Hunger Awaits
Chapter 9

Matto's POV

I grabbed my phone and called Jace. "Matto, what's up?" I explained that I was going to check the perimeter of the house and wanted him and Koda to shift so that I could call for them if I needed them. He said they would and I hung up. I left her asleep and walked out into the brisk cool air. The snow was still falling hard, but I wasn't worried about it. I shifted and immediately caught the scent of the other wolves nearby. "Damn." I thought to myself. I focused my thoughts and reached out to Jace and Koda. "Start heading to the house. I caught the scent of the wolves." Their voices rang in my head.

“On our way." I started following the scent and saw one of the wolves standing in the tree line. It wasn't the black one, but it was definitely one of his buddies. I watched him and he watched me. We stood for a minute then he charged at me. He was a good fighter, but I was better. I had him pinned within a matter of seconds and his sinister laugh rang in my head.

I snarled at him. "Who are you? What do you want with Kendra?" I said to him. His laughter died down and I heard his thoughts clearly.

“It doesn't matter." My anger rose inside me. I snapped my jaws at him and pushed harder on him.

“Tell me!" I could hear Jace and Koda coming closer. Then I heard his voice again.

“He has her now. So do what you want to me." Koda and Jace were now standing next to me. I jumped from the wolf and took off to the house. My only thought was to get to her. I made it to the house just as that mother fucker was walking out with her in his arms. As soon as he saw me he dropped her hard to the ground and shifted. His friend shifted as well but stayed close to her lifeless body.

“Back off she is mine." His voice entered my mind with his warning.

"Don't worry brother I have your back." Jace's voice was calming as I soon realized he was with me.

“Ryker isn't it. Why don't you and I handle this now?" I said with a cockiness to my thought.

“So you know who I am. You are smarter than I thought. Alright, let's do this." Ryker walked forward and I could feel the tension of Jace next to me.

“Keep calm brother. I can handle this." I turned and looked at him and I could tell he knew what I wanted him to do. I walked forward and started circling with Ryker. Our eyes were locked on each other in anticipation of what was to come.

"What are you waiting for?" Ryker's voice was angry.

“Just say when you prick," I said back. He lunged at me, but I caught him mid-air bringing him to the ground hard. He jumped back up quickly and went for my throat. I moved out of the way and grabbed his back legs with my teeth taking him down again.

I heard Jace make his move as he attacked the other wolf standing near Kendra. I lost focus for a minute and Ryker got on my back making me yelp in pain as he bit my shoulder. I rolled with him and quickly stood back up and went for his throat. I was ending this shit now. That way Kendra was safe and could move on with her life. I felt the blood fill my mouth as I grabbed his neck. He tried to fight back but I locked my jaw and held on. I could feel his heart slowing and knew he was close. Then I heard her voice. "Matto? What is going..." I let Ryker go knowing that he was as good as dead and turned to her. The fear in her eyes was heartbreaking as she stared at me in horror. I knew I probably looked like a monster right now. Koda emerged in his human form next to her. He looked at me and I nodded at him. He picked her up and she clung to him turning her head from me. I felt the sting of regret in my heart as Koda took her back inside.

I turned back to the lifeless body of Ryker. He had transformed back to his human form and laid motionless on the ground in front of me. "Jace are you alright," I said.

“Yeah, but the other one got away." I knew that it wouldn't matter because their alpha was dead.

“It doesn't matter he won't come back. Head back to the resort. Koda will be there soon." I knew I would have to deal with the body, but right now my concern was Kendra. Besides no one ever comes out this way so I could take care of it in the morning. I shifted back and walked into the house.

“Please stay away from me. I just want to be left alone." Kendra's frightened voice echoed in the small cabin. I grabbed the shorts that I had by the door and walked back to my bedroom. Koda was trying to calm her down but was having no luck. I walked into the room and both their eyes met mine.

“Koda, go back to the resort before they realize you are gone. I will handle this." I said to him. He nodded and left the room, leaving her and me alone.

She stared at me for what seemed like forever, a look of fear in her eyes. I had never wanted her to see that, but I couldn't prevent it either. "Kendra, please say something. I am sorry you saw that." I moved closer to her and she backed as far away as she could.

“You, you killed him. I thought you said you didn't kill." I saw the hurt in her eyes and it was breaking my heart.

“We don't Kendra, but he was trying to hurt you. Trying to take you away. I couldn't let him do that." She seemed to calm a little bit but was still sitting far away from me. She looked at me then down at the sheets. Her voice was soft as she spoke almost like a small child.

