Instead, Victoria spread her arms out creating a snow angel while laughing.
“Tell them they’ve got five minutes and then I’m going to get them back.” Her eyes were glinting up at him.
“You got it.” Turning to the kids, he held his hands up to be heard. “You’ve got five minutes, adults against children. Snowball fight will happen. The main objective of this mission,” he said, looking all around, “is fun. If you’re not having fun, you’ve lost.”
The kids ran around the back of the house, screaming and laughing. He heard them all whispering. The adults banded together, walked out of the gate and stared across the distance waiting for Scorch to announce the beginning of the snowball fight.
He helped Victoria up out of the snow. She brushed it off her clothes and followed him toward his spot. They stood hand in hand waiting. His heart was pounding as the excitement built within. This was his future with Victoria by his side. He knew deep in his heart that they could achieve so much together.
Every now and then he saw the pack watching them together. They were waiting for him to announce his mating with Victoria. Yesterday he’d gotten a call from Lidia demanding a second chance. He refused her offer, not wanting her anywhere near his pack. She was a sickness he didn’t wish to spread around.
“Scorch, are you ready?” Victoria asked.
He was ready for a lot more than a snowball fight.
“Remember, key rules, have fun. Otherwise you’re a loser.” He made sure everyone could hear him as he shouted the words. “Five … four … three … two … one … fight!”
The children screamed as they ran out behind them from the trees. Victoria squealed as they were pelted with snowballs from the children. Scorch had heard the kids coming behind them.
Pretending to be scared, he jumped over the fence, picking Victoria up and over the fence. He rolled up balls, but once his arms left her, she was grabbing snow turning them into balls and pelting them over the wall.
The laughter going on all around them was amazing. His pack was in full flow pelting snowballs and pretending to die as they were hit by a flying ball. The kids were stopping as they fell over laughing.
The snowball fight was carrying on. Grabbing her hand, he led her away from the main fight. He pressed her against the side of the house, staring into her eyes.
“I don’t want you to leave,” he said.
“The fight, the kids, Scorch, we can talk about this another time.” She tried to pull away from him, but he wouldn’t let her.
“They’re fighting without us. I need to hear you agree to be by my side.”
“Don’t do this. We’re having fun. I’m not ready to move on or to agree to anything.” She reached out, cupping his face. “I like you, Scorch, and I’m grateful to everything you’ve done for me. I was a stranger and you took me in, and I’ll always be indebted to you but don’t ask me this, please.”
Touching her hands, Scorch saw the pain in her eyes.
“You’re scared of someone, and I will protect you, Tori. You feel this between us.” He pressed a palm against her chest feeling her heart race under his touch. “I know what Mandy was talking about. You can stay inside the house at the full moon, or you can come and see what she means about our wolves.”
Cupping her cheek, he closed the distance between them, pressing his lips to hers. She gasped, opening up and letting him inside. Plunging his tongue in deep, he pressed his body against hers, letting her feel his need for her. His c**k was in a state of a constant erection around her.
Pulling away, he let her go and headed off in the opposite direction. The fight had finished, and the kids were happy. Scorch didn’t feel like being around his pack at that moment. Victoria made no move to follow him. Heading through the trees he kept on walking knowing someone was following behind him.
David joined him without saying a word.
“You should be with the pack and your mate.” He growled out the last word knowing David and Mandy didn’t deserve his anger.
“I’m not leaving you alone. I heard what went on between the two of you.”
“So, she doesn’t want to be with me. She’s grateful for my help.” He snarled the words out hating himself for being angry because she wouldn’t give him what he wanted.
“Scorch, it has nothing to do with you, okay? She came from a pack that clearly hurts its people. Think about the way she looked the moment you found her,” David said, stopping Scorch from moving.
He’d not considered her old pack or what it meant. She had been tied to a tree. There was something he was missing. Victoria tried to keep him at arms’ length as if she were afraid to get too close. Her nightmares were always about chains and being hurt.
“Someone tied her to that tree,” Scorch said.
“I didn’t want to bring this up because she’s a lovely woman, and I know your wolf wants to mate with her.” David stepped closer. “But I need you to look past your need for her and think about something else.”
Staring at his man, his wolf wanted to deny the claim he’d not been thinking clearly. Scorch knew what David said was the truth. All he’d thought about was her care and how her recovery was going. There was not a mark on her beautiful body.
“I’m listening. Voice your concerns.” He folded his arms waiting for David to speak up.
“The pack adores her. I adore her and so does Mandy, but you’ve got to think about why she’s here and where she came from. We can’t trust that. Mandy thinks my concerns are unnecessary, but this pack is my home.”
Scorch didn’t want to hear anymore, yet everything David said did raise concerns inside him. “Talk. You know the pack comes first.”
“I’m really sorry to bring this to you. She was tied to a tree, and the wounds had purposefully been left open. The cold didn’t help. She was bound to a tree that is far enough away so we wouldn’t suspect anything yet close enough for our pack to stumble on her. Her body was washed of all scent. I can’t help but think someone tried to wash the scent from her skin. She doesn’t talk about where she comes from, and there is always a guilty look in her eye when she looks at you.”
“She’s not here by mistake.” Scorch hadn’t given it any thought. His wolf loved her, wanted to mate with her, and he wouldn’t be satisfied until he got what he wanted.
“I’m really sorry to bring this kind of information to you,” David said. “I think she’s after you, or at least someone wants you to be vulnerable.”