Page 82 of Hot Blooded

“Stay in the water,” he ordered, spinning away from her. In a flash of speed, he was back on the shoreline, taking on the wolves.

There were still too many of them. None had been injured enough to remove them from the fight. Eventually, their sheer numbers would prevail over Amos’s strength. Tessa held onto Phillipe’s cold, motionless body and watched. Her mind worked through scenarios methodically, searching for the best course of action.

They all ended in failure. In death.

But then a new snarl rent the air. A blur of motion burst through the trees and careened into the wolves like a missile. A cacophony of yelps greeted the newcomer, wolf bodies scattering like bowling pins.

And just like that, the tide of the fight had turned. Within seconds, Amos had the big copper she-wolf pinned to the beach, his hand poised to rip her throat out. The other wolves froze, attention focused on their apparent leader. The new ally went still, and Tessa’s eyes could finally recognize Etta, wearing a silk bonnet and lounge pants, arm locked around one wolf’s neck, prepared to break it.

“I do not want to kill you,” Amos snarled, chest heaving, blood and saliva dripping from his mouth in thick ropes. “But I will do whatever it takes to protect my bloodmate. Do you fucking understand me?”

One of the other wolves shifted into his human form, a man with the body mass of a Strongman champion. He fell to his knees arms spread wide. “Don’t kill her,” he begged hoarsely. “Kill me. But let her go.”

“I don’t want to kill ANYONE!” Amos roared, voice echoing off the trees and across the water.

The man flinched, but his gaze never wavered from Amos’s. “Then let her go.”

Amos’s hand visibly tightened on the wolf’s throat. The man made a pained, whining sound, body jerking forward instinctively. He checked himself at the last minute, recognizing the danger.

“Leave the city,” Amos growled, gaze scanning the crowd, holding eye contact with each and every wolf. “Leave the city and never return. If we meet again, I will be forced to kill you to protect my own.”

Except for those trapped by Amos and Etta, and the man on his knees, the wolves edged back slowly, whines filling the air, ears pinned back, tongues licking nervously at their snouts. When they had backed a suitable distance, Amos nodded to Etta. She released her wolf. He joined the rest of his pack with the same anxious body language.

Amos turned his attention to the man. “I’ll need a demonstration of good faith. Join your fellows.”

Clearly anguished, the man shifted back into his wolf form and backed away, head low, hackles raised.

At last, Amos turned his attention to the copper she-wolf beneath him. She stared up at him with transparent hatred.

“Don’t make me kill you.” Reluctantly, he released her, stepping back.

She rolled cautiously to her feet, keeping her gaze pinned on Amos. Slowly, she edged back to the rest of the wolves. When she was safely back amongst their number, the pack turned tail and fled.

As soon as they were out of sight, Tessa began struggling towards shore, dragging Phillipe’s dead weight. “Help!” she called weakly.

Amos was at her side instantly, hauling her off her feet with one arm, taking hold of Phillipe with the other. He carried Tessa to shore, towing Phillipe behind. Out of the water, he set Tessa on her feet and laid Phillipe out on the sand.

“Are you okay?” Tessa asked, both hands cupping Amos’s bloodied face.

“Well enough,” he answered, gaze pained as he looked her over. “And you?”

“Just cold.” She turned to Phillipe’s lifeless body and a choked sob rose in her throat. “He protected me,” she rasped, blinking as tears blurred her vision.

She sank to her knees beside Phillipe’s body, taking in the mess of his throat, the ravaged state of his body. But as she watched, a small bubble formed in the thick, pooling blood in his throat. She stiffened, then leaned closer. Another bubble formed and popped.

“He’s still breathing!”

Etta appeared at her side, leaning over Tessa’s shoulder to look at Phillipe. “He’s still alive. Just barely. He’s got minutes left—if that.”

“What can we do?” Tessa asked, hands itching to reach for medical tools that she didn’t have.

“We can let him go,” Etta said. “Or one of us can turn him.”

Amos stepped closer but didn’t say anything, his expression contemplative.

Etta shot Amos a meaningful glance. “I already have progeny.”

“I don’t want any progeny,” Amos said. “Let alone one of Markov’s line.”

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