by Helen Scott
“You don’t have to shift to hunt,” I said a moment later. “If you want, I can shift and hunt and you can wait here, or go back to camp?”
“I’ll wait,” Nina said, her voice barely a whisper. If I didn’t have shifter hearing, then I wouldn’t have heard it at all.
I nodded and stripped before shifting into my wolf form. As I did so, I realized this would be the first time she’d seen me as a wolf. I tried hard not to preen in front of her, to show her my glossy silver coat and haunting gray eyes. They were a striking combination. Many of my packmates had told me that I reminded them of the moon, silver and almost glowing in the right light. I looked at her over my shoulder, and she was grinning.
“You’re beautiful,” she murmured.
Part of me wanted to prance in front of her. To display the strength and power of my wolf. Instead, I took off, diving into the undergrowth. The scent of different rodents filled my nose, and my stomach twisted with hunger. We’d covered a lot of ground today, and I was sure we’d all worked up an appetite. There were some protein bars in one of my packs, but I wanted to save those for emergencies.
I longed to see her wolf, sure she was just as radiant as her human form. With a lot of wolf shifters, their wolves resembled their human forms. So if they had brown hair, then they had darker fur, blonde hair meant lighter fur. Nina’s ashy blonde hair could make for a stunning color of fur. A thought—no, a decision rang through both my human side and my wolf side, that no matter what, we would figure out how to help Nina shift again.
My thoughts rushed in my mind. They had been ever since I felt the mate bond snap into place. A constant barrage of ideas and things I both wanted to do with Nina and to Nina all meshed together with the burning need to protect her. There was also a desire that stirred within me a few times since we’d first mated, and that was to mark her, permanently. Both my wolf and I wanted everyone to be able to tell she was taken, even if I did have to share her with Micah.
The whole situation was strange.
I mean, two mates?
I’d only ever seen it happen once before in my long life.
To say it was a disaster would be an understatement. The two males eventually tore each other’s throats out, and the female died of a broken heart not long after. It was because of things like that that we were considered to be a bad omen and only brought death.
Over the course of a few minutes, I caught a few squirrels and a couple groundhogs, which I hoped would be enough for us to eat tonight. We could always hunt tomorrow as well, but it would be better to start the day on a full stomach. After all, we still had a ways to go until we got to the cabin.
When I returned with the final squirrel, a chubby fellow that was much too slow to outrun a wolf, I shifted back. Nina’s eyes hungrily traveled over me as though she couldn’t believe the wolf and I were the same being, even though she knew we were.
She took a step toward me, and her body brushed against mine, nothing more than a sliver of space between us. Her luminous gray eyes looked up at me as though I hung the moon itself. When she kissed me, she took my breath away, her soft, full lips capturing my own as she poured her emotions into her touch.
It wasn’t just through her touch that I could feel them though, but through the mate bond as well. Her need to be accepted the way she was, for this strange union of mates to work, for us to be okay and safe. Just as her tongue invaded my mouth, a flare of panic shot through the bond, followed swiftly by rage.
Neither of which came from Nina.
“Micah,” Nina gasped out as she pulled away. “Something’s wrong.”
I pulled my clothes on while Nina grabbed my kills, and we moved as fast as we could to the camp, trying to make as little sound as possible so if someone was there, they wouldn’t know we were coming. Or at least not for a few minutes anyway.
When we were in visual range, I pulled Nina to a halt beside me. I silently pointed to my nose and ears, trying to tell her that I could scent and hear who Micah was talking to and that we needed to go slowly. The men that were at our campsite were members of our pack. Well, what had been our pack. They were dangerous, I’d seen both of them brawl on a few occasions and didn’t want Nina anywhere near either of them if I could help it.
Quietly, I stripped out of my clothes once more, folding them and setting them and my kills next to a tree I marked with my claws once I shifted into my wolf. I padded through the undergrowth to our campsite, knowing the whole time that Nina was right behind me. She was surprisingly light on her feet and quite stealthy, considering she was still in her human form.
