Everyone but me.
My body doesn’t move. Partly because I resist, and partly because I can barely stand. Because my knees are already buckling, my vision is already fading into black.
And for the first time since I was a child, I feel powerless.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Luca
Adrenaline floods my system, my heart hammering against my ribs, muscles tensing, ready to fight or flee. The metallic tang of blood floods my mouth, the coppery taste a stark contrast to the sharp, bitter stench of the wolf. My teeth sink into his flesh, a crushing pressure around his throat, a sharp twist of my head, and he collapses to the ground.
My first kill of the battle lies dead before me, neck torn wide open. My chest heaves, but there’s no time to feel the weight of it—another wolf lunges for me. His claws slicing into my back as I try to buck him off. A sharp pain lances through me, momentarily stealing my breath.
My fur bristles as a wave of pure, animalistic rage washes over me. The world narrows, as I focus on the snarling beast clinging to my flesh. I throw myself against the wall of the building, crushing the other wolf against the solid structure, dazing him enough to dislodge him. It’s all I need. I surge forward, claws and teeth slicingthrough flesh and sinew until his body crumbles, slumped and lifeless.
The sound of paws pounding the ground draws my attention, and I turn as Ryan’s huge, brown wolf leaps into the air and crashes into the third wolf that tries to get through the door. He doesn’t stand a chance against Ryan’s alpha wolf, so I take a second to breathe and get my bearings.
The bitter tang of bloodshed—far too much bloodshed—hangs heavy in the air. The formerly silent wooded area now rings out with clashing teeth and claws, loud snarls, and howls of agony.
I watch as one of Caleb’s brothers is pounced on by four warriors at the same time. As one of our own warriors—Carson, I think—is torn to shreds by two other warriors. Jackson rushes to defend him, but it’s too late. He was already dead before I laid eyes on him.
Ryan has already killed the last wolf that attacked, but he doesn’t stop ripping through his flesh. The viciousness of his impending moon madness has him on edge and more ferocious than ever.
Five wolves prowl towards me and Ryan—the last defense before the door to the building where my mate is. A growl builds low in my chest as I lower my body, ready to pounce.
“Stop,” an unknown voice roars out, dripping with Alpha command so thick that my knees buckle and the wolves in front of me fall to the ground and whine.
Ryan’s head snaps back, and he lets out a snarl unlike anything I’ve ever heard. Raw, guttural, filled with more pain than any shifter should ever endure.
I’m frozen, locked in place by the stranger’s aura. Needing to know what Ryan sees, I reach out through the mindlink, but he blocks me out. Seconds tick by before Ryan shifts into his human self and applies his own alpha command for me to follow suit.
My bones crack and shrink as the familiar, almost comforting, pain of the shift moves through my body. I rise from my crouched position, naked and bloodied, and take in the sight in front of me.
My blood turns to ice in my veins, and my heart threatens to pound out of my chest.
An alpha I don’t recognize stands among the omegas. He’s older than us, probably in his fifties. He has black hair, and his eyes glow with the amber of his wolf. The omegas surround him, kneeling with their heads bowed. Some of them heave silent sobs, some shaking as they try—and fail—to fight off the alpha command.
But the worst part, the part that has a red mist descending before my eyes, is his hand wrapped around Sofia’s beautiful throat. Her golden-brown skin is paler, and her face is drawn into a grimace.
“Alpha Lo of the Night Howlers,” Ryan says for my benefit because I don’t have a clue who this soon-to-be-dead fucker is. “You’re not the only Alpha here. I can undo your commands with my own.”
How he’s keeping his voice calm is beyond comprehension. My wolf is thrashing at my restraints, attempting to claw his way out of my chest. Pain lances through me, much worse than what I felt in the battle. As if my wolf’s claws are literally slicing through my insides.
“That might be so, but this pretty she-wolf would be dead before you get a chance to touch me.” He leans in, and his tongue drags along the side of Sofia’s face. Bile rises in my throat. I surge forward, but Ryan pulls me back. Lo needs to die. But his claws are extended to Sofia’s throat. She recoils against him, and his claws push into her neck. Droplets of her blood trail down towards her chest.
“Ah, ah, ah,” he mutters before applying his alpha command. “I told you to stay still.”
Sofia’s body goes ramrod straight. Her muscles taut and unwavering as Lo’s other hand paws at her breast. She doesn’t flinch, but disgust twists her features—nose wrinkled like she’s smelling rotting flesh. Rage and shame boil so hot I can barely breathe.
This is my fault. If I hadn’t tried to stop her from coming in the first place, we would have been in and out before this monster ever got here. My wolf howls and claws at me as I worry I’ll lose the battle to wait for the right moment to attack.
“I couldn’t believe my luck when I saw that the Lunar Eclipse alpha firstly removed my business partners, allowing me a bigger slice of the profit but then had the idiotic idea of bringing his sister along while trying to steal my property. I usually only use omegas, but I’ll make an exception for this one. Such a beautiful whore to add to our collection.”
Ryan and I let out twin snarls as the rest of the world fades to nothing.
“You think I’m going to let you take her?” Ryan grits out. He glances behind him, as do I, taking in that while the warriors were frozen by Lo’s alpha command, Caleb and his brothers, being allalpha wolves, were not. They work through the warriors, forcing them to shift and executing the ones not from our pack.
“You’re outnumbered, Lo,” Ryan growls. “You’re not getting out of here alive, and you’re sure as shit not taking my sister anywhere.”
