Free Coveted by Stacey Brutger

eyes, his
hands hung loosely at his sides, almost playful, and Shayla gulped at the way
her heart gave a pathetic pitter-patter in response. His body went taut as if ready
to pounce if she so much as twitched.
    Excitement thickened
the air between them.
    Until the chill from
the mud slowly brought her back to reason. Goose bumps erupted all over her,
and she ducked her head. No, this couldn’t be happening.
    She could not be
attracted to this rude barbarian.
    She’d always preferred
her men a tad less earthy. At least from the same century. Men who valued her
intelligence, who didn’t boss her around like some helpless female he felt
indebted to protect.
    Then why did her body
defy her by melting embarrassingly when he ventured a little too close.
    She lifted her chin,
her gaze irresistibly drawn back to him. Despite the ragged, mud-splattered
clothing, he looked like he’d stepped through time, sword in hand, ready to defend
and take what he considered his.
    Her.
    Then her attention focused
on a slight movement in the darkness. A shape slowly took form, slinking toward
Aiden’s unprotected back. Fear closed her throat, and her shout of warning
emerged as a pathetic squeak.
    * * *
    The terror in Shayla’s
eyes cut him to the core and any playfulness vanished. The loss staggered him.
He tensed, trying to pull back his wolf. The beast whined in confusion, not
wanting to retreat, not understanding the change. Aiden hunched his shoulders
to appear less of a threat, cursing himself for forgetting she was human, even
if it was for a second.
    “I mean you no harm.”
His lips felt numb, making speech difficult.
    “Behind you!”
    In the second it took
for his brain to register her warning, a blow struck the back of his skull. He
nearly dropped to his knees as the world threatened to go dark. He staggered
and whirled to face the coward who’d sneaked up behind instead of issuing a
direct challenge.
    But what did he
expect from a pathetic human.
    The man’s shape was blurry
from the blow. Aiden shook his head to clear his vision and staggered like a
drunk when he took a step to face his attacker. As if sensing the weakness, the
man charged. Aiden sidestepped at the last moment and brought down his arm in a
hammer blow.
    Instead of snapping
his neck as intended, the man thudded to the earth, quickly rolled, and came up
to his feet.
    Behind him, he heard
Shayla struggling to free herself from the muck. He silently urged her to be
quiet. To remain stuck. No doubt she’d try to save him again.
    He couldn’t risk her
being hurt.
    His wolf growled in
agreement, surging toward the surface. There was no bulking up of muscles, no
half changing shapes. His wolf was too weak. But beast gave him everything he
had left to protect their woman.
    Aiden didn’t wait for
his opponent to attack. He charged forward, slamming shoulder into the other
man’s gut. Air whooshed out of the guy with a heavy grunt, and Aiden managed to
shove them both a few feet further away from Shayla. Mud slicked up his
attacker’s body, making him hard to hold.
    Aiden barely dodged
the fists, his body so clumsy he was only slightly faster than the human. The
attacker knew it, too, and drew a knife from his boot, flipping it over in a
hold that warned Aiden he knew how to fight.
    A second man crested
the ridge carrying a torch and waving it in the air, the flames a signal to the
others that the prize had been located. Aiden understood what they meant to do.
They were going to drive him over the side of the cliff and collect his body.
    The fall won’t kill
him, but his ability to heal had been compromised. He’d be too injured to
fight. He might as well kill himself and save them the trouble.
    His chest tightened.
If anything happened to him, Shayla would be at their mercy. Claws burst from his
fingertips, slicing through flesh. Teeth elongated. The process exhausted his
wolf.
    Aiden was on his own.
    When the first man
charged him, Aiden dodged the wicked edge