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The lone wolf leaped at him, and Gideon rolled out of the way, coming to his feet in a swift movement. He didn’t need to shift fully into his wolf form. One: That would take too long. He might be the Alpha and able to shift faster than any of his other wolves, but that didn’t mean he had the time to spare right then. Two: He was dominant enough that he could partially shift his hands into claws and keep them there without losing control like so many other wolves did.
He let his wolf come to the surface, fully aware it was begging for a fight. In the twilight hour, he could see the glow from the rim of gold around his irises, reflected on the fur of his opponent. Gideon’s eyes only lit up when he was ready to fight or fuck. And since it had been way too fucking long since he’d had a woman, he knew the fighting was the reason. He needed this to end soon though, or his pent up aggression from the lack of the former would roll over and he’d be screwed. He couldn’t waste any more time on this lone wolf, sad as it was.
The wolf struck again, this time swiping along Gideon’s side. Two lucky shots from the bastard. He was going to win—that was never in doubt. The question was how much he’d get hurt in the process. Now he just had to see how long he’d need to draw the process out. At this point, he was merely tiring out the bastard. Yeah, the lone wolf was getting a few hits in, but that was because Gideon was off his game.
Though that would be one way to do it, he didn’t want to prolong the fight. It wasn’t fair to the wolf to make him suffer any more than he had already. He didn’t know this wolf, didn’t know why he was without a Pack and trying to fight the Talons. It didn’t matter. Gideon would protect what was his no matter what.
He growled softly then bent at the knees, letting the wolf think he had the advantage. The lone wolf pounced again, his large, menacing teeth bared. Gideon struck the other wolf with his claws around the neck, piercing its flesh. It let out a small whine then went limp when Gideon twisted.
The wolf had been as good as dead before he stepped on Talon land.
Gideonknewthis.
It didn’t make the kill any easier.
“That was the second lone wolf in as many months,” Mitchell, his cousin and Beta, remarked casually as he made his way to Gideon’s side. Mitchell and his brother, Max, had been raised with Gideon and his brothers, so he was practically a brother.
“I don’t like how close he got to hurting you,” Ryder, his Heir and brother, said softly. Ryder always spoke softly, unless there was something that needed to be growled, though Gideon wasn’t sure why. It was just the way his brother worked.
Gideon looked down at the two gashes on his side and chest and shrugged. “They’ll heal well enough. He didn’t get too deep.”
“I don’t know why you let him get that close to begin with,” Mitchell snapped. His brother squatted down near the lone wolf’s body and let out a sigh. “Why the hell did he challenge you? It makes no sense. From the smell of him, he clearly wasn’t healthy or strong enough to fight even our weaker dominants. Why fight our Alpha?”
Gideon raised his hand to run it over his face then paused. Shit, he still had blood on his hands—literally and figuratively. He needed to go home and shower to try to wash away some of this piss-poor day.
Piss-poor decade it seemed like.
“I don’t know, Mitchell,” Gideon finally answered. “Could be lots of things. Maybe he wanted to go out fighting an Alpha. Maybe his wolf took over and had to challenge. Maybe someone made him do it. I just don’t fucking know anymore.”
Ryder knelt down by the body and let out a breath. “I’ll bury him. I don’t like the fact that we don’t know who he is or if he has family somewhere. He might be lone, but that doesn’t mean he’s alone.”
That made a twisted sort of sense. Just because a wolf didn’t have a Pack didn’t mean he didn’t live with a family. Packs were there to protect, nourish, and comfort. The bonds made between members, as well as the Alpha and the other members of the hierarchy, helped not only control the wolf inside but also formed a unit that spoke of something more than friendship and family.
Sometimes wolves were born outside of the den or left over the years for one reason or another—banished or not—and ended up Packless. Gideon wasn’t too fond of the numbers being so vague, but the world was shifting faster than he could blink. It wouldn’t be long before they couldn’t hide their existence anymore, and the fact that there were wolves out there not under the protection and rule of an Alpha worried him.
A lot worried him these days.
“I’ll help you bury him,” Gideon finally said to Ryder. “I took his life. I’ll help lay him to rest.”
Mitchell and Ryder gave him long looks then nodded. It didn’t matter if they said he couldn’t help. He was Alpha, and this was his responsibility in more ways than one.
They dug the hole deep enough that no critters could find the body and said a prayer to the moon goddess. The wolf might have challenged Gideon, but that didn’t mean he deserved eternal damnation. Gideon wasn’t conceited enough to think he had the right to judge.
“I’m going to go get cleaned up,” he said once they finished their work.
Mitchell pulled out his phone. “I’ll make sure Walker is there for you when you show up.”
Gideon closed his eyes and let out a curse. “I don’t need the Healer. I’m fine. Don’t make him waste his powers and energy on these superficial cuts.”
Ryder raised a brow. “Walker’s your brother, our brother, so yeah, he’s going to want to make sure you’re okay. Plus, the Redwoods are coming to the den for our meeting. You forget that? You don’t want to smell of blood and weakness in front of another Alpha and his Pack. It doesn’t matter that Kade and the rest of them are our friends. They aren’t Talons.”
Gideon looked up at the sky and prayed for just a moment’s rest. Was that really too much to ask for?
“Did you forget about the meeting?” Mitchell asked from behind him.
Gideon sighed. “No.”Yes. “Let’s get this over with so I can go make nice with the others,” he growled.
“I thought Kade was your friend,” Ryder added as they made their way through the forest to the center of the den. His brother kept looking over his shoulder, as if he was afraid Gideon was going to keel over any minute. He might be the eldest brother, but he wasn’t weak. Ryder, though, tended to worry about those close to him more than he cared about himself. Luckily, his brother was also a wolf and turned away from Gideon in time to make sure he didn’t trip on their way through the den.
