She drove through the state forest until she came upon a spot where several cars were parked. She recognized a black SUV as belonging to Mylo and pulled behind it, pocketing her keys. Straining her ears she was able to just hear the sounds of manly whoops coming from deep inside the forest. She contemplated shifting into her wolf form, but decided against it. The wolf may get her there more quickly, but Cate was uneasy about giving in to her animal self. If the howls in her brain were to be believed, she might not be able to control the beast.
Following the noise, she ran through the darkened forest. The moon was bright but only half full. It did little to battle the shadows from the tall trees. She dodged a fallen tree trunk, but was less successful at missing the protruding root a few feet further down the path. Cate hit the ground with a thud, small rocks buried deep into her palms. She pushed herself on, ignoring the pain in her hands and knees. The noise of the fight was getting closer.
Bursting out of the forest, she was greeted by the bared backs of several tall men. She edged past and saw they belonged to her pack. She shouldered her way through until she found Mylo. He made no effort to hide his dissatisfaction when he saw her, but that didn’t stop him from pushing another male aside so she could stand at his side. Approximately fifty shirtless males formed a large circle in the middle of the clearing, about thirty of which were from the Volkov pack. It gave her some comfort to know her pack was not outnumbered.
Dimitris and Noah battled in the center of the make-shift ring. Dimitris sent her a brief glance just before Noah landed a blow to his mid-section. Fear clutched her stomach. What if she was too much of a distraction? Her worry subsided when Dimitris feinted left before landing two right jabs in succession. “Why is everyone shirtless?” She leaned close to Mylo so that he could hear over the loud cheers.
“In case we need to shift quickly. No one wants to get caught up in their clothes.”
Cate briefly wondered if she should strip down, too, just in case, but quickly pushed the idea from her mind. Doing so would only anger and distract Dimitris. She watched as he tagged Noah with two brutal punches to the face. The Volkov pack cheered wildly, urging him to finish the battle. A chant ofVolkov, Volkov, Volkovrose from the men near her. Noah’s pack, on the other hand, did not cheer or shout. Their half of the circle stood grim and quiet.
Straining her ears, Cate attempted to make out what the other pack was saying. Soon, the sound of her pack’s shouts were nothing more than background noise. Her hearing darted from male to male in the White pack. As suspected, there were no cheers, only grumbles of dissatisfaction.I hope we are finally done with him. Noah White should have never been alpha. We should have taken Jeremiah as our alpha.Jeremiah, Noah’s second, was standing stoically opposite her. His face held no emotion, no remorse even though his alpha was losing the battle. Cate doubted anyone would mourn Noah White.
Her ears picked up other noises around the circle. Shouts ofDimitrisblended with snarls ofjack ass, the clap of someone’s hands, and the click of a gun. She grabbed Mylo’s arm in fear. “Gun!” she hissed. Her eyes darted from male to male. Approximately ten feet to her right a stocky blond held a small handgun near his thigh. Mylo spotted him a split-second before she did. He launched his thick body at the man, throwing him to the ground just as the shot went off.
Panicked, Cate spun toward the fighters. Dimitris lay in the center of the circle clutching his arm. A bloodied Noah crawled on top and began to beat her mate. “He’s been shot!” Her screams of protest went unheeded, Noah continued to hit Dimitris over and over, every third punch aimed at the injured arm. Dimitris’ arm had quickly turned a sickening shade of gray.
Cate’s ran across the clearing, throwing herself on Noah’s back. Her fingers dug into his face and her legs wrapped around his waist. The movement caused him to fall backwards pinning her with his weight. She slapped him wildly. Her movements were all instinct. Noah caught her hands and pulled her fingers back in one swift move. The pain was blinding. In the blink of an eye he was on top of her, his meaty forearm pressing against her throat. She dared a glance at Dimitris, unmoving a few feet away.
She pulled her eyes to Noah’s. Sweat, drool, and blood fell from his face onto hers, but she couldn’t move. He was putting too much pressure on her neck. “You are going to be a lot of fun, Cate. I was worried you wouldn’t make it in time to see me kill your mate.”
