demands, slapping his hand down on my shoulder, fingers digging into me. They’re like steel, forcing me to stop.
Turning toward him, I shake off his grip, my lips curling at his command. Anger burrows through me as his disgusted gaze settles on me, at the way his nostrils flare.
I dig my hands into my pocket, taking out his payment and tossing the coins at him. The words slip from my mouth. “Take it, because you will never find your fated mate.”
“You fucking witch,” he snarls, and his calloused hand grabs me by the throat, hauling me toward him, his response cold and merciless.
Maybe it’s the fear of what I’ve just seen, but a new bravery comes over me, and I jab my fists at his chest. “Get the hell off me.”
But my attack is weak and unsteady, managing to do nothing but anger him further.
The bastard roars and releases me, after which he grabs me by the hair. He hauls me across the room to the overturned table. “Let me show you how you will pay me back.”
I throw punch after punch into his arm to let me go as I stumble after him. Something suddenly rushes right past me, an explosion of air buffeting against my side.
Finn’s grip slackens, and I recoil from his reach. It’s only then that I realize someone else has entered the room. Someone big and moving like a storm. They slam into Finn with such speed that Finn is shoved right through the wooden wall. But the attacker, a man big enough to be a bear, goes right after him and wrenches him back before snatching his neck and snapping it.
The break of bone is loud and precise. It all happens so fast.
I can’t help but gasp as Finn’s body crumbles to the ground, dead.
I tremble, stepping back as the assailant turns toward me, dusting his hands and grinning proudly. The man is over six-foot, muscles everywhere, and smiling like a madman. Deep blond hair sweeps over his brow, and his piercing hazel eyes meet mine. I shouldn’t stare, but he is beyond beautiful with such strong features. Except he just killed Finn.
If I wasn’t already terrified, I might have fainted before this wolf shifter I stood no chance against. I sense the energy from his body, the ripples of electricity that always dance down my spine when I stand in the company of an Alpha.
“Is this her?” he asks, smiling. His question confuses me further.
“You killed him! W-who the hell are you?” Goosebumps race up my arms.
“Wrong question,” a deep male’s voice replies from behind me. I whip around on the spot to come face-to-face with three men. Each just as big as the next, they are a wall of muscle with strong features and looks that tell me they aren’t from this country. But one of these Alphas I recognize instantly.
Everything melts away, leaving behind just the hope that maybe the sonofabitch in front of me has found my sisters.
“Ragnar!”
2
Ragnar
I’ve been standing in the messed up room, studying Narah from the moment the dead-wolf-walking thought it was okay to drag her across the room to make her pay. I’m familiar with the drill. Wolf doesn’t get what he wants, and he takes something else from an Omega. Yeah, it’s the fucking circle of life. But today, that bullshit has frustration pinching across my brow.
So I asked Crius to fix the problem. I don’t order kills on just anyone, but when it comes to a bastard in my way, I believe in cutting straight through to get what I want. In this case, Narah.
“Ragnar,” she repeats my name as though I hadn’t heard her the first time. The little fox stands with shock on her gorgeous face, those amber eyes almost alight, her full lips parted, and I can’t help but wonder what they would taste like. Her scent mingles with the smell of fire in the room. I could easily let myself fall prey to the girl with a heart-shaped face and eyes of fire. They glance down my body and back up, her fascination in me clear.
Since meeting Narah, she’s captivated my thoughts beyond the normal lustful ones. There’s something about her I can’t quite put my finger on, and it’s not the cascade of hair the color of ravens running perfectly down to her waist, or how much I can’t stop watching the rise and fall of her chest.
My insides tighten each time I see the vulnerability in her expression