Wandering Off the Path by Willa Edwards

her maidenhood, and her good name. He had no right to ask for any more, but he couldn’t stop himself all the same. “Why did you, then?”
    Abigail inhaled a trembling breath. “After this time with you, I know I could never be content with a boring conventional life. I can’t marry a plain, polite man who would never treat me as you do. Who’d treat me like a fragile piece of glass, instead of a full-bodied woman, capable of making my own decisions. Who’d expect me to give up everything else I want to be his wife, to raise his children. Maybe I could have before, but not anymore. Not now that I know how much more life has to offer.” Her voice was soft and light, her tone even, but he could see the full weight of her statement in her gaze. A confusion she didn’t want to acknowledge. Another battle she fought with herself, a battle between what she wanted and what she needed.
    She enjoyed his skill in bed, perhaps more than any other woman he’d known, but she still needed what all women craved. Protection, subsistence, tenderness.
    Holding her cloak tight, Abigail bounded from the bed, her posture straight and determined. Her mouth was slanted in a thin line and her resolve to flee him was written across her face.
    Wolf stepped forward, blocking the doorway with his large frame, barricading her only avenue of escape. Fear choked him as she continued, showing no signs of trepidation besides her fists clenched around her scarlet cloak. Panic of what he’d do if she got too close pumped through him. His stomach twisted as fresh hot desire filled him. The longing to grab hold of her and drag her back to the bed kicking and screaming blazed within him. He knew from experience that she wouldn’t be protesting for long. But nothing would be different then. One more rousing round wouldn’t change anything between them. He’d still want her and she’d still be too good for him.
    “I have nothing to offer you,” he whispered, needing to keep her in the room, near him, no matter the price. He should be more selfless, he should leave now, walk away and leave her in one piece. After all his pride had brought, he still hadn’t learned that lesson. Abigail looked up, her head tilted to one side.
    “If I had anything to give, I’d gladly offer it to you. I’d give you everything I am, but all I have are dark intentions. No future, no home, no lands, no family.”
    The words scraped his throat as he released each hated syllable, but he needed to say them. He couldn’t let his dark desires take another woman hostage, force another woman to live a broken life, uncertain of what would happen to them day to day. He couldn’t live through losing all that mattered to him, again.
    Wolf cringed. He could still hear the shrieked cries of his wife and daughter as the men beat them, echoing in his battered ears as he drifted into unconsciousness. The feel of their stiff bodies in his arms burned in his soul. If only he’d never tried to take more. If only he’d submitted when he’d been given the opportunity to repent, his family would still be alive today. His stubbornness, his need to show the world his worth, had led to the tragedy.
    The men he’d thought had been his accomplices had stolen everything from him and left him for dead. They’d forced him to crawl into the woods and lick his wounds, to transform into something else. A creature that could withstand the pain.
    “What makes you think I need any more than you’ve already given?” Abigail’s words interrupted his thoughts.
    He swallowed at the invitation in her husky voice, inciting the primal need beneath. “Every woman wants more.”
    Wolf remembered how his wife had begged him for security, a fine home, affection and a better life for their daughter. He’d thought he was doing the right thing, searching out other avenues to help his family, to help others. But he’d been proven wrong.
    “I don’t.”
    He let out a harsh breath, forcing his emotions