2. Thorn
2
THORN
Something is wrong, very wrong. I feel like my insides are on fire. Every nerve ending in my body signals my brain that something is happening, but I just don’t know what. I’ve never felt like this in my life, and I’ve been alive for a long time.
Reaching for my chest, I claw at the skin there, hoping to alleviate this unknown sensation. Nothing helps. I pace from wall to wall in my spacious cabin as the urge to tear everything inside becomes stronger.
What the fuck is wrong with me?
There have been very few times I regretted my choice to leave my clan twenty years ago. Today is one of those instances. If I had another shifter to talk to, I could maybe make sense of this, but I don’t, so I have to figure this shit out on my own.
My chest rumbles, my wolf growling in my ear to let him out. He also knows something is wrong. Maybe I should let him deal with this.
“Fine,” I mumble to myself.
Grabbing onto the hem of my shirt, I pull it off and throw it on the floor by the door. My worn jeans are next, and then I’m out the door, kicking it shut on my way.
I’m not even off my porch when I shift. My wolf bursts out like never before, eager to be free. As soon as I’m on all fours, I’m running.
The burning sensation is still there, but now that I’m in my wolf form, there is something else. A pull I didn’t feel before, like an invisible force pulling me toward something. I don’t know what it is or where it's leading me. All I know is that I have to get there, and I have to get there fast.
My paws pound against the forest floor furiously as I weave through trees so fast I don’t think anyone would recognize my shape. The sun is setting, and the forest is draped in dusk, but my vision is sharp as ever.
I keep running at full speed, but my body doesn't grow tired. If anything, I’m growing more energetic. It’s like part of me is waking up from a long deep sleep. Refreshed and ready to live again.
I run until the forest thins out, roads and houses I haven’t seen in a decade peek through the trees, and I know I’m at the city's edge. Sucking in a deep breath, the change of the air surrounding me becomes more apparent.
Normally, all I smell are the trees, the moss on the ground, water running down the mountains, and the sweet scent of flowers growing in the meadow. This close to a human city, the air is corrupted by gasoline, and a heavy smog rolls through the trees, threatening to choke me.
Even with the unpleasant smell invading my senses, the need to run toward this unknown force never wavers. Only when I get to a long winding driveway does the tight pull on my chest slightly ease, and I slow down enough to take in my surroundings closely.
At the end of the dirt road sits a large white house. The front yard is mowed and kept up but only with bland bushes and not a single flower in sight. Nothing to hide the smell of humans living in this place.
Why am I here?
Just as the question runs through my mind, a sharp pain penetrates my gut as if a hot arrow rips through my flesh. It’s so vivid that I look down to make sure I haven’t been shot. When I don’t see anything sticking out of my fur, I will the phantom pain away and keep moving closer to the house.
Knowing that what I’m looking for is inside this human dwelling, I shift back into my human form. I might be a three hundred pound, six and a half foot tall naked man, but a naked man is still better than an angry wolf knocking on your door.
I walk up the steps and stop at the last one. Raising my arm, I rap my knuckles over the heavy wooden door. I already hear multiple footsteps approaching and female voices whispering, but no one makes a move to open the door for me.
Annoyed, I knock again. “Open up, or I’ll kick the door in,” I yell loud enough for everyone in the house to hear.
Seconds tick by, and though the door remains closed, the urge to be inside this house only grows. I guess I’ve warned them.
Taking a small step back, I raise my leg and swiftly kick the door close to the handle. The wood breaks away with ease, shattering under the force my foot delivered. With the entrance open to me now, the shrieks of three women meet my ear. Ignoring their distress, I enter their home without their invitation.
“Calm the fuck down and stop screaming. You’re hurting my ears,” I growl, and to my relief, all three press their lips together and quiet down. That's better.
Silence settles over us, but the storm inside me is still raging. I suck in a calming breath, but it turns out to be the opposite of calming. There is something in the air, something… sweet and innocent. Something that’s… mine.
“Where is she?” I demand from the three women.
Three pairs of eyes stare at me in confusion, but only one of them speaks, “Who? The maid?”
“Where is she?” I repeat, my voice low and threatening as I take another step toward them. The older one out of the three points up the stairs without a word while the younger two shamelessly gawk at my body.
Ignoring their stares, I walk past them and follow the sweet scent leading me to the second floor. As I head up the stairs, I become aware of my hardening cock swinging between my thighs. What the fuck?
I follow the invisible string attached to my chest, pulling me forward and down the hall to another set of narrow stairs. The scent becomes stronger, and my feet move faster once more. The slightly curved staircase is almost too small for me, and when I get to the attic door, I know I have to squeeze through it sideways to fit.
I reach for the doorknob, wrapping my fingers around the cool brass, and turn. As soon as I push the door open, the intoxicating sweet scent fills my lungs completely and a possessive growl rumbles in my chest.
Mine. My mate is in this room. The realization hits me hard enough to knock the wind out of me. My legs go weak, and for a moment, I think I’m going to fall to my knees. The only thing keeping me upright is knowing that I’m about to meet her… my mate. My human mate?
No, it can’t be. Not again. This has to be a mistake. I’m making a mistake. I need to turn around and leave. My wolf roars into my ear at the thought, but I fight against him.
Don’t you remember what happened before? This is wrong!
I force my legs to move backward, away from the scent that will haunt my dreams for the rest of my life, only to come to an abrupt halt when a low, pained whimper reaches me. All thoughts of leaving evaporate as I enter the crowded space and start searching for her. The attic is filled with random objects, boxes, and old furniture. Nestled between all that junk, I find her small body lying on a thin mattress carelessly placed on the floor. What the fuck?
