“I’m an Alpha now.” His eyes glow red with bloodlust. “And you’re mine.”
“No, thanks. I’d rather eat vegetables.”
“You. Are. My. Mate,” Olcan commands in a venomousvoice. This piece of garbage just tried to use his Alpha voice against me. Scum. But it doesn’t seem to be working. Hope flares hot in my chest — that means Thorn is still alive.
I grin, feral. “You are not my Alpha. And I amno one’smate.”
His lip curls. “We’ll see.”
The bone spins in my hand, end over end, before I square it up over my shoulder. “Bring it on.”
Olcan launches. I roll aside, dirt and grass streaking my skin. He grabs my ankle, dragging me back. I slam the bone into his head. He grins through the blood, fangs lengthening. His red eyes are wild — unhinged.
He pounces again. This time he lands on me, his weight crushing the air from my lungs. I lose hold of the slick bone. His claws enclose my wrists, his cock pressing against my chest.
Revulsion burns me raw. “If you put that dick anywhere near me, I’ll bite it off.”
“Don’t worry, virgin,” he snarls, dripping spit onto my cheek. “You’ll make a fine Alpha’s mate. They need a little fire in their veins.”
I thrash, but it’s useless. His body is firm over mine, pinning me flat. My scream tears into the night.
I’m going to lose. I can’t fight him off. My arms are restrained. My weapon is out of reach. There’s no one coming to save me. This is going to happen. Fuck.
I go still.
His grin widens, believing he’s broken me. His fangs descend toward my throat.
“If you mate me…” I spit in his face. “I’ll make it my life’s mission to kill you.”
He chuckles darkly. “Good. I love a challenge.” His eyes brightening as he leans in and whispers, “And when I tire of you, I’ll kill you as well.”
Then he rears his head up to sink his teeth into me with enough force to make it hurt.
I close my eyes and accept that the gods have fated this, whether I want him or not.
The weight is ripped off me in an explosion of fur and snarls. I scramble upright, heart hammering, as two wolves roll across the grass. White and gray, locked in a storm of teeth and blood. The white wolf surges up and clamps his jaws around the gray’s neck. One savage snap — and Olcan gurgles, his body twitching before falling limp.
Silence.
The white wolf lifts his blood-slick muzzle, eyes blazing. Then he shifts.
Thorn.
Blood streaks his face, dripping down his chest, his abdomen. His body is battered, his eyes wild, but when they find mine they soften.
“Mate,” he whispers reverently, extending his hand.
Behind him, the tree line shifts, catching my attention. Eyes gleam in the shadows. He takes another step forward and stumbles slightly. His ankle is hurt and there is blood still dripping consistently from his head wound. He’s not healing fast enough.
More red eyes start to glow in the shadows of the trees. There’s too many. The two of us, exhausted and hurt, can’t fend them all off.
Thorn stumbles, still bleeding, still broken. If I go to him, they’ll rip him apart. He won’t survive. I’ll kill him by choosing him, and I will be stuck with a mate I don’t want.
Tears blur my vision as I step back. Another step.
“Ember?” his voice cracks, heartbreak woven through every syllable.
His eyes follow my feet as they cross the stone line into the Sacred Circle. “I’m sorry,” I whisper, the tears start to fall. His eyes widen as realization crashes into him.
