Page 44 of Wolf Sacrificed

I kicked him right in the face and then wrenched his arm to the side, bending it at an unnatural angle until it cracked loudly.

Thomas cried out in pain.

I kicked his face again before scrambling on top of him and straddling him. I balled both fists and wailed on him, punching with everything I had. Blood gushed from his mouth and nose. I kept pummeling him.

He squirmed beneath me, but the way that I anchored my foot next to me made it almost impossible for him to knock me off balance, even though I was the smaller person.

I grabbed him by the collar, lifted his head, and then slammed him back to the ground. His head bounced, and his eyes fluttered like he was going to lose consciousness.

I didn’t want to kill him. We needed everyone we had to help win this war. But I needed him to submit.

I got in his face and snarled. “Are you satisfied now? Do you concede, or do we need to take this one step further?”

My voice sounded so harsh, I didn’t even recognize it. To be truthful, I wasn’t even sure if it was me asking or Sawyer.

Thomas let his arms fall to the sides. “I surrender, Alpha. My deepest apologies.”

I shoved him to the ground and stood on wobbly legs. Blood covered him, and bruises bloomed by his eyes and cheeks. My knuckles burned with ugly scrapes and blood.

I turned to face the crowd. “Is there anyone else who wants to challenge me? Or can we move forward now?”

A few people murmured, but no one stepped forward.

I drew in a breath and let it out. “We can’t afford to be fighting each other when our common enemy is out there growing stronger by the day. This needs to end today, so is there anyone else?”

I held my breath, snapping my gaze to where a few of the other alphas stood. It looked like they were arguing about their next step.

I gritted my teeth and waited, hoping I had one more fight in me.

Fifteen

Sloane

I hadn’t done well in that fight. I almost lost, and I would have if Sawyer hadn’t jumped in.

He was still with me. His anger roared below the surface, which only added fuel to the fire raging in my heart.

I reached out to him. You shouldn’t have helped me. I need to do this by myself.

Despite his rage, his warmth wrapped around me like a warm blanket. Let him hurt you? Or worse, kill you? Never.

I gritted my teeth. Don’t you understand that I have to do this myself? They’ll never respect me if I can’t.

He wrapped his arms around me, hugging me from behind, which was kind of nice cause I wasn’t sure how much longer I could stand on my own feet. Lincoln and I will work to train you so that you can. But in the meantime, I’m not going to let anything happen to you, and you need to accept our help when it’s absolutely needed.

I growled.

He put his lips to my ear. Sweetheart, nobody aside from Lincoln knows I’m here. They think you beat that idiot by yourself.

His warm breath caressed my skin as he sighed. These men don’t know what they’re up against. You do. You’ve had the displeasure of spending time with my father. You have mine and Lincoln’s ears. You are more equipped to lead everyone than anyone else here.

I snapped my focus back to the alphas. They had their heads bent together, still talking. Questioning me. Maybe I should too.

I couldn’t get Alpha Charles to come. My failure weighed me down.

Sawyer squeezed me tighter. Unfortunate. That’s where my father is headed now. He’ll be there soon. I was hoping Alpha Charles would’ve come with you. I’m afraid he might have done something stupid, like sell you out in exchange for his pack’s freedom.

My belly churned, and I fought back tears. I tried to warn him.

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