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I hated that she sounded so desperate, that we’d all made her feel this way.
I shook my head and closed my eyes, knowing I had to see reason, had to listen to her, but my wolf was too far gone. I was too on edge, too broken in this state to push the beast down. I opened my eyes and took note of the way Luca took a protective stance in front of her. I couldn’t deny I was pleased that he’d die to safeguard her. I’d want nothing less for my baby sister.
“Luca won’t hurt me.” Ainslee looked up at Luca, and I could see—feel—how much she meant those words… how much she believed them. And then she glanced at us once more and took a step forward. I wanted to lunge for her, to get her away from the violence that was simmering at the surface, that would explode forth and take all of us down. But Luca kept his hand on her, pulling her back against his chest.
I growled and heard Da do the same, and I didn’t even try to hide the snapping of my teeth or my wolf rising up even more, pushing forward. I was losing control and didn’t know how much longer I’d have before I fully snapped.
Da moved forward, and I sensed this softening in him as he addressed his daughter. “Darlin’, yer mam’s really worried.” There was a clear pleading in our father’s voice, but underneath that was his immense rage as well. “Come back home and ease her, and we can talk about this. We can figure out how this will work.”
He glanced at all of us standing side by side, his eyes narrowed, the irises glowing and telling everyone how close to shifting he was. Just like me.
“Let me speak with Luca alone,” he addressed us, and despite my father knowing best, I was ready to argue the point. He turned his focus back to Ainslee. “Ye may think he will no’ harm ye, and he hasn’t… yet, but he’s unstable. Until I can guarantee that he has himself under control and that him being half-turned will no’ backfire, I canna allow ye tae be alone with him. I canna live with myself if something happens tae ye.”
Ainslee was shaking her head. She seemed headstrong and so stubborn right now, there was no doubt she was of McGregor blood.
“Da, with all respect, this is my life. He’s my mate. I’m not a child, and you can’t dictate my life, not where this is concerned. You can’t tell me who I can be with, especially my fated mate.”
I sensed the other Lycans tensing. Waiting. Ready for the direction their Alpha and King would give them on how to proceed. The air seemed to still, not even wind blowing through the trees. There was this thickness, this tightness surrounding us.
I felt the last of my rationalization and sanity slip. I didn’t realize what I was doing until I was crouched, with one foot braced in front of the other. I felt nothing but savage rage. I curled my hands into tight fists at my sides, bared my teeth, and felt the saliva drip off my elongated canines. I squeezed my fists over and over again. Relaxing and flexing. Relaxing and flexing. Because I was young, I was having a hell of a time controlling my wolf, and it was so easy to let the beast free.
I narrowed my eyes and trained them right on fucking Luca. I felt my Alpha side rise up, take control… explode inside me.
I charged forward.
“No, Caelan. Stop.” I was pretty sure that was Ainslee yelling, but everything was distorted, as if I was treading through water. Nothing made sense. Nothing was clear except to get to Luca and take him down. “No. No. No no no.”
This inhuman, purely enraged sound tore from my throat as I kept racing forward.
And then I heard shouting coming from behind, no doubt from Da, most likely him telling me to stand down.
“Caelan. Fooking stop!” I finally heard my father shout, but there was no stopping me. I was a derailed train.
My vision was cloudy, but I saw Luca pick up Ainslee and have the right frame of mind to push her behind a tree. I roared at my own eagerness to exact violence that I hadn’t thought of her well-being, and when I saw her stumble and fall from the sudden movement, Luca snarled, no doubt blaming me. And he’d be right. It was my fault, but fuck. I. Couldn’t. Stop.
When Luca held his arms out wide and let a slow grin spread across his face, I felt pleasure slam into me. He’d really give me the fight I needed. Finally.
I slammed into Luca’s body, but I was pretty sure he allowed that to happen. He was over four hundred years old, and I knew he had probably seen countless battles. But I growled in pleasure when I heard Luca grunt from the impact of my body against his. The fierce momentum had both of us hurtling through the air, and another fierce sound left me when Luca slammed into the trunk of a massive tree. The tree shook and groaned from the impact, bark and leaves raining down on us as if it were crying in pain.