“It was Ryker. I saw him just before I was knocked out." So she knew the truth about him now, and even though I could see relief in her eyes I could also see pain. Did she still have feelings for him?

"Kendra, I know it's hard to accept but it's over know. You can move on with your life without fear of him showing up. When the snow lets up I will take you back and you can go home and forget all about this. Forget all about me." I felt the hurt in my heart as I said this, but I knew it was what was best. I sat down on the bed and almost immediately felt her hands on my body. She wrapped her arms around me and placed her cheek against my back. I sighed because this was not going to be easy. I didn't want to let her go.

“I am sorry Matto. I didn't mean to be scared." Her embrace was comforting.

"You had every right to be scared, Kendra. Please don't apologize for a natural feeling. I am just sorry that you had to go through this."

She brought her body around to face me. I looked up at her and she immediately brought her lips to mine. "I don't want to leave you, Matto." She said between kisses. I didn't want her to leave either. I stopped our kiss and looked at her.

“Kendra are you sure you want to be here. You have a life and family and friends back home. What will you say to them?" She sat and pondered on it for a few minutes.

“I'm not sure yet, but I know that I want to be here with you. Something keeps pulling me to you and I don't think I can fight it." I wanted her to be with me and she wanted to be with me. The overwhelming happiness I felt was unbelievable.

"If this is what you want, then I want it to." Her smile was infectious and I couldn't help but smile back at her.

“It might take me a few weeks to get everything worked out back in Spokane, but I promise I will come back." She said to me.

“I know you will. I figured it would take you some time to get everything arranged. I am willing to wait." She reached over and hugged me tight as her excitement got the best of her.

The next morning I went out to dispose of Ryker's body. I walked up to where I had left him and the body was gone. I looked around and saw blood in the snow leading away from where he was last. I knew there was no way he could still be alive, so I figured that his buddy had come back and dragged him away. I didn't think much of it since as a pack, we usually dispose of our dead in a proper way. I went back into the house to replace Kendra in the kitchen without her splint or the crutches. "What are you doing?" She just looked at me.

“I think your friend needs some more practice on being a doctor. I woke up this morning and just got out of bed. No pain, no broken bones. The only reason I even thought about it was because of the splint." I knew that Tenaya was good at what she did, so there had to be another explanation. In the back of my mind, I knew what the answer was, but I didn't want to say it.

“Hmm. I guess maybe she was wrong."

The storm lasted one more day and then it was time to take her back to the resort. Even though I knew she was going to come back I still was already hating sending her back. That morning I woke up early and made breakfast in bed for her. When I walked back into the bedroom she was already sitting up in bed waiting for me. "I knew I smelled something good. It looks yummy." She said as I handed her the tray of food.

“Do you really have to go back today?" I asked her. She laughed.

“Yes silly. I am surprised Audrey hasn't sent the Calvary to get me. I will only be gone for a few weeks." I kissed her lips.

“I know. I just was hoping we could have one more day." We ate our breakfast and discussed what she had to do. She was going to wait until she got back to Spokane to talk with her friends. Then she wanted to give her job a two-week notice because they had been good to her and she needed the reference.

The morning drifted past quickly and it was time to leave. "Are you ready Kendra?" I hollered out from the living room. She walked out in some clothes that I had lent her from Tenaya's wardrobe. She looked beautiful in anything she had on.

“Yep. I am ready." We drove back to the resort in silence. I wondering what she was thinking, but I didn't ask. I knew she was thinking about Ryker but didn't want to ask what happened to him. When we pulled up to the resort her friends were waiting with Jace and Koda. They had the EMTs with them.

“Are you ready for this?" I asked. She just nodded. We got out of the truck and everyone rushed over.

“Oh, Kendra are you ok?" Her friend Audrey asked as she hugged her.

“I'm fine. Just some bruises and scratches." I stayed back and let the EMTs look over her. One of them suggested they take her to the hospital just to be sure everything was fine. She agreed and they loaded her up in the ambulance. I watched as they took her away.

“Hurry back," I said not realizing I said it out loud.

"She is coming back." Tenaya's voice came from behind me. I turned around and just smiled at her. "Well, I guess we have some work to do before she gets back. I see that she healed nicely and quickly." She said with a smile. I just shook my head because I knew what she was thinking.

“Don't go there Tenaya. If she is we will replace out soon enough." She just laughed and walked away. This was going to be a long few weeks.