Page 31 of The Alpha's Stolen Mate

“And you! You let her seduce you. You, asshole!”

Axel came barreling at Gabriel with a look of rage.

I didn't even have time to react. Gabriel pulled me behind him as Axel flew at him with his fist cocked back. Since Gabriel chose to get me out of harm's way, he didn't have time to defend himself.

Axel's punch landed squarely on the side of Gabriel's face.

Chapter Ten: Shattered Glass

Gabriel POV

Pain exploded across my left cheek, but I didn’t even feel it. Adrenaline coursed through my bloodstream.

Calm down, I said through mine and Axel’s mind link—a power that allowed shifters in the same pack to converse telepathically. Let me explain.

Axel cursed loudly and shook his hand out. His body began to violently tremble.

He was beginning to shift in his wolf form.

“No, Axel! Not in here!” I yelled, glancing around the small hospital hallway.

If Axel shifted here, he could hurt someone. He could even kill someone. My stomach fell just thinking about Summer or my son getting injured.

My son.

Those words seemed foreign to even think. How could I ever say them out loud? Of course, over the years I’d imagined having kids with Summer if she ever found it in her heart to forgive me for breaking our bond, but my brain would conjure up images of newborn babies, not a beautiful boy who could walk, speak, and think for himself.

But there was no time to think about the tawny-haired boy that I had seen. I had to get Axel out of here before he shifted.

“No! You’re not shifting in here!” Summer screamed and darted past me to push Axel’s chest. “Stay away from my son!”

But Summer’s words only spurred Axel’s transformation on. His canine teeth began to elongate, and his nails grew into sharp claws.

Wildly, I looked around for another exit. Since this was a shifter hospital, there were many emergency exits for this exact scenario. But the closest emergency exit was on the other side of the hall.

Axel bowed over, his spine curving. In a matter of seconds, he would be in his wolf form.

Without thinking, I tackled Axel, fighting to hold onto him as he struggled against me.

His body continued to morph into his wolf as I forced him back, my only goal to get him away from Summer and our son. Just when I was losing hope, I spotted a large window.

With a loud grunt, I tightened my arms around Axel and jumped sideways through the window. We both crashed through in a spray of shattering glass. Unfortunately, my head took most of the blow. My skull screamed in pain, but I barely registered it.

While we were still airborne, I transformed into my wolf. I let go of Axel as my body shifted into my other form.

When we landed, Axel and I were both in our wolf forms in the hospital’s courtyard. The last rays of the setting sun made the scattered shards of glass that had fallen around us glint dangerously.

Axel had flattened a rose bush in his fall, but he rolled to his side and stood up. He shook off residual glass fragments. His sandy-colored fur was a bright spot in the fading light. Since Axel was on the shorter side in his human form, his wolf was smaller for a male. But years of sparring him in both of our forms had taught me not to underestimate him. Axel was quick on his feet and wasn’t afraid to fight dirty.

His eyes zeroed in on me, and we began to circle each other. My gaze followed his every movement. If he even looked like he was going to make a break for Summer or our son, I would rip out his throat.

At this moment, Axel was no longer my brother and oldest friend. By shifting into his wolf form, he had put everyone in the hospital in danger—including my Mate and our son.

Because of his recklessness, now he was nothing but my enemy.

I made the first move, digging my nails into the dirt and springing forward, shooting through the air like a bullet.

I crashed into Axel with so much force that he was thrown onto his back, landing on another rose bush. His head hit the ground with a heavy thump.

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