Chapter Five #2
“There was a knock at the door and when I opened it, a wolf was standing at the foot of the steps. I thought it was someone from the pack and maybe Torren was hurt.”
“He’d masked his scent somehow. All I smelled at the cabin was you.”
Olivia chewed on her lower lip. “He said that Gwen used to hide his scent with herbs after they would meet in the woods. Maybe he used the same thing she did.”
Jaxon just stared at her a moment before he started walking again.
“You need to tell Torren everything, and I mean every little detail, of what happened out there today. I don’t know who that guy was, or why he wanted you, but it was obvious he wouldn’t have hesitated to kill you and your unborn child. ”
“Does everyone know Torren knocked me up?” she asked.
“We can smell it on you.”
Olivia frowned, her brow furrowing. “Then everyone would have known that Gwen was pregnant, right?”
Jaxon nearly dropped her as he came to a sudden stop. “What? Gwen was pregnant?”
“You didn’t know?”
He shook his head. “I’m not sure if Torren knew or not. How could she have hidden that from everyone? And why would she?”
“It wasn’t Torren’s baby,” Olivia said softly. “It belonged to the wolf who attacked me.”
“What the hell did that bitch bring to our door when she mated Torren?” Jaxon muttered and started walking again.
Olivia kept quiet the rest of the way back to the cabin.
When they got there, the door still stood open, and Torren wasn’t home.
Jaxon carried her up the front steps and into the house, easing her down onto the couch.
Now that her adrenaline had worn off, she winced at the aches she felt from running and falling.
“What’s wrong?” Jaxon asked.
“I’m a little sore. I’m not used to running, and I fell when he was chasing me.” She rubbed her hip, where most of the pain seemed to be.
Jaxon reached for the button on her jeans and hesitated only a moment before unfastening it, then lowering her zipper. He tugged her pants down her hips, then pulled down the side of her panties, exposing a rather large bruise that was rapidly turning black.
There was a deep growl across the room as Torren stomped inside. “What the fuck are you doing?”
Jaxon quickly stood and exposed his throat to Torren. “I’m sorry, Alpha. Your mate was hurt and I was trying to take care of her.”
“While you’re naked?” Torren asked.
Jaxon waved a hand toward his cock. “Does it seem like I’m remotely interested in her that way? I found her in the woods and I had to shift quickly, so my clothes were shredded.”
Torren’s eyebrows lowered and he glared at the other wolf before coming to stand in front of Olivia. He reached out and pulled down the side of her panties again, spitting out a string of curses when he saw how badly she’d been bruised.
“Someone better tell me what the hell is going on. Right now,” he said.
Olivia glanced at Jaxon, who gave her a nod of encouragement.
She told Torren about the wolf coming to the cabin and leading her into the woods.
She tried to remember every single word the man had said, and then told him about running for her life.
When she got to the part of Jaxon saving her, Torren’s shoulders seemed to bow, as if the weight of the world had settled on them, then he rose and faced Jaxon.
“Thank you for saving my mate. You should go home, but find Baxter on your way and send him to me. It seems we have a lot to discuss.”
Jaxon hesitated only a moment, then turned and left.
Torren lifted Olivia off the couch and carried her to their bedroom.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“You’re going to put on something looser and more comfortable, then we’re going to ice your hip. Are you hurt anywhere else?” he asked.
“I don’t think so.”
He set her on her feet inside the bedroom then started pulling her clothes off and dropping them on the floor.
He made her turn in a slow circle, as he examined every inch of her.
The bruise on her hip was the only mark on her, thankfully.
Torren helped her into some knit pajama pants and a matching tank, then he wrapped an arm around her waist and stayed right by her side until they were back in the living room. He pointed to the couch.
“Sit while I get some ice for your hip. You’re confined inside until I figure out who this wolf is, and what he meant by it being my fault Gwen is dead.”
She opened her mouth to say something, but he stomped out of the room.
With a sigh, she eased onto the couch and curled her legs beneath her, leaving her sore hip exposed.
Torren returned a minute later with an ice pack in his hands, and he gently laid it across her hip before taking a seat next to her.
“You didn’t seem surprised when I said Gwen was pregnant, but Jaxon hadn’t known,” she said.
