Page 30 of Never Submit

Before I move, Dax shifts slightly, positioning himself enough to block her from me. It’s a subtle movement and snaps what little patience I have left.

My fists clench at my sides as I struggle to keep my wolf in check. It rises to the surface with a roar. “Get your hands off her,” I snarl, stepping forward.

Dax smirks. “Relax. I saved her. You’re welcome, by the way.”

“You saved her? Is that what you call this?” My gaze rakes over her again, taking in every bruise, every tear in her skin, every tremble in her frame. “It looks like you beat the shit out of her.”

I’ve hated Dax since I can remember. I’vedespisedhim, wanted to kill him on multiple occasions, but now I want to rip him limb from limb. Yank his tongue out of his mouth for daring to kiss her. Break every finger for touching her. Chop off his dick for…for…

A growl rumbles low in my throat as the hair on my neck bristles.

“I’d back the fuck down if I were you,” Dax warns, his skin rippling across his face as his wolf edges to the surface. “Unless you wanna die right now.”

I’d like to see you try.

My muscles bunch with the pending shift.

I didn’t care so much that Ren had fucked other men before me, before the bond. But now, she’s my mate.Mine.And my wolf doesn’t want to share. Especially not with an over-muscled baboon like Dax.

“He didn’t hurt me, Noble.” Ren’s voice cuts through the tension, washing a calm over my senses. “He found me.”

“Then who did?” I bite out.

“Who else? Andras’s lap dogs,” Dax says. “I found her running down the mountain, outnumbered and chased. If I hadn’t gotten to her when I did, she wouldn’t be standing here.”

He eyes me as if making a point, and I force my fingers to uncurl.

She escaped on her own? That’s impressive. Especially for a human.

“Did his wolves surrender? Because if so, they’ll be coming back with reinforcements,” I remind Dax.

The fucker just laughs. “No need to worry about that. They’re all dead.”

Show-off.

“There’s something else, Noble…” Ren whispers and crosses her arms over her chest.

Her hesitance and body language has me wanting to strangle Dax again.

“The Moonstone—” she starts, but when she glances at him, something unsaid passes between them. He knows something.

Something she’s not sure she should tell me.

I consider her and ask, “What happened?”

“We need to get her to Mathis,” Dax interjects. “That’s what happened.”

“And Torin,” she adds. “Then we can talk about it. And what to do next with Andras.”

She stumbles past me, continuing down the slope, and I catch a glimpse of the large wolf-head marking across her bruised torso. The clean lines of the tattoo peek out from behind her tattered shirt.

Did she always have that?

I’m missing something, and I don’t like it. The pieces grind together in my head without finding their proper places in the puzzle.

I grab her by the wrist, and she snaps around to look at me. Leaning in close, I lower my voice. “Ren…are you okay?”

Dax shifts his large frame between us, forcing me to release her.

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