Page 29 of Betrayed Wolf Mate

His arms wrapped around me, pulling us close. I could see every individual droplet of water on him. He leaned forward and brushed his lips against mine, and I melted in his arms. My wolf growled her approval, needing more of the male shifter currently holding me. I let out an unconscious moan, and his grip on my hand tightened. That fire I’d been holding back ignited entirely, and my mind went blank with hunger.

Suddenly, there was a snapping sound nearby. Sam’s head shot up and spun around, his entire body tense as he tried to push me behind him.

Then he paused, frowning, as the intruder got close enough for us to smell. It wasn’t Farrow or any of my old pack, but one of the Silver Wolves.

“Something’s wrong,” Sam said, his voice taut.

An ash-brown wolf broke through the trees. He saw the two of us and growled before shifting back into Oliver. His face was grave, his eyes filled with worry.

“Oliver?” Sam asked.

“You guys need to come back,” he said. “Farrow and a group of underlings are attacking the town.”

Chapter 14 - Sam

Stella paled, her eyes wide as she looked from Oliver to me and back again. “What?” she said.

“They tried to ambush us,” Oliver said to me. “We need all hands on deck. Jameson thinks we can push them back, but we need to get Stella to safety, and we need you to help protect the town.”

I turned to Stella. It seemed impossible that moments ago, everything had seemed like they were looking up. All of that good mood had evaporated with the news, and we didn’t have much time to act.

“Let’s get going,” I said, then shifted without a moment’s hesitation, letting my wolf take over and speed us back to town.

My wolf stretched, relishing the feeling of being set loose while bristling with rage that another pack would dare attack our town, let alone in order to abduct a shifter we cared about. He wanted to make them pay, and I was inclined to agree with him.

Next to me, Oliver and Stella had already shifted. The smaller, dark-furred wolf nuzzled against me, and the scent of raspberries and sugar was even stronger when Stella was a wolf. But there was no time to stall. We had to go.

We raced back to the town. The closer we got, the louder the sounds of chaos grew. Even worse was the growing smell of smoke, burning our eyes and noses as we approached. Farrow hadn’t been bluffing. The entire town was really in danger.

As we got closer to town, we came across Mark, leading a group of younger shifters out of town. He saw us and shifted back to human form as we did the same.

“We’re getting some of the more vulnerable shifters out of town,” he said. “Kids and teens and pregnant women. Basically, everyone else insisted on fighting.”

“I knew there was a reason I liked this town,” Oliver said with a small grin. “Good people.”

Mark nodded. “This is the last of them. Jameson is fighting a group of underlings in the center of town. I think you should go help him, then see where the line’s the weakest. We’re holding our own at the moment, but they’re stubborn, and the fire isn’t helping.”

“We’ll head that way,” I said.

Stella nodded, and my eyes narrowed as panic briefly washed over me. “Not you, Stella,” I said. “Mark, could you take her to the bunker and keep her safe?”

“I’m not going to a bunker,” Stella protested. “This whole thing is my fault. I’m going to help fight.”

Frustration washed over me. I couldn’t stand the thought of her being in danger. The idea that she wanted to fight was admirable, but I wasn’t about to let her put herself in danger like that. But I didn’t want to argue with her about it, either. Based on the stubborn set of her chin, which was far more attractive than it had any right to be, I was about to have to come up with a very convincing argument that didn’t amount to “it’s dangerous.”

“It’s not a good idea,” I insisted. “They’re here for one reason. And if you go into the fight, you’re serving yourself up on a silver platter for those assholes.”

“You don’t know that,” she countered.

I would have expected her to be at least a little afraid, but there was no fear mixed in her scent. Just pure rage. I wouldhave been impressed if it wasn’t for the fact that it was about to make our ensuing argument a lot more difficult.

“Stella—” I began.

“I can help,” she said. “I’m stronger than you think, Sam.”

“I know you’re strong,” I said, gripping her arms and looking into her face. “Anyone who’s been through what you have and still standing has to be. And I know you can take care of yourself; I’m not trying to say you can’t. But I’m not going to be able to focus on the fight if I’m worried about you. And Akron and Farrow and all their people are going to be hunting for you. The moment they get the chance, they’re going to grab you and haul you away. If you fight, that’s going to make it infinitely easier for them to get to you. The bunker is magic-proof. They won’t be able to find you there. Do it for me. Please.”

Stella hesitated. I could tell by the expression in her eyes that she wasn’t happy. She wanted to fight.

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