Trust by Viola Rivard Page B

clearing, seeing if there was anything she could use as a weapon. For the first time, she wished that she hadn’t unloaded all of her bullets into the good senator’s chest cavity.
    Just as her gaze was settling on a large stick that looked like it might be useful, something else caught her attention. Movement in the trees. A rock settled in her stomach as three more wolves entered the clearing, smaller than the woman was, but no less menacing. The grey fur on the backs of their necks was puffed up as they approached, looking ready to spring at Taylor and Alder at any second.
    Her heart stammered. One werewolf they could handle, maybe. But four?
    “Holy shit.” This time she definitely said it aloud. “I’m gonna die a virgin.”

Chapter Eleven
    V irgin ?
    It was enough to momentarily distract Alder from the situation that was unfolding in front of him. Thankfully, his good sense kicked into gear and he was able to file that bit of information alongside the many other things he would deal with when he had Taylor safely in his territory.
    He moved to position himself in front of Taylor, doing his best to keep his posture open and non-threatening. It wasn’t easy. Taylor reeked of fear and it was difficult to rein in his instinct to attack the wolves who were threatening her.
    Alder met the beta female’s gaze. He recognized her, though he couldn’t remember her name. He recalled that she was a prominent member of the pack. From her scent, he could tell that she wasn’t a sexual partner of Silas’s, which meant that she had to be strong to have gained a position in his inner circle.
    He could also smell the acrid undertones of anger in her scent and he could tell from her stance and the posture of her companions that something was very wrong. Having no idea what he’d walked into, Alder waited for her to speak first. He didn’t have to wait long.
    “You have a lot of nerve stepping into our territory after what you did yesterday.”
    To most men, that sentence would have made absolutely no sense. To Alder, who had spent a lifetime falling into the messes left behind by a reckless twin brother, it was all too clear what was happening.
    Fucking Hale .
    He’d been gone less than a week and his brother had somehow managed to fuck up the treaty that Alder had spent two long years painstakingly putting into place. From the look on the female’s face, whatever Hale had done, it was a serious offense. Alder didn’t doubt it. Hale never did anything half-assed. If his aim had been to piss Silas off, he would have done something extreme.
    If he told her who he was, there was a remote chance that he could talk his way out of the situation. There was an even better chance that while he was trying to reason with the female, the rest of the pack would close in on them. They would take him hostage to use against Hale, and Taylor…if the females didn’t kill her before their alpha arrived, Silas would likely claim her for himself.
    The thought made Alder’s blood boil. He wasn’t about to gamble with her life. There was only one choice. To get them both out of the situation as quickly as possible, he’d have to play Hale.
    He took a step forward, cocking his head to the side and affecting a bored look. “Get the fuck out of my way before I gut you.”
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    I t was Alder , but it wasn’t. His voice, his posture, his whole demeanor had completely changed. All she could do was hope this was part of some plan, because from where she was standing it looked like his personality had done a complete one-eighty.
    ‘Trust me,’ he had said.
    Maybe she really did trust him, after all. Or maybe her feet were rooted to the ground because she was paralyzed with fear. Either way, she stood behind him, resisting the urge to run as he antagonized the werewolf pack in front of them.
    The werewolf snarled at Alder. “You made a big mistake coming back here. Silas is going to rip your throats out.”
    No, no, no, she mentally chanted .