Page 193 of Ruled By The Alpha

The grunts and smacks I hear behind me tells me the battle between Wes and the three betas has already started. I badly want to see if Weston is okay, but I can’t afford to be distracted, especially when Baron is already drawing back and angling his next attack.

Knowing Wes is no longer directly behind me allows me to ready myself to dodge, because I’m not willing to take anotherhit. My arm is throbbing horribly, and part of me just wants to curl up into a ball and sob, but I won’t. I can’t.

Baron swings, and I duck and come up behind him, swiftly delivering a solid punch to his kidney. He’s always been slower than me, and now is no different. However the beta makes up for his lack of speed in force. When he hits, he hits hard.

He turns around with a snarl and goes for my gut. I manage to jump back just in time to avoid my fucking insides becoming my outsides, though judging by the burning sensation across my stomach, I didn’t manage to avoid the full strike. Dancing out of reach, I take the chance to quickly glance over at Wes just as he gets punched in the face by one of the other betas. I wince, wanting nothing more than to jump in and pummel the asshole, but Baron is already charging me.

I dart to the side at the last minute, avoiding the next hit. He growls and launches another attack while I’m still recovering from the last. His blade cuts into my upper arm this time, and I just barely manage to avoid a deep wound. Baron jabs his dagger at my stomach again, and I leap backward and slam into the alley wall with a pained grunt.

I’m already panting, and my wounds are throbbing in time with my racing heart. I know the moment my adrenaline fades the agony will cripple me, so I need to take him down before that happens. Maybe I can find a rock or brick that I can use to stun him.

Unfortunately I’m not given a reprieve to search for one; I’m too busy dodging the blade coming for my head.

A savage and bone-chilling snarl echoes through our alleyway, making every one of us freeze. Tremors skate down my spine and I feel stuck in place, head whipping to the side in search of the alpha who’s responsible for that horrifying sound. I say alpha because there is no way in hell a beta or omega could ever make such a menacing sound.

Seeing Maddox charging toward Baron sends relief rushing through me instantly, and I allow myself to slink against the wall alongside Wes, who had the same idea as me. The four betas are panicking, but trying to appear unfazed, and if the situation wasn’t so dire, I might laugh. But I can only focus on catching my breath as the pain from my wounds start to really make itself known.

The fight is over in seconds, and Baron doesn’t inflict so much as a scratch on the alpha before his throat is torn out in a single bite. Baron’s body hasn’t even hit the ground before Maddox is on the next beta, repeating the same motion and charging toward the third rebel. This male gets his neck snapped, and the sickening sound of it bounces off the alley walls. The final beta tries to flee, but Maddox grabs him by his nape.

Maddox viciously kicks the back of the beta’s knees, sending him sprawling, though he’s still held fast in the alpha’s strong grip. The rebel is pleading now, begging for mercy, and while I can’t see Maddox’s face, I can smell the fury coming off our new mate in waves, warning the beta there’s no mercy to be had.

A sick, twisted part of me enjoys this violent display. Something inside me is preening at his fierce protectiveness and his show of strength. This alpha—our alpha—is a strong male, one capable of protecting me, Wes, Avery, and Leah from anything and anyone. We’ll be safe so long as we stay with him; at least that’s what my instincts are screaming at me.

I’m inclined to believe them. He tore through the four betas like they were nothing more than pesky flies while Wes and I had struggled to even go on the offensive.

Fucking hell, the whole display is getting me all hot and bothered, and it is really,reallynot the time for that.

The final beta drops to the ground, head twisted at an unnatural angle. I hadn’t heard the snap of his vertebrae as lostas I was in my thoughts, and I’m glad. The sound of the other rebel’s death is no doubt going to haunt me.

Maddox whirls on us, and it’s the first time I get a clear look at his face. He’s fucking furious, brows furrowed and lips peeled back in a savage snarl. The growl emitting from his chest is scary, even though I know he won’t hurt us. I’d hate to be one the other side of his violence. Him rushing at us is frightening enough, and I press myself back into the wall.

He grabs Wes by the shoulders—gently, all things considered—and turns him around, lifting his arms and his shirt, checking him over for any wounds. Our alpha grunts at the bruise already forming on Weston’s face and leans in close, inhaling his scent while rubbing his cheek over Wes’ uninjured one, marking him.

“Stay,” Maddox barks, gently pushing Wes into the wall and holding him there for a few seconds to stress his order. The alpha then turns to me, carefully lifting my injured arm. “Always injured, little mate. Don’t make this a habit.”

I expose my neck, and he takes the offering as it’s intended, scent-marking my cheek just as he did with Weston. Then he leans back and turns me this way and that, taking note of all my bleeding wounds with a rumbling growl.

“I assume you’re here for your sisters.” It’s not a question, but I nod anyway. Maddox sighs. “We will discuss your disobedience later. For now, let’s go get them and return to the den.”

Without warning, our alpha bends down and lifts me into his arms before tugging Wes into his side, stalking from the alley in the direction of home.

*

We make quick work through the pandemonium in the slums, and it’s only a matter of minutes before we are rounding the corner to the back entrance of the apartment building I’vecalled home all my life. And it’s just as we’re turning into the rundown alleyway that I spot Leah and Avery being ushered from the building by a blond-haired beta gripping their arms. They twins are digging in their feet, trying to pull out of the beta’s grasp, and every protective instinct inside me flares to life.

Just as I open my mouth, Maddox barks, “Calvin!”

It’s then that my sisters spot Wes, and they start fighting harder. Calvin lets them go and they race for Weston, tears streaming down their dirty faces.

He crouches and pulls them into a tight hug, murmuring assurances to them until they quiet. I wiggle in Maddox’s grip, ignoring the flaring pain from my wounds, but he just silences me with a gruff, “Still, omega.”

Avery and Leah finally realize I’m there, and the moment they notice my bloody wounds, they start to cry again.

“Eve is fine,” Wes says gently. “This is our alpha, and he’s going to help her.”

Thankfully this seems to mollify them, and Maddox orders us to move. “It’s dangerous, and the longer we’re out in the open, the worse it will be.”

Calvin, the beta stranger, keeps pace with us, remaining at our backs as we maneuver back through the slums to the mid zone. The moment we reach the break in the wall, though, Maddox pulls to a sudden stop in a shadowed corner. He watches people flee into the wilds for a couple of long seconds, jaw clenched, before turning to look first at me, then at Wes, and finally my sisters.

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