
“You know, Ronan’s a real piece of work.
Out there playing alpha like it’s already his to a bunch of idiot recruits.
” He laughs, short and sharp, with an edge that sets my skin crawling.
“He thinks if he trains them hard enough, if he acts tough enough, no one will see what he actually is. A traitor.”
I’ve no idea where he’s going with this—Ronan isn’t a traitor.
I’m not going to engage with him, though.
I need to find a way out of this. I look around the room, desperate for any kind of weapon, as he continues, “The pack will see that choosing you at the ceremony was a facade. I hear you already have a pup together; he’s just been waiting to bring your whole treacherous family back into the pack.
The elders won’t stand for it. The pack won’t stand for it.
You’re making this hard, though. I was just going to drag you down there, but this is too good to pass up. He hasn’t knotted you yet, has he?”
My blood runs cold, but I barely have time to react as the door splinters, flying open.
Maddox is through the wreckage before I can even scream.
He’s enormous, filling the doorway, and the sight of him triggers a wave of pure animal terror in me.
I scramble backward, palms scraping on the floor, but he’s already stalking toward me.
“You should see yourself,” he says, voice curling around the words as he stalks closer. “You’re lit up like a bonfire. Never seen a bitch burn so hot.”
I try to push myself further back, but my legs are almost useless. Maddox laughs, bending down and catching my ankle with one hand. His grip is crushing, and he drags me toward him with no more effort than hauling a sack of flour, and I claw at the carpet, helpless.
He’s close now; I know there’s no escape.
I watch in horror as his other hand goes to his belt, tugging it open.
“Don’t try to fight it,” he says. “Change of plans. I’m going to knot you so hard you’ll be begging on my cock.
My wolf gets the surge in power that’s due to me, and I’ll keep fucking you until Ronan gets back here.
My wolf will be so pumped, I’ll easily take him out. ”
I whimper, the slick still pouring out of my treacherous body.
“Oh, don’t worry, I’m not going to keep you.
I’ll finish you, too, traitor. The whole story is perfect—we can thank Emily for giving me the plausible idea.
Speaking of, I’ll be taking Emily for my luna.
I’ll have no problem knotting her every night, whether she’s in heat or not. ”
My stomach roils as I stare into his black eyes, which barely look like a wolf’s or a human’s, just plain evil.
How did no one see how dangerous he was before?
His hands tear at my thin dress like it’s nothing, and the fabric peels away from my skin in shreds, baring my breasts, which are so swollen and sensitive that the air itself feels like a slap.
Maddox stares at them for a moment, his lips curling in a sneer, and then he grabs one in a bruising grip, squeezing until I cry out.
“Look at these,” he says, almost in awe.
“You were made for this.” His hands are everywhere at once, pinning my wrists, raking my thighs apart with force.
My wolf is frantic, but my body is weak with heat and terror, and shame at how easily I open for him.
The truth is, even as I scream inside for Ronan, my body is desperate for the knot.
Maddox lets go of my wrist to release his cock, and I use my last shred of energy to claw at his face, but he catches my hand, twisting it behind my back until I hear a pop and sob in agony.
“Don’t fight me, bitch,” he snarls.
The tears are running down my face, and I shut my eyes to try and block out what he’s going to do, when suddenly his hands and the sickening weight of his body vanish.
My eyes snap open, and all I see is a blur of fur and muscle exploding across the room.
I see Maddox’s face for a split second, contorted in something like shock.
Ronan.
He’s mid-shift and all fangs, claws, the rip of his jaw split wide, and eyes gone pure, burning yellow.
The room shudders under the weight of him as he crashes into Maddox and flings him down again, this time into the wall.
Maddox howls, blood arcing across the wall as he shifts.
I dash into the corner and try to protect my naked body as the two enormous wolves tear into each other right in front of me.