Page 67 of Fated to the Warrior Wolf

They must have communicated through the pack bonds because he nodded in response to something we couldn’t hear.

“Well then, there’s no need to keep them alive. Take them out, and then we’ll search the place.”

I thought of Brielle, of all the innocent women hiding behind me. I thought of Gael, my mate. But most of all, I thought of my sweet, innocent Petal, whose life depended on mine. There was nothing standing between these bullies and my baby but me, and I was sure as hell not going to lie down and die.

Fuck that all the way to next week.

I leapt at the man’s bare throat.

THIRTY-THREE

Gael

We cut a blood-soaked path through the castle, picking off wolves from seemingly the back of the attack force who were checking side rooms along the way. My gut felt like it filled with lead as we followed the trail of blood and stench straight toward the kitchen.

We’d torn through no fewer than ten wolves by the time we reached the exposed tunnel inside the pantry. If Cristian had gone this way, he’d have closed it behind himself to protect the females.

But how the fuck did the Hungarians find out about the tunnels in the first place?

We raced through without stopping, the scents of unfamiliar wolves burning my nose as we raced through the twisting tunnel toward the bunker. We picked off two more stragglers in a straightaway and then raced unimpeded down the last stretch. I was the tip of the formation, Kane and Sergei flanking me as we burst through the open door into the bunker.

The sight before me made a red haze drop over my vision. Leigh was in wolf form, her jaws locked around a human man’s bare throat from her position atop his chest as two other wolvesleapt at her back. I howled, the sound a promise of death as I flew across the distance faster than I ever had to protect my mate.

I knocked one of the wolves aside before he could reach her, but the other was on the far side, and he knocked her to the hard stone floor as I eviscerated the first wolf with grim efficiency. I spun from the dying shifter toward the one who was tussling with Leigh, clawing at her side.

Her tawny fur was streaked with red, and my wolf took control. We sprang for her attacker, a scrawny gray wolf who was too big to be this gangly. I took him by surprise, clearly in the midst of a battle haze as he attacked my pregnant female with glee.

When my wolf started tearing chunks out of his side, he didn’t stop until his guts littered the floor like gore confetti, and he began to shift back to his human form under my muzzle.

The room had gone quiet, and when I scanned the area, none were left standing except Leigh’s wolf, another female, who was pinned against her shoulder to shoulder, and the three of us.

I should shift back, but my wolf wasn’t finished. He lifted his leg and pissed right on the male’s face, and finally, the red haze dropped.

I shifted, my bones cracking painfully as they re-formed, healing the few injuries I’d picked up on the way.

“Are you okay?” I crossed to Leigh, dropping to the ground next to her wolf with more worry than it felt like my chest could hold.

She shuddered and then shifted, clutching her wounded side as she swayed on her feet. It must have been deep if the shift didn’t close it all the way, and panic flooded me as she held her palm to her bloodied lower abdomen.

“Where’s Brielle? Olivia?” I asked, but she was shaking in my arms—from cold or shock, I wasn’t sure—and I kept mygrip firm on her shoulders as I turned to look for them. “Brielle!” I bellowed her name like a summons, and scrabbling sounds from behind one of the doors had Kane hustling in that direction.

Brielle strode out a second later, Olivia hot on her heels with a first aid kit in hand. “Oh, Goddess. Lay her down on the couch, quickly,” Brielle ordered, and I scooped Leigh up to obey.

“I’m fine, I just need a bit to heal up. It’s a scratch,” she argued and tried to wave my hands away, but my wolf was having none of it.

I was as careful as I could be, but she winced as I laid her gently on the black velvet couch cushions.

I stayed by her head as Brielle and Olivia crowded around her, trusting Sergei and Kane to clear the rest of the bunker without me. Olivia gently dabbed the edges of the wound with something that smelled antiseptic while Brielle closed her eyes, bracketing the wound with her palms.

Holding Leigh’s hand didn’t feel like nearly enough, but I’d have killed the man who tried to pull me away at that moment.

Her shuddering slowed, her eyes blinking drowsily as the healers worked over her. But her color was good, and I held on to that like a lifeline.

Please let her be okay. Please let our baby be okay.I whispered pleas to the Moon Goddess like I’d never prayed before, like she could actually hear me. The faint glow of the omega seal on Leigh’s palm intensified, peeking around my fingers like a spotlight, and I rocked back on my feet.

Maybe shecouldhear me after all. That was an unsettling thought.

Brielle swayed on her feet, rocking her shoulder into mine as she poured all her energy into Leigh.

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