Chapter 12 Wolf
Wolf
The night outside Nora’s house felt wrong.
Too still.
Too quiet.
Like the darkness itself was holding its breath.
I moved low and silent along the porch, gun drawn, every instinct razor-sharp. Cold air cut across my skin, cooling the heat that had burned through me moments before.
Behind me, inside, Nora waited.
Half-dressed.
Vulnerable.
Terrified.
And the thought of anyone watching her that way made something dark coil inside my chest.
I scanned the yard first. Nothing.
Then the driveway.
Then the neighbor’s shrubs.
A branch snapped behind the shed.
I pivoted instantly, weapon raised, heartbeat steady.
“Don’t shoot!” Trigger hissed, stumbling into view.
I swore under my breath. “Trigger, what the hell are you—?”
Saint appeared next, moving like shadow and steel. “We saw movement across the street.”
Havoc followed, scanning the yard with a grim look. “Definitely not a raccoon.”
Trigger pointed at Nora’s house. “Did HE come back? Did you see something? Did the psycho creep try to peek in the window while you were—”
Saint elbowed him. Hard. “Not the time.”
I turned toward the side of the house.
Another branch cracked.
Saint lifted his rifle. Havoc flanked. Trigger ducked behind the grill.
I stepped forward, voice low and lethal.
“Come out.”
Silence.
Then—
A shadow slipped behind the old cedar tree at the fence line.
Tall.
Deliberate.
Not running—just… watching.
My grip tightened. “Show yourself.”
The shadow didn’t move.
Didn’t run.
Didn’t flinch.
Trigger whispered, “Is he—staring at us?!”
Yes.
He was.
I felt it even without seeing his face.
A cold, steady, patient stare.
A hunter evaluating prey and obstacles.
Havoc muttered, “This guy’s got nerve.”
Saint’s jaw flexed. “He’s testing us.”
I took a step forward. “Get away from the house.”
Still nothing.
Then, slowly—mockingly—the shadow eased back into the deeper dark until he was simply gone.
Trigger whimpered. “Nope. NOPE. He evaporated. Like a demon.”
“He didn’t evaporate,” Saint said. “He retreated. Which means he’ll return.”
Havoc looked at me. “You staying here tonight?”
“I’m not leaving her alone again,” I said.
Trigger brightened inappropriately. “So… you’re sleeping over?”
Saint groaned. “Trigger. Shut up.”
But Trigger kept talking. “No, I mean it. You should. She’ll feel safer. And also you guys were definitely doing something before we got here because—”
“Trigger,” I snapped, “finish that sentence and I’ll bury your phone in concrete.”
He saluted. “Copy that.”
Havoc clapped my shoulder once, heavy and approving. “Good. Keep her close.”
The guys fanned out to check the rest of the street. I watched until their lights faded, until the night swallowed everything again.
Then I went back inside.
Nora
She stood exactly where I’d left her—
bare feet on the rug, hair tousled, shirt still lying somewhere on the floor.
Her eyes latched onto mine instantly.
“Wolf? Was someone out there?”
I locked the door.
Then the deadbolt.
Then the chain.
My pulse was still too loud.
“He was there,” I said quietly. “He didn’t try to break in. He didn’t run. He just… watched.”
Her hand flew to her mouth. “Oh God.”
I crossed the room in three strides and caught her waist gently, pulling her into my chest.
She shook. Just a little.
I pressed my chin to her hair. “I’m not letting anything happen to you. Not ever.”
Her fingers curled into my shirt. “I don’t know why he’s targeting me.”
“I’ll figure it out,” I said. “But until then, you’re not alone.”
She tipped her head back to look at me.
Her eyes were wide, vulnerable, trusting.
“Stay with me tonight,” she whispered.
I brushed a thumb along her cheek. “I already told you I would.”
“No, I mean…”
She swallowed.
“Stay with me.”
Heat surged through me.
Slow. Hot. Dangerous.
“Nora…”
I shouldn’t.
Not when danger was right outside.
Not when I was this close to losing control.
But then she rose on her toes and kissed me—soft at first, then firmer, needier, like she’d been thinking about it every second since I’d walked out that door.
And I broke.
My hand slid to the back of her neck, pulling her in deeper. Her breath hitched, her chest pressed against mine, warm skin against my palms.
Her discarded shirt lay forgotten as I lifted her, guiding her backward toward the hallway.
She wrapped her legs around my waist, kissing me like she needed it to breathe.
When we reached her bedroom door, she pushed it open without breaking the kiss.
“Nora,” I rasped against her lips. “Tell me what you want.”
Her voice trembled. “You.”
Every restraint I had snapped.
I laid her gently on the bed, hovering above her.
Kissed her neck.
Her collarbone.
The curve of her chest.
Her breath shivered.
Her hands slid under my shirt.
“Wolf…” she whispered, arching. “I want to feel your body against mine.”
I kissed her again—slow, deep, claiming—and her soft moan just about undid me.
I pulled my shirt off, tossed it somewhere behind me, and lowered myself over her, skin to skin—
CRRKK—
A noise.
Not outside.
Inside.
Right down the hall.
Nora froze.
I lifted my head, every instinct flipping from desire to lethal focus.
Another sound.
A soft creak.
Floorboard.
Inside her house.
My voice dropped to a whisper.
“Nora. Stay behind me.”
Her eyes widened. “Is he—inside?”
I didn’t answer.
I reached for the handgun on her nightstand—the same one I’d set there minutes earlier.
Silent. Controlled.
Deadly.
And I stepped into the dark hallway.
Someone else was in the house.