Page 131 of Alpha's Redemption

The sun shining behind my eyelids confuses me and my head is pounding. I sit up, wondering why I’m on the ground. My keys that were clutched in my hands are now gone.

“Unlock the door, you little shit!” I hear a woman snarl. I blink when I hear my kids screaming and sit up with a groan.

“Stop that!” she yells as I hear my car doors unlocking and locking.

Clutching the trunk, I pull myself to my feet and my eyes widen when I see Nixon’s wife hit the fob. The doors unlock and she yanks the door open before Valarian can push the lock back down. The girls are crying and Valarian screams for me, petrified.

My heart races when I see her go to get in the driver's seat; all I can think is she’s trying to take my babies. I run at her, tackling her, and we both smash into the open driver's side door. I hear a snarl somewhere behind me but I’m focusing on her when she drops the keys, and we both scramble to get them just as I hear Valarian slam the door shut.

We wrestle for the keys while I scream for help; when fingers grip my hair again, yanking my head back, I toss my elbow back, connecting with someone behind me before diving back onto Nixon’s wife as her outstretched hand reaches for the keys. I land on top of her, snatching them before she can and hitting the lock button just as I’m hauled off.

“Get the damn keys, you useless woman,” I hear Nixon's voice growl as I’m ripped off his wife. My blood runs cold and I do the first thing I can think of—I toss the keys toward the store's roof as hard as I can. They hit their mark and stay.

Valarian is screaming his head off inside the car, while I kick at Nixon's wife as she tries to get close to me.

“Just take her. Hurry!” she screams at Nixon. I twist in his grip, my hair ripping out painfully before punching him in the balls from my bent position. He lets go with a grunt just as she punches me in the chest. Ribs break and I gasp for air before she knees me in the head.

Once again, I see black momentarily as I hit the ground, coming around to Valen's voice screaming in my head and asking what's happening just as Nixon punches the window.

The snarl that leaves me is more of a roar as I shift, my body smashing his against the car and denting the door before I’m dragged off by claws sinking into my rump. I twist, swiping at Nixon's wife, who has shifted into a murky brown wolf. My claws slash down her face as Nixon's teeth sink into the back of my neck.

‘Valen!’I scream through the mind-link as the woman in the store, hearing the commotion, races out, only to pause as I square off with the Alpha while trying to keep my eyes on his wife.

The car is off and it’s stinking hot—it has to be heating up like a damn oven inside. Nixon lunges at me, and I duck, sinking my teeth into his hind leg, as his wife grabs my tail, ripping me backward. The screeching of tires in the distance tells me Valen is close; I just need to hold them off a little longer.

I can see the woman from the store finally on the phone to the police—I will slap her for standing there if I survive long enough.

“Why are you just standing there!” I hear a voice snarl at the woman on the phone.

Nixon's jaws grab my front leg and he shakes his head, which leaves his neck wide open, and I chomp down on the back of it. My spine feels like it’s breaking as his wife yanks on my tail, trying to get me off him, but I’m not letting go. They aren't taking my babies—they’ll have to kill me first.

That's when something unexpected happens. One minute, I’m being ripped apart by them, the next Amber attacks Nixon, her malt colored wolf latching its jaws around his back leg and shaking viciously. I thought she left. Then I realize it was her voice I heard yelling at the shop assistant. With Nixon distracted, I turn on his wife.

ChapterFifty-Nine

Everly

My instincts are running feral. She shouldn't have tried to touch my babies! Nixon’s wife backs up, almost tripping over her own tail as she tries to get away from my teeth. Pouncing on her, I rip into her neck and my claws sink into her sides. She wails loudly while thrashing.

I start tearing at her neck, rending the flesh from her bones, spraying her blood everywhere and drenching myself. When I hear a whimper behind me, I know I only have moments before Nixon is on me.

His wife bucks wildly, trying to throw me off as her skin peels back. I let go before chomping down again, only this time on the side of her neck, curling my claws under her ribs and shaking my head. My vision turns red with her blood gets in my eyes. As she rears up on her hind legs, my claws slash down her sides when I’m thrown back.

I hit the ground on my side, my chin hitting the concrete, and I spit out the chunk of fur and skin in my jaws, trying to keep her blood from molesting my taste buds too much. Getting to my feet, I turn to attack her again when I’m slammed into the car. The thud is loud and the windows smash at the impact. My children’s screams ring out loudly behind me as Nixon's teeth rip into my chest.

He manages to latch onto my front paw and flings me to the side. As I get up, I’m smashed by his wife again. Amber's naked form, bruised and bloody, lies a few feet away. Before I can really process that, I hear claws on metal and see Nixon trying to get to my kids. I thrash, kicking his wife off before wrapping my jaws around her neck. The sickening crack as her neck breaks in my jaws when I lift her and slam her down makes my teeth ache.

I turn to charge at Nixon, but before I reach him, I’m forced to skid across the ground as Valen appears in front of me. He grabs the scruff of Nixon's neck in his bare hands and rips him back. Nixon goes flying before Valen turns on him again, preparing to shift.

My focus turns to checking on my kids. My paws hit the side of the car and the broken glass cuts into me as I peer in to find them okay, though Valarian has a scratch on his hand—it looks like he tried to shove Nixon's head out of the car.

“Dad!” he screams, looking past me, and I turn to find Valen and Nixon fighting. Valen hasn't shifted, not having the chance when Nixon lunged at him. But watching him, I find he doesn't need to—he dodges him easily, landing blows against the enormous wolf.

Despite Valen’s impressive skill, my heart nearly stops as I watch Nixon's wolf launch across the air straight at him. I suck in a gasp, about to help when they collide, Nixon's jaws snapping at his face as Valen is thrown backward. The move would have worked, except that Valen pivoted at the last second, grabbed Nixon's fur, and Nixon was pulled under him. His arms wrap around Nixon's neck as they hit the ground.

Nixon is no match for Valen—he’s stronger and faster. My mate wraps his legs around the beast's torso and Nixon's ribs crack under the pressure. As his arms wrap around the wolf’s neck, Valen squeezes his legs. Nixon thrashes, his jaws snapping wildly, close to Valen’s face, then suddenly shrieks.

One minute, he’s writhing under Valen's grip, the next, Valen has grabbed Nixon's bottom jaw with one hand and the top with the other. My stomach heaves when he pries Nixon's jaw wide, snapping it. Blood sprays everywhere and the beast’s bottom jaw hangs limply. Yet still, Valen doesn't let him go, even as Nixon's screaming howls cut out.

---