Page 35 of Wulf's Pack
I can’t mask the fear in my voice. Which is unfortunate, because I’ve gathered a huge crowd. I hate that I’m showing weakness in front of half the club. Panic threatens to overtake me again. I need a moment to get myself under control without half of Detroit’s underworld population witnessing my mental breakdown. “James!” I call down to my other bartender. “I’m taking five.”
I don’t wait for his answer. I book it to the men’s room and crash through the door, breathing heavily. I shake out my hands and lean over the sink until my panic calms. I’m splashing cool water on my face when Carl enters the room. “You okay? You’ve got a very worried mate waiting right outside the door.”
I quickly send Skylar a thought through our link.I’m sorry. I just needed a minute. I’m okay. Promise.
I’m here if you need me.
I pat my face dry with a paper towel, then lean back against the counter.
“What’s going on, Wulf?”
I take a deep breath and rub my eyes with my palms. “I don’t know. It’s like I’ve lost control of my wolf. He’s obsessed with creating a strong pack for our mate.”
“Our beasts run on instinct. He’s as new to having a mate as you are. Of course he wants to build her a strong pack.”
“But I can’t just run around claiming every shifter I cross paths with. I need to get him under control.”
He sighs. “I’m not sure what to tell you. What about speaking to your old pack? Would they be willing to help you? Do you have pack elders who might know more about fated mates and omegas? Honestly, that’s probably why your wolf’s going so crazy.”
My shoulders slump. He’s right. I need to speak to someone who knows more about this. But I was really hoping to keep Skylar away from other packs. She’s too tempting a prize. Not that I think she would leave me for a more established pack, but they might talk me into joining for her protection. At the rate my wolf is going, I’d challenge the alpha and find myself in charge of a huge pack. Just the thought has my wolf perking up. I growl and throw as much force at my wolf as I can.No. We are not challenging any alphas today.
We could win.
Not the point!
“I’ll go with you. Skylar can keep you and your wolf calm, and I’ll intervene if the beast breaks free again.” Reading my thoughts, he adds, “I won’t let you challenge the alpha.”
I tip my head back and glare at the ceiling as if it holds the answers. “Ugh.” I groan. “All right. I’ll call?—”
Skylar’s terrified cry screams down the pack link. “WULF, HEL?—”
She doesn’t even finish the word before her wolf nearly blinks out of existence. She’s still there, the link hasn’t been severed, but it’s like she’s been buried deep. I can’t reach her. “SKYLAR!”
Chapter
Eleven
Idon’t know if Carl heard the cry for help down the bond, but he slams through the restroom door right behind me. The scent hits me the minute we spill into the hallway. Skylar’s, mixed with several strange wolves.
“Four. All alpha males,” Carl says, taking his own deep breath. It’s not a question, and I trust his nose implicitly. Bears have one of the best senses of smell in the animal kingdom.
“Can you tell which way?”
The bathrooms are down a dim hallway that has an office, and a janitorial closet. Beyond them is an emergency exit. Carl takes a sniff in both directions, then growls toward the club. He’s on the move before he even gets the words out. “Back through the main hall.”
We run back into the club. Luckily, it’s a weeknight and the club isn’t wall-to-wall bodies. We follow the trail and see Skylar being dragged toward the exit flanked by four wolves. I shift the instant I see them and let out a series of sharp barks to get club patrons out of the way. Behind me, a vicious roar shakes the room. The crowd freezes. The men taking my mate glance back long enough to see me coming. Three of them shift while the fourth keeps dragging Skylar toward the exit.
I plow straight into the three wolves, not hesitating for a second. I’ve fought in battles before, and my wolf is definitely a warrior, but he’s practically rabid right now. I let him take over. The strongest of the three wolves dives at me. We clash together in a snarling heap of teeth and claws. A second wolf joins the fight, and I have to start defending more than attacking. From the sounds of it, Carl is in his own battle with the third wolf. A third unfamiliar roar that sounds distinctly feline rings out in the room, but I don’t have time to worry about it.
These wolves are a lot stronger than the rogues I fought off yesterday. They’re much better trained too. It takes me a minute before I get the upper hand on the wolf and take him down, but he’s taken a chunk out of my shoulder, and the second wolf nearly eviscerated me. I dodge his claws enough that I’ll need stitches or a healer, but my bowels stay where they’re supposed to be. When I’m knocked to the ground, the wolf grows confident, giving me just the smallest opening to his throat. It’s all I need.
When I’ve taken the second one down, I see that the fight is over. Carl, still in his bear form, is standing over the third wolf, and the cougar shifter who’d been chatting with us at the bar is standing guard in front of Skylar. At her feet is the fourth wolf still in his human form. He’s been ripped to shreds.
I nearly knock the lioness over in an attempt to get to my mate. After a quick check, I can tell that she’s fine physically—not a scratch on her—but I can still hardly feel her wolf. Something is wrong. I want to shift back, but my wolf is distraught. I push my nose into her stomach and let out a whine. I need to feel her wolf.Where is her wolf?
Skylar digs her fingers into the fur on my head and rubs soothing strokes down my neck. Her hand is trembling. “He found me,” she says, fear in her voice.
I shift back and take her face in my hands. “What’s wrong with your wolf?”
