Page 95 of Wulf's Pack
Mate.
I can’t even respond. I don’t have enough control of my human side to form the words. He’s on his own. He lets outa howl and follows the scent trail to the stairs leading to the second floor. A huge wolf barrels down them and jumps on me when he reaches the bottom. I’m so crazed I tear through him like tissue paper. I don’t even remember doing it. One moment he jumps on me, and the next he’s a bloody, dead mess at my feet.
A loud, angry voice roars down from upstairs. “Accept me! Bond with me, or he will die just like the last one!”
“I can’t!” a female cries. “Please! I’m already bonded!”
At the sound of her voice, a red haze fills my vision.Mate.
I release a howl so eerie it could curdle a man’s blood, and I fly up the stairs to the shouts of my enemy. “Your bond is not complete! You are untouched! Unbitten! Make your wolf accept me!”
“She won’t! I’ll die before I give up my fated mate!”
When I hit the top step, there’s another wolf waiting for me in a large loft. He’s blocking a set of double doors. The smell of my mate mixed with blood is strong. A loud roar bellows from behind the doors, and I barrel straight into the wolf standing between my mate and me. We engage in a ferocious whirlwind of teeth and claws, fur, saliva, and blood. I take several blows, but I don’t feel them. I am nothing but rage.
Pain-filled cries rent the air, and my mate screams. “Stop it! Stop! You’re killing him!”
“You know how to make it stop!”
Distracted by her tortured pleas, I let my opponent dig his claws through my side, tearing through muscle all the way to the bone. Blood drips from me, but I still don’t stop. I barely feel it. I’m a machine. I twist away, and the wolf, surprised that I’m still on my feet, startles back and trips on his hind legs. I lunge forward and rip through his neck so hard I nearly sever his head from his body.
My mate screams again, and another pack bond breaks.
I slam through the double doors, exploding them right off their hinges. When the dust settles, I find a man with long, brown hair and dark, cold eyes holding my mate against him, using her as a shield. My very naked mate. She’s wearing nothing but that wretched collar. Her arms are pulled behind her as if she’s cuffed at the wrists, and she’s bruised and bloody from head to toe. Her face is swollen and split open in several places. Her shoulder looks like it’s been dislocated. And someone must have had fun with a knife, because her body is covered with dozens of small cuts. Beside them, a lifeless man is tied to a chair, every bit as beaten and bloody as my mate.
“Wulf!”
My mate’s sob pulls my attention back to her. Her voice is weak and scratchy, most likely abused from too much screaming. The man holding her hostage has a silver knife pressed to her throat. “Take one more step, and she dies.”
Chapter
Thirty-One
My world turns red at the sight of the knife against my mate’s throat. The man’s warning not to move falls on deaf ears. My wolf coils, preparing to attack anyway. His enemy is standing before him, and his thirst for blood is clouding his judgment. Seeing my mate, the danger she’s in, the blade poised to slit her throat, gives me a moment of clarity, and I find my voice.No!
I shout the command with so much force that my wolf freezes a split second before he can spring. The surprise of my resistance after losing myself so deeply to him is the only thing that makes him stop. I take advantage of his shock and wrest back a little control from him. It’s not enough to completely take over, but it’s enough that he has to turn all of his focus to fighting me instead of attacking Victor.Just wait!
ENEMY!he roars, incensed that I’ve interrupted his kill.ATTACK!
He pushes so hard I start to lose my grip, but I refuse to let him win. Not this time. Not when his actions will harm our mate. He’s taken control too often recently, and it’s time for me to show him that he answers to me, not the other way around.No!I bark again.
Snarling, he slams against me, fueled by rage and betrayal. He’s too feral to comprehend why I’m trying to stop him. He doesn’t understand why I don’t want to tear into our enemy.
KILL!
The mental strain of fighting him is exhausting. If I were in my human form, I’d be sweating.If we attack while he’s got that knife to her throat, she will be dead before we reach them.
I fast.He’s stubborn, but there’s less conviction in his refusal. A niggling doubt.
Not fast enough. Give me back control.
He doesn’t like that idea. He digs his heels in again and throws every ounce of power at me, trying to push me from his mind altogether.No! Wolf faster. Stronger. Better fighter.
While we struggle, Victor lets out a cruel laugh. “Look at him, Skylar. He’s fighting his wolf. He’s practically feral. Your mate is so weak he can’t even control his beast. You deserve better. Someone stronger. Someone powerful enough to command an army. Not some inexperienced lone wolf and his little pack full of rejects. You need a real man. A true alpha.”
Two days ago, his words would have hit their mark. I’ve lost control of my wolf so many times this week, it’s disgraceful. And he’s right that I have zero experience leading a pack. I’ve been in over my head since day one, struggling to keep up with the challenges being thrown at me. But I’ve handled them, and my pack has thrived.
Every member of my pack has had their share of trauma, but they survived. They are stronger for it. They don’t need dominance and an iron fist. They need someone to protect them and care for their needs. They need someone who will build up their confidence, encourage them, teach them, and help them heal. Someone who will respect them and love them. They don’t need a ruler; they need a leader. A true alpha knows the difference.
