Page 52 of My Ruthless Alpha

Even if I could do nothing physically, I wouldn’t let my mind give in to him. I couldn’t.

I just wanted Beau. I wanted Margo. I wanted to be back home surrounded by the people who cared about me. The friends and family I managed to find in everyone around me. Thanks to Beau, my horizons had been expanded, and it felt like I had a place where I belonged.

I just needed to get back there. How I might accomplish that didn’t matter. I just needed to see it through.

Through the fog in my mind, I registered as Colton stopped suddenly, and the quiet shuffle of Hunter’s feet suggested he did too. They paused before letting go of low growls. The sound reverberated through Colton’s chest and into me.

“Damn it…” Hunter muttered, expression tight with irritation from what I could see. “…they got the others…”

Another snarled sound left Colton as he spoke. “Useless…all of them.”

Everything shifted around me in a blur again, and the distant sound of howling reached me, causing my heart to stir and the invisible bond between us to pull tighter: Beau and the others. There was no doubting it.

“Shit…they’re coming.”

“Shift already!”

With a low growl and a faint crack of bones adjusting, Hunter transformed into a mass of grey fur, his body tense with aggression. He growled and stood his ground, facing the opposite direction.

But even as Colton picked up the pace and kept moving with a determined expression on his face, the other wolves were too fast.

Just barely able to see around his bicep, I watched the blurry sight of a wolf charging at Hunter, who bared his teeth in both anger and fear. But another wolf was on him in a second, snapping and snarling. One of them yelped as they moved in a pile of fur and limbs, and I could only hope Hunter was facing the short end of that deal.

Through my daze, I felt Colton’s movements becoming more frantic, and what had been a mostly smooth ride for me was less so. In that sensitive state, every jostle of my body sent a wave of discomfort through me.

Not long after, he stopped again, and his grip on me tightened.

He cursed again, and before I knew it, I could feel the hard ground beneath me and the rough bark digging into my back. Nestled in the grass, I looked through the fogginess that still clung to the edges of my mind and refused to let go.

Ahead of me, Colton stood while surrounded by shifted wolves. From what I could pull in of their scents, they were Beau’s friends, and even his brothers were there. Even if I could hardly muster the strength to keep my eyes open, the sight of them evoked even more hope in me, and I was more than ready for the situation to be done with.

As the wolves closed in, Colton had no choice but to face Beau as he approached him, fur as black as night while he stalked forward with his teeth bared. His unbridled anger surrounded him, tightening his muzzle while he snarled at the alpha opposite.

Despite having the upper hand at that moment, Beau stopped some distance from Colton, sizing him up without attacking. Silently, it seemed like a warning. The final question is,are you sure you want to do this?

After glancing around, well aware that he had to do something, Colton growled to himself as his fists clenched at his sides, making his muscles clench.

“All of this for a damn woman...can’t take it back now, I guess,” he muttered, allowing his features to slowly change as his teeth and nails elongated first. “You’ll have your fight then.”

As the shift took over completely, his body morphed and popped as a thick fur pelt ripped up his spine and covered his limbs entirely until he was down on all fours and growling at Beau. He walked in a restless circle as the two of them acknowledged the pending fight, sizing each other up again.

My heart clenched, knowing there was no way to escape the conflict. After everything, it came down to that moment, and regardless of what I thought, it had to happen.

To stop Colton once and for all, Beau had to defeat him.

Ever so slowly, while they growled and snarled at each other, I felt as if the fog started to slowly ebb enough for me to be able to move my hands and fingers. Still, the mountain ash in my system felt like sludge moving through my veins, holding me down for the time being.

To my left, I felt a puff of air against my shoulder, followed by a quiet whine.

Glancing over, I found Miles standing over me as he took in my scent. His rich brown fur tousled faintly in the breeze, and his dark eyes seemed to convey more than he could possibly express through words.

His remorseful and apologetic demeanor was palpable, but I didn’t have even a drop of anger toward him. I knew he had done his best to try to stop Colton before; it didn’t matter that he lost the fight. They were all there for me, and that was what mattered the most.

He gave another worried sniff at me, likely detecting the mountain ash in my system.

Forcing out a breath, I swallowed hard and went to test my voice as it came out cracked, “I’ll be fine…”

Understanding me despite my weakness, Miles released another puff of air from his nose, and he stayed by my side, watching over me as the fight began.

---