Page 18 of Breathe Again

There was barking up ahead and I tore off into a mad rush towards the sound. I was moving on pure instinct, giving myself over to my wolf. When her gray wolf came into site running in my direction, my heart flipped over in my chest. I had never seen her wolf, but mine knew with certainty it was her. And she was running, so that meant the injury couldn’t be as bad as I feared.

In my relief at seeing her, it took me a moment to register the pack of wolves hot on her tail. I roared in anger and tore off again, heading straight for them. I could still feel Zach and Thomas behind me, most likely seeing the same thing I was.

Elizabeth ran past us, but the three of us stayed the course to intercept those chasing her. There was no doubt in my mind they were shifters. Why would any Collier wolf want to hurt her? I couldn’t fathom it, but I had seen it with my own eyes as they snarled and snapped their teeth, trying to close the distance on her. They were hunting my mate. A roar of anger erupted from deep within me, and the wolves ahead of us checked up quickly, turned tail, and ran back in the direction they came.

I increased my speed and tackled the first one to the ground. I was ready to kill him, my mouth around his neck ready to snap it in two, when Thomas’s Alpha power washed over me. I hesitated, and then looked up at him, while certain I had the wolf tightly pinned.

I immediately noted that Zach had the other wolf subdued. Thomas nodded his head back in the direction Elizabeth ran. I knew what he was asking, and I knew my mate needed me. I was torn on seeking justice or providing comfort. In the end I conceded and prayed I didn’t live to regret it.

As soon as I moved, the wolf tried to push back, but Thomas was on him quickly and I had faith the two Alphas would handle the situation.

I turned and ran back in the direction we’d come. It was easy to follow Elizabeth’s scent. She hadn’t run much further before reaching a boulder and safely watching the events unfold. She didn’t run away or show any signs of fear towards me, though I approached her slowly as I would a wounded animal. There had been a lot of blood and I had to know if she was seriously injured or not.

My wolf sniffed her all over, discovering an open gash on the inside of her hindleg. I knew it matched up to the side of the horse we’d found with the blood on. It didn’t look too bad, but my wolf licked and cleaned the area to double check. I wanted to gag at his efforts, but I needed to know she was truly okay just as badly.

She rolled her eyes and shoved me with her shoulder. I looked over the large rock and saw Zach and Thomas escorting the two shifters back to Collier. My body shook with fury, but Elizabeth’s wolf brushed up against my side to watch them too, and her touch calmed me.

Once they were out of sight, I shifted back to my human form.

“Are you okay?” I asked, a little harsher than I meant it to sound. My wolf and I were still highly agitated.

She looked irritated at me at first, then noticing the new tattoo on my shoulder, red and skewed from shifting too soon after getting it, I saw her soften with concern. She shifted in front of my eyes.

“Are you okay?” she asked, reaching out and touching my tender shoulder.

“Am I fine? No, I’m not,” I said, two seconds before I pulled her into my arms and kissed her like my life depended on it. My tongue pushed through her lips and took command. She met me every step of the way with equal passion. A fire lit in me that I couldn’t control. I pushed her back against the rock, ready to devour her.

A small whimper escaped her when a jagged edge of the boulder scraped her back. It was exactly what I needed to pull me out of the lust-induced hold she had on me and remember why we were there. My breathing was ragged as I slowed the kiss and looked deeply into her beautiful blue eyes.

“You can tell me what happened later, but I have to know you’re okay. Your horse came back with your blood all over it,” I said.

She lifted her leg and showed me the gash on the inside of her thigh. “It’s nothing. Cut in on the spur when the horse spooked and threw me. I’ll be fine,” she said, breathlessly.

I hugged her to me. “I’d never forgive myself if something happened to you. Especially with the way we ended things,” I confessed, opening up to her for the first time in thirteen years.

She sobbed in my arms. “I’m sorry. . . ” she started, but I cut her off.

“We’ll talk later. I need to get you to the clinic. Looks like you may need a few stitches.”

She nodded and pulled back to leave, but I couldn’t stand even an inch of space between us. I leaned down and lifted her into my arms, cradling her against my chest and started walking back. She snuggled into me and her light breaths tickled my neck causing me to be quickly aroused, but I ignored it and kept pushing on.

By the time we got back to the barn, word had started to spread that she’d been injured and attacked by a couple of rogue wolves. Fortunately, Lily was keeping the gathering crowd of concerned friends at bay and out of sight of her truck. Thomas stood next to it, holding the keys and changes of clothes for the both of us.

I carefully set her down long enough to change. She stayed quiet, not saying a word.

“She okay?” Thomas asked me.

“May need a couple stitches. Where’s the clinic around here?”

He gave me directions as I opened the passenger door and helped Elizabeth inside. Then I snatched the keys from his hands and walked around to jump in the driver’s door.

“Hey,” I asked through the open window. “What’s the deal with the wolves chasing her?”

He shrugged. “They’re Larkens, a group of rogues that split from the Pack years ago. That’s as much as I know. Dad’s interrogating them now. I have no idea what would possess them to set foot on Collier territory, let alone hunt her down like that, but they’ll pay for it. That much I promise you.”

“Let me know if I can help in any way,” I said.

Lily walked over and looped her arm into her mate’s.

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