Chapter 2

Sally

My hand rockets out before my brain can stop it, the slap echoing through the sudden silence. I...I hit him! Shock ripples across Ryan’s face as he lifts a hand to his reddening cheek. I freeze, stunned by my own violent reaction.

“Wow,” he says softly. “That really hurt.”

My pulse thunders in my ears. What have I done? I just slapped my Alpha’s brother!

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry!” I cry out. “I...I-I didn’t mean to hit you!”

Please don’t kill me...please don’t kill me!

Ryan considers me with narrowed eyes, flexing his fingers. My pulse hammers in my throat. Is he going to beat me into a pulp for hurting his perfect face?

“That was a good slap,” he finally says, his expression unreadable. “But if you’re really sorry, then I guess we are good.”

Wait, what?

“W-we are good?” I ask in disbelief. 

“Yup...can I come inside?”

“Uhh...sure?”

” Cool.”

I stare up at Ryan, who doesn’t pay me any mind. He enters my house without saying another word, eyes locked on the cabinet in the hallway.

I’m used to it. 

As the pack’s Omega, I can’t shape-shift myself, but the pack has given me the important task of living in the house with all the spare clothes and a truck to fill up all of our cloth reserves in the forest.

“Now, let’s see...” Ryan opens the cabinet with both arms spread, and my eyes land on his bulbous butt. I watch it in fascination...until I realize that I’m being a pervert and look away with a maddening blush.

“So... Umm...” I wet my lips. “Are you really not going to punish me?”

“For slapping me?”

I mentally wince—this guy is blunt.

“Y-yeah?” I close the door behind me. “I definitely shouldn’t have done that...”

He chuckles. “Nah. I won’t punish you.”

I’m shocked. “Wh-why not?”

“Because I’m sure you’ve gotten beaten enough already as the pack’s Omega,” he turns around with a small smile. “Besides, you probably had your reasons.”

Huh? I’m confused. Didn’t he say he was Ashton’s brother? So what is he doing treating me like a person? No one does that.

“You’re... you’re not going to punish me? At all?” I sputter in disbelief, eyes growing wide as I look at him. His relaxed posture, the coiled strength under his seemingly calm demeanor, everything about him screams danger. But then he grins, and I see this boyish charm that makes him look as tame as a puppy.

“Nope,” Ryan says with a chuckle, pulling out a t-shirt from the cabinet. He looks at it before tossing it aside, and then he pulls out another one. “And you can stop looking so scared. I promise I don’t bite.”

“I find that hard to believe...” I mumble under my breath, crossing my arms defensively over my chest.

Ryan snorts. “Wow. You must have been around a lot of jerks.”

I breathe a laugh and blurt out, “Yeah, like your brother,” without thinking. 

What the actual fuck—why did I say that about his brother? I’m a freaking idiot with a death wish!

My eyes widen with fear, but, to my surprise, Ryan chuckles. “Yeah, he can be...difficult.”

Did he just agree with me?

I stare at him, and, for whatever reason, my eyes land on his abs. He is only wearing sweatpants at the moment.

Ryan follows my gaze and chuckles. “Don’t stare too long. You will catch flies,” he warns, his abs flexing as he lifts his arms to put on the t-shirt he has decided is worth his time. “I appreciate the attention, though.”

I snap my gaping mouth shut, heat flooding my cheeks. “Sorry,” I mumble under my breath.

Laughter dances in his eyes, but the amusement doesn’t quite reach his lips. “No need to apologize.” He walks over to me and gently lifts my chin with his finger again, making me look into his beautiful eyes. “You’re pretty cute when you blush.”

“I-I’m not cute!” I protest, stepping back from him. Ryan just chuckles again as he returns to rummaging through the cabinet.

“Well, I think you’re cute,” he says, pulling out a pair of socks and inspecting them before deciding they aren’t up to his standards and throwing them aside.

I watch Ryan for a moment before deciding I’m being stupid - standing here and gawking at some guy who sees me as nothing more than a source of amusement. I shake my head and walk to the kitchen.

“I can make some tea or coffee if you want,” I offer since drooling over Ryan isn’t doing me anything good. 

“Coffee sounds good,” he calls back from the hallway.

Even though he can’t see me I nod, and start brewing the coffee. 

While waiting for it to be ready, I glance back over my shoulder, catching sight of Ryan’s towering figure in the doorway. I quickly avert my gaze, cheeks burning. Why am I so attracted to this guy?

“So,” he begins cautiously as he walks into the room, his eyes scanning me as he calmly leans against the wall on the opposite side. His thick arms are crossed over his broad chest. “Why did you slap me?”

My breath catches as his question settles in. I know I should just tell him the truth, but there is no simple answer. I mean, how can I explain to him that I’m a broken PTSD victim in a few simple words?

“I thought...” I pause, unsure of how to put my emotions down to words without sounding like a wimp. “I thought you were going to hurt me,” I finally admit in a whisper.

