Page 70 of Plus-Size Bullied Mate

Hayes hammers down with his relentless pressure, but there’s nothing calculated about his movements. Instead, he’s hitting as hard as he can without studying his opponent’s patterns. The wet ground beneath them only makes everything harder.

I tell myself over and over to stay calm and to keep steady. If Hunter feels anything significant from me through the bond, it could be enough to throw him, and I can’t take that risk.

Dominic has cleared the wolves that surrounded me without wasting time, and with the others to back us up now, my situation doesn’t feel as dire. I’m not alone here, which means I can focus on Hunter instead.

I shifted when Hayes’ wolves started repositioning, as the change came with the same instinctive surge it had in the storm. My wolf rose to meet the challenge before my mind had weighed in on the decision, forcing the Wraith Peak wolves to back off under Dom’s intervention.

Instead of being completely gone, they’re waiting to see what the outcome will be.

I wait too, holding my position because that’s what I’m supposed to do, and because I can’t stand the thought of doing anything else.

Then Hayes hits Hunter across the ribcage, and I hear the impact from here. The force of it cracks down on him with all of his weight behind it. It sounds ugly and deliberate, and Hunter goes sideways with it, losing some traction in the mud.

Rather than going down, he’s forced to reposition, and the bond spikes with something sharp enough to make my body respond before I can think it over.

I’m moving, unable to stand around and wait anymore.

I’ll think about this decision later, about whether it was the right one, or if I disrupted something Hunter had under control. I will have that careful conversation with myself when the threat is gone, and we’ve returned to the tender thing we’ve been building between us.

For now, I’m crossing the clearing at full speed with every ounce of repressed fury I’ve been holding back for years. Hayes is mid-pivot when I hit him from the left.

He doesn’t see me coming, and that’s the only advantage I have over him, so I use it completely.

After spending far too long being small and shrinking just to keep the peace, I’m done with it. Everything with Hunter has helped me see that I don’t need to concede. I don’t need to allow others to back me into corners. Not when I can be and do so much more than that.

Hayes loses his footing in the damp earth, teetering enough to throw his balance. He doesn’t drop, given his own prowess, but the disruption of his momentum takes his focus away from his true target just long enough to change everything.

That second is all Hunter needs.

He registers my presence in the fight through the bond, like a flash of something that’s equal parts alarm and pride. Then he uses the disruption and moves like he has been waiting for exactly this kind of opening.

He comes down on Hayes with everything he has, and this time, the ground helps rather than hinders. The slick earth offers no purchase to Hayes’ scrambling back feet, and Hunter slams him against the earth.

Hayes hits the mud hard, and I back off to give Hunter space.

This is his fight, his territory, his dominance to establish, and I’ve given him what I could, but the rest is his to finish.

Pulling myself back, covered by Dominic and a few others, I watch with quiet admiration.

Hunter’s teeth are at Hayes’ jaw, and the way he pins him there is a direct threat. He could finish this for good and be done with this threat once and for all.

Still, Hayes goes still in silent surrender, seemingly well aware of the fact that his life is now in another’s hands. Regardless of what he tries, he won’t walk away from this if he resists.

The clearing is quiet now with the struggle over, save for the heavy breaths coming from both Hayes and Hunter.

The Wraith Peak wolves move restlessly in the trees, anxious now that their alpha has been beaten and forced into surrender all over again.

The others from our pack watch them closely, accepting that Hunter has won. Some growl quietly in warning, making sure the intruders don’t step out of line.

Hayes doesn’t move while Hunter holds the position long enough for the reality of it to settle into everyone watching, and long enough for Hayes to feel the full pressure of where he is and what it means.

Go, it says. I’m giving you this once.

Hayes gives a low whine, but he relents, held beneath the dominance no alpha should yield to. And yet, he has no other choice.

Hunter releases him and steps back. A moment later, he shifts into his usual form, standing in the clearing with mud on his skin and a cut on his shoulder that’s still trickling. Rather than wearing a mask for the pack, he carries that natural authority, as he knows without question that it has been earned.

He looks at Hayes with his jaw tight. “Take your people and leave my territory. If I see you here again, this won’t be the last time I have you pinned in the dirt.”