Page 52 of Claimed By the Feral Wolves

I’m ashamed to admit it, but I like watching him. I like seeinghimbe taught a lesson that he’s not as strong as he thinks. That he only thinks he’s strong because he picks on the weak.

And then he stops flailing. His arms fall at his side. And I imagine a world without him in it, and it eases something deep inside of me.

But then I think about what will happen to Xander, and it snaps me out of my fantasy. “Xander, you have to let him go.”

Xander doesn’t react.

I take a step closer. “Xander, you’re killing him. You have to let him go.”

“He was going torapeyou,” he grinds out.

I move closer and rest a hand on the arm around Kurt’s throat. The asshole’s eyes have rolled back in his head. He's passed out. “If you kill him, they will punish you. You won’t be able to be my mate. They’ve already tossed you out of your pack, so they’ll probably kill you. I can’t handle that, Xander. I need you. Please don’t hurt me.”

His gaze meets mine. “I could never hurt you.”

“So let him go.”

He does, dropping the man on the ground like a sack of potatoes. Stepping around him, he holds me closely as Kurt gasps on the ground. “I–I don’t want him to live.”

“I don’t want him to live either, but I love you more than I hate him.”

He pulls back from me. “You love me?”

Damn it. I hadn’t meant to say that.I don’t want to play with his heart. The thing is, I don’t know what I want any more. Could I even walk away from these men now? They feel like my heart and soul.

Something is wrong with me.

“I–I care for you,” I say.

He sweeps me into his arms and carries me out of the greenhouse. And it’s weird how safe I feel in his arms. I barely know him, but it’s like Cayson and Ezra unlocked something inside of me, and once that door was open, all four of these men came running in.

Up ahead, I hear Cayson say, “You guys are terrible at hiding.”

Lights fall on us, and I wince before the lights are lowered.

“What’s wrong?” Ezra asks, a concerned note to his voice.

“Kurt,” Xander hisses with all the venom in the world.

“Where is he?” Maverick asks softly, and there’s a threat in his voice.

I try to look at them. All three of them are tense and ready, and I know if I say the word, they’ll end this thing with Kurt once and for all. Which will lead to me finally being done with Kurt, and some kind of terrible consequence to these men.

“Xander almost killed him. He learned his lesson. Can you please just take me back to my room?”

Ezra draws his shoulders back. “I’ll go to Lance’s room and report this.” Then he hesitates, running his fingers through his hair. “But with Kurt’s father, and how they’ve been taking his side about you not spending time with Kurt, I suspect they’ll sweep this under the rug again as an alpha getting too excited. Especially since ‘only’ a feral and an omega saw it happen. I’ll make it clear to them that if all they intend to do is make him apologize again, to not bother.”

“Agreed,” Cayson says. “At least this will be in their files.”

Xander looks shocked. “This truly can’t be how things work. Packs are supposed to be more civilized than ferals. Kurt would die for what he did here today.”

“When you’re powerful, you’re untouchable,” Maverick murmurs, and we all get quiet, his words sinking between us.

No one moves for a painfully long moment, then Cayson says, “How about I have the dessert cart taken to my room, and we all have a treat before we take you to your room?”

He just wants to make sure I’m alright.“Okay,” I say.

We head back to the castle, my men flanking me like I’m something important. My heart eases a little. There were so many things I missed about my brother, but I think one of the biggest things was having someone I could trust completely.

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