I rush to her side and kneel to her level. She doesn’t stir. Her back is turned to me, and all I can see is her long golden hair fanning out on the dirt-stained pillow, but I already know something is wrong. Her breathing is uneven and labored, and her heart beats faster than it should.
Carefully, I reach for her shoulder, turning her over to lie flat on her back. Her eyes are closed, her delicate eyebrows scrunched together like she is in pain, and her full pink lips are pulled into a frown. Her cheeks are reddened, and a thin sheen of sweat covers her forehead. She is sick. My mate is sick.
As if she is made of glass, I slide my arms under her body and lift her to cradle her against my chest. Her cheek presses against my skin, and I realize how hot she is. Fuck, she is burning up.
Quickly, but still with great care, I maneuver us out of the attic and down the stairs. As if grown roots, the three women are still standing at the bottom of the staircase, watching me in terror as I carry my mate down.
“What the fuck is wrong with her? And why was she in the attic?” I demand answers.
“She is our maid, and that’s where her room is,” the older woman explains. “She said she wasn’t feeling well so we gave her the rest of the day off,” she says as if she expects to be cheered on for her false kindness. “Who are you, and how do you know her?”
“Doesn’t matter. I need you to make her well again. Fix her so I can leave.”
“Fix her?”
“She’s sick. Make her better.”
“And then you’ll leave?”
I nod like it’s obvious I don’t want to be in the shithole in the first place.
“Okay. You can put her on the couch. We’ll have a doctor come in the morning, but you can go now. We don’t have to tell anyone about this.”
“Yes, we’ll get that door fixed and nurse the maid back to health in no time,” another woman chimes in.
Only then does the oddness of their behavior really sink in. Why haven't they tried to run or call for help? Why are they just standing there when a naked man kicks in their door and raids their house? Have I been away from humans for so long that they’ve changed this much?
A part of me wants to hand the woman in my arms over to them. She should stay with her kind, and if I knew she was safe, I could leave her. Only, I don’t think she is safe here. These women are hiding something.
“I’m not leaving until she is better.” I say the words before I’ve even made up my mind. “Where is a bed I can put her in?”
“Just leave her here.” The smallest out of the three speaks for the first time. Her hair is colored red, but her eyebrows are as dark as the other women’s hair. “Why do you care what happens to her? No one cares about her.”
“One person does.” Me.
Since no one is offering me a bed to put her in, I set out on my own to find a room. It doesn't take me many doors to open before I find a guest room in the back of the spacious house.
“I’m going to call the cops if you don’t leave,” someone yells after me.
“No, you won’t, or you would have done so already.”
I put her down on the mattress softly and peel the blanket away. The nightgown she is wearing is soaked in sweat and clings to her skin, leaving nothing to the imagination. Fuck me. As if my dick could get any harder.
“Need someone to take care of that thing between your legs?” I cringe at the woman’s voice, which sounds like nails against a chalkboard. Looking over my shoulder, I find the redhead leaning against the doorframe, her eyes glued to my cock.
“Someone who is not you.”
“You think she will?” She points at my mate while laughing. “Abigail wouldn't know what to do with you. She is basically a retard, can’t even talk, you know?”
“If you don’t get out of my sight in the next three seconds, I will rip out your intestines and feed them to you.”
All the blood drains from her face. Her smug face falls until nothing but terror is reflecting back at me. She scrambles backward, realizing how serious I am. Before I know it, she is running down the hall and out of my sight.
I turn my full attention back to my mate… Abigail. That’s what she called her. My Abby. I don’t want to believe anything else the redhead said. Abigail looks perfect. Could her mind really be broken? Did fate send me a defective mate as a punishment?
If so, I don’t care.
I run my hands over her body instinctively. I want to touch every inch of her and rub my scent all over her skin. I will, but first, I need to figure out what’s wrong with her so I can make her better.
Calming myself and my raging erection, I quickly enter the attached bathroom and wet some towels with cold water. I try to cool her down with it, but her fever is too high. Her breath becomes labored, and when I listen to her heartbeat weaken, my own speeds up.
She isn’t just sick… She is dying.
The thought alone has my heart aching as if someone grabbed it and is about to rip it from my chest. No, no, no. She can’t die. I have to save her, but how? I don’t even know what’s wrong with her.
My panic only grows when her breathing becomes more shallow. Fuck, I don’t have time to take her to a hospital. I wouldn't even know how to get her to one. There is only one way I could possibly save her, but she isn’t even conscious. How can I complete the mating bond with her passed out?
This is so fucked up. My dick is already hard, but can I actually fuck her like this? And what happens after? I don’t know if I can be mated to a human.
I look down at her sleeping form, her beautiful face growing pale, and I know I can’t let her die. I’m going to do what I must to save her, and I’ll figure out the rest later.
Discarding the wet towels from the bed, I pull her thin nightgown up, exposing her white cotton panties. Hooking my fingers into the waistband, I slowly pull them down her slender legs. When she is completely bare to me, I move between her legs and gently part her thighs.
Only when the sweet scent of her arousal fills my nostrils do I let myself look at her pussy. Even with her passed out, her body knows her mate is near. Her cunt is swollen and glistening with her wetness. She is primed and ready for me.
Eagerly, I spread her legs wider so I can wedge my large body between. Lining my cock up with her entrance, I blanket my body with hers as I slowly slide into her tight heat.
“Fuck!” I grit through my teeth when the tip of my dick presses against the thin barrier of skin. I thrust into her all the way, forcing my member deep inside her while ripping her innocence away.
Now she really is mine.