Page 108 of The Beta's Heart

The third wolf circled, trying to find an opening, but Riv never gave his enemies any openings except the ones hewantedthem to have. The other two wolves healed quickly and rejoined their brother, and soon the four of them were rolling in a giant fight ball that River relished, his superior skill evident in every calculated move.

They were strong, but they were no match for his deadly precision. If he was special-forces level, they were new recruits, and he designed his every move to inflict maximum pain and fear. He could end this fight whenever he wanted to, but he was having too much fun playing with them, and I reckoned the brown wolves knew it because a fume of fear and desperation began to roll off of them.

Just after River feigned a yelp to encourage one of his opponents to target his left flank, Thoreau Jones screamed, his voice high and thin andfartoo close to the fight.

“Stop it! Stop hurting River!”

Before I could pinpoint where the boy was, the wolves had him in the midst of their flashing fangs and slashing claws, and panic and fear nearly stopped my heart.

“MAMA!” Reau screamed, and that got through River’s battle-fogged brain.

Toro?he gasped, then roared,TORO!

With terrifying speed, my wolf skillfully maneuvered Reau under his belly, the best and only safe place for him at the moment, and the boy clung to his long fur and whimpered, probably scared out of his mind.

Just like I was.

Reau had no wolf, no defense, nothing but River to save him, and the brown wolves weren’t letting up.

There’s a pup here!I screamed at them, as did McFlynn and Misha and several others, but the triplets kept up the attack.

How could they not care about an innocent pup’s life?! He could die!

River did his best, but fighting three on one was a whole different situation when the one suddenly had an unexpected point of vulnerability. My wolf started taking heavy damage, which slowed him down, and one of the triplets even managed to get a claw on Reau. The boy never let out a sound, but I knew he was badly hurt from the bright red blood blooming along his arm.

River was in a tough spot now. If he stopped defending himself and Reau, they would both be dead in two snaps of the enemy’s jaws, but he couldn’t maneuver enough to kill them first, not without exposing Reau. Circling our fight ball, Spring, Firth, and Ocean—Archer Barlow’s and Wayne Black’s wolves—were just waiting for a clear shot to intervene, but we all knew that one wrong move on any of their parts could result with River or Reau or both of them dying.

Then Quartz solved the problem by smashing into the triplets like a bomb going off, their bodies flying as his massive weight slammed into them, and both River and I breathed a sigh of relief as Spring, Firth, and Ocean tore into the brown wolves.

The pup is hurt, Quartz growled as he whirled to face River.Get him to the deltas.

Blood slithering through his fur to drip on the grass, River snarled and hunkered low over Reau, far too deep into a protection mindset to register that the fight was over, his eyes too wild with fury to see that it was his alpha standing before him.

Riv, it’s okay now. Let’s do what Q said.Despite being overwhelmed by emotions myself, I managed to keep my voice low and even as I encouraged him to calm down.

When it was clear my wolf wouldn’t—or couldn’t—yield, Quartz bit down on River’s ruff and forcibly dragged him off of Reau.The pain finally snapped Riv out of his battle rage, and he whimpered, recognizing his alpha’s authority.

Then, because the morning couldn’t get any more surreal, a pearly white dragon swooped down from the sky, its scales shimmering like pearls in the sunlight. With a swift, graceful movement, it scooped Reau up in its scaly feet and soared out of the danger zone.

So that’s Chime Karma,I thought absently.Konstantin Russo’s dragon.

With Quartz monitoring his every movement, River made sure Reau was clear of the area, then collapsed where he stood, panting heavily as he fell unconscious.

24. Tough Time

Tyler

As the garden hose sprayed cool water over River’s fur, I watched Grace and Livvy Benson work diligently to wash away the blood, Landry standing nearby with a mix of concern and relief in his eyes. River lay still, his breaths deep and slow as he healed himself. The blood mixed with the water, forming pink rivulets that flowed away from his gray fur.

“Almost done, River,” Grace said softly, running her fingers through his fur to ensure the water reached every bloodied spot. Her voice was gentle, soothing, but my fear-fed anger was a living thing, clawing at my insides, and I let out a strangled growl.

“Beta Ty, he’s calmed down, but he’s still hurt,” Livvy muttered. “Don’t be harsh with him.”

But I couldn’t hold back anymore and, to my shame, I poured out all of my pent-up emotions on the one least deserving of it.

What were you thinking, River?!I snapped, my voice harsh and unforgiving.Thoreau almost died!

He flinched at my words, his eyes widening in confusion and hurt. He whimpered softly, his ears flattening against his head.

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