Page 28 of The Wolf's Prince
His heart hammered, body insisting it couldn't be true. He shifted mid-stride to get there faster, still unable to believe what he was hearing as Nikolai's voice became clearer to his wolf's ears.
When he spotted the approaching group, his entire body stilled in shock.
Nikolai was here, in his homeland, unmistakable with those round brown eyes and Soren’s coat draped over his shoulders.
He was with another human, being practically dragged up the last of the incline by two of the alphas. Soren only noticed that one of them was Kamon when the other alpha turned his face toward Nikolai, pressing his nose behind his ear and inhaling with a sickening grin.
At that same moment, the wind shifted, and Soren smelled the sweet scent of his omega in heat.
A growl tore through him.
He shot toward the group who were jostling Nikolai, jumping with a ferocious snarl that made the other human scream.
Soren threw himself between Kamon and Nikolai, not thinking about how close they were to the ledge. Fury drove him to act, and the others could handle it. Kamon caught himself on the rocks at the edge, the other alpha jumped before he fell, but Nikolai was not as agile and stumbled.
Soren was shifted and reaching out before he even knew what he was doing.
His hands closed around Nikolai's arms, catching him just before he fell.
Nikolai gasped and their eyes met.
For a moment, it was like nothing else existed.
Then the scent of Nikolai's heat enveloped him, flooding all his senses.
He pulled back from the edge, taking Nikolai with him and suddenly he was aware of the other alphas watching.
Kamon smirked.
“It's a false bond. Isn’t that what you’ve been going around telling everybody?” he asked, taking a step toward them as more alphas arrived from their hunt, their path up the pass blocked by the scene. “Doesn’t that mean this one’s up for grabs?”
Soren snarled, baring all his fangs, his body itching, fur on the verge of coming through his skin.
He would have attacked already, but he couldn't leave Nikolai unattended, not when so many other alphas hovered near. The fact that they were all close enough to smell him was bad enough.
“Here, omega,” a soft voice said to his side.
Soren swirled, snapping, ready to fight whoever was trying to take his mate.
At the sight of Anzu, he stopped himself at the last second.
She bowed down in submission.
“I'll take him to your den,” she said softly, reaching out with a trembling hand for Nikolai, clearly worried that Soren would not be able to control himself while he was in this state.
“Go with her,” he snarled in Nikolai's direction.
Nikolai only hesitated for a moment and then took her hand, allowing her to pull him away.
With steel-like force, Soren remained where he was.
“You too,” Anzu said, offering a hand to the other human who was standing trembling against the rocks, looking pale.
He hurried to her side.
Soren sniffed the air.
Beta. Good. He wouldn't be affected by Nikolai's heat the way the rest of them were.