“He’s been shot,” she gasped. Her throat burned against the heaviness of his arm.
“I didn’t shoot him. An alpha battle only stops when an alpha dies or when one breaks the rules. Since I didn’t break the rules, I’m free to kill your mate.” He rubbed his sweaty nose against hers. “And then I get his pack, which means I get you.”
She turned her head, struggling against the contact. Dimitris had rolled to the side.Keep him talking, Cate. Give Dimitris time.
“That’s where you’re wrong, Noah. My pack will never follow you.”
He barked a laugh. “You haven’t been a shifter long, so I’ll forgive your ignorance. Wolves can’t function without the leadership of an alpha. When yours dies, they will have no choice but to follow me.”
She bucked against him, struggling to breathe. Noah sat back, pinning her hips under his weight and pressing his hands to her shoulders. Her lungs filled with big painful breaths. “They have me,” she gasped. “I’m their alpha.” She risked another glance at Dimitris. He had risen to his hands and knees.
Noah’s fingers dug painfully into her shoulders. “You’re lying.” His hands had begun to shift allowing his claws to penetrate her skin. She grimaced.
“Ask them,” she taunted. “They submitted to me. All of them submitted. I’m their alpha.”
He looked at the Volkov pack, standing on guard behind Cate. The thirty males were in various states of shift. Their snarls made it clear that they would die protecting their queen. A lead wolf paced in front of the others, timing its attack.
A storm brewed on Noah’s face. He looked quickly from Cate to her pack and then back to her. His fingers gouged deep holes into her shoulders. She pushed against his hold, but it was too strong. He let loose a guttural growl as his skin began to pull from his body. Fear and survival propelled her own shift. Pain gripped her from inside as she fought against the danger above her. She prayed her shift would come quickly.
Canines elongated, his mouth snapped at her neck. She turned her face, narrowly dodging his teeth. The wolf’s eyes flashed anger and he opened his mouth for another bite, but it didn’t come.
The wolf’s weight slackened and fell against her chest. Dimitris stood above her with the wolf’s heart held high in his right hand. His left arm fell limply to his side. Half-shifted, Cate struggled to focus on the damage he had sustained. The skin had turned an ugly gray-green around the bullet wound. Streaks of red pushed out from the hole and shot towards his shoulder. He howled her name just before he fell to the ground.
Cate strained against the weight of the dead wolf. Half-shifted, her body was a grotesque mixture of human legs and wolf forearms. Her jaws were partially unhinged and human skin hung over her eyes. Unseeing, she pawed at the animal trapping her movement. Suddenly the wolf’s weight lessened. The air shifted and a cool breeze passed her face as the animal was thrown from her body. “Cate, you need to relax so that your body can continue its shift or return to human.” Lukyan’s soft Russian accent coaxed her to calm herself. She tried to call for Dimitris, but her words came out garbled, the wolf’s tongue lying thick in her throat.
“He’s going to be okay,” Lukyan said, intuitively interpreting her mumbled cries. “Alek is with him. I’ll take you to him, but you need to shift.”
A wolf rubbed against her arm, making her jump. Her wolf growled a warning. “Don’t worry, that’s just Mylo. He shifted to protect you right after you ran in the ring.” She relaxed a bit. Mylo would not hurt her.
Her muzzle began to retract, the movements halting and painful. “That’s it, Cate,” Lukyan coached. “Finish your transition and then I’ll take you to Dimitris.” It was several long and excruciating seconds until her body regained its full human form. She blinked Lukyan into focus. To her right, Mylo began his shift from wolf to man. Unlike Cate, his transition was smooth and quick. She groaned with the indignity of it.
Pushing to sit up, she found that she was tangled in a pile of her own clothing. “No time for that, Cate. We’ve got to go.” Lukyan pulled her into his arms and began to run from the clearing. One glance told her that Alek and Yerik were carrying Dimitris ahead of them.
“Bring Noah’s second,” she yelled behind them.
fifteen
