[Marissa’s POV]My gaze remained fixed on the woman who was lying motionless on the floor. Scrambling forward, I reached out and grabbed hold of her, pulling her into my arms so that I could look into her lifeless eyes."No," I rasped, around the knot that was forming in my throat. "No, no, no."Snapping my gaze from her, I looked at the bastard that had caused this. Just seeing the smug look on his face sent waves of rage rushing through me."You," I growled, getting to my feet. "I’ll fucking kill you!""Marissa!"Strong arms that radiated comforting warmth wrapped around me, stopping me from attacking. I snarled and started fighting, clawing at them in an attempt to break free, but they held firm."NO!" I shrieked, strengthening my attempts as the need to kill took over any rational thought. "NO! LET ME GO! "As the words left my lips, tears began to roll down my cheeks. A pain so intense it felt like I was being ripped in half overtook me, threatening to suffocate me. It hurt. Damm

[Marissa’s POV]My heart beat a mile a minute as Travis opened his mouth and extended his canines. Despite being scared shitless about this whole thing, I wasn’t about to back down. This was what I wanted. He was what I wanted and I had already wasted enough of our time.Leaning forward, Travis let his teeth glide against my skin while suddenly wrapping his arms around me."W-what are you doing?" I gasped when one of his hands slid down between my legs. "How is this marking?""You’re too tense." Travis explained, sliding his fingers between my folds and beginning to gently rub. "Loosen up, otherwise you will only remember this as something painful instead of what it actually is."Whimpering, I nodded while Travis pulled me closer to him so my back was against his chest. While his fingers continued to slowly work me, his other hand found my breast. Sliding my nipple between his fingers, he began to knead and tweak."Oh…goddess," I moaned, letting my eyes flutter closed. "That feels so

[Travis’s POV]I let my gaze slowly take in all that were gathered before me. All those present were the ones I trusted the most. I was sure there were more rats among my pack, but finding them would have to wait until I dealt with their leader."Welcome," I announced, bringing the meeting to attention. "I’m sure most of you are curious about why I called you here today."Growing quiet, I waited as murmurs began to sound around the table. Most were speculations about what today’s topic would be. Once it died down again, I sucked in a breath and prepared to continue."I’m sure most of you remember the attack on the packhouse two years ago." I began, earning myself a look of shock and confusion from Marissa. Shit, I forgot that she was already gone by the time it happened. It seemed I would have to explain everything to her later. "At the time, I couldn’t place blame on any particular individual because I didn’t have enough evidence."Growing quiet once more, I gathered my thoughts, pre

[Marissa’s POV]"How much longer are we going to sit here?" I grumbled, shifting positions for the fourth time since arriving. "I can't feel my ass anymore."After convincing Travis to allow me to accompany him on his wendigo hunt, we wasted no time in heading out. With Thomas leading the way due to his tracker background, we made our way deep into the woods until we arrived at a spot that radiated a good amount of wendigo energy.By Thomas’ assumption, this was a spot that they frequented, and the chances of us finding one here were pretty good. We could only hope that this evening they would be out and about. Otherwise, we would have to retrace our steps again and again until we found them.Hoping for the best, we set up camp downwind on the limbs of a tree above to wait."You didn’t have to come," Travis points out, giving me a smirk. "But once we’ve done what we came here to do, I’ll massage your ass.""Who wants you to massage their ass?" I grumped, though the thought of him doin

[Marissa’s POV]I did my best to stay ahead of Travis so that he wouldn’t see the look of worry that I was sure was showing on my face. Though I had promised not to get myself killed, I didn’t quite know what would happen during this upcoming battle, and I was making a promise I had no control over."Hey!"Gasping, I found myself being tugged backwards as Travis’ arm wrapped around my waist, sending tingles of delight through me."What’s up with the avoidance?""Nothing," I responded, keeping my gaze fixed on those ahead of me. "I’m doing no such thing.""Try that on someone who doesn’t know better."Huffing, I looked at our group, which was clearly oblivious to mine and Travis’ back and forth, before wriggling around to meet Travis’ worried gaze. Immediately, I felt my heart clench and regretted my actions, but I was trying to be realistic."Tomorrow isn’t promised."It was the easiest way to describe exactly what I was feeling. No matter how hard we fought, we couldn’t change what w