Page 122 of The Alpha King's Fate

A wave of nausea hit him as he crossed the wards set out by the ugly gnomes, but it was nowhere near as strong as Diedre’s magic. It didn’t take him much to pick up one of the gnomes and fling it across the yard, shattering it into pieces. His hand tingled from the sting of the magic, but as it rolled over him, he felt it burn out uselessly.

If the Hunters paid for that shit, they needed to get their money back.

He rolled his shoulders and looked back at the house. No one had come out yet, so they were relying on something else to keep them safe.

‘I count more than ten of them,’ he warned Dylan. ‘Stay there.’

‘No chance,’ Dylan said.

His Beta was already behind him, and from the corner of his eye, he saw Ryker’s warrior slide into the shadows, blending in so effortlessly he would have sworn Night Walkers had a hint of red wolf in their blood. Chase came to stand on his other side and pointed at something that glinted in the moonlight.

“Silver arrows,” he said aloud. There was no point whispering. “Tell the other teams what you see.”

Hopefully, they had the same security protocols.

His gaze followed the traps lined along the wall, undoubtedly set to go off if they walked in further. Did they think that would stop him?

His simmering rage burst forward, and his beast took over, finally unleashed to do as he wanted. His bones cracked as his body stretched, shifting instantly in the enemy’s presence. He could sense them just inside the house's front door, waiting. Their stench magnified, and their accelerated heartbeats sounded like music to his ears.

And then the fear.

He lowered his snout to the ground as he took it in. He would never have imagined that a Hunter’s fear would smell so sweet.

‘Are you going to stop me?’ Cain asked.

His voice was laced with his rage. It was husky and broken. Almost unrecognisable with the urge to taste that blood and see it flowing at his feet.

‘No.’

Cain looked over at the traps set along the wall. He saw the sharp tips of the arrows sticking out from behind the makeshift barrier and the hidden sensors beside it. Patches of slightly disturbed earth he saw leading to the house confirmed that those were not the only death traps he would face.

He’d only taken a step towards them when a branch flew across his line of vision and landed several feet away. Arrows immediately shot out of the wall.

“Dude, what the fuck?” Dylan hissed.

He looked back at where the branch came from to see Ryker’s warrior shrugging before he took a step forward.

Okay, so he would give the guy that one. He hadn’t thought of that.

‘Stay behind me. There are traps on the path,’ he warned Dylan before he took several steps forward.

The fake grass that covered the traps would not have been unnoticeable to anyone else. The Hunters did well on those, at least. But they hadn’t considered that the path they took to avoid their traps would be obvious to even the most inexperienced wolf. Even if they only activated their security at certain times, anyone would subconsciously avoid stepping where the danger was.

It didn’t take long to get close to the house. A security light came on, half blinding them before the front doors were thrown open, and two men pointed large guns at them. He was on them before they could fire a shot, flinging one arm straight across the yard and then chomping down on another.

The screams.

The screams fueled him like nothing else. The darkness in the very depths of him surged up until he became the monster he warned the others about. He didn’t care where his team was as he shoved through the open doorway and scanned the house for the rest of them. He didn’t care that they saw him rip through the flesh of the Hunter and feed on chunks of him as if he just caught a deer.

The fear in the house increased as doors quietly opened and shut. The sound of more weapons being cocked prickled his ears. The hunter in him celebrated. What good was a hunt if his prey cowered at his feet? They fucked with the wrong one; the whole town would know it before he was through.

A large brown wolf shot past him and headed towards the back of the house. It wasn’t the first time he had seen Chase’s wolf, but it was the first time the arrogant Alpha willingly fought beside him. Blood was already dripping from his mouth. He looked feral. He looked worthy of his rank. He only hoped he would still feel like that when the real fight started.

His attention returned to the room above him where some Hunters hid with their weapons. It took him seconds to rush up the stairs. The hallway wasn’t as wide as the Packhouse halls, so his frame filled it up, blocking the only escape route for the Hunters.

There were sniffles and more whispers. More fear colouring the air. A shotgun went off, leaving a large hole in the wall right in front of him. He didn’t give them a chance to fire at him again. The door broke down with no effort, and he almost snapped his teeth around the offender’s head until the sound of the sniffles hit his ears again. His teeth snapped in the air instead, mere inches from the frightened young woman’s face. Her eyes were tightly closed, and tears streamed down her face. Her heart pounded loudly, and her body shook with fear.

She didn’t look like a Hunter. She was petite and smelled of flowers over her natural scent. Anyone who saw her from a distance would believe she was a mere human.