Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
T he drive to the bar was long and quiet. It was taking every ounce of Rafe’s humanity to not pull over and fuck Ruby’s brains out. He could not erase the image of her on her bed, hands between her thighs, her cheeks pink from pleasure. Fucking herself because he couldn’t do it. Goddamn it.
“You look like you want to kill someone again.”
Ruby’s teasing tone broke him out of his thoughts. At least she wasn’t pissed at him for watching her like some pervert and then running away. Again.
“Uh, no. Not at the moment.”
He stole a glance at her from the corner of his eye. She was dressed in her usual work wear, black cardigan over a tank top that made her tits look fantastic, short black skirt that made her thighs look edible, and her black boots for kicking the shit out of people that thought about her like that.
Her lips had a fresh coat of lipstick, and her dark hair was tied up in two knots on top of her head, exposing her neck. His cock twitched at the memory of kissing that neck this morning. God, had that only been this morning?
They’d arrived at the bar, but Ruby made no move to get out of the truck.
“Are we just not going to talk about it?” she asked. “About earlier…”
She leaned toward him, just slightly, just enough to make her impossible to ignore, and suddenly the truck was way too small.
“That was sexy as hell, Ruby.”
Shit. Why did his voice sound like that? Thick and aching.
“But it’s not a good idea.”
“Why not?” She was immediately indignant.
He let his gaze rake over her, lingering on her lips. He couldn’t help himself. “It’s just not safe.”
She scoffed. “It’s not safe for who? Are you afraid of me, Rafe? Because I’m not afraid of you.”
He leaned across the cab, so close now that his ragged breath fanned across her chest. He watched as goosebumps broke out over her skin.
“You should be afraid. You could have been killed. I couldn’t even protect you from some asshole sticking his hand up your skirt.
The least I can do is protect you from myself.
From the things that happen to people who hang around me for too long. ”
Ruby shook her head. “I’m a big girl. Big enough to make my own decisions.” He opened his mouth to protest, but she kept going. “You’re the coward. Not me.”
Coward? Well, that fucking hurt.
But Rafe already knew how this ended. Humans were not for him, no matter how bad-ass they thought they were. This whole mess would only end with one or both of them hurt, and that was only if Ruby made it out of whatever this was alive.
Again, Scarlet hovered around the periphery of his memory. Her blood, bright red in the morning sunlight. Rafe shook his head, scattering the image. Humans and werewolves didn’t mix. Shouldn’t mix. He’d make sure things ended differently this time.
“Maybe I am,” he admitted, sitting back in his seat. “But I won’t risk it. I won’t risk you .”
Her dark eyes flicked up to his, searching for answers he wished he could give her.
“So, they came back?” she asked, letting whatever the hell was between them go. For now, anyway.
“Yeah. You didn’t hear anything?”
She shook her head.
Rafe growled in frustration. What the fuck were they up to?
Ruby glanced at him from under her dark lashes. “Are they… related to you? I mean are they your?… pack?”
Christ, there was so much he hadn’t explained, so much Ruby still didn’t know and he’d been taking for granted.
“No,” he said gruffly, running a hand down his face. “My pack is County. They’re Highlands.”
Ruby blinked.
“Same as people?”
“What?”
She laughed. “Your packs are just named after the regions of Maine that they’re from?”
“Why is that funny?”
She laughed harder. “I don’t know! You’re werewolves!”
“That doesn’t make us creative.” Her giggles filled the truck, and he couldn’t help when his mouth ticked up at the corner. She was cute when she laughed. What the hell was he supposed to do?
There were two werewolf packs in Maine, with another one right over the border in Canada.
Not that wolves cared about arbitrary human borders, but that just happened to be where they were located.
But they certainly didn’t make a habit of wandering into other territories and they sure as hell didn’t fuck around with humans.
Her laughter petered out as she took him in, studying him again like she couldn’t quite believe he was real. He felt the same way about her.
“Okay, so they’re not from here and they’re not like your cousins or anything.”
He scoffed. “No.”
She rolled her eyes but moved on. “And we still don’t know what they want with me… Maybe we should just talk to them.”
“Fuck no.”
“Rafe—”
“I’m serious, Ruby. This is very wrong. This whole thing. Do not try to talk to these assholes.” His throat was closing up at the thought of Ruby approaching any of these wolves. Of what they would do if she did.
Her hand on his thigh snapped him back to attention.
“Okay, I won’t. But we have to figure out what is going on. You can’t escort me to work forever.”
But he would.
He cleared his throat. “You’re right. We will.”
They sat in silence, her hand on his leg like a hot brand. He wouldn’t be surprised if it left a mark.
She had a small hole in her tights, right at the knee, and that little peek of vulnerability felt like an attack. It made his soul hurt to look at.
His father was right about exactly one thing. Humans were weak. They were so easily broken. They didn’t heal like wolves.
What the hell was he going to do if Ruby got hurt?
His heart felt like it was being squeezed in a cruel fist.
“Is it hard being without your pack?” Ruby asked and he took a gulp of air. She wasn’t hurt. She was right here next to him, asking questions he’d rather not answer but he felt like he owed her.
“Sometimes.”
The modern world had made a lot of things difficult for wolves, except for one, leaving the pack.
What used to be a death sentence was now possible thanks to convenience stores and short-term rentals.
After the last fight with his brothers, he’d stalked off, packed his few meager possessions, and left. Just like that.
He’d had to sleep outside for the first few months, hunting for whatever food he could find, but eventually he’d found the cabin to rent using money he’d saved from odd jobs he’d done over the years in other County towns.
It had taken nearly a year to build a new life for himself, but he’d done it.
For whatever it was worth, he’d done it.
But just because it had been logistically easier to leave his pack than he ever imagined didn’t mean it was easy .
Ruby raised an eyebrow like she wasn’t convinced either.
“It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” he admitted. Other than rejecting Ruby’s advances. That was proving to be nearly impossible. “I’m not used to being?… alone.”
“Then why did you leave?”
“Had to.” He swallowed the rest of it. He couldn’t bring himself to relay the whole messy story even though Ruby was looking at him like she wanted it all.
The truth was, if he hadn’t left, he would have been pushed out. Or, if their father had his way, killed. There wasn’t room for more than one Alpha, and his brother was more than happy to take the title.
“Can you go back?” she asked and he wished she would just let it go. These were things he’d spent a year very carefully not thinking about.
“No.”
He didn’t know if it was true.
His father had died a few months ago, shortly after Rafe left. His favorite human invention turned on him. The lung cancer was swift and brutal in its attack. Werewolves were stronger than humans but not stronger than that.
He knew his brother wasn’t quite the asshole their father once was. But would Knox let him come back? Would Rafe even want to? After everything that had happened between him and his brothers?
He didn’t allow himself to think about it.
He couldn’t. Not if he wanted to keep his sanity.
“But—”
“No, Ruby. It’s not possible. Let it go.”
He didn’t want to think about Knox. Or his pack. He preferred to remember his brother as the asshole who’d tried to tear his throat out. It was easier that way.
“You should get in there.” He nodded toward the bar, cutting off any further protests or questions. He didn’t need Ruby to sit here and look at him with that sympathetic look on her face, like she understood what it felt like to be alone. Even if she did.
“Right,” she said, hopping down from the truck. “Thanks for the lift.”
She slammed the door behind her.
Maybe one of these days they’d have an interaction that he didn’t completely fuck up.