I huffed at her to get her attention and gestured toward the largest tree that stood at the edge of the clearing with my snout. When she moved in the direction and stayed there, I was satisfied that she could keep herself safe enough while Micah and I handled the unwelcome guests.
“Where’s the bitch?” Joe demanded. I could imagine the spit flying from his mouth as he spoke. He wasn’t a small man by any means, built more like a tank than a wolf, and it made him a beast in a brawl.
“I don’t know. She went off somewhere,” Micah hedged.
“You know, you just don’t want to tell us. We saw that pretty piece of ass. I mean, if she’s got two mates, then what’s to say we aren’t also her mates? Maybe a good fucking will tell us whether or not the bond could be there, right, Joe?” Rob’s voice rang out. “I saw her at your place this morning. You thought you hid her so well, but you didn’t. Those long legs… I bet they’d look great wrapped around my waist.”
I knew they were baiting him, trying to get him to attack. If we attacked first and they killed us, there would be nothing stopping them from taking Nina as the spoils of the fight, nothing for them to feel guilty about, since that was how our world worked. Who threw the first punch? was one of the most important questions that could be asked after a fight.
There was none of this everyone’s guilty if it turns to violence bullshit and no innocent until proven guilty either. We lived and died by our honor and honesty. Although, in all my long years, I’d never expected to see the winds shift the way they had recently, with fear and deceit reigning supreme over our values.
I rustled the bush next to me intentionally so neither of them took my coming out of the woods as an attack.
“Oh, here’s the other fucker. Was wondering where you went, old man. Glad you could join the party. Where’s your bitch?” Rob snarled.
I pulled my lips back, displaying my teeth in a vicious snarl of my own.
“No need to be like that, old man. Just come back to the pack with your b—lady friend and talk to the elders so they can figure out what’s going on,” Joe said, stepping in front of Rob slightly so he caught my gaze.
I sat down and stared at the two of them, indicating that I wasn’t going anywhere. Micah seemed bolstered by my presence and leaned back against the tree, silently adding his support to my unwillingness to go with them.
“Don’t make this turn into something nasty,” Joe said, and I almost felt bad for the guy. I wasn’t sure he was as much a zealot as Rob was, given how he was speaking to us.
“All we want is to be left alone. How is that turning this into something nasty?” Micah asked.
“You know you have to come back when summoned by the alpha,” Joe said.
“We aren’t on pack territory. Just tell them we’ve chosen to leave the pack.”
“All over a bit of snatch?” Rob demanded, his anger spilling out of him in waves.
“I guess so, yeah,” Micah said, sounding forlorn. He was still young, so he didn’t understand how pack politics were played or how the pack could sometimes be a prison instead of a family. I’ve lived in both, joined the current pack because I got along better with the alpha, and being a wolf with his own alpha energy, that was important.
“You’re fucking weak, you know that? You don’t deserve to be part of our pack if a bitch can control you that much. You betrayed the pack, betrayed the alpha
, betrayed all your friends and the people that love you just so you could get your dick wet. In fact, you want to leave the pack, then come and tell the alpha. I’m sure no one will stop you. I certainly won’t. We’re not friends anymore.” Rob’s voice was full of venom, and I couldn’t help but wonder if his anger had something to do with the fact that he was one of the few unmated older males in the pack. It was no surprise really, given his low opinion of women in general.
“You tell the alpha. I’m not going anywhere with either of you, and neither is Roman.” Micah was unwavering in his response, and I could feel some of the tension ease from the bond with Nina. She had been worried he’d change his mind. We weren’t that stupid. Going anywhere with Rob and Joe would only end up with us being delivered to the council in fetters.
“Want us to burn down this lovely bit of forest? Smoke your bitch out?” Rob demanded, his eyes starting to look a little on the manic side, showing too much of the whites so I could make out the entire ring of his iris.
“You would burn down the forest?” Micah repeated, in shock.
