Page 25 of Alpha's Fated Flame

I sniffed around at an old, rusted gate. We had been running all night, stopping only for a brief water break. I did not feel fatigued in the least. My heart was pumping, knowing that we would soon rescue our mate.

The sun was rising, tendrils of light peeking through the cloudy sky. We had reached an old farm road that was barricaded by this flimsy gate.

I leaped over it, landing softly to not alert our enemy to our presence. One by one, the pack followed my lead, jumping over it with ease. I started up the dirt road, and then I smelled it.

Dried blood. Our mate's blood.

It was scattered in droplets up the pathway, but there was no mistaking that coppery scent. My eyes filmed over with a red haze from rage. Still, I padded softly up the pathway, hunting for my prey. The one who dared to spill her blood. The one who had signed their own death warrant.

And it was only one scent besides hers that I smelled. An old, pungent smell reminded me of rotting meat left out in the sun. It was not the clean scent of a wolf. A lone human had dared to do this.

I exchanged glances with Duncan, who was treading carefully beside me. I mind-linked with him, telling him to back off with the others.

The human was mine to kill.

Then, I saw him appear. The human. He exited from an old farmhouse, swinging something by his side. He did not look around at his surroundings but focused intently on an old barn, making his way towards that. A shame. Maybe if he had looked around, he might've seen his impending doom. Instead, he trudged along his path, oblivious to the predator hunting him.

I came up softly behind him and saw with bone-chilling horror what he was swinging so casually by his side.

It was a baseball bat… coated with my mate's precious caramel-scented blood. My mind fucking snapped. I let my animal instincts fully take over. There was going to be no slow, torturous end for this human. My wolf demanded his death now.

I leaped over his hand, landing right in front of him, baring my fangs with a deafening growl. I needed to see his face as he died. I allowed him one moment of pure shock.

"Wha…," he started to gasp out. He never got to finish what he wanted to say.

My claws shot out and ripped open his belly, spilling out his intestines to the dirt ground below. He dropped to his knees, his face graying with his eyes rolling to the back of his head. He spluttered, his worthless blood pouring out of his mouth.

I leaped onto his chest, knocking him fully to the ground. I opened my mouth, baring my fangs, and ripped out his neck with a satisfying crunch. I let his decapitated head drop unceremoniously, letting it roll to a stop on the blood-soaked earth. My pack gathered around, howling in victory and ripping apart his disgusting body.

But our hunt was not over yet. We still needed to find Adrianna and bring her back to her rightful place with her pack.

Chapter 11

Kayden

Iracedtothewooden barn door the human was heading towards, still in my wolf form. It was locked, secured with a chain and padlock. The scent of blood was stronger here. I had no key. I growled for a second, deciding what to do.

Without further ado, I threw my heavy wolf's body against it over and over. I heard creaking, the wooden door splintering, embedding itself into my fur. Uncaring about the pain, I threw myself against it harder. Blood poured down my shoulders, dripping hot.

The pack joined me, using our collective strength.

Finally, it gave way with a deafening crash, falling into the room ahead. Cheerful sunlight poured into the room, illuminating the horror within. My blood ran cold.

Our beautiful, red-furred Adrianna in wolf form, broken, bloodied, and chained to the wall. All I could see were the giant manacles around each of her four limbs and her limpness as she lay there unmoving. My wolf let out a last pained roar, letting me take over now. He knew the chains were not something his claws could manage.

I shifted to my human form, uncaring of my nakedness. I raced over to her and felt her pulse. It was faint but there. My body shuddered as I beheld the torture that had been rained down upon her.

My eyes could not see a single bone that had not been broken or a piece of fur that had not been bloodied. If she were in her human form, she would have died ages ago. Her wolf had kept her alive.

Murderous rage overwhelmed my rational thought. I wanted to go back and kill that evil, vile pig all over again.

Instead, I grasped the first manacle around her front paw with my bare hands. I braced myself, muscles bulging. The rusted metal cut into my hands as I tore it apart with a vicious strength I didn't know I possessed.

I tossed the broken cuffs aside and reached for the second. Blood poured down my arms as I shattered the second one as well. The metal had cut through my nerves and tendons until it had reached the white bone of my hands.

Despite that, I reached for the third manacle.

My shredded hands were shaking with pure agony as it slipped from my grasp. I reached for it again, intent on destroying the thing keeping me from my mate. But my ravaged hands could not grasp it.

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