Page 3 of The Alpha's Mates

Doubt flickered in my chest and I wondered if maybe the reputation these wolves had as vicious killers was wrong. Maybe they weren’t like my father and the other numerous males we’d run from. They were making this almost a fair fight—even as a pack of coveted females fled from them. Well, it wasn’t technically fair. I’d never seen wolves as big as they were—not even alphas.

My eyes flicked back and forth watching the three wolves as they spread out further, blocking me inside the mouth of the tunnel. That was fine. I wasn’t leaving it.

Soren darted in at me, shifting mid attack, shocking me with his speed. Something that big shouldn’t be able to move so quickly.

I yipped in surprise, barely dodging a bite to my left hind leg as he lunged past my defenses. I spun and snapped at him, not surprised when he danced agilely away. There was a doggy grin on his face and it made me want to bite him. This was life and death and this asshole was treating it like a game.

My chest was heaving with a mixture of adrenaline, worry, and—even though I’d never admit it out loud—fear. None of the other cadres moved a muscle. It was me against their leader, for now. Even his cadre mates were waiting, letting him face me alone. They were just blocking any escape route.

Feigning a few more attacks—that I warded off—he continued to dance just out of reach of my teeth. I narrowed my eyes, focusing solely on him since the others had made it clear they weren’t going to interfere. The head alpha wanted to kill me himself.

So be it.

I was tired of being on the defensive. Making my own move, I growled in pleasure when my jaws clamped down over his frontright leg. The move had taken me outside the tunnel and past his cadre mates as he’d tried to avoid my snapping jaws. Before he could use my distraction to take a bite out of my own hide, I bolted back to my spot inside of the opening. The two wolves waiting there for their alpha’s command hadn’t gone inside. Their cadre was clearly the rulers over this pack, but even within cadres there was a pecking order. The gray wolf in front of me, staring down at the bite on his leg in irritation, ruled them all. So long as I held his full attention, the others wouldn’t move for the tunnel. Of course, that meant that I had hisfull attention.

Gone was Soren’s amusement. I’d drawn first blood. With the coppery flavor coating my tongue I realized that he wasn’t trying to hurt me. He could have easily if that’d been the case. They had an advantage in size and numbers. I apparently had one in the fact that they didn’t want to kill me yet. So while I would go for blood, they were trying to keep me intact.

Probably want to study me. Figure out how I came into being. Get in line, Pal.If wolves didn’t want to kill me on sight, they wanted to inspect me.

I’d love to know why I’d been cursed into being a female alpha. Why had the Moon Goddess forsaken me? Mom had looked into it, but had only been able to find mention of three other times in history when this had happened. None of the females had lived long enough to know how their designation would affect them. One had been killed when she’d come of age and presented as an alpha. Her pack had shredded her down to bone. The others had disappeared and been presumed dead.

The dance went on between us. I hadn’t managed to get in another bite and he wasn’t even limping from the one I had given, much to my dismay. I’d battled wolves on behalf of my pack before, usually betas and lesser alphas, looking to drag us back to their leaders. This was my first time fighting a powerful alpha. It wasn’t going so well for me.

I wasn’t stupid enough to think that because I was an alpha I could overpower a beast like the one in front of me. He easily outweighed me and his huge gray bodyguard—Atlas—standing nearby was at least twice my own weight.

We’d survived not by fighting, but by hiding. Unfortunately, my pack had doubled in the last six months alone and that made flying under the radar much more difficult. A growl floated through the air and it took my breath away.

My eyes flashed to his—they were so dark I couldn’t see gray in them anymore—and I tried not to cower. He was using his alpha sway to try to force me to comply. Luckily, being an alpha myself, it wasn’t as strong as it would be if I were another designation. Still, the power behind it and my need to bend to his will shocked me.

He was strong, physically and mentally, in his role as leader. My desire to protect my girls was the only thing keeping me on my feet. I crouched down low, avoiding the pull his second growl caused. I’d never reacted to a wolf this way before. Not even my own father—head of a pack himself—held this kind of sway over me. No one had ever made my muzzle dip down toward the dirt like it was starting to do.

Fight it! You can’t let him win.

My breath came out in pants as I tried to break the hold he had on me. Three sets of eyes were watching me, all intense, and all pissed off. They didn’t like that I was resisting.

As one unit all three let out menacing growls. Some of the alphas standing nearby flopped to the ground at the strength of the demand coming from their leaders.

I couldn’t hold out against all three of them. It’d been a miracle I’d manage to resist one. My legs gave out and I sank down to my belly, nose down to the ground, eyes downcast. I couldn’t fight the pull. They’d won and they hadn’t even had to fight.

Soren had been testing my skill and strength before, something I was just now realizing. I’d come up lacking and it made tears well in my eyes. This was the first time I’d ever failed my pack. I didn’t know what they had in store for me, but death might be preferable. My bruised and battered ego had me seething, burning away my tears.

The cadre he’d sent out to scout the tunnel returned. There was a quick conversation held—the lack of fighting or snarling indicated they were speaking telepathically—and envy washed over me. That was a useful skill I wish I had. A female could only speak in other’s minds once a mating bond was formed with her pack.

Their concentration was broken enough for me to raise my head and watch them. I wasn’t being forced to stare at the ground.

Dark eyes swept over to me again. He just realized his wolves would have to get into the tunnel to get my females. I gave him my own doggy grin. I’d managed to stall for twenty minutes or so. My girls should be exiting the tunnel about now and heading out for our meet up spot.

Soren’s eyes flashed with excitement as he watched me. That hadn’t been what I’d been expecting from my challenge. I figured he’d be pissed. Instead there was heat there in his gaze.

That couldn’t be right. Males weren’t interested in me that way once they realized what I was. Sure they were attracted to me at first, but after they learned I was an alpha? The heat always turned to icy hatred. It never turned into a rut. They wanted omegas, or maybe a beta, if they didn’t find their fated mate within an omega’s embrace. None of the members of my father’s pack had wanted anything to do with me growing up, sexually, or otherwise. I’d been an outcast.

The sound of snapping jaws to my right had me scrambling to my feet and out of the way of sharp teeth. The huge gray wolfhad joined the fight. Now that they needed to get past me they weren’t pulling punches.

A set of teeth grazed my hind quarters and I spun with bared teeth, growling low as the smaller gray wolf slunk around behind me. I was surrounded as the three of them began circling. The rest stayed back and watched. They didn’t need to get involved because the three wolves around me were giving me a run for my money.

I easily bested other females, and the few male wolves I’d fought in the past hadn’t been ready for me. That was how I’d managed to take Soren’s own warrior, by the element of surprise. They weren’t used to a female shifter being as strong or quick as me. Because none of them ever assumed I was an alpha. These three seemed like they’d been born to make me toe the line. It pissed me off.

Going back on the offensive, I rushed after Atlas and snapped at his vulnerable throat. It meant leaving my position in front of the tunnel, but the girls should have had enough time to get to safety by now.

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