Page 63 of Wolf Claimed
There was no way Alyssa was going to let that happen. Despite what Rafe said, she was sure Tiernan wasn’t feral yet. Not completely. He wouldn’t have let the agents flee without attacking if he was.
She didn’t know how exactly, but she had to stop Rafe. She felt the weight of her gun in her boot holster. Even if she weren’t cuffed and could reach her gun, she wouldn’t shoot Rafe. Or Tiernan.
Rafe shifted back to his wolf and circled behind her. By now, she knew the shifter well enough to figure out he was trying to insert himself between her and Tiernan, which was a bad idea. Tiernan’s wolf hadn’t threatened her, but his growling increased the moment Rafe started moving.
Using her leg, she shoved Rafe’s wolf aside. With each step Rafe took, Alyssa sidestepped, keeping Rafe’s wolf behind her. Rafe’s wolf growled, not happy with her. Tiernan’s wolf snarled in return.
Tiernan’s usual blue-gray eyes had darkened to black, nearly as dark as Maddox’s eyes, except these held a wildness to them. Everything about Tiernan looked feral, but that inner presence that had been plaguing Alyssa for years trusted Tiernan not to harm her.
“Tiernan,” Alyssa said in a soothing voice. “You’re not in danger. I’m not in danger. Please, shift back so we can talk.”
Tiernan’s wolf stopped baring his teeth. His eyes focused on her and his head tilted ever-so-slightly.
With her hands still cuffed behind her back, she knelt on the ground to be eye-level with Tiernan’s wolf. That simple, innocent action placed her throat exceedingly close to the long, sharp teeth he flashed. She leaned in, tilting her head to the side, offering her neck. Why she did that, she had no clue, except it seemed the thing to do.
The wolf’s lips uncurled, hiding his teeth as he scented her along her neck. Fur receded into the wolf as bones moved and reshaped. Within seconds, Tiernan knelt on the ground in front of her, naked and with a wild look in his once-again blue-gray eyes.
“Alyssa?” he said, confused and scared. He didn’t remember.
“You’re okay, Tiernan,” she said, brushing her lips over his, calming her racing heart. It was really him, safe and alive.
“What happened?” he asked, starting to look around to make sense of where they were.
“Your wolf went feral,” Rafe said.
“Find a knife, Rafe,” Alyssa said, without taking her eyes from Tiernan.
“You’re not going to blood-bond him. It’s too risky.”
“It’s not your choice. Either help me or leave.”
Rafe cursed as he rifled through the two unconscious agents’ pockets. “I found the key.” He unlocked her cuffs. A moment later, a metallic click drew her attention. Rafe held a switchblade in his hand.
“That’s my knife,” she said.
“The one supposedly used to kill Graves?” Rafe asked as he handed it to her. “I don’t smell anyone’s scent on it except yours, Lincoln’s, and Gallagher’s. No trace of Graves.”
“Lincoln must have found it, turned it in, and Gallagher—” She cut herself off when she noticed the black swirling in Tiernan’s eyes. “Never mind him for now. Show me what to do for this blood-bonding, Rafe.”
“No!” Tiernan said, struggling to breathe. “I’m already losing control to my wolf again. If I shift during a blood-bond, I might kill you. Rafe, Alpha, put me down before I hurt anyone.”
“We’re going to blood-bond,” Alyssa said, determined not to let her fear or either shifter dissuade her. She gripped Tiernan’s face. “This will work. Trust me.”
Tiernan stared at her, eyes wide, and no longer able to talk.
Alyssa glanced up at Rafe. “Now, Rafe!”
Rafe shook his head. He wasn’t going to show her.
Alyssa snatched the knife from his hand. Before she could cut her palm, Rafe grabbed her wrist, stopping her. “I love you, Alyssa.”
“Then help me save Tiernan!”
“If this works, you and I. . . We can never. . .”
She felt that pull toward Rafe as she did every time he was near. “I don’t want to lose you, but I can’t let him die. Please, Rafe. There was a time you asked me to trust you, and now I’m asking the same of you. I promise, Rafe, I won’t walk away from you.”
“You won’t have that choice. Once you blood-bond, you won’t be able to think of being with another male.”
