Ensnared

Chapter Seven

All it took was that one word to make it feel like she had forgotten how to breathe.. and it only took a few stutters of a heartbeat's moment to realize she had been holding her breath the instant the predatory male uttered that damning word.

She could feel her muscles coil in preparation as her 'Fight or Flight' mode kicked into overdrive.

Her mind worked at a mile a minute as all possible scenarios of escape shifted from one idea to the other.

Would she be able to fight him?

Unconsciously, her amber gaze soaked  in the pure, raw maleness before her.. in assessment of threat, of course.

Skin kissed by the sun's rays layered around the muscles that flexed beneath, his inky hair styled short.. and a well groomed dusting of a beard made up this Beta. Clearly at the height of 6'6", maybe 6'7"-obviously quite a bit taller than her 5'8"-he was the epitome of a dominant male whose sheer presence demanded respect and submission by those of lower stature.

Getting into a brawl with him was completely and totally off the market.

It only took one last glance at the possessive look that glinted in those golden eyes as he stalked forward for her survival instincts to hit the switch labeled 'Flight'.

And thus, she bolted.

In her pajamas and all.

She hefted herself over the low lying fence of her backyard and pumped her legs as fast as they could go the moment she landed on the other side, oblivious to where she was running.. but all that mattered was losing him and figuring out what to do from there.

All that seemed like a plan for the moment.. at least, until she heard it.

"MATE!" the thundering growl sounded behind her as the Monster easily cleared the fence to give chase, his wolf just beneath his skin's surface as he urged his human side to catch and claim their prize.

That one word alone had Riona forcing her legs to move like a track star.. though it was hardly adequate enough to help her get away like she had originally hoped.

She had barely cleared the treeline to enter the wooded area near her home when she was tackled from behind, a strong pair of arms that could only have belonged to that Monster wrapped themselves around her waist to pull her smaller frame to him as he took the brunt of the force as they collided against the ground.

It was mere seconds before she found herself pinned beneath his gargantuan form, his arms on either side of her head as he used his thighs to help hold her in place while he shoved his nose against the crook of her neck and inhaled her scent.

"Mate.. mine." he rumbled against the skin of her neck as his nose skimmed the surface where he had deemed suitable to carry his claim; his lips pressed gently to its softness as if to soothe his struggling female.

"N-no! No! Let me go!" she cried out as she began to struggle with renewed vigor.. though it was all in vain. He had her firmly secured beneath him, and it was obvious this beast had no intention of letting her up without assurance that she would not try to flee from him again..

Another growl-though softer this time-sounded against her neck as his tongue darted out to taste her flesh, the delicate flavor of his mate assaulting his taste buds.. much to his pleasure.. and much to her disgruntlement

Shit, she could tell where this was going!

She had heard the stories, the ones where those mutts find a significant other in a human on some instinctive level guided by their inner wild.. and though there had been 'love stories' depicted by the mongrels, she had caught wind of the horror stories detailed by the human 'mates'.

Controlling. 

Possessive. 

Violent.

Those were some of the words that the humans had used to describe the Monsters towards their mates.. but the one thing that frightened her the most was the bite.

Riona had absolutely no desire to have one of those creatures sink their teeth into her flesh to leave a scar on her neck like a neon sign to stake their possession over her.

Nope, absolutely not!

She tensed the moment she felt him scrape his teeth against her neck. While in any other given situation where she was actually willing, it would have enticed a pleasurable reaction from her.. but this was quite possibly a life or death situation.

Once you were marked, there was no going back.

There was no time to think, she had to get away. 

And she had to get away now.

With a sharp inhale, she unleashed a banshee's screech as his face was bent over her neck in preparation for his marking.. the sudden fearful wail forcing his wild to the surface.

His pupils dilated as a fearsome snarl curled from his lips; skin began to split, muscles contracted as bones began to snap and rearrange, the inner beast forcing himself to physical form in an instinctive act to destroy what had caused his female such fright.

In a matter of seconds, the Beta's inner wild manifested over her sprawled body in a protective stance, his tail held high and fur puffed up to make him seem bigger than he already was to make an intimidating sight for the source of his mate's consternation. 

The appearance of the gunmetal coated quadruped startled her, but within an spontaneous moment-for she had no time to sit and plan her next course of action-she gripped one of the rocks next to her and tossed it into a far bush while the beast had his attention elsewhere in search of the 'danger'.

As the rock landed, the hulking, shaggy brute took off into the bush with a rumble from within his chest cavity.. leaving her alone for the moment. 

Now was the time to get the hell outta Dodge.