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Eight

Eva opened her mouth but no sound came out, her throat betraying her. Closing her mouth again, she swallowed hard, frozen to the spot as Daniel approached her, only stopping when there was barely an inch between them. His eyes never left her, anger and possessiveness roiling in his blue orbs like the North sea in a storm. The silence was thick with emotion as Daniel's anger radiated from him and Eva's dread pulsed through her. She felt herself shrinking under his gaze, her pulse jumping in her throat nearly knocking the air out of her.

Suddenly Daniel's eyes snapped to Kade. "Grab her bag. I want to be back at the packhouse before nightfall."

Eva hissed when Daniel's hand grabbed her by her upper right arm roughly and pulled her towards the door.

"No!" Eva gasped and tried to struggle free.

A growl filled the room. Eva yelped when she suddenly found her back slammed into a wall and Daniel towering over her, his teeth bared as his eyes flashed amber.

"You are coming with me. If you try to run again I will make you regret it." Daniel bit out in a voice so calm and cold Eva swore she felt every syllable slicing into her like a knife.

Again she found herself speechless, unable to react as she was pulled from the wall and practically dragged from the bed and breakfast to a truck waiting in the small drive. The man from the cafe was waiting for them, an amused smirk on his face as he saw the murderous look on his Alpha's face as he pulled the Auburn haired girl along behind him like a naughty child.

"Get in." Daniel bit out once one of the back doors to the truck was open.

Eva hesitated but not out of fear. She knew the moment she got into the truck, Daniel had won. Her stubborn streak bloomed then, her teeth clenching together as she felt her obstinance glue her feet to the ground like they were in concrete blocks. She didn't like that she was being told what to do. She didn't like that Daniel thought he had won and that she would just obey him.

But, she knew she was shit out of luck in that moment and she had lost this battle.

Swallowing her pride like a bitter pill, she climbed into the truck, pretending not to notice the violent slam of the door when Daniel shoved it closed behind her. She could practically taste the rage radiating from him as he climbed into the driver's seat, his beta taking the front passenger seat leaving Eva alone in the back to wallow in her defeat.

By now the rain was coming down in heavy sheets, pushed along by a squally wind. The droplets hit the windows like tiny needles; hard, cold and biting. It did nothing for the silence in the cab of the truck though. That was still thick with unspoken emotions and thoughts.

Eva had no intentions of breaking the silence and she sure as hell wasn't going to apologise to Daniel. Instead she thought about her parents and friends and how she was going to face them. She could only hope they would understand. It wasn't that she had wanted to hurt them or make them worry, she just couldn't face being bonded to another, especially an alpha.

At some point Eva must have called asleep because she was jolted back to reality by the slamming of one of the car doors.

Looking around, Eva could make out her home despite it being dark. Neither Daniel nor Kade were in the car. A moment later the passenger door opened and Daniel glared down at Eva, the wind tussling his hair. His gaze was dark and his jaw set making him look like an angry god… a very angry sexy god.

"Get out." He ordered.

Eva didn't need telling twice. She grabbed her backpack and scrambled out of the truck, huffing when Daniel slammed the door again before grabbing her arm and pulling towards her parents who were waiting at the door of the cottage.

"My baby," Nora sighed as she pulled Eva into a tight hug. "I was so worried."

"Sorry." Eva whispered as her breath hitched, trying not to cry.

The slam of a car door (again) had Eva looking behind her in time to see Daniel backing the truck away and disappearing towards the pack house. Eva briefly wondered how the windows in the truck hadn't shattered by now with the way Daniel was slamming those doors. Then again, at least he was taking his temper out on the truck and not on Eva but she suspected it wouldn't be long before she was in the line of fire. She just hoped she was ready for it.

"I know I just got back but would it be okay if I went to see Maria and Duncan?" Eva asked.

"Of course." Nora smiled sadly. "But tomorrow we need to talk."

"I know…" Eva nodded.

With that, Eva hugged her parents and promised to be back in the morning.

Maria and Duncan only lived a few minutes away and hopefully the majority of the pack were still at the pack house or in their homes so she could slip through the darkness unnoticed.

The bubbly blonde was waiting for Eva at the door, leaning against the frame and drowning in a giant knitted jumper.

"Come here." Maria's soft voice greeted Eva, pulling her into a hug. "Duncan's gone to help with patrol so it's just us two."

"Is it bad that I'd rather be on patrol too?" Eva asked as they stepped into the warmth of Maria's cottage.

"Well I did think about asking Duncan to take you but your mum is going to kill me for hiding you away. Don't need to give her more ammo."

"Well that makes two of us she is going to kill." Eva sighed heavily and collapsed onto the old couch, staring up at the ceiling.

"What happened?" Maria asked as she settled more gracefully next to Eva, curling her legs under herself.

"It was exactly how you described it." Eva murmured, remembering when Maria gushed about the mate bond forming between her and Duncan. "His scent, my heart racing, that feeling like something woke up inside of me when he looked at me. For a moment I felt so whole and then I felt so angry and guilty. Ouma said I was a gift from the goddess for this guy I had never met and it made me feel like my love for Noah was meaningless, that him dying was convenient. I felt like none of it mattered to anyone but me."

"That's not the case at all. Everyone misses Noah. No one has forgotten him." Maria smiled sadly.

Silence settled between the two women, both of them thinking of the man who was no longer there to share memories with. They had grown up together, gone through all the trials of being a child and then a teenager together. They trained together and hunted together but now there were just memories. Noah was gone and while it had been a year, the pain was still fresh and raw. The sudden arrival of Daniel Wolfe did not help matters especially when Eva just wanted to be left alone. Now she not only had grief to battle with but guilt and something much more complicated...desire.

Eva groaned and closed her eyes. "He's a fucking Hellhound!"

"Well it could be worse. He could be old." Maria shrugged trying to lighten the mood.

Eva groaned again and threw a cushion at Maria. "Not helping!"

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