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I couldn’t afford the delay.
“I’m just passing through. I’ll be gone by morning,” I said, hoping to placate them. The growling didn’t stop. Worse, the other two joined in. “What do you want from me?” I snapped. It’s not like I could make my own portal, dammit.
But my answer didn’t please the patrol. The largest wolf in the center snarled.
And then he launched himself at me.
I shifted on sheer instinct, shedding my human skin as easily as I did the cloak I’d worn. I darted aside in the nick of time.
Guess I didn’t lose all the strength I gained in Hell. It had been a gamble whether returning to Earth would condemn me back to my weak body. But I was strong. Steady. In tune with my wolf.
I didn’t have time to be glad for my luck though, because even if I was now as strong as a normal shifter, I was outnumbered and surrounded. A second wolf slammed into my right flank, trying to bring me down with brute force. I twisted, clawing his muzzle.
The scent of blood coated the air. The first drops had spilled. And they only seemed to whet the patrol’s appetite.
Shit.
And worse than anything, I didn’t want to kill them. They were just wolves doing their duty to protect their pack. A bit aggressive, but I was an unknown intruder. They had packmates, families to protect.
It was that thought that had me trying to dodge rather than strike back.
But my opponents didn’t seem to have any such hesitation. They were relentless.
Claws and teeth. Blood and fur. Our snarls stopped only long enough to wrap our jaws around each other.
But it was over when one landed a massive swipe on my side while I had one of the other’s leg in my mouth and tried to claw the third.
I gave as good as I got for every hit, but the three closed in around me. No chance to escape. I was cornered.
The largest gray wolf charged, pinning me, slamming me into a tree. The large gash I’d taken at my side, so reminiscent of the one I’d been dealt at the end of my life, drained the last of my strength.
The once pure white snow was painted red with my blood.
And then darkness claimed me.
Chapter II
Icametoslowly,pain ricocheting through every inch of my body.
I forced my eyelids open, trying to take in my surroundings as quickly as I could despite every protest my body emitted.
My body was covered with animal pelts, the furs a warm barrier against the winter chill. I must’ve been in a cabin. The walls were simple wooden logs. Somewhere behind me, a fire crackled, warming the air around me.
But any further surveillance of my surroundings was cut short as I met the gaze of two peridot eyes.
“You’re finally awake.”
He was a tall male, around my age, if a few years older. I inhaled his scent, matching it to memory immediately.
I still had the taste of his blood on my teeth. He’d been the largest wolf, the one who led the confrontation.
“You knocked me out,” I accused. It was hardly fair to hold that against me since he was the cause of my blood loss.
How much time have I lost?
“By right, I could have killed you,” the male snapped back. He wasn’t wrong, so I said nothing to that. “And if I deem you a threat to my pack, as the Alpha Heir, I’ll do just that.”
Another day, another death threat. That wasn’t even worth noticing. Aside from Jett, I knew little of the other Alpha Heirs. I’d assumed any alive weren’t of age. “I didn’t see you at the Choosing,” I said, continuing my thoughts aloud.
