Sunflower (Temporarily on Hold)

Chapter 7; total barbarians

Sorry for the long wait. At the moment I'm taking priority of The Curse of an Alpha (my other, almost complete wolf book) as I really want to finish it. After that this book will take priority, I promise! Enjoy.

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Ophelia

The canines glared at her face. Ophelia could barely register the grip of Archer's hands on her arm. Tremors wrecked through her, her body shaking in fear as Dani snarled, his eyes turning black. "One step closer and I'll rip your head off," Archer snarled, hauling her behind his back.

Her lips wobbled with the urge to cry as panic wedged itself into her rib cage and squeezed her lungs until she couldn't breathe. Stars danced in front of her eyes at the possibility of Dani being one of them. He was so sweet and kind, so unlike Archer that the thought of him being anything like them was absurd. Ophelia didn't want it to be real. She didn't want Dani to be a wolf. A monster.

"You wouldn't be able to rip the cork from a champagne bottle, you silly boy." Then she felt Dani's gaze shift in her direction. Ophelia's pulse jumped as his nostrils flared, "you're scaring her."

"We were talking just fine until you sauntered in," Archer snapped.

Whimpers escaped her mouth as his body began to tremble. The urge to cower and flee felt overpowering, almost as if another being was pushing her body to submit to its control. Rasped breaths escaped her as Dani stepped closer.

"Let her go," he spoke slower, not taking his eyes off Archer's hand that still gripped her arm.

It happened within the blink of an eye. One minute she was pressed against Archer's back, uprooted to the floor, and the next minute she collided with the wall, shattering the window as Archer leapt towards Dani. Bodies clashed, her head swam and the only thing she could focus on was the tangy taste of blood that filled her mouth. A groan escaped her as two wolves snarled and tore into the other. Furniture flew around the room, her sofa shredded and the dining table shattered into small pieces. Otter's was nowhere to be found.

Another pained whimper left her mouth as she sat up, cradling her bleeding head. Her vision blurred from the collision. He had thrown her across the room as if she had been a sack of feathers. He had hurt her as if she had been nothing, as if she was a toy meant for his fun and games. Ophelia had never hated anyone more than she hated Archer Blake.

Her world shifted when she stood. Glass broke underneath her sock-clad feet, tearing into her skin. Dani's wolf turned its head towards her, momentarily distracted, and Archer used the moment to his advantage as he lunged for his throat. Ophelia didn't wait to see whether the bite killed him. He had lied to her, pretended to be something he wasn't- a human. And she knew that if she stayed in that house now she would die. She couldn't live through another encounter with the wolves. She wouldn't survive it.

Ophelia didn't know how she stumbled out of the house, clutching onto the railing and falling to her knees the moment her feet hit gravel. Her eyes locked on the forest knowing that it was the best place to hide, among the scent of other animals and leaves. She stumbled, half crawled towards the trees, tears of pain and fear dripping down her cheeks and onto the grass.

Her head pulsed with pain, her stomach turning with nausea. Ophelia stood on shaking legs the moment she was fully submerged in the darkness of the forest. Howls echoed behind her. Goosebumps rose in the wake of the wolves, her body knowing that they could only be associated with pain and danger. Every time she blinked, she could only see Dani's savage face and Archer's haunting eyes. Both males had betrayed her.