Page 36 of Fated to the Wolf Prince

“She’s got a hot ass, for sure, but I can’t overlook being unable to shift. Is she even a full-blooded wolf? Maybe she’s a mutt.” The smart-mouthed male was elbowed by his more attentive friend, and they both snapped to attention at the back of the crowd when the wolves in front of them began shifting uneasily on their feet. But I wasn’t worried about them and their crude comments.

Let them out their bias and idiocy to every female here so they could spread the word about Tweedledee and Tweedledum. No, I was looking for a far greater threat.

She’s still fair game.Like hell, she was.

I stalked forward, wolves scattering like chaff before a stiff wind as I closed the distance between myself and Russo.

He didn’t budge, standing with his arms across his chest, staring me down as if he had the right. My wolf was already boiling for a fight, and for once, the man was more than happy to acquiesce.

“Stay away from Brielle.” My voice was all grit and threat, the wolf’s fangs descending into my mouth as I finished on a snarl.Make the first move, I dared him mentally.

He had the audacity to lean forward as he spoke again. “You heard me. She’s available. That was a rejection. Everyone here is witness. Your marked, fated mateleft you. I’m going by there tonight to see if she wants a better option.”

“Somebody notify Webster, ‘better’ now meansinferior in every possible way,” Reed sniped from my right shoulder.

“You will not approach my mate, not unless you’re willing to challenge me for her hand. You know the rules, Russo. There can only beone. It’s me.”

Shane waited, eyes narrowing, but didn’t react like I’d hoped. Was it juvenile? Yes. But I needed to tear into someone, and he was a prime option. Better him than Gael, though he’d be more than happy to slake my need to fight off the rage building inside me. Goddess knew we’d done it for each other a hundred times before.

Dogging my father’s leadership, calling the ODL—unconfirmed, but my wolf knew—being a grade-A asshole and putting his hands on unwilling women.Mywoman. I wanted to dig in my claws, rip him apart for daring to threaten my connection with my mate. Brielle was part of mysoul, and he wanted to act like it was nothing? He deserved for his blood to soak my soil.

I sneered at the coward once more, then turned on my heel. I’d just have to find my release elsewhere. “Let’s go.”

I hadn’t taken two steps when I heard the familiar snapping of bones, indicating a shift. The coward thought to catch me unawares? Attack my exposed back?

He had another thing coming.

I twisted and leapt to the side, shifting in midair. His steel gray wolf landed where I used to be, and primal glee exploded in my chest.

I used his confusion to my advantage, continuing my spin around to sink my teeth into his exposed flank. He howled with pain and rage, as his hot blood coated my tongue.

The taste ofvictory. But he dove away, rending his flesh to free himself from my first bite. When he faced me again, there was undisguised hatred in his eyes, canine or no. We circled for a moment, a pause to see who would attack again now that we were on equal footing.

The fat splatter of his blood hitting the ground had my wolf preening, but he didn’t lose focus. I had a gut feeling that Russo would eventually snap, and I wanted to take advantage.

We circled three times before Shane lost patience and dove straight for my neck. The full-on frontal assault was dumb, and I deflected easily by ducking low and charging toward his inside shoulder, knocking him off-balance. He recovered quickly, but didn’t waste time with more pacing. His claws slashed at my back leg, ruffling my fur, but not quite making contact.

I spun again, using my speed to give me the upper hand. He was a half-second slow, and I bit down on his tail, feeling the bones shatter underneath my teeth.

It wasn’t a mortal wound, but it was an insulting one. He yelped in pain, but couldn’t tear himself away lest he lose half his tail.

Even for a shifter, he’d be maimed permanently. I gave it a sharp tug, then dove up and over before he had time to move, nailing the top of his shoulders with both front paws, and rolling him to the ground. We rolled one over the other, tussling for control, back claws digging at each other’s bellies and fangs snapping at throats.

I couldn’t tell in the moment if he landed a blow, so single-minded was my focus on his throat. When my wolf tired of the tussle, ready to end it, we connected.

My jaws bracketed his neck, squeezing hard enough to restrict his breath and break the skin, but not hard enough to kill.

I growled, and he stilled beneath me. At that moment, I held his life between my teeth, and my wolf reveled in the power.

“Kane, son of mine! Stop! All of you, leave at once!”

My father’s voice was all steel and dominance, and I froze, unable to finish the killing blow as I heard footsteps scatter like mice. My hackles rose along my back, my wolf unwilling to bow even to my father, with all the power of all the packs behind him.

“I don’t know what’s going on here, but we do not attack our invited guests. Kane, whatever insult he’s paid you cannot be so great that you want to ruin our alliances with all the packs gathered here. Exercise some self-control and release him.”

This wolf threatens our mate bond.He must die,my wolf insisted, managing to break through the alpha command enough to squeeze another fraction of an inch. The trickle of blood on my tongue sped faster, and my father’s boots came into view a foot from our positions.

My father’s mental words were no more gentle than those spoken, and his anger that I hadn’t immediately complied almost bowled me over.

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