Page 23 of Blade's Battle
“Ally!” Blade shouted.
“Identify yourselves,” said another shifter, one who’d remained or shifted back to human form.
“Blade. Damien’s pack. On my way home. Had no choice but to cut through your territory. WSSO mercenaries were chasing us.” At least the bullet in his shoulder would support his claim.
“Why? And why do you have a human with you?” a third shifter asked, his voice too short and impatient.
They didn’t believe him. Damien had a reputation of not allowing humans in his territory. Blade steadied his voice, especially with the wolf’s jaws still clamped around his neck. “I’m taking her to my pack on my alpha’s orders.”
“Why? Who is she?”
“My alpha thinks she has insight that can help us defeat the WSSO.” There, truth, slightly twisted, enough to protect Anna.
The teeth withdrew, and Blade felt the brush of fur leave his skin.
Blade rose slowly. Five feet away, Anna was curled up in a ball at the base of a tree, eyes wide and terrified. Hell.
His own wolf had its hackles up, but he ignored the clawing from within, the desire to attack those who had pinned him, threatened him, threatenedher. He’d been far too vulnerable one too many times today and his wolf was eager to dominate someone.
The tall shifter, the one with salt and pepper hair stepped toward Anna. Blade couldn’t stop the growl from leaving his throat.
“She’s under my protection,” Blade said as he forced his way past the second shifter to stand between the tall one and Anna. What he really wanted to say was that she was his. Except she wasn’t and never would be. She’d made that part clear.
“Get her moving, then. We’re going back to our camp. Our alpha will have some questions for you.”
Blade bent to help Anna rise, but she shook her head and rose on her own. She shied away from him but stayed close to him as the shifters escorted them away from the river and into the woods. Liam’s patrol didn’t talk or make any threatening moves, but Anna still looked terrified. He should have prepared her for this possibility.
“This is protocol, Anna,” he said softly, though he knew the guards heard him, hoping to allay her fear that coming off of her in waves. Containing his wolf, especially with her fear threading through him, putting him on edge, was becoming exceedingly difficult.
Extra guards patrolled inside the center of Liam’s compound, which heightened Blade’s own fear that perhaps cutting through Liam’s territory was a bad idea. Liam was already on high alert. Damien hadn’t heard from Liam in a while and Liam had failed to meet Damien and Drake last month to discuss the problem of the WSSO. Had the treaty been broken?
Liam stood in the center, waiting for them, with his second and enforcer flanking him. “Scout,” Liam greeted him, with a weary but civil nod.
“Alpha,” Blade said back, dipping his head low, making himself vulnerable before the alpha of the pack. It was not a move he had ever liked, but living as a lone wolf as long as he had taught him to swallow his pride more often than not. Survival, pure and simple.
Before Blade could explain his presence, Liam walked away from him and stood before Anna. His dark eyes raked over her as if she were his next meal. “Who do we have here?”
Blade shoved Anna behind him,growlingas he did so. A very clear and audible growl, the type that challenged, the type that got a scout killed when facing off against an alpha.
He prepared for a killing blow, not to get yanked aside from Anna behind him. She stepped between him and Liam, stunning both of them. Neither shifter moved, too curious to see what the hell she, a human, could possibly do to defend Blade against an alpha.
Without hesitating, she swept the thick mass of curly blonde hair to the side and tilted her neck back to expose her throat in a very courageous and daring sign of submission. It’s probably what saved Blade’s life. He wanted to back away, but his wolf wouldn’t let him. Already another growl was bubbling to the surface. If he didn’t contain his wolf soon, he—and possibly Anna—would be dead.
Liam glared at Blade long enough to deliver his own warning, a very deep growl that showed restraint, but only because Anna now stood between them.
“You know shifter customs?” Liam said, his eyes once more on Anna.
“I spent some time with my husband’s pack up in Oregon, so I’m guessing the customs aren’t that different here.”
Husband?Blade’s heart sank. Now he understood why she hadn’t asked any question about shifters and why she’d hesitated with him. She was married to a shifter. His Anna wasmarried.
No, not his Anna. She belonged to another male.
“And this one,” Liam pointed to Blade. “You allow a shifter who’s near-feral to escort you?”
“Feral?” The surprise on her face was clear. “Blade, is this true?”
“Talk to me, human,” Liam said, drawing her attention back to him.
