Page 48 of Bullied By the Alpha Wolf

My foot had also landed funny when Eli had thrown me, and the twisted ankle ached with every beat of my heart. I’d been able to get to my feet, but Eli had only taken a few seconds to start foaming at the mouth like a wolf with rabies.

Oh God. Shit, shit, shit.

I’d managed to back-peddle myself right into another table, and Eli had not appreciated that. My normal speed, which had never been very good, was absent. The rage and power swirling through Eli’s eyes then had chilled me to the bone. I had nowhere to run, and I had held my hands out to protect myself as he lunged forward.

My head had collided with the ground when he knocked me down, and even now, it throbbed.

Still, thank anything out there that Kaiden had found me. I didn’t think I’d have been able to keep Eli from tearing into my throat for long, and fortunately, I hadn’t needed to find out.

But when Eli had me pinned to the ground, he’d partially shifted, and he’d raked his claws through my front, slashes now stretching from my chest to my ribs. Blood oozed from them slowly as I pressed my hand to injury.

Absently, I remarked that I’d have a massive scar over my left breast now. If I survived this at all, that was.

Kaiden was still snarling at Eli in front of me, using himself as a protective shield, and my vision was hazy from the exhaustion—and probably the blood loss, too.

My pulse boomed in my ears as I leaned against the only table left in the room that hadn’t been turned over, its contents still intact for the most part. I tracked the fangs protruding from Eli’s mouth and the claws stretching from Kaiden’s fingers. But that asshole had taken so much of the drug. As much as I was grateful for Kaiden and confident in his abilities, I knew this was far from over.

“Dumb bitch!” Eli’s voice was garbled around his fangs and tongue, an inhuman darkness to it that sent a chill down my spine. “Pathetic fucking Alpha! You’ll both die!”

Kaiden held his hands in front of him, his claws deadly sharp and pointing in Eli’s direction. The other alpha surged, and Kaiden was just able to block Eli’s slash as he swung down with his own clawed fingers.

Eli’s strength was impossible, and he knocked Kaiden back, who landed against me. I hissed as the slash across my chest burned, and Kaiden looked back at me, his eyes going wide.

But the sound of claws on the floor grabbed our attention. Eli was shifting into his wolf, and the massive gray thing stood several feet tall. His rage fueled him, taking over completely. All I could see in Eli’s eyes was the need to fight, to kill.

“Eli!” Kaiden stepped forward, dodging another lunge from Eli. “What did you do?!”

Eli didn’t listen. He couldn’t respond as a wolf, so he just slashed his claws faster and harder through the air toward Kaiden.

Kaiden didn’t shift, and he struggled to maintain his balance as Eli swiped and clawed at him with each step. I could see how the frenzied attacks were pushing Kaiden backward. He was losing ground.

“Kaiden!” I called out.

“Stay back, Kit! I’ll deal with him.” Kaiden didn’t risk glancing over his shoulder at me, keeping his eyes trained on the rabid mutt in front of him.

Eli rushed forward, and Kaiden sidestepped, giving him an opening to attack the wolf’s ribs. He slashed out, and Kaiden's claws streaked through Eli’s side. The fur bloomed with red.

As another snapping bite went for Kaiden’s head, he just dodged Eli’s fangs. The massive wolf paws swung to his right, and Kaiden grabbed hold of Eli’s front leg, using that momentum to send Eli flying.

Eli was back on his feet, shaking his head, in seconds. My heart was nearly bursting through my ribcage now, and I looked around the room for anything that I could give Kaiden to help him win this.

Kaiden growled as Eli stalked forward, and I noticed the growing stains of crimson covering his shirt. Eli had raked his claws all across Kaiden’s arms and chest. Each wound bled slowly, and healing them all would take time, even for a wolf.

There was nothing I could see aside from more of that damned drug, and I wasn’t going to risk that. My knees began to wobble, and after a second, I slumped to the ground, nausea and sweating swirling over me.

I looked up at the sound of more glass breaking. Kaiden had been shoved to the ground, but he used his feet to kick Eli up and off him. It sent the wolf soaring onto a table, where he landed hard. The wolf crawled backward, slowly shifting back into human form as blood poured steadily from his mouth and side.

“You filthy pieces of shit!” Eli’s eyes were bloodshot as he snarled at Kaiden. “It doesn’t matter what happens to me. You’ll all die!”

Kaiden growled, glaring down at the man. “Not before you, Eli.”

Kneeling down on one leg, Kaiden stretched his claws as far as he could, hovering his hand over Eli’s throat.

“You’ll pay for what you did to those wolves, to my clan, to my mate.”

My mouth fell open as I stared in awe. Everything spun, and I wanted to get to him. I needed to get to Kaiden.

Eli shot up off the ground, his hand whipping forward as he snatched something from the ground. Kaiden tried to dodge in the other direction, but Eli used the last of his strength to jab four needles into Kaiden’s neck.

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