Page 39 of Cursed Wolf

“It’s kicking like crazy,” Jae says. “I don’t think it likes the bumpy ride.”

“While I think it’s enjoying it,” Kaira adds with a small smile. Like Jae, Kaira also has an innocence about her. In truth, I hadn’t met the real Kaira until now.

“You might be onto something,” I say to her. “When my mother was pregnant with me, she traveled the country in carriages and ended up giving birth to me in one.”

Narah makes a strangled sound. “The poor thing.”

“You’ll be okay.” With a kiss across her knuckles, I give her a soft smile. “I promise. I’ll deliver the baby myself if that’s what it comes to. I once watched my mother help one of our maids during her labor.”

She grimaces, not looking convinced by my offer.

“If we had the time, I’d climb in there with you, but give me an hour, and we’ll get the chance. Okay, gorgeous?”

She nods, and I reluctantly step away from the doorway. I strip from my boots and pants, toss the clothes into the carriage, and shut the door.

Calling to my wolf, he responds instantly, tearing out of me, skin splitting, bones stretching, fur spreading over my changing body. In the span of only seconds, I’m a wolf, darting into the woods.

Behind me, I spy Stone helping the coachman connect the two riding horses to his carriage. He won’t be long, but while they’re sitting out in the open, I need to find out what the fuck’s causing my instincts to go off.

Paws pounding the ground, I push deeper into the woods, sniffing the air. Nothing, yet my skin still itches. So, I backtrack and decide to do a fast scan of the woods on the other side of the path.

Bursting out of the woods, I startle the coachman, who gives out a yelp at my sudden appearance. Without hesitation, I sprint across the passage in front of them and dive into the other woods, but not before I see that the horses are all tied up, and they’re ready to get a move on.

Fucking fantastic.

Breathing heavily, I dart forward, my nostrils flaring, drawing in a scent that stops me in my tracks. Heavy musk, fur, and the tinge of something electric jolts up my arm—the sensation I get from other Alphas.

Here I thought we were dealing with the undead, but in truth, other wolves were following us. Rogue bastards who don’t belong to packs roam the woods, attacking anything that moves, and if they get a whiff of our Omegas, they’ll follow us to Hell and back.

That was another reason we kept the girls closed up in the carriage—to prevent their Omega scents from floating on the breeze, especially Narah’s since she still carries her heat.

This is why we’re with them—to destroy any fuckers who think we’re easy game.

Throwing myself in the direction of the scent, I rush madly, excited about fighting. I need to eliminate the anxiety I’ve been holding onto. All the shit with removing the curse from Kaira and the High Priestess took their toll. I’m a damn fighter. I deal with things by tearing them apart, and I felt utterly useless, sitting back and doing nothing while magic solved the problem.

The stench of other Alphas strengthens, and my pulse races as fast as my paws. Hearing the crunch of twigs behind me, ice slides over my nape. Someone snuck up on me?

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

I pivot abruptly just as a black wolf crashes into me. A new smell floods me, and I realize there’s more than one party. Excited to tear into someone, I let my guard down.

We hit the ground, and I fight brutally, teeth and violence on my side. Rolling across the ground, I tear into the asshole’s shoulder just as he latches onto my arm. I growl in his ear, then latch onto his neck.

Fury bleeds through me, tightening my chest, and I see nothing but red. In one cruel bite, I rip out the side of his neck, tearing out sinew and muscle, the blood warm and thick. I don’t stop there. Straddling his chest, I go to town on the prick, my heart beating frantically in my chest.

There’s something rewarding about taking a life from someone who fucking deserves it.

A snap of foliage at my back has my ears pricking, and a piercing growl shudders through me. There’s no wasting time, not when I’m having too much fun.

I twist around and hurl myself at the asshole who thinks it’s okay to sneak up on me. The gray timber wolf’s eyes widen, lips peeling up and over sharp canines. I use his shock to my advantage. A second is all I need to get the upper hand. It’s how battles are won. A slight hiccup on the enemies’ part, them tripping, anything to distract them. In war, you use anything fucking thing to win.

I slam into the bastard, driving him back into a tree so hard, all the air rushes from his lungs past his mouth. My teeth are on his jugular before he can react, and in seconds, he’s slumping by my feet. Well, that was too fucking easy.

Another crunch and I flip around, a snarl on my throat, every inch of me alert, but instead of another fucker, it’s a huge white wolf, about my size, stopping feet away from the first dead Alpha.

Stone makes a groaning sound, protesting that I didn’t leave anyone for him to play with. I give a small yip and trot over to him, purposefully knocking my shoulder into his.

Several guttural growls darken behind me, and the hairs on the back of my neck rise.

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