To Be Claimed

✙ Chapter 10 ✙

Hey!

So, I'm on vacation and have terrible internet connection! The updates will take longer than usual! Thanks for reading!

~Lissa

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The appearance of Daniel held me in a state of shock. He pointed my direction, a mischievous smirk on his face. He found me, I thought, doomed. He found me - how? Following orders, a werewolf came charging towards the window with his teeth snapping, angrily. I couldn't move; I was standing there, frozen. I watched as the werewolf neared with Daniel lingering in the back, flanked by two of his best fighters. One of them I recognized as Ethan, my older brother. He was in his human form with his arms folded across his chest. His brown hair was blowing softly with the breeze and his hazel eyes were squinting my direction, filled with many emotions. He was here - my brother was here. My chest became heavy as I stared at him, aware of the sadness on his face.

Suddenly, I was shoved out of the way as the werewolf came crashing through the window. Splinters of glass sprung at me and I closed my eyes, covering my head with my hands. I pummeled to the ground, landing on my stomach with a grunt. Hearing a wheeze, I whirled around onto my bottom, seeing Ryker with his arms around the werewolf's neck, squeezing. His arms bulged while the werewolf struggled - he was choking him. I scooted backwards when claws came my direction; Daniel probably ordered my death. I gulped loudly when the werewolf dropped to the ground, motionless. Ryker took a deep breath and looked at me, hurrying to my side. "Get up, Emma! Come on, get up!"

He grabbed my arms and forced me to my feet. I looked out the gap where the window once was, seeing Daniel walking my way. His arms were swinging at his sides and a dangerous smirk was on his face. Ethan was next to him, looking at me with regret in his eyes. "Ethan?" I whispered, taking a step towards the shattered window. Ryker pulled me back, releasing a small growl. It took me a moment to realize that my brother wasn't on my side; he wasn't fighting with me. He was fighting against me. He wasn't walking my direction to save me from his Alpha - he was walking my direction to kill me.

"We need to move," Ryker said, dragging me out of the room. Hurrying down the hallway, I started panicking in my head. Would Ethan hurt me? He couldn't - we were family. "Emma, you need to move faster."

A loud growl came and I stopped, nearly toppling to the ground from Ryker's hold on my arm. I looked over my shoulder, seeing a grey wolf crouched down in the hallway. His ears were flattened and drool dripped from his sharp teeth. Ryker cursed under his breath when the werewolf came sprinting towards us. Protectively, I was pushed back, bumping into the nearest wall. I gritted my teeth together, seeing Ryker's broad shoulders stiffen in anger. Was he going to use his dark magic? Or, was he going to shift? Maybe he was going to choke this one too? But, before Ryker was able to do anything, a large brown wolf lunged out of the closest room, snapping the door in two. At first, I thought the wolf was going after Ryker, but instead, it tackled the grey one to the ground. When the brown wolf dragged his claws down the grey one's stomach, I realized that he was an Alpha. Blood splattered the hallway as a loud whine filled my ears - what if I knew that grey wolf from Daniel's pack? Though, a lot of them disliked me since I was a human.

Ryker glanced over my shoulder at me, worriedly. Next thing I knew, the sounds of bones popping and cracking filled my ears. I looked past Ryker, seeing Alpha of the Taint Pack, Drew, straightening up. He jerked his arm, snapping his elbow back into place without a flinch of pain. His sharp teeth extracted, revealing a set of normal human teeth. Then, facing us, his eyes turned back to blue, the color of the sea. Of course, it wasn't hard to notice that he was naked - there wasn't a piece of clothing on him. I kept my eyes focused on his upper body, which contained only hard muscle. Ryker growled, stepping closer to me. "I suggest you get some clothes on - the sight of you naked has permanently scarred me."