Page 46 of Drew

When he attacked, she charged him, aiming for his hindquarters, snapping her teeth, grazing his fur. They circled one another, each landing blows and bites.

Deciding to make one last run for it, Alyssa headed in the house's direction. She darted behind a tree, hoping to lose him. On the uneven ground, he lost his footing and seizing the opportunity to fight rather than flee, Alyssa lunged at him from behind, her teeth closing around his rear leg.

His paws went out from under him, and Alyssa dragged him along the ground as he kicked and squirmed in her hold. Her grip slipped when he twisted.

Freed, he curled his body upward, snapping those sharp teeth at her. Alyssa, using his position on the ground against him, pounded, her body trapping him as her jaw closed around his neck. Warm blood flooded her mouth as her teeth punctured his flesh. He whined, but rather than letting up, she gave a shake until he was quiet. He tried again to get free, but his struggle just made her clamp down harder.

No one threatened her.

And Mitch would never threaten anyone else again.

Driven by primal instincts, she was about to snap his neck when she heard the ATVs approaching—several of them, by the sounds of it.

With her distracted, Mitch flailed. His legs swept hers, and they both fell to the forest floor.

Mitch ran off as the ATVs came to a rumbling stop, disappearing between the trees. Alyssa was about to follow, but Drew called her.

Glancing over, she caught sight of Callum and Maddox as they half-stripped, half-exploded from their clothing, and landed in wolf form, taking off after the intruder. She didn’t bother watching as they disappeared over the hill, snow kicking up in their wake.

Drew approached her, his hand landing in her fur. “Sweetie, you’re bleeding.” His gaze roamed over her, looking for injuries.

No doubt she looked a mess. Feral, probably, with blood dripping down her neck, staining and sticking to her fur. But she felt alive. If they hadn’t interrupted, she would have killed Mitch, proving she was not only capable but had been safe all along. She stood proud and let loose a howl.

Pureblood or a mutt, it didn’t matter. She deserved Drew, she’d earned him, and she was keeping him.

As the howl faded, she shifted back, laying naked on her side, with Drew’s hand stroking her skin. He was still looking for wounds, his fingers finding one on her hip and another on her thigh, but they weren’t deep and would likely heal before they made it back to the house.

“I would have had him if you hadn’t interrupted.”

His laugh was shaky, and she realized he was close to tears. “Pardon me for trying to save you.”

She shook her head. “I didn’t need to be saved.”

“I saw that,” he told her, pride in his voice. “When Maddox and Callum drag him back here, you can have the honor of killing the bastard.”

Unsure how she’d feel about that, Alyssa pushed up from the hard ground. In the heat of battle was one thing, but looking into his eyes and snuffing out the light was different. “I want to be dressed before they come back.”

“I agree.”

Together, they found her clothing and collected her art supplies and Mitch’s discarded items. By the time they had everything loaded up on the ATV, Maddox, and Callum had returned empty-handed.

Alyssa averted her gaze when they shifted back to human form and found their clothing mostly shredded.

“What happened?” Drew asked, clearly unimpressed that they had come back without Mitch.

Each beta seated themselves on an ATV, neither bothering with modesty as they threw their ruined clothing over their laps.

“He got to the bypass over the highway before we could catch him.”

“Bastard got lucky,” Maddox continued. “A big rig came by, and he made a jump for it.”

“No way were we going to catch him after that.” Callum started up his machine, then took a moment to jot down the license plate number for the truck. “I’m sorry, Drew.”

They rode back to the house in silence. Alyssa wrapped around Drew as he led the way. When they arrived, Fredrica was pacing the living room but raced to Maddox and threw her arms around him. Alyssa, still not comfortable with the level of nakedness that the rest of the pack was accustomed to, kept her gaze averted until both Callum and Maddox had retrieved clothing from Drew’s front hall closet. Many pack members apparently kept extra clothing at Drew’s home and Wildlings in case of any emergency shifting.

“What happens now?” She glanced up from where her hands clasped Drew’s.

Gently, he tugged her with him toward where their friends gathered. Callum flopped onto the couch, and Maddox, still shirtless, had his arms wrapped around Fredrica. She lifted her head from her mate’s chest and looked at Alyssa. “I’m so sorry! I shouldn’t have left you. What happened?”

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