Page 77 of Half Wolf Mate
“Don’t beat yourself. You’re a part of the pack now. They’ll fight for you no matter what.”
I didn’t bother correcting him. I wasn’t really a pack member.
“You’re mate said to get you to Violet.” Adam looked around the compound. “Who’s that?”
He still held my hand, so I guess he was super determined to do exactly as Cole said.
I spotted a mass of wavy blond hair. “There she is.”
Violet was busy pulling a wounded male shifter to one corner where another woman tended to others.
I led Adam toward her. As if sensing me, she spun around. “Sydney, thank God you’re okay.” She hurried over but paused when she saw Adam.
Adam had dropped my hand and gawked at Violet. As the two stared at each other, I frowned. I was obviously missing something. Had they forgotten we were in the middle of a war?
Seemingly recovering his wits, Adam said, “Uh… you need to get Sydney out of here.”
Violet’s cheeks turned crimson as she cleared her throat. “Right…” Shaking her head slightly, she returned her attention to me. “Come on, things have calmed down in here, but we still have to keep you hidden.”
Adam still ogled Violet when he jerked and grunted an expletive. My gaze lowered to the blood spreading across his chest.
“No!” I screamed as Violet gasped.
I reached for Adam, but he staggered back. “Run.”
I shook my head, tears gathering. “No.”
“Get her out of here,” he told Violet gruffly.
Wide-eyed, she stared at him but nodded and took my hand. I heard her sob as if in agony as she led me away. Then it struck me. Could Violet and Adam be mates? I didn’t think much about it because when I glanced back, Adam had dropped to the ground. My steps faltered, and I tried tugging out of Violet’s grip to run back to him. Had I found family—a brother—just to lose him?
The thought had tears blurring my vision and streaming down my face. Violet stopped abruptly, forcing me to stop too. “Shit,” she hissed. “Sydney, get back.”
I stared at the three hunters in front of us. “You can’t take three of them,” I said.
Her eyes flickered amber. “Watch me,” she growled. They killed my—” she stopped and inhaled.
“Adam,” I said miserably. I wanted to ask Violet if she’d felt the mate’s bond with my brother but now wasn’t the time.
“When the coast is clear, just run. Okay?”
“There’s no way I’m leaving you.”
“Think about your baby,” she pleaded. “And Cole. He needs you.”
Fighting back tears, I said, “Okay.”
Violet lunged at the hunters, shifting midair. Her massive animal brought down the three of them at once. As they wrestled with the wolf, I ran toward the main building. Maybe I could hide in Cole’s office and wait for Violet. Her wolf’s cry of pain made me look back. Blood gushed from her side. “Violet!” Immediately I turned back.
Before I could move, someone grabbed my arm. “Come, Sydney.” I gazed at one of the elders—one of the good ones—with confusion. “You carry the Alpha’s child, possibly the next Alpha. You must be protected.” I clutched my stomach. Holy hell. I hadn’t even thought of that. If I had a boy, he’d be in line to be Alpha if Cole remained leader after this mess.
He tugged me up the stairs toward the door. It seemed everyone was hell-bent on protecting me today. Not that I wasn’t grateful, but I hated it because shifters had died.
Adam, I thought with despair. I’d wanted to spend time with him. Get to know my brother. Glancing back where both be and Violet were, I let out a cry as a hunter pulled out a gun and pointed it at Violet. Miraculously, Adam had gotten up to reach them with a burst of speed to snap the hunter’s neck.
Clutching his chest, he dropped to his knees beside a wounded and apparently unconscious Violet, then collapsed again. “I have to go back,” I told the elder.
“No, it’s too dangerous—”