The Hollow Moon (Downworlder Series, #2)

Chapter Twelve: Part Two: Wrong Team

The rat was coming out of the bathroom as I marched through the front door of the apartment intent on giving her the punishment that she had earned. Her body was wrapped in a short towel that barely covered her from my sight, droplets of water dripping from her hair and rolling down shoulders before disappearing into her cleavage. My cock hardened at the sight, and I found myself briefly lost in the desire to lick her body like I had been lost in the desert without a drop of water.

"Rat." I snarled the name in greeting as I slammed the door shut behind me, hard enough to rattle some of the mechanical parts on a small table near the door.

She ignored my presence as she walked toward the kitchen, passing me as if I was simply a fixture on her wall. I had spoken to her and she had the audacity to ignore me? My lip pulled up into a sneer as I narrowed my eyes into a glare as I followed her slow movements.

How dare she think to ignore me after everything that had happened. I had waited for her, even stooped to be concerned about her safety while she was out playing with the other rats. This was how she thought to repay me? I found myself stalking after her, slamming my hand against the fridge as she tried to open it.

"When I speak to you, you will answer me." I growled down at her, chest brushing against her back. The usual gentle tones of her scent seemed stronger now that the lingering smell of chemicals was no longer in her system. The shower taking away the stench of the city, leaving behind the headiness of her woodsmoke and cinnamon to burn me as I drank her in. She remained silent as if she were a statute, unable to breathe, think, or speak to me. I let out a percussive snarl, snapping my teeth together inches from the back of her neck, "Do not tempt me, mongrel. You will find I am without patience for your games today."

Her form seemed to relax a notch. "I tend not to speak to those who are overly emotional. They snap and snarl just for themselves. I don't pander to that behaviour." Her tone was flat as she turned around and stared at me with a gaze that seemed unreadable. My eyes scanned her face, noting the scrape and bruising along the side of her face looked better than it had previously, it has lost its redness and the deepness of the bruising. However the sight of it had my wolf bristling up with the desire to taste blood. The fact that someone had put marks on her body and it wasn't me had rage boiling in my veins.

I gritted my teeth, curling my fingers into a tight fist, "You were out all fucking night and when you decided to return you came back high as a fucking kite looking like shit with no explanation to where the fuck you had been." My voice rose as I battled to keep myself from bellowing out the thick lump of anger that had been building in my gut since she had left. I wanted to destroy her at the moment, crush her beneath my fingers only to rebuild her and do it again, until I had satisfied the hunger inside of myself.

"Awww, was stinky worried about me?" She cooed up at me, swaying slightly to one side as if she was trying to cover up the soreness of some unseen wound, her face twitching just the slightest bit with uncomfort. I snapped my teeth together as her words hit me. There was no way in hell I was going to tell her I was worried about her, a little rat. "Don't worry, I'm a big girl and can take care of myself." She ducked under my arm and moved almost stiffly towards her clothes. I ground my teeth together and followed her.

"Says the rat after it barely escaped the cat." I snapped at her.

"Says the rat who declawed and neutered that cat." She let out a chortle at her own words, as she dropped her towel. I sucked in a breath as I drank in the sight of her. Her skin still glistened from her shower, freckles spotting almost every inch of her tanned flesh. I had been so drunk the other night that I had been unable to truly feast on her the way that my cock was demanding I do that instant. The anger I felt only made me itch more to show her my dominance as I had before.