Page 23 of The Blood Wolf

"We need to get out of here." His warg claws were already out. He sliced at his seat belt before cutting Nicola down. Voices were coming through the ringing in his ears. "I'll go first." Smoke was filling the cab.

"Give us the bitch and we won't kill you!" a voice shouted from outside. Thor's beast tore out of his skin.

The doors on the van were ripped off, and Thor launched himself through the opening. He tore the arm off the person closest to him and charged at the next. There was gunfire, but the berserker rage gripped him tight. He didn't know if they were humans or wolves. They were attacking his mate, and he would kill them all.

Nicola climbed from the side of the car, Thor's silver ax flashing in the sunlight. She danced out of the grip one man had on her and brought the ax down onto his shoulder.

The beast that was Thor howled and flung another screaming man away. He lost himself in the fight until all that he could hear was Nicola shouting his name. Her face appeared in front of him, splattered with blood.

"Thor! It's over! It's over!" she said and put her hands on his bloody face. "I'm okay, but we have to get out of here before more come. Okay, baby? Let's go."

The part of him that was a man suddenly realized what he had done. She had witnessed him in his truest monster form. Something he had been trying to avoid. She wasn't running away yet, so that was a good thing. The van was on fire and completely totaled.

Thor shifted again into his dire wolf form and lowered himself down to the ground. Nicola wrapped the silver ax in her jacket so its edges wouldn't cut her and climbed onto Thor's back. He rose and, making sure she was holding on, bounded down the streets, racing to get into vampire territory and keep his mate safe.

17

Nicola gripped Thor's silver fur tight and tried to focus on holding on. Her ribs were healing from where the seat belt had broken them in the crash, and the wound on her head had already closed over. She looked down at the pavement rushing beneath them and stared at the black spot on Thor's paw. Her heart constricted in her chest, just like it had when he had shifted. Their wolf forms matched, and her heart couldn't take it.

As if seeing him in his warg form wasn't bad enough. She hadn't thought she would be afraid when she did; after all, she had seen Astrid as a warg.

Being turned on by it was a surprise. By the gods, he was magnificent.

Instead of a full wolf head like Astrid, his face had turned sharp and primal, his mouth full of fangs. Amongst his thick silver hair were two wolf ears, fine fur covering a broad chest, and fingers tipped in long claws. His eyes had been red with battle rage, fangs and claws bloody, and yet, he returned to her when she touched him. Seeing him tear through over ten heavily armed guys was a revelation.

No wonder Galen had laughed at the thought of people trying to pay him to fight against Thor. There was no fighting against someone who had been a warrior and a berserker for centuries. He could fight in all three of his forms and had lifetimes to become a killing machine.

And he's all mine. Nicola was smug about that.

There hadn't been anyone left alive to question, but she knew in her bones that Kaleb was behind it. He must have hired human mercenaries for the job. She doubted they would have been told the nature of who they were attacking. She didn't think anyone could be mentally prepared for a wolf monster tearing through them so fast he had been a blur of silver and red.

Nicola didn't relax until the grand and imposing building of the vampire council chambers came into view. The sun was setting, and she hoped Claudius was an early riser. The USB was digging awkwardly into her breast, but it hadn't been broken in the crash.

How had they even known how to track them? It was a question for another time. Thor raced up the steps and stopped before a pair of guards.

"My Lord Thor, you know we can't let you in like that," one of the guards said.

Thor snarled and then lowered down so Nicola could climb off. Thor shifted back into a man, his eyes still red in warning. The guard unclipped the black cloak from his uniform and held it out to him.

"Thank you," Thor said, his voice husky.

Nicola took one last look at his muscles and tattoos before Thor drew the cloak around himself.

The guard looked at Nicola. "You know that wolves cannot enter council premises, my lord."

"Nicola is my mate and is going to be my Bride. We have a meeting with Claudius," Thor said, taking Nicola's hand. "Thisisn't a fight you will win today. Let it go, and if there is to be punishment, I'll take it."

The guard's vampire senses were probably picking up something in his tone that Nicola couldn't because they moved out of the way without another word. She wanted to ask what Thor meant by 'Bride' but knew vampire hearing was sensitive and didn't want to contradict or question him on vampire ground.

Nicola hung tightly to Thor and ignored all the curious looks. To be fair, Thor in only a cloak was distracting her too. She moved closer to hold the sides of his cloak shut and glared at anyone who stared too long.

"Is my mate feeling a little possessive?" he whispered in her ear.

"Mine," she muttered. His laughter rumbled through him, making her grin.

The harassed-looking assistant in Claudius's office set them up on lounge chairs with hot blood for Thor and coffee and cookies for Nicola.

"The wait for Lord Claudius shouldn't be too long. I have been informed that the master is on his way," the assistant told them politely before going back to her desk.