Page 37 of Alpha Claimed

"I mean it. I don't care what Titan says. I will shoot you if you come any closer."

Titan again. The Lycan ruining her life.

Not this time.

River howled and prepared to leap when a dark blur came out of the trees and knocked the shifter to the ground. The man fell flat on his belly, and the gun slid out of his hand.

The colossal wolf ripped into the man's shoulder with a crunch. The man screamed and scrambled forward, reaching for the gun. River lunged, but he grabbed the gun and fired once.

She didn't hear the shot, but she felt the explosion that ripped through her shoulder.

Her wolf cried out, and she backed up. She stumbled and struggled on three paws.

Apollo roared and shifted to human form before grabbing the man and slamming him into the nearest tree. The man crumpled to the ground, and Apollo picked him up and slammed into the tree again before transforming again and ripping the man's head off.

River whined as pain continued to shoot through her like wildfire.

Apollo stalked over to the first man.

Dammit. She shouldn't have been so stupid. She should have run. Ares would lose it when he found out. Ares would blame Apollo. She remembered Ares's promise to kill Apollo if anything happened to her.

Apollo shifted back to human. "Who told you that you could hunt on my land?"

The man's mouth opened and closed, but no noise came out.

"Answer me!" he demanded, shaking the man.

"Titan told us to come."

"To kill her?"

"No. To take her to him."

Apollo roared. "Titan." He slashed the man from groin to chest, and the man's gut spilled onto the ground.

Apollo threw the man into a tree, breaking his neck, before turning to River. Blood slicked his skin, tinging every inch of him in red. The sight both terrified and excited her. She whimpered, and he ran to her side and looked her over, touching her gently.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't think-" He cut off as emotion filled his eyes. "I should never have left you."

He bowed his head and pressed a kiss to her muzzle. "I'm so sorry, Kitten."

She breathed in and winced as pain shot through her shoulder.

Without a word, he gathered her in his arms and cradled her to his solid chest before taking off.

CHAPTERNINE

APOLLO

Apollo raced for the cabins. He was still close to a hundred yards away when he started screaming for Bennett.

Bennett, Silas, Regan, Thomas, and Lachlan came running, guns already out.

"Bennett! Get the med kit."

Silas jumped the stairs and raced at them. "What happened?"

"It's Titan."