Her Wanted Wolf Read Free Page B

After a long,
tension-fraught moment, Rifkin broke eye contact with her. Aimee glanced up,
following the direction of his gaze to see Micah, and Milo moved to flank
Bardo.
    Rifkin released her and lifted his arms in a placating gesture before he
slithered off her. His body was stiff with rage as he rose to give his
pack-mates a baleful glare, his face red with humiliation.
    Bardo smiled at Rifkin, his black eyes glittering with malice. “Having
trouble obeying my orders, Rifkin? I think you need a refresher course in pack
hierarchy.” In a flash, Bardo’s claws shot from his fingertips, curved and
lethally sharp. He raked them across Rifkin’s jaw, shredding his flesh.
    Rifkin’s enraged roar reverberated around them. Arms arched from his
body, his chest puffed out aggressively, and fur sprouted through his skin. He
took a purposeful stride toward Bardo, claws descended.
    Eyes icy with intent, Micah stepped in front of his alpha, his visage
grim and uncompromising. Aimee gasped as his body seemed to expand, without him
shifting, causing Rifkin to hesitate. Micah bared his fangs as his claws slid
from his hands, curved and lethal in their sharpness. A low challenging growl
rumbled from his throat. Taut, simmering tension hummed between the two weres.
    Rifkin froze, frustration flitting across his face. Quivering with barely
restrained rage, he dropped his head in submission. Shoulders hunched, he
scuttled back.
    Bardo fixed him with a steely glare. “Good boy. See, Rifkin, that’s how
you show loyalty to your alpha. Now, Milo wants to collect more air and soil
samples. See that he returns in one piece. Make sure the rest of those idiots
under your command stay within the boundaries Milo set. One more slip-up and
I’ll tear strips out of your hide, and use Milo’s little healing inhibitor
on you. Micah, keep a close eye on our guest. I want to know the moment she is
fit to travel.” Bardo speared Aimee with a final glance before he loped down
the dark tunnel from where he came. Milo followed him like flotsam pulled by a
strong current.
    Aimee dragged her gaze from them to see Rifkin shoot her and Micah a
malevolent glare before he slouched away.
    The silence in the cavern pressed down on her, and Aimee sagged under the
strain of holding it together.
    She looked up at the man who’d imprinted himself on her dreams. “How can
you carry out his wishes? You know taking me is wrong. Weres from both packs
are going to die.”
    “He is my alpha.” The harsh pronouncement sent an overwhelming sense of
disappointment through her.
    “He is jeopardizing the well-being of your pack with his thirst for
revenge. That goes against everything we are.”
    “Everything we are? You don’t know what the Redmavens are, what we’ve
become.” He held out a canteen to her. Aimee looked at it suspiciously.
    “It’s not drugged. Drink. You need fluids to flush out your system.” He
proffered the canteen again.
    Aimee accepted the container and took a few tentative sips to moisten her
parched mouth. “Bardo is not fit to lead a pack. Your clan needs a were who’ll
see to their safety. My kidnapping will start a war.”
    “We are already at war. Only now we’re fighting for the survival of our
pack.”
    “Your alpha is insane,” she murmured.
    “There are worse things here than Bardo, little were. You just got a
taste of it. Don’t get caught in the tunnels alone with Rifkin. It might be in
your best interest to maintain the façade that you’re still sick and weak from
the Chemist’s drugs. Maybe you’ll get through this in one piece.” He took back
the container and offered her some beef jerky. “I’ll do my best to keep you
safe.”
    She shook her head in refusal. The thought of food made her nauseous.
    Aimee grabbed his hand. “And if Bardo decides to force-breed me, will you
stand by your principles and step back?”
    Micah’s green eyes darkened. The muscles in his jaw clenched. He lifted
her hand and ran his