“We’ve been told to bring you back no matter the cost,” Joe said, sounding dismayed, as he should’ve been. To shifters, burning down the forest was akin to a Jewish person burning down a synagogue or a Christian burning down a church. This was where we worshipped, where we enjoyed nature and the bounty the world and the magic contained therein had to offer. What Rob was suggesting was appalling.
“I don’t know how many other ways I can say it—we’re not going back.”
“Fuck this, you witch fucker,” Rob hissed before launching himself at Micah.
I briefly heard Joe mutter, “Dammit,” before launching himself at me. Clearly, the other wolf had wanted this to go peacefully, but that wasn’t in the cards. I’d known that as soon as I walked into the clearing, like scenting a thunderstorm before the sky even went cloudy. I just had an instinct for violence, which was partially why I kept myself on such a tight leash.
As I raced to the other side of the clearing, I heard Joe tearing after me, his feet not getting quite enough traction on the ground. It was because of that I wasn’t surprised when I looked over my shoulder and found Joe’s wolf form chasing after me rather than his human one. The man wasn’t one to shy away from using any advantage he had, and even as a wolf, he was almost twice my size. I might have been the most alpha wolf in that clearing, but that didn’t mean I was the biggest. Being alpha was something that was within you, not the shape of your body.
He lunged at me, and with his larger stride, was able to land his front paws on my hips, slinging me to the ground as he did so. What he hadn’t anticipated was me rolling into it so instead of landing on my side as he expected, my paws were up and jaw open as he tried to change his trajectory and failed, landing on me.
I clawed at his belly and was able to get my teeth around one leg, ripping into the tendons there. If there was one thing these pups should know about me by now, after having been in a pack together for most of their lives, it was that I didn’t hold back. Every fight for me was a fight to the death, or at least to unconsciousness. It had always been that way.
If my opponent was still moving, then they could still attack me. I refused to be taken down by some careless mistake. Never leave an enemy at your back.
Finally, I was able to kick Joe off me and scrabble away from him, his hulking form struggling to put weight on the front leg that I’d torn into. It was enough time for me to run over to Micah and Rob though.
Somehow, the younger wolf, who was still in his human form, had allowed himself to be pinned by Rob, who was now in his wolf form, snarling and snapping as he tried to get past the guard Micah had made for himself out of his arms. I couldn’t tell which arm was damaged, but it was obvious that Rob had been able to get a good lock on Micah’s arm, just like I had on Joe’s.
Rage boiled inside me, and I sprinted toward Rob, launching myself into his side like a battering ram. The force of the impact jolted my neck, but it gave Micah enough time to transform, which was all I had wanted. Wolf against wolf was fair, human against wolf, not so much. Rob and I were fairly equally matched in size and our wolves were equally vicious, but I had the benefit of age and experience. That didn’t mean that the two of us weren’t going to challenge each other though.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Micah’s wolf emerge from the scraps of clothing that were now on the ground. He was a shaggy gray and brown, very traditionally hued, which wasn’t surprising. Somehow, I’d just known that he would appear that way, the same way I knew Nina’s wolf would be beautiful if I could see her.
As though my thoughts drew her from her hiding place, my mate stepped into the clearing, and every instinct I had went on red alert. Protect. Claim. Don’t let anyone touch her. My wolf’s mantra was simple and unshakable.
Too bad he didn’t tell Nina that.
Something in my body language must have given away that she was there though, because suddenly, Rob didn’t want to fight me anymore, he wanted to get to her. So instead of actually fighting, I was left corralling and snapping at him. Every time he tried to dodge around me, I was there, blocking him. That didn’t mean I wasn’t also keeping an eye on Nina though.
She was still as a statue one second, and the next, she was sprinting toward me, only to pass me and tackle Joe, who had been limping toward me and Rob the whole time without my noticing, while Micah was struggling to put any weight on his front leg. What was I saying earlier about never leaving an enemy at your back? That both Joe and Micah were willing to walk on what was probably a broken leg for at least one of them said everything I needed to know and proved my point once again.
