Page 10 of Wolves Bound by Desire

He hadn’t pushed her hard enough.

To fight against those she saw as members of her pack wasn’t easy, but from the first swipe, she knew they had no qualms fighting her, either as a female wolf or as the one-time heir to be the leader of the pack. If they meant to kill her, she was going to make it as difficult for them as possible.

She squared off against Owen. He was an older wolf but still strong, and he had been the first one to ever teach her how to roll and slash at an enemy’s legs. Misti used that knowledge now against him, sweeping his legs out from beneath him. He fell to the ground, and she immediately bounced onto his throat, two of her paws pressing down until there was a slight popping sound.

Another wolf barreled toward her. Leo. His parents had had a strange sense of humor, naming a wolf after a lion. He’d grown up arrogant and cocky, thinking himself the strongest and the fastest, but he wasn’t really.

And she would prove it to him.

He backed away from her and then darted forward. She waited until he was only a few feet away before she used her claws to climb up a nearby tree. Leo tore up after her, but by then, she had climbed onto a branch. A little closer. A little closer.

There.

She jumped, landing right on the lower half of his body. Her hind claws dug into his tail, and she used their combined weight to force him back down the trunk. The bark had to be scratching against his chest fur. He didn’t howl or growl or grunt at all, which she begrudgingly respected, but she had her claws in him deep enough that he had to be hurting.

With a bump, her rump connected with the ground first. She wiggled her claws free and gripped his tail as best she could between her front claws. Like a dog, he twisted around toward her and his tail, his fangs grinding together. She shoved his tail inside his mouth, so he bit himself.

Now he howled, his tail falling to the side as he whirled around toward her. She blocked two strikes from him, forced to back away, retreating against her will. He pressed on his advantage until she bumped against another tree. His snarling face was like a wolf from nightmares, and she almost couldn’t recognize him. At one time, he had fancied himself a suitor for her, and she had almost been flattered by his attention… until he let slip that the only reason why he wanted her was because he wanted to be with the heir. Then she had dropped him, recognized him for the tool he was, and the two hadn’t been on speaking terms. They hadn’t even bothered with barbed comments or snide remarks. Just stony silence and dark glowers.

That he was here with the other wolves sent to hunt her down and kill her hadn’t surprised her in the least. Although, the wolves were trying to kill her, not capture her. That much was very obvious. For whatever stupid reason, that bothered her. Her father would rather her be dead than face her one more time.

Well, it’s not like I’m in any hurry to see him either.

Leo tumbled on top of her, pinning her to the ground. He slashed down toward her face, but she managed to capture a claw into her mouth, and she bit down savagely. The claw nearly came off, blood gushing into her mouth. She rolled Leo off of her, but he stood too quickly for her to pin him. Instead, she slammed her body into his side, crushing him against a tree. His head slammed against the trunk. When she pulled back, he stayed there, dazed, and two more shoves against his head crushed him, and he slumped to the ground.

By now, two wolves descended on her at the same time. Warily, she stayed on the defensive side, not willing to expend too much energy. Her first two fights had already taken a lot out of her. She barely had time to register that Anders was more than holding his own when a third wolf joined the party.

Two wolves were squaring off against Anders, and despite the wide space they had to battle, the five foe wolves converged together, pushing Misti and Anders into the center of a circle filled with beady eyes, snarls, and dripping fangs. Back to back, Misti and Anders watched the wolves. She barked at him, trying to alert Anders to hold back and let them make the first move, but he didn’t understand or didn’t care. He darted forward.

The two closest wolves converged on him and slammed into him, crushing him, much like she had crushed Leo against the tree. The sound of bones cracking filled the air.

Blind fury filled Misti, and she attacked. A powerful swipe knocked one of the two wolves onto their side, and she ripped out his throat.

Another came at her from behind. She could feel the ground shifting beneath her feet. For a moment, she forced herself not to move. Then she did sidestep, and the wolf lunged and landed on top of the wolf she had just killed. As the she-wolf darted around, her paws slipped on the bloody ground. Misti stomped on her chest so hard the sounds of bones snapping again pierced the air.

Anders was trying to climb to his feet from having managed to kill off the other wolf that had injured him, but he was looking so weary and bloody and near death that Misti launched herself forward, forcing the last two wolves to focus on her and not him.

As one, they attacked her, one on either side. In order to get close to one, she had to attack his attack, and fangs enclosed around her one paw. She bashed her other paw against his nose, her claws tearing into his face. He whimpered, but she had to jump to get out of the path of the other wolf’s jaws that came way too close to her throat.

She landed awkwardly, her one paw landing on a rock. With her tail, she batted it into the air, caught it in her teeth, and whipped it at the wolf she’d clawed. The rock connected with his temple, and down he dropped.

The last wolf was backing up, looking at all the carnage, and he actually turned around, running, but Misti wasn’t having any of that. She tore after him and jumped onto his back. He shook his body to try and get her to dislodge, but her claws ripped into him. He twisted to try and nip at her, not paying attention to where he was running, and he plowed into a tree. Finishing him off was almost too easy.

Feeling invincible having just taken down so many wolves that would have gladly killed her, she sought Anders. He had collapsed onto the ground, and he didn’t look like he was moving.

No!

10

All Anders wanted to do was sleep. He ached all over, and the knowledge that the scent of blood searing his nostrils partially came from him was enough to make him dizzy.

“I can’t believe you didn’t heed me.” Misti nudged a body with her human foot. She had been making the rounds, obviously ensuring all of the wolves had been killed.

He was curled up in a ball, human as well. Sleep might have claimed him for a moment or hours, but then he felt the ground vibrate near him. His eyes opened.

Misti towered over him for a moment, her face twisted with displeasure. “Why didn’t you trust me? I was perfectly clear.”

“You were. I just thought…” He couldn’t confess what he had been thinking. It would set her off. And while he enjoyed her fiery temperament, right now, he couldn’t handle it.

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