Page 25 of The Alpha's Mates

The thing the men didn't understand was that as alphas, we kept our strength in both forms. They always preferred to fight as wolves, never learning the utility of hands. I knew how to use handsandpaws.

I caught him with both hands around his neck and spun with his momentum. Instead of being knocked on my ass I carried him through the air by the neck. When I stopped the spin abruptly his mass had nowhere to go, his neck popped. I dropped the carcass to the ground, ready for the next one.

If this had continued one and two at a time I might have been able to take them all. That opportunity was gone. The rest of the pack had arrived.

The two lead wolves leapt at me. I caught each of them by the neck in either hand, but their combined weight and momentum brought me to the ground. While I was trying to hold them back I felt teeth sink into both my calves. They were going to rip me limb from limb. Fear sank in. Not for myself, but for my pack. They’d be helpless. At the mercy of these shifters. My mates might never know what happened to them. They’d think I somehow left with them, never realizing I was coming back to them. Sadness for what I was going to lose renewed my determination to fight.

I kicked, trying to shake loose the biting wolves while simultaneously trying to choke those in my hands. It was a desperate attempt. No alpha could withstand this kind of attack on their own. I struggled desperately trying to find an opening, anything to get out of this. A cry of frustration escaped my lips, something between a howl and pure rage.

Their teeth were on my legs again, two more were stalking up to my shoulders, they would make for my neck. It would be over soon.

Not yet, Little Minx.

Despite the rows of teeth bearing down on me I was flooded with a sense of hope. Had I imagined that? It had to be a desperate attempt by my mind to convince myself this wasn’t over. Alphas couldn’t speak telepathically with their mates until the claiming was finished.

A boulder covered in fur slammed into us, sending the wolves on top of me hurtling into the woods in different directions. I was lifted off the ground with the rest of them. Ignoring the pain from the hit and teeth ripping out of my flesh, I wasted no time. I shifted in midair and landed on my feet, face to face with…

Calder?

The gray wolf in front of me winked, then spun to catch an attacker by the throat and ripped it clean out. A wolf tackled him and I watched as his back claws scratched down the wolf’s belly. His innards splashed onto the forest floor as Calder flung him away and jumped to his feet once more.

Some girls get flowers, you get a disemboweled enemy,I thought. I wouldn’t have it any other way. The mix of warmth and relief practically had me seeing little hearts around his bloody maw. My emotions would have to be put on hold though, we were still outnumbered and more enemy wolves were arriving by the minute. The original nine I’d been fightinghad grown in numbers. We both spun in opposite directions, our sides touching as we faced the enemies encircling us.

Outnumbered, yes. But already I could feel my strength growing. With Calder by my side their numbers meant nothing. Now our wolves would really get to play.

CHAPTER 13

Calder

Iwas glad to see that our mate had chosen to come back to us so quickly. Had she known I was following her she might have hesitated a bit. I tracked her using our mental link. It was faint since we hadn’t claimed her, but it was there. It was the same sense of knowing that told us she was our mate in the first place. That allowed me to stay far enough away to keep her from picking up my scent, but close enough to keep an eye on her.

I’d gone to hunt up some breakfast, thinking I’d have enough time to get back before they left. Little had I known they’d be getting on the road so early. By the time I’d gotten back to the cave where they made camp she’d already gathered up all the women and had struck out. Worry tingled down my spine. I picked up their trail easily enough and began to run. I needed to catch up to them. It was my job to keep an eye on them, to keep my mate safe.

As I got closer I began picking up new scents. Another pack was moving in. It was the Fenhall pack. Rivals who shared our southern border. We had an uneasy truce, mainly because there had been no women to fight over. Until now. They must have had a scout moving through our territory that found the women. Now they were here with reinforcements.

There was no time to warn Reese. At least two dozen were on their way. I ran toward the incoming pack hoping to cut them off and slow them down. There was no point in calling out to Soren and Atlas. They were too far away to help. By the time they got here the fighting would be over.

I found the males coming down the mountainside like an evil wave of fur and teeth. I fixated on one and ran straight for him, catching him in his side and ripping a hole in his stomach. They were so intent on the women that he hadn’t seen me until my teeth were in him. That element of surprise was gone now.

Two wolves broke off and came for me, the rest of the pack continued on, unbothered by my presence. I charged the one on the left, my weight overpowering his, and brought him down with my teeth on his neck. The second wolf latched onto my back leg. I ignored the pain and crushed the neck in my mouth.

With him dead I could focus on the asshole trying to eat my leg. I turned and snapped at his head, he let go and backed off, growling with my blood dripping from his mouth. I squared off, trying to fight the limp in my back leg. Pain wasn’t going to slow me down. It couldn’t.

The wolf lunged at me, hitting me and sending the two of us rolling down the hill. We stopped with a thud against a tree. Something popped in my shoulder, causing waves of agony to roll over me.

I had to shift to human form, the bite and the roll down the hill had been too much, I needed to heal. I stood on my feet and found that he had shifted as well, he must have brokensomething in the fall. I ran to him before he could stand and grabbed his head by the top and chin, and with a heavy twist snapped his neck.

One long howl echoed through the forest and caused goosebumps to rise on my skin. The rest of the group had found her. Found them. I shifted before I even knew I was going to do it. My wolf rejoiced in the freedom. He was looking forward to the fight ahead. The chance to protect his mate and kill something making him downright giddy. Barreling down the mountain with all my speed, I let my wolf take over. He knew how important this was and was itching to go. Nothing would keep us from getting to her. We bounded over boulders and plowed straight through the brush. Anything that got in our way would end up as shrapnel.

I could see her now, only a few hundred yards beneath me as I ran along a ridge. She was surrounded, and they were pinning her to the ground. A blind rage filled me, a red lens covering all that I could see. They would all die. Right. Now.

I focused on the wolf pinning her torso down and increased my speed. Running straight through him caused a ripple effect on the others holding down my mate. It was like an explosion of bodies. They flew through the air, landing a few feet away in every direction. Reese shifted in mid-air and landed on her feet with the grace of an angel. I winked at her before catching an attacker by the throat. Another one hit me, I dug my claws into his belly as he passed over me. His guts spilled out when he landed. Every drop of their blood would soak the ground before I was finished.

Reese placed her side against mine, facing the opposite direction. Reinforcements were coming down the mountain, surrounding us. The Fenhall pack was the second largest in Elaria. It just showed how important a small pack of femaleswere to us. How dire things really were that they were willing to lose so many numbers to acquire them.

Despite being outnumbered, I was elated. Standing side by side with Reese, I was energized beyond anything I’d ever felt. Euphoria had my heart racing, my muscles tightening. My entire body was vibrating from some kind of power. I didn’t know what was happening, but she was the center of it.

The wolves circled us, weighing their options. They’d hesitated now that I’d joined the fight. A representative of The Venat Pack and an alpha belonging to the leading cadre wasn’t something to take lightly. They were debating on whether this fight was worth it.