Page 4 of Pack to the Wall

The gang was mine?

The gang wasmine!

“No. I don’t want you. Go away!”

The younger one gave a sad smile and shook his head. “We can’t. You’re our alpha now. We follow you until you’rechallenged in the same way you challenged Harley. That’s the only way you get out of this. But that also means you’d be dead. For better or worse, we’re yours now, darlin’.”

His words sunk in slowly. The only way to get rid of them was to have someone challenge me, and challenges were to the death, and…

Oh, God!

I waved the gun around at the group of them, wondering why no one was challenging me. Probably because I was still waving a gun around.

“No,” I breathed. “I… there has to be…”

“There isn’t another way, babe,” the young one said with what seemed like a sympathetic shrug. “We’re yours now. And you can put down the gun, it’s pack law that no one can challenge a new alpha for at least seven days. That gives the alpha a bit of time to show who they really are, prove they’re worthy.”

Alpha?

One week?

Prove they’re worthy?

My mind glitched, unable to take this all in. It was too much.

“Mom?” That one — terror-filled — word from my daughter nearly broke me. I dropped the gun and collapsed to my knees. Weak and unable to control my movements, I couldn’t even bring my trembling arms to my face to cover my tears.

For a moment I thought these ruffians would charge in and tackle me, but they didn’t. They just sat there looking at me.

Because I was their leader now?

And they couldn’t do anything about it for a week?

“Mom? Are you…? What happened?” Izzy was close behind me, kneeling, her own trembling hands on my shoulders. “Mom?”

“Your mother’s a very brave woman who did what she had to, to protect you and your brother.” I looked up at the young bikeras he drew near. He reached down to me, his calloused palm open. “Need a hand, alpha?”

Tears blurred my vision. All I saw were dark blue eyes: clear and captivating. A sympathetic suffering dwelled in those dark depths. Why was he in pain? And why was he helping me?

I didn’t know how or why, but I felt I could trust this one, at least for now. I reached up and the moment my palm landed in his, my shaking stopped. He was warm, too warm, but that warmth flooded into me and stilled my horror.

I rose slowly, helped up by this gracious brute of a man.

“My name is Tyson,” he said softly. Then he turned to the rest of the bikers and shouted. “This alpha is under my protection! If she’ll have me, I’ll be her prime beta.”

“You’re my what?” I asked, voice barely there, breathy and lost.

“I’ll explain everything, later,” he murmured, then he turned back to the others. “Get rid of the body. You know how.” He pointed to the dead man. Then he knelt and picked up my gun gingerly between two fingers, slipping it back into my purse. “Don’t worry, I’ve got you now.”

And he did too, because when I fainted, I was fairly certain I felt him catch me before I hit the ground.

TYSON

What the hellwas I doing? And how the hell had I ended up with this woman in my arms?

This wasn’t me.

My world had been turned upside down the moment she’d killed Harley.

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