Page 94 of Shrouded in the Dark
This mountain meant too much to me. It was the place where I had the best memories of my father, and the first place where I spent time with my mates. “Never return to Tabernash? No, that can’t happen!” I pulled my hand from Jasper's and stood. “Please.”
“Cool your jets, sweetheart.” Wyn had already finished his first serving. “I doubt we’ll have to worry about you guys leaving this area. I have their trust. After a little while, I’ll say the rogue has left the area or that I took care of it.” He grabbed a piece of bacon off Cody’s plate and winked at him as he protested. “I’m not worried. There’s always some bigger catch that can distract them. With Gary’s help, I doubt we’ll have to worry about the Venandi finding any of you, but especially you, Becca.”
“Whatever happens,” Seth spoke up over Wyn as he finished. “We’ll protect you.” He glared at Wyn, who narrowed his eyes. “Do not forget who the alpha is here, hybrid. I am the one who leads this family.”
Tension snapped in the room as thick as the butter that Wyn had smothered the toast with. I glanced between the two as my animal huffed in annoyance. She pushed me to sit down. It was better to just let them get it out of their system. Wyn might be a hybrid, and very strong, but he was not Seth. We’d both accepted him as the leader of this family when we mated with him first, this was just stupid male testosterone politics.
“Let’s take this outside, cat.” Wyn stood, turning on his heel to stride to the back door, ignoring Seth, who was right behind him snarling. “Let’s just get this over and done with so we can move on.”
They both disappeared out the door, leaving it open. I grabbed Jasper’s hand again and ran after them. They were already several hundred feet away from the house, facing each other when we got outside. Wyn stood with his arms crossed as Seth removed his shirt.
“What’s going to happen?” I glanced up at Axel who came up behind us.
Jasper wrapped his arm around my waist so that Cody, who’d come up on my other side, could hold my hand. I liked that they were constantly touching me. It was comforting after going so long fearing touch from other people because I was afraid I’d freak out with a panic attack. I wanted to rub my face all over these guys and lick every inch of their bodies.
Jasper’s nostrils flared as he looked at me, our eyes meeting and his pupils constricted with heat. His arm tightened around me, pulling my body flush against his. He leaned in to kiss me. A terrifying roar sounded in the area, making me jump as I swung my head around to see where it had come from.
Seth had shifted. His tiger, as stunning as ever, stood proud as he faced off against Wyn. I could feel my mouth drop open at the sight of Wyn. He’d transformed into his wolf form. He was nearly as large as Axel was as a bear. He was much larger than Cody’s wolf.
Unlike Cody’s, Wyn’s wolf was white with sections of gray. He reminded me of a very large and deadly looking husky. He was in mid snarl with his sharp teeth on display.
The two began to circle each other. Seth made no noise while Wyn growled, snapping at him. This was really happening. They both could get hurt.
“Why aren’t we stopping this?” I wanted to run into the middle of that circle and keep them from fighting, but my animal stopped me.
“If they don’t settle this now, it could get dangerous moving forward. This way, they establish who is alpha, and we move on.” Axel squeezed my shoulders before resting his chin on my head. “We know Seth will win. When he does, Wyn will have established his order in our pack. I won’t fight him for it.”
As we watched, Wyn lunged across the circle at Seth while snapping his jaws. Seth didn’t move and they went rolling on the ground. Seth’s back legs kicked upward, throwing Wyn over his head before rolling to his feet again.
Wyn ended up smacking against a tree across the way. He got back to his feet, shook his head out, and growled. The fur on his back stood up, making him look even larger. Seth’s tail just flicked. He honestly looked bored and I fought down a laugh.
They dove at each other at the same time. It was a blur of different colored fur. The sounds of their bodies hitting each other echoed in the open area. A howl of pain sent a shiver of apprehensive through my body. Wyn had locked his jaws around Seth’s neck. Jasper, Cody, and Axel’s hands on me tightened as Wyn pinned Seth to the ground.
“Seth!” My cry was covered by Cody’s hand, but not fast enough. His ears flicked at my cry and a terrifying roar came from him.
Wyn’s teeth were wrenched from Seth’s neck and he found himself rolling on the ground as they tore into each other. Fur flew in the air with blood. My animal was fine with this, but the worry started to make my anxiety kick up, even more than my animal was able to hold at bay. As my breathing kicked up, Jasper moved to stand in front of me.
He cupped my face between his hands and blocked my view of the fight. I focused on his emerald eyes, the light made them brighten more. His thumbs stroked my cheeks gently.
“It’s okay. This is how dominance is decided between animals. They won’t kill each other. I promise.” He pressed his lips to mine.
I knew he was trying to distract me, it was partially working, but I could still hear the fight going on beyond him. His left hand moved from my face to hold the back of my head as his tongue pressed into my mouth.
He tasted of fresh limes. I wasn’t sure how that was possible, especially considering he just ate breakfast, but he did. My body pressed against his as Cody let go of my hand so that I could touch Jasper’s chest.
Except, even though I wanted to continue kissing Jasper because he was delicious, I pushed him away, gently. Even though it was a light touch, he stumbled back a few steps with a startled look.
“Ah!” I grabbed his arms. “I’m sorry about that! I guess I don’t know my own strength?”
Jasper laughed as he hugged me. “You’re so strong!” His arms tightened around me before he stepped back. “Never apologize for it.”
I looked around him at the pair fighting in time to watch Seth smack Wyn in the head with his big paw. Wyn collapsed on his side, several large gashes were bleeding severally.
Seth shifted back on a groan. My eyes couldn’t quite keep up. It looked like it hurt, but as he stood there, you wouldn’t be able to tell. My animal purred at the marks on his body. He was naked. I took a brief moment to admire it before I ran toward him and Wyn.
“Seth! Are you alright?” I stopped next to Wyn, kneeling as I looked up at Seth, pointedly ignoring his swinging appendage that was rock hard. Apparently, he enjoyed that fight.
“Just fine,” he squatted next to me. “That was a great fight.” He rolled his shoulder, pressing a hand over his injury on his neck. “He’s much stronger than I gave him credit for.”
