Page 54 of Alpha's Hated Mate

I stumble to Aydan’s side as he slowly gets to his feet.Aydan? Are you—?

Get out of here,he says. His inner voice sounds weak.Run while you can.

No.

I am your Alpha, now, Saffron.

And I am your Luna. The door swings both ways, Aydan.It’s all I have time to say as the beast turns its head back to us. Chad and Yarra have been flung to the side and are lying a few yards away with the wind knocked out of them. The beast glares down at us with its one good eye, blood red and glaring in rage.

It’s going to howl. That horrid sound of a million wolves . . .

Like a lightning bolt, it hits me all at once.

The door swings both ways.

Howl!It’s only one word, but I put everything I have into sending it to all the Scarlets in the darkness around me. Immediately, the message I get back is confusion and terror. I step forward, facing the great beast. This might not work at all, but if it doesn’t, then I’ll have died some kind of honorable death—with my head turned to the sky and a howl hurled at the moon above.

I let loose a glorious howl, sending the sound directly up into the face of the Blood Lycan. Her good eye narrows with confusion, then rage. I’m toast.

My voice is suddenly amplified, rising up from behind me and all around me in the darkness. A wave of warm energy flows around me as my voice is doubled, tripled,quadrupled . . .

They’re howling with me. All the Scarlets. And the sound . . . oh, the sound ismusic. It’s all our joy and laughter. It’s our sense of adventure and strength. It’s everything and everything all at once . . .

The creature growls in pain, and I open my eyes long enough to see her grimacing and backing away.Oh, my Goddess, it’s working!

That’s it!I mind-link.Keep it up!

The gigantic monster that was once Nadia Vaultmore stumbles and whines in agony, its snout wrinkles up in a pained grimace. As it backs away from me, the fur starts to gray at the ends, then it spreads, the bloody shade receding inward like the plug was pulled in a drain. Her body shrinks, and massive bones crack and bend as her body contorts.

And all the while, a rush of energy fills me. Everything that I lost when she howled for us is coming back. We’re taking our power back from this thing!

A flash of white jumps across my line of vision. Aydan leaps up, head ducking down as he barrels his shoulder into her side. She falls over, and he pins her to the ground, his teeth in the back of her neck.

No!she screams.Get off!

That’s enough, Nadia. This is over.

She struggles, and as our howl dies down, her half-wolf form struggles under her brother’s weight. Her fur is almost all white again with tinges of pink as it disappears from her body, leaving patches of her tan skin exposed.

What . . . what are you doing?Her inner voice is barely a whisper, like the air is leaking out of her lungs. Aydan bites downharder, and she roars, the pained sound mixing with her human voice.

I am your Alpha,Aydan says,and a Neutral. Both of your wolves must submit. Stand the fuck down.

An anguished whine escapes her, and down she shrinks until her fur and snout contract. She transforms back into her human form as the rest of her body goes limp. Aydan finally releases her and backs away, letting her lie there broken and naked in the grass and dirt. Not so intimidating anymore, I guess.

Aydan changes back into human form, and the rest of us follow suit. He’s still staring down at his sister, a storm brewing behind his eyes. I walk over to him and take his hand, but he doesn’t move. He’s just staring down at what’s left of Nadia, golden skin streaked with bright red claw and bite marks.

She seems so frail and delicate, like a translucent butterfly lying dead on the ground. But she’s not dead. I can hear her heart beating and the soft sound of her breath. She’s only unconscious. And she looks cold.

“Robby,” I say. “Can I have your coat?”

Robby takes off his dirty blazer and hands it to me. I drape it over Nadia.

Evil or not, she’s still Aydan’s sister. She’s still a part of his pack . . . our pack.

“It’s over,” I whisper to Aydan. “She’ll get the help she needs.”

Aydan simply nods once.

---