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Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a dark grey shape emerge from the forest and turned my head to see a wolf lunging for me. I screamed, scrambling back to get out of the way. Before the wolf could land on me though, Dean was there, knocking it out of the way. I scrambled back some more, trying to get out of the way. Dean was definitely at a disadvantage, since he was still in his human form and the wolf had some nasty teeth and claws he looked like he was itching to use.
“Why are you on our lands?” A voice asked. I blinked, glancing over the wolf and seeing an angry man, who looked to be in his later thirties, with light hair, and what I could only assume was a spectacular physique walking over to us. His hands were shoved in his pockets and he looked like he was on a stroll - if his face didn’t look like he was ready to murder us. Dean’s focus was on the wolf that was growling and prowling in front of us, snapping his sharp jaws in our direction every few turns.
The man came to a stop behind the wolf, standing there, waiting for us to respond to his question. I gulped, opening my mouth. Dean throw his hand out in front of my face. I frowned up at him. I refocused on the wolf in front of us, his snarling becoming more frequent and aggressive.
“We’re here to meet with Alpha Luke,” Dean responded, his voice strong and sure. I breathed out a sigh at the fact that Dean was here with me. I didn’t know how I would have handled this if I was alone.
“Is he aware of this meeting?” The man barked. I cringed at his tone, waiting for Dean to freak out and attack him. I was surprised when that didn’t happen.
“No,” Dean drew out. I glanced between the two of them. The man’s face pulled tight, his lips creasing into a thin line and his eyes narrowing. The wolf had paused his pacing, coming to stand next to the man, a growl still coming out, but he had stopped snarling. I slowly stood up, doing my best to not make any sudden movements. Dean shifted even more in front of me.
“How do we know that this isn’t a threat to our pack? How do we know that you’re not here to try to kill our Alpha?” The man demanded. Dean snorted, rolling his eyes.
“Oh, come on, Oliver. You know who I am. You know I’m not here to kill Luke or take over your pack. I don’t need, nor want, your pack. I’ve got enough to deal with in the one I have now.”
Oliver rolled his eyes at us, folding his arms across his chest. “Yeah, you have the rebels and Jack there to deal with and I can’t help thinking that you’re eyeing our lands and want to get away from all of that. Who knows what you’re thinking?”
“Oliver, you’re being paranoid now. He’s not here to kill me. He’s here to figure out what’s going on with Amara. You can relax now,” Luke’s voice came from behind Oliver. I leaned over a bit, looking at Luke walking toward us. He appeared out of nowhere, the air behind him shimmering. I sucked in a sharp breath, my eyes widening. The wolf in front of us shifted his head to look at me, taking a step forward.
“Back off, Holder,” Dean grunted. He gripped my wrist and yanked me all the way behind him. I was going to argue that I didn’t appreciate the manhandling, but then Holder growled again and I decided to stay silent. I gripped the back of Dean’s shirt, getting as close to him as possible. His scent of sandalwood, sweat, and something slightly sweet filled my nostrils, making my head slightly dizzy. My core flooded with arousal again and I felt a whimper build up.
Dean’s grip on my wrist tightened.
14
Dean
I clenched my jaw, my wolf at the end of his rope. I had no idea what I was going to do, since we were clearly out numbered. Amara didn’t have a wolf to protect her and my wolf was about to go on a rampage, knowing that the woman he chose as his mate was in this forest with three other unmated males and he couldn’t protect her. I eyed the three of the men in front of me, the wolf the one I was most worried about.
“Peace, Dean. We want nothing to do with your mate. We are only here because you need help for her. So let us help,” Luke said, putting his hands up, trying to placate me. My wolf didn’t care what he needed. He wanted to get his mate as far away from here as he could. I took a deep breath and pushed him back. I couldn’t let him take over because Luke was right - we did need help for Amara. We had to figure out what she was and I needed to come up with an answer for Lily’s little sister.
I forced myself to release Amara’s wrist and nod at Luke. He put his hands down, eyeing me. He turned to Oliver and Holder, jerking his head away. Oliver scowled, but left without any argument. I knew what he felt - he was Luke’s head enforcer. I was sure I’d see Jake, the Beta for the Winchester Pack, soon enough.
Luke ran a hand down his face, sighing roughly. He shook his head and planted his hands on his hips, looking over at us with a disappointed look. “You guys are putting me in a tough spot.”
“We aren’t asking,” I replied gruffly. Amara released the back of my shirt, stepping up beside me. My wolf pushed forward again, wanting to pull her behind us again. She put a small hand in mine, calming me instantly. She looked up at me as if she expected me to save her. My wolf fucking preened at her attention, but my throat closed suddenly, making me feel like I was drowning. I couldn’t save her - I wasn’t even supposed to like her.
“Weareasking for your help. We know we’re putting you in a tough spot, but we appreciate anything you can help us with,” Amara spoke up. I eyed Luke as he smiled down at her. I let a growl loose again. Amara shushed me harshly and glared up at me. I huffed out a breath and glanced at her briefly. She turned her attention to Luke, giving him a small smile, looking hesitant.
“Of course, Amara. We are happy to help in any way that we can. We would greatly appreciate any help the Crown can give us in return,” Luke responded, turning his attention to me. I noticed Amara’s frown out of the corner of my eye. She probably didn’t understand how these things worked, but this was a normal interaction for when we traveled to the other packs.
“The Crown is happy to offer any help available, however, there are limits to what we are able to give,” I answered with the standard response. Luke gave a short laugh, shaking his head and turning away. He walked forward before turning to look over his shoulder.
“You two coming?” He asked. I tightened my grip on Amara’s hand and followed after Luke. He stopped as soon as we moved further into the forest. Amara was hesitant to follow after me, glancing back at the blanket and basket we left on the ground.
“Don’t worry about it, Amara. We’re not going to need it, plus I’m sure Holder and Oliver will enjoy Miss Kitty’s meal,” I whispered to her, leaning closer. She looked up at me, a shudder running through her body. I wouldn’t have noticed it if I wasn’t already looking at her. She nodded, lowering her gaze, her cheeks pink. I grinned at her, chuckling lightly at her concern over something so commonplace and her reaction to my teasing.
“Don’t look so cocky,” Amara responded. I rolled my eyes and focused on what Luke was doing in front of us. He was standing with his hands up in the air, chanting something under his breath. I dropped Amara’s hand and rushed up to him.
“Hey! Don’t you remember what happened last time? You can’t do this yourself. You’re going to kill yourself,” I yelled. Luke barely responded to my outburst. I reached out a hand to grab his shoulder, but stopped short when Amara shouted at me. I glanced at her.
“Don’t touch him. You’re going to make it worse if you disrupt his concentration in the middle of the spell,” Amara explained. I dropped my hand, narrowing my eyes at her.
“How do you know that?”
“I…” Amara said, looking panicked. She wouldn’t meet my gaze directly, wringing her hands in front of her. I stalked toward her, my suspicions rising.
“Amara, how do you know that?” I snarled.
