Page 10 of Golden Desires

“Jake? What the hell, man?” the stupid crotch fondler yells.

I use my speed to appear in front of them before they can make it more than a few steps, my talons dripping with their friend’s blood. I’ll make it look like a bear attack and leave their bodies here for the animals to consume.

“Boo,” I whisper, and snort when they piss themselves.

They both turn to run from me, but it’s no use. Like the first man, I rip the second Beta’s throat out, before stalking my final prey. I catch him easily by the nape of his neck, and lift him into the air.

“Please,” he practically vibrates out of my grip with his whimpering. I ignore his cries for mercy, as he no doubt would have ignored my mates. I reach forward and slice through his groin.

The pitch of his wail as he frantically grabs at his ruined genitals allows me to relax marginally. There are still others hunting my Omega…

“You would have violated my mate. I might have let you live, had I thought you deserved the air you breathe. Humans like you should all be disposed of. Rapists…” I hiss, as I toss him to the forest floor beside his dead friend. “You will die in agony, alone and afraid. I’ll enjoy watching you suffer.” His death is quick, unfortunately. But I don’t have time to linger, anyway. I need to catch up to my mate. The sounds of hounds up ahead is troubling.

They might be too close already. Shit, I underestimated the small Alpha. I took too long to kill these Betas. I left my mate unprotected for too long.

“Fuck,” I hiss, as I follow her scent, fear gripping my chest for the first time since I was young.

Chapter Six

Kylan

Cillian’s scent and the copper tang of blood are heavy in the air as I follow the sounds of the hounds. Aldair is by my side, matching my speed. I’m being cautious, not wanting any of the villagers to see me.

But more importantly, I don’t want my mate seeing me. I can’t risk it. We can’t risk it.

The closer we get, the faster my heart races. Her natural berry scent mixes with her fear and urges Aldair and me to move faster.

Cillian’s scent is stronger now, telling me we’re close. As I catch sight of him up ahead, he motions us further on. Aldair and I spot the blood on him, but there’s no time to ask about that now. The three of us move as one, as we close in on the hounds tracking our mate and the humans leading them.

“Do not engage,” Aldair warns in a low tone just for Cillian and I. The closer we get, the easier it is to hear the voices of the men standing in a small clearing at the cliff face.

“They want to harm her…” Cillian hisses back. “If we end them now–” but Aldair cuts him off.

“I can smell the blood on you, Cill. You’ve done enough damage tonight. If we kill any more humans, they’ll hunt us next. Unless they find our mate, we remain hidden,” Aldair says with a bark. Even though Cillian is also dominant, he rarely challenges Aldair’s authority. “We can scare them off,” he huffs, his shoulders tensing when the scent of our mate’s fear spikes in the air.

“On it,” Cill snaps, already dashing ahead. I wait here, watching the two men through the trees, when Cill sends the hounds into a frenzy, and they take off into the trees. The Beta says something to the small Alpha about getting back to his horse before following his hounds.

I can hear more of the villagers heading this way, maybe ten of them. If my brother’s and I do nothing, they might find our mate. I believe she’s hidden within a small cave under a bush just behind this small, smelly Alpha.

“I will find you, you little bitch. What I have planned for you…you’ll regret ever having denied me,” the little bastard grunts, before storming off away from the cliff face, most likely to find his horse. My jaw snaps, my teeth gnashing in the air, and I leap forward, ready to end the little fucker where he stands, but my brothers are faster.

“Shhh,” Cillian says, as I’m caught by my arm with his blood-covered clawed hand and yanked behind a tree. “I understand your anger brother, but Aldair is right, if we kill him, it will be too suspicious.”

“But what he just said!” I growl, and Cillian’s eyes flash with anger and violence.

“The humans have said a lot of things tonight that make me want to rip their tongues out, but I’ve already done enough damage.” Cill shakes his head, not releasing my arm until I nod my understanding.

“What did you do?” Aldair hisses at Cillian when it’s clear the humans are gone, and won’t be returning tonight. I’m glad their eyes are on each other and not me. I know they see me as weak, and I hate it.

“What I had to.” My older brothers face each other, the power struggle between them only lasting a moment, before Cillian’s lips stretch in a wide grin. “Nothing you wouldn’t have done, in my position. Brother.” Cill tilts his head, his eyes shining brightly. “They wanted to take our mate against her will.” The dark quality my brother’s voice takes when he says the words would make a weaker Alpha tremble.

But I’m not weak, and Cillian would never turn on me.

“I will find you Bear,” a sweet, tiny voice vows after a low Omega whine echoes through the air. The three of us snap our heads toward the sound, silently moving closer to her.

“Is she in there?” I ask, attempting to move past him, only for both my brothers to tug me back this time.

“She’s hiding for a reason.” Cill lifts a brow at me as if I’m clueless, and I grunt.