Filed to story: The Wolf Prince’s Fated Love
His scent was all wrong, my wolf’s hackles were raised, and before I could even begin to think of how to politely extricate myself-or impolitely, because what an asshole
-Kane was rocketing our way. Shane shoved me ruthlessly to the side, and I stumbled, almost falling were it not for Reed appearing in front of me with preternatural speed. He righted me with the barest of touches under my elbows, then spun us so that his towering frame was between me and the now two snarling, circling wolves in the aisle. Gael was by his side a half second later, the two of them an impenetrable shield.
But I didn’t want to be shielded. I wanted to see what the hell was going on. I peered like a child between their massive, muscle-corded arms, getting a glimpse of a steel-gray wolf with eyes that were flat rage, and an even bigger one circling him, lips peeled back to show off an impressive display of fangs. The larger wolf was Kane. My wolf recognized him and howled her approval of his strength and dominance.
In wolf form, he was as tall as my shoulders, utterly massive, his coat a gorgeous mix of colors. He was a dark wolf, with black over most of his face and back, and soft striations of brown and silver shot throughout. His fur was thick and shiny, and some part of my brain wanted me to walk up and sink my fingers in and squinch it in my hands. I just knew he’d be soft under my touch, though nothing about him was soft right now, and that was an utterly insane reaction.
I should be freaking out. These two males were fighting-over me, for some reason-like complete idiots.
My runaway thought train was derailed when Shane decided it was time to stop messing around and leapt toward Kane’s flank. Kane spun effortlessly out of the way and lunged low, snapping deadly jaws at Shane’s exposed underbelly.
He missed by inches, and I caught my breath. There wasn’t much that could kill a shifter. We healed so fast, it would take a lot for either of these two to do serious damage, but a total evisceration? That would do it, unless emergency surgery was involved to stabilize the wolf until his natural healing abilities took over. Even a shifter couldn’t handle losing all the blood in his body that quickly. So why was Kane going for his gut over such a small thing?
I hadn’t wanted a hug, no-but I also didn’t want to watch the idiot get gutted in front of me. I stood on my tiptoes, but couldn’t get anywhere near the tops of my self-appointed guards’ shoulders.
Stupid, freakishly tall wolf-men.
The two began snapping and clawing more in earnest, circling closer and closer, like two halves of a twisted, angry puzzle, and Shane let out a loud yelp when Kane connected with his back leg, drawing blood and eliciting a vicious crunching sound that made me cringe. That was at least one broken bone-maybe shattered.
That was enough. This had to end before somebody went for the throat. I was not going to be responsible for anybody dying.
Especially not Kane, though it seemed he had a solid upper hand.
I elbowed Gael to try to get a gap I could push through, but he held fast with a grunt, and didn’t even spare me a glance. So, instead of trying to budge Reed, I made a split-second decision and bolted to the side, darting around Reed’s far elbow and straight into the fray.
Their twin growls had no effect on me, their dominance rolling off me like rain off a good slicker-I’d process that later-and I flung myself between Kane and Shane, holding up my hands to stop them. Kane barked, the sound a clear alpha command that made my hands shake. Even without a pack bond for him to convey words, the message was crystal friggin’ clear.
Move.
He wanted to finish the fight. And I could see it too. Kane with a bloodied muzzle standing over Shane’s limp body as his eyes turned glassy, and his blood soaked into the sawdust-covered floors while I tried fruitlessly to stabilize him and put his intestines back into his body.
Yeah, no. I wasn’t signing on for that. I’d felt no connection whatsoever to Shane, so this fight was utterly pointless, and killing a shifter over it was beyond comprehension.
I held fast against Kane’s command, even though my legs wanted to run straight for the barn doors, and not stop until I hit my sweet, sweet Texan home turf. I leveled a glare on each of them, making very dangerous eye contact in the process.
“There is no reason to fight like this. I’m fine, and I’m right here. Both of you need to shift back, so Shane’s wounds can heal, and we can all put this behind us.”
Neither stopped their endless circling, like sharks who’d scented blood in the water, and a wave of irrational anger nearly bowled me over.
They were just going to ignore me?
Hell
naw.
“Stop!”
I snarled the words, and both of them froze as if stuck in a block of ice. “This ends now.” Kane was the first to regain motion, and as he stalked slowly toward me, my knees started shaking too. What was wrong with me? More importantly, how the heck was I, a bottom-of-the-barrel psi, holding eye contact with a dominant alpha?
His eyes glowed a greenish hazel and bored into mine with… was that a hint of respect? It was hard to read emotions on a wolf’s face.
He stalked in front of me, brushing hard against my torso as he put himself between me and Shane, who still hadn’t moved a muscle. The contact had me rocking on my heels to stay upright, and my hands sank into his thick fur on reflex.
Goddess, he was soft. Powerful, muscular, and so dominant, being this close to him made the hairs on my arms stand on end. But standing there with my hands buried in his fur, as he put himself between me and the wolf he considered a threat? It was heady, and I wanted to wrap myself around him like a cat in heat.
Basically, I’d punched a one-way ticket to crazy town right alongside these two testosterone-riddled males. Joy.
Kane drew himself up to his full height and towered over Shane. As soon as their eyes met, it was as if whatever spell held Shane frozen dissolved, and the steel-gray wolf crumpled to the ground under the power in Kane’s eyes.
The darker wolf’s lips were pulled back in a ferocious threat, saliva dripping from the wicked canines onto Shane’s snout. The seconds stretched long and tense, and I held my breath as Shane made his decision.
If he didn’t submit, I had no doubt that Kane would rip his throat out, right here, and right now.
The only other wound I likely couldn’t fix on a wolf. I balled my hands into fists, probably pulling some of Kane’s hair, but he didn’t flinch, his whole focus on Shane.
Finally, finally, Shane bent his head back, averting his eyes and baring his neck to Kane.
Kane barked one more time, and forced Shane’s shift back into human flesh. I closed my eyes at the horrid sounds he made-it hurt like the devil’s own sunburn shifting with a broken bone, or so I’d been told by other shifters I’d treated back home-and I didn’t envy him one bit.
It was only a few seconds, though, and then his pack mates were surging forward, surrounding his naked form, and hoisting him up under the arms to carry him from the barn.
Kane stood sentry, with Gael and Reed coming to stand on either side of us, but I averted my eyes, not intent on ogling Shane’s naked backside as they carried him off to lick his wounds in private. Though, the gathered crowd didn’t seem to have the same compunctions, and the whispers started up before he’d even cleared the double barn doors. Reed passed Kane a pair of sweatpants, and I swear there were several disappointed groans from women in the crowd.
Nausea rolled through me with the force of a tsunami, and I must have moaned or something, because Kane’s wolf snapped his head around to stare at me.
“I have to get out of here,” I croaked out before bolting for the exit too. I was going to throw up if I didn’t get some air. Water. Something.
“Brielle, wait!” Leigh’s shout was lost to the crowd, and I didn’t slow-I couldn’t, or else I was going to toss my cookies right there for the whole crowd to see. Hopefully, she and Shay would find me, after I got my stomach under control.
I clutched my belly and ran, blindly unaware of the different outbuildings I passed, focused only on getting back to my dorm room. It wasn’t much, but it was the closest my wolf had to a den while we were here, and my wolf instinctively wanted the safety that only holing up behind a locked door could bring.
Charging through the front door of the dorms, I didn’t slow as I hit the stairs, at least until I hit the top. A spearing pain lanced through my belly, and I doubled over, clutching it harder. What was wrong with me? Was this the consequence of going toe to toe with an alpha? It felt like my body was trying to tear itself apart from the inside.