Page 147 of Awakened
He quickly looked around the raging battle. “Where’s Hope?”
My head whipped right and left. “I don’t see her. She should be by Grandma Rose.
We heard a screech and, without a word, ran towards it. Becca slipped inside the barn while Hope and Whitney squared up against six wolves.
When Hope saw us, she gestured wildly, yelling, “Les! Zach! Help!”
Still mid-shift, Whitney pushed Hope behind her as one of the enemy wolves lunged. She rolled left, and the wolf ran face-first into the barn door. I reached her side in time to block another blow as she completed her shift.
Whitney jumped out from behind me, her jaws clamping down on the small aggressor’s neck. There was a loud crack, and Whitney dropped the motionless body. Her muzzle covered in blood, she turned to the two wolves opposite us.
Gracefully leaping onto the larger one, her attack was vicious. Her teeth and claws ripped through the large beta male. He never stood a chance. Whitney was living up to every expectation I had for the fierce luna.
My body fought to shift, but I needed to stay in control until the last possible second. My teeth and claws wouldn’t retract, but a partial shift would do just fine.
The other wolf was stunned by the brutal takedown. I used that moment to rush him, knocking him to his side, but his back paw gave my thigh a deep gash. My chest rumbled with a growl as I ripped through his throat.
Pulling my arm from under the dead weight, I stood, finally taking in the changing battlefield. The glowing orb acted as a line no Old Church wolf had breached. Our male reinforcements hadn’t even been allowed to break through that barrier.
Pointing my chin to the sky, I howled. The fighting didn’t stop, but I knew my troops were listening. “Maintain the line. Reinforcements, don’t breach the barrier. All male wolves are being taken as a threat.” No need for good males to die because a she wolf was unfamiliar with them.
Looking through the chaos for Matthew, I saw Aiden tumble out of the tree line. A large silver alpha had him by the neck. I started toward him as a blur of fur flew by. Whitney approached Aiden like a bat out of hell. Tackling his opponent, she bought Aiden a few seconds to catch his breath. He shook his fur out and charged back at the silver alpha.
They worked in tandem until the alpha tossed Whitney against a tree, separating the two. With his back to Whitney, the alpha crushed Aiden’s back leg in one giant chomp. Aiden’s anguished howl drew me closer to their fight.
Before I could reach them, Whitney leapt onto the alpha’s back, claws and teeth going through his broad shoulders. No skin was left unshredded. Whitney rode his body to the ground until she was standing on top of the very large, very dead alpha. Letting out a howl of victory, Whitney scurried toward Aiden.
As I inched toward the couple, I heard Whitney whining. When I finally saw Aiden’s leg, I nearly vomited. It no longer had a shape—bones were fragmented and pulverized like they had been steamrolled. I wasn’t sure if that could be healed. He whimpered and yelped as Whitney tried to comfort him, attempting to get close enough to lick the wounds.
More people ran toward us, and I turned to protect my fallen comrades.
A black wolf lunged at me, hitting me smack dab in the chest with its gigantic head. I stumbled back, trying to gain my balance. “Fuck.” Without looking behind me, I knew Whitney was too preoccupied to help. “Whitney, drag Aiden—” I punched the wolf in the throat. “To the barn. Put him in a stall where he’ll be out of the way.” I kicked a second wolf in the guts. “You can’t defend yourself if you’re worried about him.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I watched her struggle to move him. In front of me, three more wolves charged with Emily hot on their tails.
“Emily! Help Whitney with your brother!”
Her head swung to Aiden, and a vicious growl tore through the air.
My claws tore a chunk out of a wolf’s ass as I yelled at Emily to focus. From behind, a large body slammed into me, knocking me to the ground. “Watch your back, sis. You almost lost it.” Brandon was like a boulder sitting on top of me.
“Get off me, asshole.”
He kissed the back of my head and popped up. “Love you too!”
Brandon and I covered Whitney and Emily as they dragged Aiden through the yard.
Reaching the edge of the barn, there was a scream. I rounded the corner and found four wolves surrounding someone on the ground. Brandon and I pushed Emily and Whitney through the barn door, then pounced.
Wrapping my arms around the neck of the closest wolf, I squeezed until it went down on its front legs. I tossed my wet hair back to get a better look at what the four were surrounding.
“No.”
Suddenly, I couldn’t hear anything but my heartbeat. My eyes filled with tears, and my hands clenched soggy fur, tugging it until the wolf under me whined. An uncontrollable rage burned through me.
Snapping the wolf’s neck, my legs went weak, and I landed in the mud. I shook with anger, sobs, and an electricity I had never experienced. I fought the shift, knowing it wasn’t the time, but my body wanted the unfettered power my wolf form provided.
I wanted destruction.
