Relief

Fear gripped Rose in such a tight fist that it made breathing difficult. She knew she couldn't hide it from him. A big, vicious werewolf in his human shape of solid muscle and strength stood just feet from her. He had to be at least six-foot-four. She regretted climbing out of the tree. Her instincts screamed at her to flee but her legs refused to move. They suddenly were rooted to the ground—heavy and paralyzed.

"Hey," he whispered, his deep voice turning husky. "Calm down, Rose. It's going to be fine."

Her mouth opened but nothing came out. She wondered if this gripping terror came from the part of her she'd thought she'd gotten a handle on years before. Memories of her childhood surfaced—of those gut reactions she sometimes experienced and of that other part of her that she chalked up to her father's diluted but rare bloodline.

In the third grade a bully had pushed her. She'd hissed at him and clawed his arm, never meaning to, but it just happened. In fifth grade, she'd found herself up a tree when a dog had run at her. She couldn't remember how she'd gotten up there or even making a decision to do it, but somehow she'd discovered her ability to climb pretty much anything if fear motivated her. Her teen years had been a nightmare when the urge to eat raw meat had struck with puberty. She'd feared, along with her mother, that it meant more than it had. She'd never changed, never done any of the things her father could, and it had eventually passed.

"Where do you live? Let's start there."

His voice drew her from her childhood confusion and she stared into the darkest eyes she'd ever seen. They were framed with thick, long eyelashes that matched his jet-black hair. He didn't look at her in a way that justified her fear but it still remained in full force. She knew she had to find her voice to answer him.

"Greenville," she got out. "I live there."

His full lips curved downward. "That's a distance from here. What were you doing taking a stroll in the woods?"

"I wasn't." Talking became easier. "I was taken from the grocery store parking lot two blocks from my apartment. That blond you hit and another guy walked up to me. The blond's friend punched me in the face and I woke here."

He closed his eyes and the anger that tensed his features made Rose push tighter against the massive tree at her back, wishing she could climb back up it, even inside it, to hide from the large wolf in skin. He softly growled before his eyes snapped open again.

"I'll make them pay for this, okay? The important part is, I found you in time." He paused. "If you tell anyone about this they won't believe it. Are you aware of that? I don't want them locking you up in some loony bin. You've been through enough without that shit. I'll get you home and you need to forget this ever happened, okay?"

She nodded, acknowledging the intelligence of his advice. The cops would put her into a straitjacket if she told them the truth. Worse, it would draw attention to her, a really bad thing and something she'd always feared.

He visibly relaxed. "Good. If it makes you feel any better, I'm going to beat the hell out of those boys for kidnapping you. They won't move for weeks without regretting ever putting a finger on you."

Rose saw sincerity as he spoke and some of her fear eased. His anger wasn't directed at her but at the ones who'd attacked her. She could happily deal with that. All she wanted now was to get away from him and go home. She silently promised to move out of her apartment as soon as possible. If they'd found her, someone else could too. She loved her home but she preferred remaining alive a lot more.

They both tensed when a twig snapped nearby and their heads jerked in unison toward the direction of the sharp sound. Rose tried to spin around and lunge up the tree when a wolf came into view. Terror overtook everything else but a big, strong hand grabbed her arm to keep her tethered. She started to shake as the wolf growled viciously and his body lowered into a crouching position, preparing to pounce on her.

Rose clawed at the hand holding her still, a scream trapped inside her throat, but Anton wouldn't let go. She heard him snarl at the wolf, maybe even at her, but she wasn't sure where he directed his anger. She was too panic-stricken to do anything but try to flee.

"Enough," Klaus roared. "Damon, back off. You're terrifying her!"

She couldn't break free of the hold on her arm and she couldn't get up the tree. She needed to climb, needed to get higher, out of the wolf's reach, and her instincts screamed in a painful blast of strong awareness. She spun, faced Klaus, and before she could stop herself, grabbed him. Her hand gripped his shoulder and she jumped, her body hit his much larger one. To her horror she wrapped around him, clinging to his body with every ounce of strength she had. Her legs squeezed around his waist and her face buried into his neck.

Shock held Klaus immobile as the woman trembled against his chest. Her arm wound tighter around his neck, nearly strangling him, her legs locked around his waist, her knees under his arms, and her heels dug into the muscles of his ass. Her breathing tickled as she panted against his neck. He had to move his head to see Damon since her long, tangled red hair partially covered his face and then he glared at his pack mate.

He released her upper arm after a slight hesitation to wrap both of his around her waist, hugging her. She trembled more when her other arm wrapped around his neck and a protective feeling spurred his anger to burn brighter at the wolf sitting in the clearing staring at him with a dazed, confused look.

"It's okay." He tried to comfort Rose. "I ordered you to take off, Damon. You're scaring her."

The wolf lowered his head and changed form. It irritated Klaus but he couldn't stop the other man from what he'd already started to do. When Jerry pushed up to his feet as a man, he gawked at Anton and the woman in astonishment.

"What the hell are you doing with a cat wrapped around you?"

A cat? Klaus inhaled deeply, through his nose, trying to filter the scent of her blood from the scent of the cloying cologne that hindered his usually acute sense of smell. The scents coming off her nearly overwhelmed him. Vanilla mixed with pure terror, woman, strawberries, and…

"Fuck," he groaned, tensing. "You're a shifter. No wonder they hunted you."

She quaked harder, clung more frantically, and he realized something important. She wasn't hurting him. No teeth tore into his exposed jugular where her lips pressed against his neck. Her fingernails dug into his shoulders but they weren't claws. Even her strength wasn't nearly what it should be as a shifter. He had no doubt she held on to him as tightly as she could while her adrenaline pumped but he could throw her off him with minimal effort.

Klaus's instincts started to kick in while he inhaled more of her scent, the identity of her shifter blood becoming known, and his wolf didn't enjoy it. He growled but didn't toss her away or crush the life from her inside the cage of his arms. He could have done either.

"Puny," Damon whispered. "Weak though. I barely picked up her smell when I got close. I came to investigate who would be stupid enough to trespass into our territory. I guess you get to kill her instead of me."

Rose whimpered in his arms and Klaus softly growled. He'd promised her safety, swore to protect her, and he always kept his word. For some reason, she trusted him to do so. He took a few steadying breaths and used every trick he'd ever learned to get a grip on his wolf so it didn't hurt the woman he held. He finally relaxed.

"I'm not going to kill her," he stated clearly. "Go get me some clothes and I need my truck to drive her home."

Damon's jaw dropped and then he growled. Anger tightened his features and the wolf flashed in his eyes. "Kill her. She's our enemy."

Klaus snarled back, glaring. "I gave you an order. Go or you're going to be the one to die."