Page 34 of Vicious Wolf Mate

“What! Why not?” I demand.

Drario doesn’t reply right away. Instead, I watch as he gazes around the room, pausing to study the face of each of the shifters under his care.

“I can’t.” he finally replies. But I’m not going to let it go that easily.

“Why not?” I ask again. “Insignys hates our kind. They’ve stolen our land, imprisoned us on reservations, and took away any remaining freedom we had when they put those trackers in our heads.” I say, jabbing a finger at my own skull.

“What will it take for you to stand up to them?” I ask quietly.

“I…I can't,” Drario says again, before groaning and letting his head drop.

The wolf inside screams at me to grab him by the shoulders and shake him hard. Force the answers out of him if I have to. But I grit my teeth and give him his silence.

Finally, Drario finds my gaze again. His face is slack, and his eyes look dark and hollow. I know Drario and I are the same age, but right now he looks much older.

“We made a deal with them, Mace.” Drario whispers.

“What!” I yell.

“My clan helps protect Insignys and their interests and in exchange we get to expand our territory unchallenged.” Drario explains.

“Are you a fucking idiot?” I scream at Drario.How could he be such a fool, making a deal with the devil like that.

“They killed your father for shits and giggles man.” I say. “And they could do the same to either one of us.” I add, pointing to my head once again.

Drario looks down at the floor once more. With his left hand he begins drumming on his thigh. It is something he used to do when we were kids and he was trying to choose the best shifter to add to his dodgeball team.

“Come on man. You don’t owe them an ounce of loyalty.” I growl.

“Fine.” Drario says, nodding his head. “We’ll help.” He adds looking at me once again. “But only because Insignys didn’t keep up their end of the bargain.”

I suspect there is more that Drario is not telling me, but I don’t push it. He already agreed to fight alongside us, and right now, that’s all I need.

My ears twitch as a soft whine begins in the distance. The noise gets louder and louder, growing to a rumble as it nears. It sounds like three or maybe four helicopters are circling overhead.

A hush falls over the room as we all listen to the sound. Slowly, painfully slowly, the noise fades away, and I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. And with it the last of the adrenaline bleeds away.

Weariness begins to creep in, and I look down to discover my torn and bloodstained clothes. My injuries all healed while I was shifted, but the gore that was matted to my fur remains as big swatches of red against my human skin. A warm shower suddenly sounds delightful.

My buddy Jax looks worse for wear as well. His stringy hair is now more red than black. Natalie hovers just behind him looking completely unscathed.

And then my heart catches in my throat when I see McKenna. Jesus-fucking-Christ she looks like a walking bruise.

Stitches shine from above each of her eyebrows and her bottom lip is swollen with dried blood still clinging to her chin. The tattoos on her left arm have been swallowed up by bruises, and her right arm is wrapped tight and bound in a sling. I forget that as a human, she won’t heal as fast.

And then I notice that her clothes are torn, and my belly turns to fire. Furious, my gaze snaps to Drario.

But before I can say anything, his eyes widen, and he gives a quick terse shake of his head.

Good, I think in relief. If he or any of his brethren had so much as touched her in that manner, I would’ve ripped Drario limb from limb, truce and friendship be damned.

I hear a small cough and see Mckenna wipe a little blood-tinged spit off her lips. She seems to sway in place a bit before regaining her footing.

Like a flash, I am at her side, and scoop her up in my arms. She protests feebly, but I don’t let her go. The ferocity of my sudden need to protect her startles me, but I shove the thought aside. That is something that I can unpack later.

“Our mission can wait till morning.” I state. “Do you have some place that we can clean up and rest.” I ask Drario while silently I hope that Gnash can survive one more night.

“Yes.” Drario replies. “There is a small townhome not too far from here that has recently been vacated. It’s a bit weathered and barren, but it’s what I got.” Drario finishes with a shrug.

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