Page 26 of The Alpha's Heart

Bishop.

The truck crashed around his legs and torso. He’s so strong that, planting his boots in the dirt, bracing his body against impact, he took the brunt of the pack truck slamming into him anddestroyedit without even a scratch on him.

His eyes are glowing, a dangerous orange shade, similar to hot lava. His hands flex, claws erupting from the ends of his fingers the second he sees my disheveled head popping up from the bottom of the truck’s cab.

I see his lips move. Over the roar of pain in my head, I’m pretty sure he says, “Cher,” an instant before he reacts.

One second, Bishop is standing in front of the wreck of the truck. The next? He’s standing at the driver’s side, ripping thewhole Luna damn door off the hinges. He flings it, reaching into the cab.

Claws lash Declan by the back of his neck. Bishop muscles the smaller wolf out of the driver’s seat, tossing the dazed shifter a good fifteen feet away from him.

And then he turns his ferocity on me.

He’s so close. All I want is to go to him, but the damn silver chains are blocking the way. To get to him, I’d have to manuever them into a position that would only burn me more—but that’s not a problem for my male.

Alpha chains are supposed to be unbreakable. Silver saps our strength on contact. Between that and the pain, no one can grab one of these chains and break them.

No one, it seems, except for Bishop.

He climbs into the cab, taking the length of chain between two of his hands. It sizzles, the scent of burning skin filling the cab; I must’ve been used to mine, but Bishop’s makes my stomach twist. I don’t want him to hurt, but before I can whisper out a warning, he yanks.

The chains snap.

One shackle, then the next. It doesn’t matter that Bishop is destroying his own hands. He doesn’t stop until he has both of the shackles off of me, revealing the blistered and raw skin underneath.

For a second, Bishop goes still. Like a predator, he shuts down, taking in the entire scene in a blink of an eye. Ghosting his ruined fingers over my burned hands, he murmurs my name this time, then backs out of the cab.

His head spins, nostrils flaring, his body growing even bigger as he throws back his head and roars.

My hands will heal. They’re already starting to. Without the silver holding me back, I throw open my own door, climbing out of the cab as Bishop lets out his rage at finding me like this.

My wolf is back, and so is our bond. I can sense the terror that overwhelmed Bishop, the need to come after me, the worry that slammed into him when he first felt me leaving back territory, then when I disappeared entirely.

He came for me. Because he’s my mate… because he loves me… he came for me.

And now he’s howling because, without even understanding what happened, he knows that this is fault.

It’s not. I’d explain it if I could, but there’s no reasoning with an Alpha like this. He thought he lost his mate. He found her with another male, trapped in chains. As furious as he is with himself, it’s clear I was another victim.

And, Luna damn it, he blames himself for that, too.

“Bishop.” His name is a croak. “Bishop,please. I need you.”

That’s all I have to say. Over his roar, he hears my pleas.

“Sofia,” he rumbles. He turns, starting for me.

Did I think that I was afraid of Bishop Dupuis when the big, bearded shifter first flared his nostrils and, catching other males’ scent on my skin, lost control enough that he snarled at me?

Only… I’m not afraid of Bishop.

But Declan should be.

Was he faking? I don’t know. He’s still a shifter, and ferals are stronger than they should be. Being tossed from the truck might not have done as much damage as Bishop hoped, but whether he was faking or not, as Bishop comes bounding toward me, Declanmoves.

One second, he was flat on his back. The next, his clothes are exploding into tatters as the force of his shift from skin to fur tears them off his back. Running on all fours, baring fangs at his perceived rival, he launches himself at Bishop.

Bishop, who was so focused on getting to me, he never noticed Declan stirring again.

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