“I found out after she died. A wolf had torn her apart, killing her and the baby. I’d wondered if it was mine, but I’d figured she’d have told me if it was. I never knew she was meeting someone in the woods, but it seemed suspicious that she was out there the night she died.”
Olivia bit her lip and wondered if she should say something or not.
The wolf in the woods had said Gwen was forced to mate with Torren, and he hadn’t said much since hearing that.
From what he’d told her before, it had sounded like Gwen had accepted her mating with Torren. But now Olivia had to wonder.
“Torren, if Gwen didn’t want to mate with you and was forced into it, and she loved the guy who attacked me today… Do you think it’s possible that someone else killed her? Maybe they found out she was cheating on you. Could it…” She stopped, not wanting to continue.
“Could it have been someone in my pack?” he asked.
She nodded.
“No, I don’t think so. If they had found out, they would have brought the matter to me, not murdered her.”
The front door opened and Baxter stepped into the room. “You needed to see me, Alpha?”
“My mate was attacked today, and I want to know who the hell did it.” He blew out a breath. “And I need to find out why Gwen died.”
Baxter looked from Torren to Olivia and back again. “Alpha, maybe we should…”
“Olivia knows everything,” Torren said.
“What do you need from me? From the pack?” Baxter asked.
“Obviously, my mate is in danger. Someone needs to be with her twenty-four-seven, and it can’t always be me. We need to assign guards when I can’t be here.”
Baxter nodded. “I’ll ask for volunteers among the males in the pack. They’re stronger than the females and would be more of a deterrent if someone comes for her again. I have a feeling Jaxon will ask to be on the rotation.”
Torren’s eyes narrowed. “He’s not strong enough. A human male busted him up.”
“He saved me today,” Olivia pointed out. “He bit the other wolf’s neck and scared him into running away. I’d have died if it weren’t for Jaxon. Twice.”
Torren rubbed a hand over his mouth. “All right. Jaxon can help protect you. I know the two of you were friends before you came here. I’m sure you’re comfortable around him.”
“I’ll get a schedule worked out,” Baxter said. “And I’ll start looking into Gwen’s death. Obviously it wasn’t as cut and dried as we’d thought. If you believed it was this other wolf, and he seems to think it was you… it leaves me wondering just who the hell killed Gwen, and why did they do it?”
“Yeah, I’m wondering the same thing,” Torren said.
“I’ll see myself out.” Baxter turned and left the room. A minute later, the front door slammed shut.
“How’s your hip?” Torren asked, pulling the ice pack off her, then lowering her pants and panties. Olivia looked down and the bruise wasn’t only black, but was slightly swollen despite the ice.
“I’ll live,” she said.
“If you weren’t injured, I’d spank your ass for running off like that with an unknown wolf.”
The Alpha tone in his voice had her clenching her thighs together.
After the way she’d enjoyed her previous spanking, it wasn’t much of a threat, and she had to admit that some part of her liked his dominant side.
She’d never thought she’d be the type of person to like something like that, or like being tied up, but she’d loved everything Torren had done to her.
He gripped her waist and lifted her until she straddled him. “I could have lost you today.”
Olivia caressed his cheek. “I’m here. I’m fine, and so is the baby.”
He fisted her hair and dragged her lips to his, then he kissed her hard. His tongue thrust into her mouth, and she felt herself melting against him. Her lips felt bruised when he pulled away, and her panties were soaked.
“If you weren’t injured, I’d fuck you right now. Make you scream my name and beg for more. The need to mark you again is nearly driving me crazy.”
“I have a bruise, Torren. I’m not broken.”
His lips teased her jaw and the side of her neck, before he licked the shell of her ear. “Does my mate need a good fucking?”
Olivia whimpered. “Yes, please. I need you, Torren.”
“Stand up and strip,” he said, his voice deep and commanding.
Olivia stood and removed her clothes as fast as she could. Torren slowly unbuttoned his jeans, the rasp of his zipper sounding loud in the otherwise quiet house. He shoved his jeans down over his hips, until his cock was freed.
She straddled him and lowered herself onto his length, taking him deep.
Torren wrapped an arm around her waist, careful of her hip, and held on as she rode him.
Her breasts swayed with every downward stroke, and Torren seemed mesmerized by them.
He licked his lips as he stared, and she felt her nipples harden.
“It’s not enough, is it, baby?” he asked, reaching down to rub her clit. “Does that feel good?”