Page 72 of Alpha Bond

But Rack is in here. I can feel it. More than that, I can feelher. I tingle with it. I know she’s nearby just as surely as if I was looking right at her. It’s as if a new sense has emerged in me. One that’s made just for her. And it burns in me.

Need. My. Mate!

My wolf howls it. The need rides me, too. She’s so close. I shut my eyes and reach out until I feel something connect. It’s like stretching out my fingertips and touching her. My eyes open, and my head snaps up.

There!

Three floors up, I see two forms struggling on one of the levels above me. Sierra is unmistakable, her dark hair flying as she thrashes. And the male holding her is Rack. Even without ever seeing him, I know it is. As I watch, he pins her arms down and finally overpowers her. I can tell that he’s speaking, even though it’s impossible to hear anything over the din around me. I’m sure that whatever he’s saying is designed to terrify her because her features twist into a mask of fear.

I’m going to rip his tongue out.

Without wasting another second, I bound toward the stairs and then bolt up them, ignoring the slight giddiness that’s probably due to blood loss. It doesn’t take me long to reach their floor, and then I’m leaping toward them in ground-covering strides, tongue lolling past blood-coated jaws. They spin to face me before I can reach them, and I skid to a halt.

“Hello, fool.” The male is smirking. “I see you figured it out. Took you long enough.”

My eyes drop to where he’s gripping Sierra’s throat, claws digging into her soft skin. As I watch, he tips her head back, probably to show me how close he is to killing her.

My pulse is pounding. Sierra’s agonized eyes meet mine.

Fuck.

I can only imagine the torment she’s going through. How she must be reliving the abuse she withstood at his hands. A rattling growl ripples from deep in my chest.

“Jagger! Don’t! Please…he’ll hurt you!” Sierra screams.

Rack smirks. “Oh…so that’s how it is. Found yourself someone else to keep you filled, bitch?”

My growl deepens further, my vision clouding with a blood rage.

Kill!

“I’d back off if I were you,” he goes on. He’s using her body to shield himself from me. Fucking coward. He knows that the second I see my chance, I’m going to fly at him. From the looks of it, we’re evenly matched, though I can’t say how big he’d be as a wolf. He’s not far from that now. His snout is elongated, his eyes glowing as they grow increasingly yellow.

“The female is mine. I paid for her. I own her.” His voice has grown guttural. Sierra whimpers at his words, and more rage builds in me. He’s scaring her. Nobody does that to my mate. Except we’ve reached a standoff as I run through my options. If I attack him, he’ll kill Sierra before I get to her.

I lock eyes with her for a second, trying to let her know that I’ll do whatever it takes to save her. There’s pure terror in her face. I don’t even want to think about what she’s feeling right now.

I growl again, muscles bunching.

Rack laughs. “Let it go, boy. She’s not worth dying for. She’s nothing more than a walking womb. I’ll give her back once she’s given me what I bought her for. You might still be able to wring some pups out of her.”

She whimpers again, and my blood boils. All I need is the smallest gap and—

Suddenly, Casey’s voice booms through Steel Lakes’ loudspeakers. “Wolves of Leadmills,” she says loudly. “You’re outnumbered. Stand down now or face certain death.”

Startled, Rack twists his torso to see where the sound is coming from. It’s the moment I’m waiting for. With a bloodcurdling snarl, I fling myself forward and hit him square in the chest. He goes down hard as we crash to the ground. Sierra is knocked sideways, but I can’t risk looking to check on her. My attention is fixed on the male beneath me, who is completing his shift as I watch. I manage to get in a brutal bite to his bare neck before my teeth clamp down on fur. And then we’re rolling together, snapping, ripping, tearing at each other.

As I’d thought, we’re evenly matched, except my fucking shoulder is slowing me. My movements aren’t as forceful, and he takes advantage of it. I’m on my back and then fighting fangs away from my throat as he snatches at the air mere millimeters from it. I feel his breath on my face, the stink of him sickening me. It’s the stink she’d carried when she got here. She’d covered herself in the scent of her abuser to save herself. It reminds me of how brave she’d been. How hard she’s fought to get away. I can’t let him beat me.

But my shoulder begins to weaken. Tendon. Ligament. Whatever is torn is leaving my forelimb practically useless. Rack bears down on it, using it as leverage. I stiffen when fangs sink into my throat and then tighten around my windpipe. I fight for all I’m worth, but the light begins to flicker around me as I struggle for air. Darkness begins to descend.

Fight!

I can’t. Can’t breathe, can’t think clearly as my brain fogs with oxygen starvation. My lungs scream as I try to buck away his bulk. He’s too heavy, too strong, too—

He jerks sharply and snaps to the side as a dull thud echoes around me. He jerks again, his jaws releasing my throat. And then he’s off me, rolling away; the thuds continue. There’s screaming, howling, and only some of it’s his. I suck in precious air and try to focus. Sierra is standing over us, wielding a length of metal pipe, and she’s beating the crap out of him.

“Die, you fucking pig!” she screams, her voice ragged with rage. “Die! Die! Die!” Each word is punctuated by a blow to the wolf who’s trying to crawl away from her. She doesn’t stop, raining down hell on him. “Look at you now, you motherfucker! Think you own me now? Do you?” She keeps slamming the pipe down.