Ryan is quiet for a moment before responding softly, “And why would you think that?”

“Because...” I swallow hard before looking up at him. “Because that’s what everyone in the pack does.” Including your brother.

Ryan seems taken aback by my answer; his eyebrows draw together, and there is this sadness in his eyes that makes my chest tighten with regret.

“No one should expect to get hurt by others, not even the pack’s Omega,” he says in such a sincere tone that I almost believe him. He straightens up from the counter, his tall frame casting a long shadow in the dimly lit kitchen. “That’s not fair.”

I grow nervous as he approaches me. I’m unsure if it’s because he looks a lot like Ashton or if I’m a victim of his beauty...or maybe I’m scared and shrinking into myself because he is so much bigger than me. 

Regardless of which, I shouldn’t be into him. He is out of my league: tall and hot, while I’m short with dark, messy hair and a body desperately needing muscle. I don’t look like a werewolf at all. Neither am I pretty. My nose is too big, and my eyes are brown, which means plain and boring. 

“So,” I say, determined to change the conversation. “I-I haven’t seen you around. Are you a member of the pack?”

Amusement washes over his face, but he doesn’t laugh or even smile at me. There is just this gleam in his eye that can be best described as entertainment as he looks down at me.

“No,” he purses his lips as if hesitating before they form a curious smirk. “What do you think of hybrids?”

What kind of question is that?

I wrinkle my nose. “They are people, just like you and me, but they are often very dangerous.”

“Mhm,” his lips twitch. “I’m actually Ashton’s half-brother. We share the same dad, but not the same mother,” the gleam in his eye intensifies, and I stand perfectly still when he brushes some hair away from my forehead. “My mother was a vampire—I’m a hybrid, and Ashton? He doesn’t know that I’m here.”

“Wha-what?”

Suddenly, I’m pushed up against the wall, heart pounding fast underneath Ryan’s big hand. I look up at him and see him licking his lips, revealing his sharp canine teeth. 

Frightened, I press my back against the wall, gluing myself to it. “P-please don’t hurt me...”

“I won’t,” his voice is charming, and goosebumps prickle over my skin when he leans down to whisper in my ear. “But...do you mind if I have a taste of your blood? You smell so sweet.”

My mouth opens and closes. I don’t know what to do. Every instinct is telling me to run. But…there is nowhere to go. So, what do I do? 

I wouldn’t be able to fight this guy. Ryan’s biceps are thicker than my thighs. This guy is built like a freaking Alpha, maybe more than Ashton, and that’s the scariest part. I thought I stood a chance with some of the werewolves I’ve run into because we were of a similar height or weight. So I fought back when they bullied me, hoping my desperation to survive would make up for how thin I was, but it never did.

This guy? He would snap me like a twig. I stand no chance against him, but I have to get out of this situation somehow. PTSD or not, it’s time to put on my big girl panties and handle this!

I narrow my eyes at Ryan. “No.”

He falls silent for a moment before smirking. “Come on. Just a quick little bite.”

“No.”

“A little nibble then?”

I briefly consider it before I remember how painful all those bites looked like in all of the movies I’ve seen.

I wet my lips. “...does that still include you sinking your long teeth into my neck in that creepy vampire way?”

His lips twitch. “Yeah?”

“Then no.”

He chuckles. “It won’t hurt. I promise.”

Is it just me, or is he no longer pressing me against the wall with as much force?

“No means no,” I sound more confident now, even if I have Ryan staring down at me like I’m freshly cooked bacon. “I don’t want you eating me.”

His hand casually wanders to rest on the wall above my head. It makes me feel like I’m prey caught by a scary predator. “That so?”

“Mhm.”

“Women usually don’t mind.”

“...is that a sexual joke?”

“Maybe?”

“Well, you can’t bite me.”

He looks down at my neck, his eyes tracing my veins with vivid fascination before his intense gaze slowly moves up to my lips. They remain there for a heated second before he returns to staring straight into my eyes. “And what happens if I do it anyway?”

“Then I will...then I will be forced to fight you!” I blurt out, which is so embarrassing. I would never be able to beat Ryan in a goddamn fight!

He knows it, too, and stares at me, unmoving. For a long moment, I think he is going to burst out laughing and teach me a lesson. Just reach for my neck with his strong hand and choke the life out of me.

Instead, he breathes a laugh. “Did you just threaten me? Fuck me, that’s so cute.”

Cute?!

“Fuck you,” I tell him, frightened. I’m certain he is playing games with me. Who thinks it’s cute when someone threatens them? This man is insane!

“Fuck me?” Ryan is looking like he is trying not to laugh at me again. “Is that something you would like? Because I think you’re cute—I wouldn’t mind if you advanced on me.”

My eyes widen and a maddening blush spreads over my face. Did I hear that correctly? And if I did, then it’s worse than I thought: this man is out of his goddamn mind. Nobody wants to fuck an Omega or be fucked by them, but...it doesn’t look like he is joking.