Page 3 of Her Cold Brute

He lunges for me, and I try to swing the bat again, but this time, he catches it, and before I can drop it, he counters the swing, throwing me ten feet across the yard away from Mom. I land hard, jarring every broken bone in my body, my breathing thready as my ribs press against my lungs.

Mom screams when the man shifts into a wolf, coming straight for me. His teeth sink into my left leg, tearing the metal brace in two, before his teeth sink into my thigh. Everything goes white, screams echoing through the haze, and it’s not until soft hands are stroking my head that I realize they’re all mine.

“Shh, shh, I’ve got you, honey,” Mom says, cradling me against her body. Something tightens around my leg pulling another cry from my throat, my eyes falling towards the battered leg.

“Don’t look, Sis,” my thirteen-year-old little brother, Henry, warns, stopping me from seeing the new damage done.

“I know it hurts, honey, but we need to stop the bleeding until we can get you somewhere safe,” Mom adds, and I shake hearing the snaps and snarls from nearby.

My attention is drawn to my right, seeing Sammy, Ryan, and Denny—my fourteen-year-old brother all attacking the wolf that bit me. It lets out a pitiful howl before collapsing as Sammy flips it, letting Ryan get his teeth around its neck. The two of them are both nearly its size, but I know the man was far older than they are, he’s likely closer to Mom’s age than theirs. Those years gave the other shifter the time to build muscles the twins haven’t yet and I’m thankful they both showed up.

“Hurry, get her into the house,” Mom says, and Sammy’s the first one to shift, moving quickly to get to us, but before they can, three more wolves appear in the yard.

“Go, get her inside, we’ll hold them off,” Sammy states before they shift back to wolf form, keeping the newcomers away from us.

Henry’s already taller than I am, strong enough to support me, but it still hurts to move. Every step jostles my body, makes my head spin a bit more.

We’re almost to the steps when two more wolves appear blocking our path, while also cutting us off from my other brothers. This time though, they’re not unknown to me. No, these two wolves are the alpha’s jackass sons, but they’re definitely not looking like they’re here to help.

Tyler snaps at me and Mom moves a bit further forward, keeping her body between us. “Take one more step towards her and Bryant will tear you apart,” she warns him, but he keeps moving closer, Mark edging in to put more distance between us and my brothers.

Even more terror flows through me than before, making me shake as memories better left buried float to the surface. Reasons why I would never risk being in the packhouse flooding my mind.

Before that fear can fully overtake me, a huge wolf breaks into the space, knocking Tyler over into Mark. With one snarl he has the other three backing away, and when Mark tries to attack, Dad sends him flying through the space, slamming into a tree hard enough to break bones.

It has Tyler rushing him, only to find himself in a similar position. The two are shaking themselves off, the other three looking to be devising a plan of attack when six more wolves come into the yard. I don’t recognize any of them, and my brothers quickly move to surround us, protect us from the group.

Three of them attack at once, making me look away at the sound of snapping jaws, sharp barks, and painful cries. My breathing is even harder as I try to control my tears. Mom yells and Henry’s hold on me drops, before I’m face to face with Tyler’s snarling wolf.

Just as he’s about to snap his teeth into me, he’s rolling away as something huge makes the ground shake. With one bite, the giant beast snaps through Tyler’s neck, dropping him to the ground as he attempts to attack me again. The new wolf tosses Tyler’s body aside, knocking Mark down as it flies into him.

This new wolf takes a step towards me, it’s pupils so large, only a hint of shocking electric blue stood out to me. The rest was pure darkness, that blue icy and cold puling from it I feels, and it sends a new terror straight through me. I can’t break the hold it seems to have on me, despite it not being physical. No matter how desperately I want to look away, I’m more afraid to, worried that if I do, he’ll kill me.

A low growl emits from him increasing my terror, my breathing harder still as my body locks up entirely. Just as a sob is about to escape, something hits his side, making him falter, and I catch sight of Dad’s wolf, pushing him further away from me.

Mom and Sammy hurry to my side, lifting me up as Dad moves between us, letting out a furious growl of warning. Several of the others begin to move our way and I’m shocked when the huge wolf turns to face them, letting out a growl so ferocious, it makes them all cower.

Sammy picks me up, moving to the steps, and I can’t quite stop the cry that falls when the huge wolf turns on us, snapping and snarling. Sammy holds me closer, moving up onto the bottom step, and the wolf jumps towards us, only missing as Dad knocks into his side once more.

He turns on Dad, faster than I’ve ever seen a wolf move. Not even my dad can move that fast, and the blow sends him skittering across the lawn. He lunges for Dad and despite his strength, he doesn’t manage to get cleanly away in time. The wolf catches his back leg and throws him onto the ground hard. The beasts’ jaw opens, moving for Dad’s neck and I can’t hold back the cry, even as Sammy tries to turn my face away from the scene.

“Daddy!” My voice is high and broken, sobs overwhelming me, and I hold tight to Sammy’s shoulder, lowering my face to it, unable to bear watching him die, especially for me.

“Bryant!” Mom shouts, her tone scared but not devastated shocking me, but even more so is Sammy’s whispered voice next to my ear. “What the…”

My face turns back to the yard, finding Dad getting up, edging around the huge wolf that’s just staring, slightly snarling at our group now. Dad moves straight to Mom’s side, shifting before he gives her a hug, moving them further in front of me and Sammy.

It makes the giant wolf snarl more and I can’t help but shake in fear.

“Take her inside,” Dad says, pulling a deeper growl from the wolf. “You’re not hurting my daughter, not today, not ever.”

Another voice draws my attention off the huge wolf for a moment.

“Everyone, please take a step back. Cole means no harm to your daughter, I assure you. Please just step aside and you’ll see,” the man says, backing the others with him further away from the yard. Mark is growling furiously next to Tyler’s body, not listening to them, as he continues to snap and snarl at the huge wolf.

“He’s already killed your father and brother; you think he’s going to let you go?” Sammy questions, making me gasp softly as I glance towards Dad who gives me a little nod. The alpha’s dead, which means this giant beast can claim the entire pack as his. Mark wouldn’t fare any better than Tyler did in a fight. Actually, he’d come off the worse in it, dying for certain.

I can’t deny that would make me smile a bit. As callous as that might make me, it honestly wouldn’t bother me at all to see him die as easily as Tyler did. Not after what they’ve done to me. It’s been two years and the awfulness of it has barely faded. Has kept me away from the packhouse unless required to attend a meeting or event. Kept me next to one of my brothers or my parents anytime we’re there, not about to let it happen again.

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