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I led the chase up the path in pursuit of Bear. I trusted his instincts. If he was chasing something down, it was because it wasn’t supposed to be here.
I heard a low keening sound as I rounded the bend near the dining hall that had me adding a burst of speed. I cried out when I saw Bear lying in the middle of the path, crumpled as if someone had felled him mid-stride. He jerked his head around with a whimper when he heard me yell his name and tried to bravely crawl towards me.
Bear was panting hard as I skidded and landed on my knees next to him. I hugged his giant head as Ava dropped to her knees next to me while he whined at me.
“He seems dazed, but he can’t have run into anything,” Ava said as she checked his eyes, all timidness around him suddenly gone. I got the impression she’d grown up around animals for at least part of her life.
She leaned over further and sniffed the air. “I smell carbon dioxide.”
“Isn’t that odorless?” I asked. “And what does that mean?”
“Omegas are highly susceptible to scent, and it’s used commercially to anesthetize livestock before slaughter.”
We had nothing like that on the farm. I was sure, but there was an odd odor in the air.
“Would someone from the farm have done this?” Cary asked quietly, obviously thinking the same thing I was.
I shook my head, and out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Cary whip around to scan the surrounding trees. Whoever was here had come prepared and meant business. This was no crime of opportunity or someone testing our fences like the other night.
Bear whimpered again, and the sound broke my heart, dragging at my attention.
“It’s okay, boy. You’re a good boy. You’re going to be okay,” I crooned, but I didn’t know if that was true. If they’d given him enough gas, it could kill him. This damn dog I had never asked for had snuck his way into my heart, and I would not lose him now.
Bear suddenly stiffened under my hands and growled while looking over my shoulder toward the tree line at my back. He tried to get up as I struggled to hold him down when suddenly his eyes rolled back in his head, and he collapsed.
I frantically checked he was still breathing as I heard Cary yell a warning behind me, and the sound of a fight broke out.
I felt a growl build in my chest. Someone was going to die today, and it wasn’t going to be my damn dog.
two
AssoonasIwas sure Bear was still breathing, I jumped to my feet.
“Stay down and watch Bear. Don’t leave his side,” I whispered to Ava. I knew there wasn’t a lot she could do to help Bear right now, but I wanted someone with him. It would also keep her in place. It was too easy to lose track of the people you were trying to protect in a fight if they were moving around. I’d learned that the hard way.
Ava just gave me a determined nod and leaned over him protectively. For that one act alone, she was now in my inner circle. Regardless of whether or not she wanted to be.
As I spun to Cary, I counted four alphas dressed in black. I didn’t recognize them, so they weren’t from around here. Two alphas had him engaged, while two more were keeping watch from the treeline.
The intruders were military-trained, judging by the way they moved, and Cary was an omega. Yet, they chose to attack him rather than bark at him to make him submit.Fuckers.
Cary was fighting valiantly. He clearly had a lot of strength, but no training. He was swinging wildly, desperately trying to connect. The intruders were playing with him and ignoring Ava and me, for now. They had discounted us as threats.
I got it. My eyebrow ring and bright pink and red hair gave me an edge, but I still didn’t look like I could handle myself. I was fit enough to be strong, but I had a lot of curves, and they were all men ever seemed to notice.
That was their mistake, and I would make them regret it.
I launched myself at the closest alpha toying with Cary, using my speed and the element of surprise to my advantage. An attack wasn’t usually my style. My skills were all about defense and creating an opening to get away. I wasn’t delusional; I knew I had little chance against an alpha, let alone four. But Cary needed my help.
I was significantly smaller than all of them, so it seemed like insanity to run at one, but I knew how to play to my strengths.
I kicked the alpha I’d targeted hard in the back of the knee, and he yelped as his leg buckled. I grabbed his arm firmly and dropped my weight to pull him off balance. Then I closed my stance, pushed up, and connected my knee with his head on his way down.
It wouldn’t knock him out, but it would daze him and hopefully keep him out of action for a minute. I swung around quickly to check on Cary, but he seemed to hold his own now that he only had to deal with one alpha.
“Hey, you little bitch!” I spun back quickly and found one of the alphas who had stayed at the treeline, now headed my way with a snarl on his face. The last alpha kept watch.
Why was a woman defending herself always a bitch?It royally pissed me off. I mean, no one had attacked me yet, so I wasn’t technically defending myself, but these guys obviously meant us harm.
