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“Just packmate?” She circled me, then grabbed my wrist and held it up. “Fresh pack mark, not even a tattoo to show for it.” She raised her eyes to Gage. “I take it you were… too busy.”
Gage didn’t bother answering, but he crossed his arms. “What do you want, Nira?”
His eyes shone with an intense animosity — I’d thought he hated me on sight, but now I had my doubts. His expression when he’d looked at me had never once reflected the depth of malice it held for Nira. Which had somehow only deepened when she’d touched my wrist. She’d all but signed her own death warrant.
“Honestly? I’m disappointed you didn’t mate her,” Nira sighed. “I was hoping to torture her and make you suffer through every second of her agony. But the pack bond is nothing compared to the mate bond. So that won’t be any fun.”
She walked around me, but I kept my eyes on Gage, letting him lend me his strength. Nira’s little speech didn’t seem to faze him, even though I felt sick to my stomach. I didn’t know how we were going to get out of this with so many wolves surrounding us. Things didn’t look good.
“Ugggh,” Nira groaned, grabbing my chin in her hand. “You look so pathetic, staring at him like that. It’s pitiful, really.”
She came around beside me, draping her arm across my shoulders like we were best friends, her head leaning against my head, gazing at her former lover. She wanted to goad him into following through on his threat and attacking her, but Gage was biding his time. He wouldn’t play her games. I had the feeling she wouldn’t survive this day.
She whispered, “He fucks like the devil, you know.” Then she laughed. “Of course, maybe youdon’tknow. Ingrid mentioneda wolf on the verge of her heat, and confirmed she meant you. Looks like you survived the heat, and I bet Gage couldn’t resist fucking you every single day. But you don’t remember much, do you?” Then she growled. “Too fucking bad you won’t get to have him ever again.”
Gage’s intense sky-blue gaze bored into Nira. “You know what I think is pathetic? How jealous you are.”
Nira growled and wrapped her hand in my hair, pulling my head back and exposing my throat. “Maybe I should just kill her and get it over with.”
With my back bowed, I tried not to move, not to do anything that would provoke her into following through on her threat. I had to hope that Gage knew what the hell he was doing.
My eyes searched the sky above, and even in daylight, I caught sight of the nearly full moon. I silently whispered a prayer to Grandmother Moon to get us out of this mess alive.
“Nira…” Gage growled. “It’s me you want. You said you wanted me to suffer. I’m right here. Punch me. Cut me. Watch me bleed. Do your worst.”
She abruptly let go of my hair, and I barely managed to catch my balance. She lunged forward toward Gage, then kicked him right between the legs. At the last second, I saw his hips twist, and then she was on him, punching and screaming at him.
At first, Gage instinctively defended himself… but I noticed the moment he consciously let her blows land. His hands fell to his sides, and he stood straighter with triumph in his eyes.
His gaze met mine, and he shook his head as if to tell me not to worry. He would take this beating if it meant keeping me safe.
But when one of Nira’s punches sent blood flying, my wolf went insane inside of me, demanding I defend him.
Before Karina could stop me, I raced toward Nira. I grabbed one of her long braids with both hands, yanking her away from Gage with all of my strength.
“He’s mine,” I growled, not even recognizing the sound of my own voice.
Inside my mind, my wolf growled right along with me, her eyes wild.
Kill her,my wolf demanded just as Nira whirled on me, her eyes going golden.
Only then did I realize how crazy I was to confront a shifter who could tear my throat out with her fangs. A pack alpha who had us surrounded by loyal wolves.
Her hands came up toward my neck. Fangs pushed free from her lips, and her face jutted out into the beginnings of a wolf’s muzzle.
Before she could reach me, Gage tackled her from behind. In an instant, they were both growling and shifting, their clothing torn to shreds as their massive alpha wolves emerged.
Karina wrapped an arm around my neck from behind, pulling me away from the snarling alphas. She flashed a knife in front of my face.
“Be a good wolf,” she growled in my ear.
Before she could get it to my throat, or any other critical area, I twisted in her arms as I’d learned to do long ago and brought my elbow up, striking her in the head. She growled, and I turned, knocking aside her knife. I continued to punch and kick until I could get away.
Gage would be outnumbered in seconds if I didn’t do something to even the odds. But since I couldn’t shift, I would be no match against the circling wolves.
So, I decided to thin the herd by getting them to come after me. Without looking back, I took off running through the forest, planning to circle back to the vehicle and get weapons.
“Hang in there, Gage,” I whispered, trusting that he would know I was safe enough for now through the pack bond.
