Page 82 of Awakening His Mate

There’s at least twenty of them coming out of the trees, Wyatt adds. His voice sounds breathless. I’ve taken out two already, but they have tau with them.

What the fuck is he doing? Is he really going to fight them alone?

Retreat to the house, Cade orders.

I will, once you’ve got the girls out of there.

We’re fine, Halle chips in. Don’t fight alone, Wyatt.

Wyatt? Cade pauses, but Wyatt doesn’t answer.

My stomach twists. How the hell does Wyatt expect to take on twenty hunters solo? Fear for my brother sits heavily on my chest, but we have to use these precious moments he has given us to regroup.

“What’s going on?” Dove’s eyes aren’t fearful, but they are focused.

“Hunters.”

I grab her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze and letting her know that nothing will touch her. I will protect her with my life.

I hear the footsteps on the porch a moment before the door explodes. Instinctively, I twist, pulling Dove against my chest to shelter her with my body as wood sprays into the air. I barely flinch as shards hit me, hammering against my back.

“Fuck,” I mutter, holding her tight as I turn to look over my shoulder once the projectiles stop falling.

A large figure darkens the doorway.

I don’t recognize him, though the shaggy, dark hair seems too long, and he has a gnarly scar running down the side of his face, stopping just below his jaw. He’s wearing the military black uniform of the Order, and when his eyes slide past me toward Dove, who is peeking around my arm, his lips pull into a smirk.

I tighten my hold on her, my wolf growling as his protective instincts take over.

If he thinks he’s going to touch my girl…

I bare my teeth at him, snarling as he moves into the room.

Without thought for my own safety, I move fast, pushing Dove behind me as I attack. The guy is big, but I’m bigger. Even so, the clash as we come together jars my body, almost knocking the wind out of me.

I’m going to tear his throat out.

My wolf wants me to give him control, and usually I would, but everything tells me it’s safer for Dove if I remain in my human form. I’ve learned to listen to my gut over the years, and I trust my instincts to get us both through this.

So I focus on my hand-to-hand combat, slamming the hunter’s head against the top of the kitchen counter. I can’t lie—there is a certain satisfaction when I hear the bones in his skull breaking.

When I pull him back up, I can smell and see the blood. Thick red rivulets run down the side of his face, dripping into his eyes and blinding him. He still manages to shove his fist into my gut hard enough to leave me wheezing.

Son of a…

Before I can recover, he barrels into me, and we both go over the back of the sofa. Pain spreads through my spine and hip as I hit the edge of the coffee table on the other side, taking him down to the floor with me.

His hands come around my neck, squeezing so tight that black spots dance across my vision.

I can’t pass out. I can’t leave Dove.

I slam the heel of my hand into his nose, not bothering to try to remove his hold around my throat. This is more effective. His head snaps back, and he loosens his grip enough for me to take in a shuddering breath.

The ripple of magic through the air tingles my nose before he is suddenly tossed off me by a seemingly invisible force.

I roll my head on the floor and see Dove standing behind us, her hand outstretched. Her gray eyes are hard, mirroring her expression, and for a moment, I’m afraid that she may have slipped back into the darkness. However, when she lowers her hand and her gaze finds mine, all I see is softness there.

She rounds the end of the couch, her hands wrapping around my back as she helps me sit. My chest aches fiercely, and I let out a guttural grunt at the movement.

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