What Nina was thinking trying to take on his wolf form in her human form, I didn’t know, but she was there, grappling with his beast of a wolf. Eventually, she was able to get an arm around his neck, yanking it tightly as she clamped herself around his back. I could see what she was trying to do, and I didn’t know how to tell her that it wasn’t going to work. Putting a choke hold on a wolf was next to impossible. I couldn’t distract her though, because that might get her hurt, and I couldn’t take my eyes off Rob for more than a second or he’d lunge for her as well.
Just as I had the thought about the choke hold, Joe dropped to the ground, rolling onto his back so that his massive weight was crushing Nina. I heard her grunt, but she didn’t freak out. Instead, she just began punching the massive wolf in the kidneys over and over again until he was the one trying to get away once more. Small whines began escaping his mouth as I watched, accidentally giving Rob the opening he needed.
He had darted around me before I could stop him and was on track to collide with Nina and Joe, when Micah put on a burst of speed and knocked him off course. It was the opening I needed. It slowed Rob down enough that I was able to get to him before he could get to Nina. This time, I got one of his back legs in my mouth and crunched down. I showed no mercy against this man who wanted to harm my mate, and my wolf was satisfied with the howl of pain that went up from Rob in return.
Micah walked over, surprising me by being in human form, though the way he was cradling his arm let me know it probably wasn’t by choice but because he couldn’t walk otherwise. As soon as he was close enough, he let loose a vicious kick that landed in Rob’s ribs, breaking at least one, based on the crack that we heard to go along with it.
“Enough, Rob. Just take Joe and leave,” Micah said with a sigh.
Rob immediately shifted back to human form, coughing uncontrollably as he moved backward away from us. The man was one of the few with the rare ability to shift with his clothes on, an ability which most of us envied. Why the magic picked some to do that with and not all of us was a question for the ages.
“You think this is over? It’s only just begun. All the packs in the area will know what you are, what you’ve done. You’re disgusting, a stain on our world,” Rob spat in our direction.
Hurt flickered across Micah’s face. I knew
he and Rob had been friends, so this would be painful for him. Trying to be the bigger man, he stepped forward and stuck out his good arm, offering Rob a hand up, but the bastard surprised all of us by coming to his feet with a knife and slashing Micah’s arm. The scent of silver was heavy on the air. I lunged forward, grabbing Micah and pulling him back out of the way of another slash of the blade. The wolf had held out hope that Rob would still be civil, but now those hopes were dashed.
Those two slashes must have taken what little reserves of energy and pain resistance Rob had, because he crumpled onto the ground directly afterward. His ankle was fucked from my bite, that much was obvious, and his body was canted to one side, letting me know he was favoring the area that Micah had kicked.
Joe hustled over in his human form, limping slightly and looking like he was in more than a little pain. I knew from my peripheral vision that Nina was lying on the ground panting. I wasn’t sure whether she was just glad to get a full breath after having his weight on her or if she was out of breath from the relentless attack she’d performed on his kidneys.
The two of them helped each other walk away, and once they were out of sight, I shifted. As much as I knew Micah needed his wounds looked at, my wolf wouldn’t let me focus until I was sure that Nina was okay, so I quickly checked on her. She was pushing to her feet, and though she had a couple scrapes, she looked fine for the most part.
“You okay?” I asked, needing her reassurance.
“Yeah, but Micah’s not.” Her voice was tight with concern as her eyes raked over the other wolf.
She was right—the amount of blood he’d lost was already dangerous, but that wasn’t the worst. Silver poisoning. I’d scented it on Rob’s blade and hoped I’d been mistaken, but I wasn’t. Even from where I was standing next to Nina, I could see the silver webbing already spreading across his arm from the cut. “We need to get him to the cabin sooner rather than later,” I said, knowing that the rest of this journey was going to be even more hazardous than the beginning.