Page 130 of Blade's Battle
Blade took his eyes from Damien as Liam approached Anna and bent over to whisper in her ear. Liam had always seemed too familiar with Anna, entitled to touch or speak to her in private.
When Liam started kissing her, Blade couldn’t think straight. Bones popped and moved, muscles re-shaped and teeth and claws extended, long and sharp, ready to tear into the male violating his mate.
The second he shifted, he heard the howls and sounds of the other males shifting too, all except Liam who still held Anna, pulling her behind him as if she were his.
Blade’s wolf leapt at Liam, only to be side-swiped by Frank. The second Blade rolled the larger wolf off of him, Damien slammed Blade to the ground and pinned him by the throat with one huge paw.
As the four white wolves—Drake and his guards—faced off against Liam’s guards. Frank’s wolf leapt in front of Liam, guarding the alpha and the women behind them.
Blade growled at Damien to release him, but his alpha pressed down on his throat harder, making it nearly impossible to breathe, let alone move.
“Enough!” Liam yelled.
Drake was the first to shift back to human form, then his three guards followed suit. Frank and Daaven shifted as well, leaving Griff, Damien, and Blade still in wolf form. Slowly, Damien lifted his paw from Blade and shifted.
As soon as Blade shifted, Damien held a hand down to Blade to help him up. Blade rose without taking Damien’s hand. The hurt in Damien’s eyes threw him for a moment, but he couldn’t focus on Damien, not with Anna still in danger.
Blade edged past Damien, then stared at Liam, challenging the alpha. Liam snickered, then stepped out of Blade’s path. Anna flew into Blade’s arms and buried her head into his shoulder.
“You’re okay?” she asked. “And you can shift!”
He couldn’t quite bring himself to talk yet. His hand sifted through her hair, relishing the softness of her cheeks and how her heart beat against his chest when he drew her tight against him. He wrapped his arms around her, determined to never let her go. He had no idea what had just happened, but he wasn’t letting Drake or Liam touch her.
“I’m fine, babe,” she said, planting quick kisses all over his face.
“We’re leaving,” he said to her, intentionally loud enough that the other shifters would hear.
“Not with my human,” Drake said.
“She belongs to Blade,” Liam said. “And if you interfere or go after her again, you’ll risk a war against both Damien’s pack and mine.”
Drake’s jaw clenched. “On what basis does he get her? He tried to kill you.”
“Exactly,” Liam said as he took two steps forward, enough to force Frank, Griff, and Daaven to part and let him through. “He attacked when I kissed her. He was driven to kill me. But you, Drake, did nothing. There is no blood-bond between you and Anna. Count yourself lucky. Bonding a human would weaken your abilities. Be thankful.”
“He’s a near-feral shifter,” Drake argued. “He attacked because he wants her, nothing more.”
Liam crossed his arms over his chest, no moving an inch even though Drake had moved in close enough to be considered a challenge. “If Blade were still feral, he would have attacked Damien the moment Damien denied him what he wanted most, which was Anna. You saw him, we all did. He wanted to attack Damien, looked ready to, but he didn’t. He only attacked when his blood-bond compelled him to save his mate.”
“This is over, Drake, accept it and move on,” Damien said, still not looking at Blade.
“The WSSO is searching for her, Damien,” Drake shot back, his dark eyes blazing with hate. “They might find their way here sooner than you expect.”
The bones and muscles of Damien’s back started shifting. “I don’t take kindly to threats.” Tess snuck in between the group, grabbed Damien’s hand and whispered to him. He settled.
That’s when Anna slipped from Blade’s grip. “You still want me, Drake?” Anna asked, pushing past the other two alphas. “Here I am.”
“Anna!” Blade said, his voice panicked as he tried to pull her back, but she side-stepped him and walked right up to Drake.
* * *
ANNA
For the first time ever, Anna’s stomach didn’t turn and her mouth didn’t go dry at the thought of being near Drake. Blade had been sending love and a sense of complete safety through the bond. She had never felt Blade’s love as soul-deep as she did now, at this moment. Her Blade would risk everything for her, including going up against his alpha for her without a second thought.
It was that love and unerring devotion to her that gave her the strength to break away from him now and finally confront the shifter who’d made her life hell these past few months.
“Why?” Anna asked, stepping so close to Drake she could see the tiny flecks of gold dancing in his eyes. “What makes me so valuable to you?”
