Page 77 of The Alpha's Mates

My teeth caught his ear and ripped it off with a tug of my head. Blood sprayed into my mouth and I licked my lips, enjoying the taste. He let out a howl of pain and did exactly what I was hoping he'd do. He rushed me.

I stomped down hard on his tail as he went past and he yipped in surprise before spinning around to face me once more. His eyes were wild with anger and I knew that he wasn't thinking straight now. I was toying with him. Shoving him further into madness. It was building in his eyes. This time when he rushed me, I stood my ground, bracing for the impact.

When his body hit mine, I let my knees buckle, sending us both sprawling to the ground. I was ready for it, he wasn't. My front claws hooked on his shoulders as he struggled to roll away. He wasn't going anywhere. I met his eyes and satisfaction brimmed inside of me when I read the fear there. He knew these were his last moments. I bunched my back legs, letting the claws on my feet scrape over his belly. Slicing him open from chest to balls, I grinned as his innards spilled out, hot and wet, over my fur. It had been my plan to bathe in the blood of my enemies. I wasn't going to fucking shy away from it. I held on, watching as the light faded from his eyes.

Once he was dead, I tossed his carcass aside. It hit the ground with a squelch as I stood and faced where Haron and his three remaining wolves were waiting.It's time to kill him. For Reese.It wasn’t going to take us long to dispatch these fuckers. There were only four left, including Haron, and three were already exhausted and injured from fighting us.

I took a step forward, ready to finish this fight, when a shock wave hit me. The force sent all three of us down to our bellies with whimpers. There, between us and Haron, was Arune. And at least fifty more shifters.Fuck me.

CHAPTER 34

Calder

My ears rang with the finality of our own death. Lifting my muzzle, I gazed out over the wolves who now blocked our path. Beyond them, Arune stood, like the Goddess she was, lording over our damnation. She looked so fucking thrilled, it pissed me off. Where had she found so many of our kind willing to screw everyone? Didn't they realize what they were doing? What could she have offered them to sway them to her side?

I recognized some of their scents. They were all our enemies to begin with. It was comforting to see none of our allies had sided with the deranged goddess. Still, we were outnumbered and there was no way we'd be able to fight our way out of this.

Atlas and Soren were at my side, both in wolf form, ready to fight to the death. We had nothing left to live for. So, despite the odds, we'd fight. And we'd die. At least it wouldn't be said that we didn't try.

I want you both to leave.

Looking over at Soren, I snarled in disbelief.And leave you here to die alone?

I don't want to sign your death warrants.

That's not your choice, Soren. Atlas shook out his fur, licking his chops as he surveyed the insurmountable army before us.You don't get to have all the fun.

Snorting in amusement, I turned my face forward.I'll take the twenty on the left.

I get the twenty on the right.

What the hell? You can't leave me only ten, Soren snapped.

You get the bitch, too. She’s got to be worth at least ten.I gave him a feral grin full of teeth before I bombed my way down the hill like a loose cannonball.

The first two wolves went down under me and didn't get back up. My claws were sharp and my teeth were sharper. Blood coated my muzzle by the time I was done with them. I didn't have the chance to turn before something rammed into me, sending me sprawling. I was surrounded by at least six wolves. I wasn't about to let that stop me. Snapping my teeth, I spun, keeping my eye on them as much as I could. They attacked as one, and claws and teeth raked my hide, sending pain splintering through my mind as I fought. I gave pain back to them, not as often, but I was doing my best. My blood was flowing, my mind numb now as I caught a claw to the cheek.

My eyes searched past the wolves surrounding me, I'd managed to kill another, but more just took his place.There.I found Atlas fighting. Just beyond him, Soren was standing, his ribs expanding and collapsing as he stared down at the ground. Arune stood in front of him, waving her hand around. I didn't need to be close to know she was doing one of those damn monologues that she loved to torture us with.

Fuck.I didn't want to die. I didn't want my cadre mates to die. Didn't want Reese to be gone. I didn’t want my pack to have to suffer these traitors. My heart throbbed at the thought of my mate. We'd all felt the moment she had slipped away from us. It was a feeling I'd never forget. My legs were knocked out from under me, then, and now. A huff exploded from me as I hit the ground. Calix's magic had worn off long ago. I closed my eyes, knowing this was it. This was the end. At least we'd all be together in the afterlife.

"Calder!"

My eyes snapped open. I swore it had been Reese, but as I looked around nothing had changed. I struggled to my feet. The wolves let me, ready to gang up on me again. They were enjoying this. My eyes widened as a huge...mud ball...rolled down the hill toward the battle. I couldn't even say anything, just looked for an opening in the wolves circling me. There! I dove just as George rampaged through the shifters who'd been about to kill me.

I rolled, shifting to human, healing my wounds, and running toward Soren. He was still standing there with that rage filled look on his face. Arune was laughing as she taunted him. She was so focused on him she didn't see me coming. I partially shifted as I got near, letting my lethal claws out. They raked over the backs of her knees, deep enough to cause lacerations down to the bone. Her scream was like music to my ears. It wouldn’t kill her, in fact, the wounds were already closing before my eyes, but damn had it felt good to cause her a bit of pain.

She turned and snarled at me. My eyes widened and I tried to shift, but it was too late. Her claws were already ripping through my chest as she shoved me away from her. I landed hard on my back, the wind rushing out of me in a painful whoosh. I lifted my head and stared down at my chest. "Fuck," I croaked. White bone was shining in the moonlight.

"Calder!" This time it was my friends yelling my name.

"Shit, guys," I choked out as they knelt next to me. A quick glance over assured me that Arune was busy. George, a wolf in each hand, was raining haymakers down on her. The Goddess could take a punch, I'd give her that. Half she was blocking, the others were hitting her with a force that would have felled any mortal. Two new wolves had joined the fray. Their red and black coats, and the air of magic around them, told me it was Katashi and Calix. Some part of me, the part that was still thinking rationally even as the blood welled up out of my chest, was glad George and Katashi were still alive. I thought for sure they were goners when we left them in the Dreiken Wood.

I looked back at my friends who were trying to stop the bleeding. "I'm okay," I lied. "Go help George."

"We're not leaving you," Atlas snapped.

"Guys, you have to help them defeat Arune," I wheezed. It was taking more effort to breathe. Every word was draining me. “For Reese.”

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