Page 93 of Ravaged Wolf
There’s a gleeful gleam in Dad’s eyes as he gets ready todo what he’s going to do. He hopes I fight. He wants to hurt me—because I dared to speak up for myself and tell him no.
“Last chance to come peacefully,” he sneers, bending his knees, getting ready to spring. “You know you don’t belong here withthem.”
He saysthemwith the same disdain that he saysIsolde. That he’salwayssaid Isolde. Because the only difference between me and those he considers worthless is that he thinks I belong to him.
He’s wrong. I belong to myself. And Trevor. And Old Den.
And he can takeme, but he can’t take my voice. Not ever again.
“What’s wrong with you?” I ask, my voice shaky and thin.
He snorts. “You’re about to find out.”
I clear my throat and make myself speak louder. “I’m not going back. I belong here now.”
“You belong to me. You live where I say you live.”
The unspoken part rings in my ears. You liveifI say you live. That’s always been the threat. You’d better make honor roll. You’d better make varsity. The “or else” was always that he’d let out his wolf.
What kind of pathetic grown male has to threaten a submissive female pup with bodily harm to get her to study? He didn’t even have to ask. I was doing it anyway.
And here he is now, the dominant, high-ranking wolf, and he needssixhenchmen?
This time, when I speak, my scorn is clear. “You broughtsixmales to kidnap one female. Are you a coward, or are you that weak?”
Dad flashes his fangs and growls, “You better shut your mouth before I shut it for you. I would’ve thought you’d learned your lesson when that mate of yours showed youthat bitches belong on their knees, but I guess some of you need to learn the hard way.”
He lowers a shoulder, preparing to rush me. I open my mouth. I don’t know what I’m going to say, but I’m not going down silently. The words will come.
I drag down a huge breath. Dad lunges forward. I scream, but as the sound pierces the air, it’s immediately drowned out by a terrible, thunderous, bone-rattling baying of wolves.
Dad grabs me, and as my body swings in an arc, my legs flailing, I see the pack stream around the bend. A huge blueish-gray wolf leads the way.
Dad freezes. I drive my heels into his shins and twist in his grasp, but he’s strong. He keeps hold of me, but the Old Den wolves are rushing between him and the other males, howling and snarling, herding them away from each other. The Moon Lake males are overrun in seconds. All they can do is sink to their knees and bare their necks.
And that’s before Rosie’s giant wolf trots into view, bringing up the rear.
Dad doesn’t kneel. He wrestles me in front of himself as a shield as I buck and kick. Trevor’s wolf strains inches away, his fangs slavering, his eyes flicking between Dad and me, blazing with fear and rage. He lifts his muzzle to howl, and the bond inside me bursts open, flooding my chest with an overwhelming, ferocious love.
Dad stinks of fear, the scent singeing my nostrils despite the throng of wolves crowding around us. We’re surrounded by five males the same blueish-gray as Trevor’s wolf. The two behind us nip at Dad’s heels, causing him to stagger from foot to foot. I’ve never seen their wolves, but I just know it’s Aled and Llew.
The other Moon Lake males are surrounded, too, except Geralt Powell, who’s lying flat on his back with Seth Rosser’smottled brown wolf standing squarely on his chest, snapping at Geralt’s pasty white face. No other wolf ventures near them.
“Back up!” Dad shouts at the wolves crowding him.
Trevor’s wolf inches closer, howling louder, demanding without words that Dad drop me. I squirm, slamming my head back, aiming for Dad’s chin. Each time I land a blow, Trevor’s wolf lets out a strangled snarl. He wants me to stop hurting myself, but he can’t bear snarling at me. He prances from paw to paw, hating this, looking for an opening.
I’m not scared. I’m surrounded by wolves I know. Friends.
A few feet away, Cadoc rises naked from the ring of wolves that have surrounded Uncle Howell. The first thing he does is glance over his shoulder and shout to Rosie’s enormous beast, “Stay back there. It’s handled.”
I’m not sure what’s funnier—the note of command in his voice, considering the size of the wolf he’s trying to command, or that she casually lowers herself to her belly and rests her head on her paws, making herself comfortable so she can watch the action like we’re some kind of flea circus.
Cadoc stalks through his packmates to stand next to Trevor’s wolf and consider Dad. I’ve never appreciated how intimidating Cadoc’s stone face and blank eyes can be when he reeks of aggression.
“Release the female,” Cadoc says to Dad.
Dad tries to take a step back, but one of Trevor’s brothers nips his calf, so Dad ends up stumbling in place.
