Page 88 of Dark Sold Mate

Silas stepped forward, standing in front of Carter, shielding him. “Like hell you will.”

Pride and fear engulfed Elle's heart. Even though Carter had been on the wrong side, planting evidence to ruin their pack, yet, Silas was still defending him.

The bear shifter remained stoic. He did not

look surprised or angry. He was simply cold, calculated. “The boy knows too much

about our business. We have to know what he told you. And we are not going to be as...gentle... as you have been.”

The implication was clear. They meant to torture Carter and possibly kill him.

“You're not touching him.”

The shifter grinned, his teeth on display. “Then, I suppose we shall have to pass through you first. Boys?”

It was a surprise attack. One minute, they were in a serious confrontation; the next, everything erupted into violence.

The bear shifter’s men acted in unison, trying to crush each other with a positioning strategy. They looked like they had done this before. Like they had trained to do in this specific type of situation.

But so had Silas' team.

Rael moved smoothly. His every move was

calculated and effective. He fought two shifters at the same time, turning the tide of momentum in his favor, and struck them at their weak points. Minutes later, he had two men on the ground, one unconscious, and the other, with a broken shoulder, groaning.

Javi fought in measured disorder, hurling himself into the fight with that type of bloodthirsty abandon that would have killed most men, but favored him. He was the opposite of Rael. He was more violent and brutish. But it worked perfectly.

August placed himself as the last line of defense for Carter. His movements were purposeful. He did not waste his energy. Each and every punch and kick was calculated in such a way as to keep the men away from Carter.

His personality was reflected in his fighting style—serious, focused and reliable.

And Silas... Silas was a fighter, like the Alpha he was born to be.

He glided through the battle with the flowing grace of an Alpha. He was a magnet on the battlefield, and enemies flocked to him like moths to a flame.

He fought with precision and power, both of which were calculated to produce the greatest amount of damage using the least amount of energy.

Elle stayed behind with Carter. She wanted to be able to help the boy with the help of her magic, should there ever be a need. She watched the team she had been training with work in complete harmony, everyone intuitively knowing where to find the other and how to move.

It was kind of beautiful and frightening at the same time.

Rael brought one of the men to the ground, and his movements were so quick that Elle could hardly follow them. Javi dashed among the men, sinking his fangs into exposed throats and tendons. August deflected an attack meant for Carter, countering with a brutal efficiency that left his opponent gasping on the ground. Silas's men attacked the opposition's team while Silas faced off against the scarred bear shifter leader, both of them circling each other with deadly intent.

The battle was filled with the sounds of snarls, screams, the crack of bones, and the splash of blood.

But suddenly, Elle started to hear a ringing in her head.

It was not the regular one that followed Carter. This was different. Violent, more pressing, drawing her away in a whole new direction—North-eastwards, further into the woods.

Elle inhaled sharply. Her magic was attempting to convey something to her, reveal to her something that was more important than this battle.

But how could anything be more than this fight? Her team was isolated, and they were surrounded by enemy shifters who were trying to kill them. To go would be to leave them alone, at the time when they most needed it.

The ringing became more and more insistent. Elle groaned, massaging her temples, attempting to discern what her magic was trying to convey.

She looked at the fight that was going on. The scarred leader was now pinned by Silas. Rael and Javi were killing the last few of the attackers. August hovered over Carter, guarding him. Their men had almost taken down the other team completely.

They were winning. They could finish this battle without her.