Page 206 of His Hungry Wolf

He didn’t just say he believed me, he acted like it. Having earned his trust, there was no way I would betray it now. No matter what happened or what was out there, I was going to protect Quin. I was ready to die trying if I had to.

When we finally pulled up in front of a glowing barn, things didn’t feel any safer. There were several trucks parked out front and the light within flickered.

“Are you sure it’s okay that we’re here?” I asked Titus feeling the aggressive focus I did before a big game.

“You wanted to see him, right? He’ll be here.”

“That wasn’t an answer,” I clarified.

“I’m sure you’ll be fine. You look like you can handle yourself.”

“Why would Cage need to handle himself?” Quin asked bringing up a good point.

“You want to see him or not?” Titus asked staring at us.

I looked over at Quin. I knew that no matter what happened, I could fight my way out. But, what about Quin. Was it worth putting him in danger?

“This is our chance to speak to him,” Quin pointed out. “He could have the answers to everything. I say we risk it.”

I smiled. I would not have thought less of him if he had said we should go back. But, here he was thinking of me, not himself. I was definitely falling in love with him if I wasn’t in love with him already.

“Okay. Let’s go in,” I said to Quin. “This better not turn bad,” I said threatening to tear Titus apart if it did.

I didn’t know what to expect, but as soon as we stepped through the barn’s doors, everything made sense. There were about 20 people there. All of them were facing a circle drawn on the ground where two wolves were tearing each other to shreds.

It was dogfighting but with wolves. There was a thicker more vicious one that was bleeding from its ear, but his wild eyes said that there was no way he was going to lose. That was the one everyone was cheering for.

Its eyes didn’t lie. Its quick movements allowed it to get its teeth around the other one’s throat. In moments, it was shaking the other one like a rag doll. It probably would have killed it if someone hadn’t stepped in and pointed at it as the winner. As soon as that happened, the thicker one let the other go and turned to us.

Its narrowing eyes seemed to recognize me. My heart pounded. Heat washed over me making my skin burn. I couldn’t move or breathe. What was happening to me? Frozen at the worst possible time, I watched as the wild beast shot across the barn in two moves and leapt into the air headed for me.

I braced myself for the weight of it when it never came. Attacking it mid-flight was a wolf I had seen before. It was Quin. He was protecting me from it. I shouldn’t have brought him here. I couldn’t protect him. And it was as I realized that I felt a familiar feeling. I felt my leg break.

It wasn’t just one leg it happened to. It was both. It was also my arms. What was going on? My body felt like it was on fire. But, when the sensation eased, I came out of it with a singular thought. I needed to protect Quin.

Without thinking, my body reacted. It found the wolves rolling on the ground beside me and took control. It was like I was only along for the ride. The thing steering me knew which wolf was which and dug its teeth into the thicker one causing it to yelp and pull away.

With Quin’s wolf retreating, the other repositioned itself and stared at me. It was eye level. Why was it eye level? And why could I now smell everything. It was like I was awake for the first time. I had never felt more alive.

Although I was sightseeing, it felt like whatever was in control was murderously focused. It did not like the wolf we were staring at. It wanted to take him down and kill him if it had to.

I could tell that I was bigger than it and the other one saw it too. More than that, I had a clarity of purpose that wouldn’t allow me to quit until I had what I wanted.

I bent down about to attack when I heard, “Stop!”

The sound was deafening but I recognized the voice. It was Quin, but I couldn’t let him distract me. I was in this.

Charging the beast in front of me, the wolf snapped its jaws in retreat. I had a hold of it and didn’t know what to do. I let go of its limb to grab its throat again. I had him.

“You have to stop! He’s your brother!”

I froze. What did he say?

That was when the other wolf turned the tide. Within its narrow opening, it snuck in gaining the advantage. It was on top of me with its teeth and claws latched on. It was going to kill me before another wolf jumped in. I didn’t recognize this one, but its scent was familiar.

Between the two of us, we held off the first wolf and placed ourselves between it and Quin. With its eyes bouncing between the two of us, it calmed. That was when it looked like it was about to puke. It shifted instead.

In a moment, Nero was who was kneeling in front of me. He looked at the wolf beside me. That was when it shifted. It was Titus.