Page 50 of The Alpha Wolf Defying Fate

Ayden let out a chilling howl at the feel of the claws down his back, his body falling over as he was forced to release his hold on the Griffin.

I ran towards him without a second thought. It was pure luck that the griffin decided to abandon its pursuit of me, letting out another angry screech and vanished into the blinding sunlight.

My body fell to its knees beside Ayden as I reached him. Gingerly, my fingers ran over his shredded back as tears flooded my gaze.

“No, no, no,” I heard myself cry out.

Rory and Baer ran to our side. The alpha king’s body partially transformed into a wolf as he collapsed to his knees next to us.

“It’s okay,” Rory assured me with a gentle voice. “He’s going to be okay. But you have to let Baer take him.”

I blinked back at her with confusion. I couldn’t understand what she was saying. How was I preventing him from taking my mate? Why was she telling me that I had to let Baer take him?

Her hand gently touched mine, my gaze trailing down to see what she was trying to peel free from my grip. Tufts of brown fur tangled in my fingers, my body arched over him protectively.

I hadn’t realized I’d done it. Hadn’t realized that instinct to protect what was mine had taken over. The thought hadn’t even come to my mind until that moment.

Slowly, I eased off of Ayden, his body slowly shifting back to human form as I released him from my grip. His back appeared worse than before, when it was concealed beneath the fur. The sight of it sent a sob up my throat as I stared.

Our wounds healed faster during the shifts. One way or the other, a shift always helped to rebuild the tissue of an injury. But his back still looked terrible. The sight causing me to question just how badly he had been before the shift when the fur had hidden the worst of the wound.

“Come on,” Rory said, her voice still soft and gentle, as if she were talking to a young child. “Let’s get out of the open. Just in case that griffin comes back again.”

I felt my head bob up and down in a nod as she cradled my arm. We followed her mate as he carried mine, my heart stuttering at the sight of the limp hand that dangled over Baer’s shoulder.

“Don’t worry, Sash,” Rory whispered to me. “He’s going to be okay. It would take a lot more than that to kill him.”

Her words did little to ease my worries as we followed behind Baer as he moved towards one of the empty buildings away from the town square.

“Did the griffin hurt you anywhere?” Rory asked, as we reached the threshold of the building.

I shook my head slowly, my gaze following Baer with my mate as he gently sat him on a bed in the nearest room.

“Good,” she continued. “Then we can focus on Ayden. His wolf should be healing him, but that creature did a real number on him. It will take a while even with magical interventions.”

I shuddered at the words, slowly following her into the room to look after my mate.

“It wanted to kill me,” I choked out. “It didn’t even have any interest in Ayden at all.”

Rory paused her movement and looked back at me with concern. She spun around and enveloped me in a tight embrace, holding me close.

“He did what any mate would have done,” she said softly. “The griffin is known to protect items in legends, right? You could have been close to something he was guarding that we were unaware of. It could have been any of us.”

I tried to believe that. I knew she could tell what I was thinking. It had been what I’d been struggling with this entire mission.

Griffins didn’t only protect special items in legends. They also fought away evil.

Between the two, I could feel the likelihood of the creature’s aim for pushing back darkness much higher than the thought that he was guarding some hidden object close to me.

“Come on,” she urged again. “He’s going to want to see you when he comes to. His wolf will want to make sure that you are safe.”

I nodded, forcing myself to move forward. As much as I was struggling with my own inner turmoil, I knew my cousin was right.

My mate needed me. He had thrown himself in harm’s way and gotten hurt for my sake. The very least I could do was be there when he opened his eyes.

As we walked through the door, I scowled at the sight of the wound on Ayden’s back. I could see some signs of fresh healing, but the gash was still deep.

“He’ll probably be asleep for a few hours still,” Baer said. “This wound isn’t like anything I’ve ever seen. I’m not sure why it’s taking so long to heal with his wolf, but I think it’s safe to say we’ll be here for a few days.”

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