“What do we have here but a little escapee and… his latest piece of ass?” Varga turned, directing the question at the two men over his shoulder, also walking in human form. I didn’t recognize them, but when Lucien saw them, he snarled, surging forward so fast, I nearly collapsed into the dirt from the loss of his support.
He realized that and came back, propping me up with his shoulder, even though he continued glaring at one of the two followers. One was tall, broad, and proud. The other was shorter, but, more than that, crueler. From his glare to the way he carried himself, hatred practically oozed from his pores.
“Nah, this fucker doesn’t keep a bitch for more than four hours. He wears ’em out and lets ’em go. Apparently, they like it like that. Understandable these days, given…” The awful man pointed to his face, clearly mocking Lucien’s scar, and that made me want to lunge, rip his throat out for daring to mock my mate.
Was this the man who’d tortured him?
I cocked my head and looked at Lucien, studying his lupine features, and thought it must be. His single-minded focus on the man was personal.
Even so, I wasn’t expecting Lucien to shift back to human form, right there in the middle of all those enemies.
“This is just like you, Petr?. Too cowardly to fight your own battles, so you send others to do it for you. Get a good look.” He waved to his scar, turning his face from side to side so all gathered could see it. “This is what happens when Petr? Varga lets his bastard brother get hold of you. Well, I say, if you’re going to lead a pack, you need to be man enough to do your own dirty work.”
Petr? scoffed, but I saw the way he looked around at the gathered wolves, the way they all shuffled on their feet, ears perked up as they took in the accusation. “I do my own dirty work. You just weren’t important enough to bother with.”
Howls that felt like jeers went up all around us, and answering calls echoed eerily from all over the woods, reminding me of our pack mates fighting their own battles. Goddess save us all.
My vision was growing hazy around the edges, and I blinked rapidly to clear it. A few more minutes, and I wouldn’t be able to hold my shift anymore. My injuries should all close up and stop the blood loss as soon as I was back in my skin, but then I’d be a naked invitation to any of these shifters.
Hang on, please hang on, I begged my wolf, and to her credit, she snarled and fought back against the exhaustion. She drew strength from Lucien’s wolf, I was sure of it. Otherwise, I’d already be shifted to human and unconscious.
“I’m so glad to hear you say that,” Lucien said with a vicious imitation of a smile. “Because I challenge you, Petr? Varga, the Alpha of the Hungarian pack.”
The clearing fell silent, every wolf attuned to the challenge.
Varga only had two choices, really. Accept the challenge and fight Lucien to the death, or step down and cede control of his father’s pack to an outsider.
There was only one acceptable choice.
“I accept your challenge. And I will piss on your corpse and then fuck your sidepiece right next to it in the dirt when I’m done with you.”
Lucien smiled a deadly smile that sent chills down my spine. “You can try.”
Fear filled my heart as my limbs started to shake. I had to leave the circle before the fight started, but the second I did, I was going to lose my shift. I backed away from Varga and then stopped, realizing there was nowhere safe for me to go while Lucien was occupied.
The second I moved, though, he was there, holding me up. “It’s going to be okay, Olivia. Once I win, I’m in control, and I can call off this attack. It’s the only way. I won’t let anything happen to you, I promise. Be strong for me, hellcat, okay?” he leaned down and whispered, my sensitive hearing picking up the promises easily in this form.
I whimpered as I dipped my muzzle in a nod, but I had to try.
Lucien straightened, turning back to the gathered wolves. “I want your personal guarantee that no matter the outcome of this fight, you’ll protect my pack mate. This fight isn’t for females, and she shouldn’t suffer for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
It stung to hear him call me his pack mate instead of his mate, mate. But it was probably wise. If they knew what I was to him… they wouldn’t take it easier on me. To my surprise, it wasn’t Varga who answered. It was the taller man behind him.
“I swear on my honor that no further harm shall come to this female by the hands of my pack this day. And on my honor as second of the Hungarian Pack, there will be no interference.” The man nodded gravely, then waved me over. The wolves between us stepped aside, clearly accepting his word as law too, which meant he had to be well respected by his pack.
Lucien picked me up carefully and carried me to the man’s side, kissing the top of my muzzle before setting me down, turning back, and stepping into the ring of bloodthirsty shifters.
He was bruised and scraped and bloody, but even naked and wounded, he held himself proudly, like the Lucien I met the first time, who had the whole world in the palm of his hand.
The man at my side watched me with a frown, instead of the fight. He squatted at my side, making it easier for me to take in his dark, handsome features up close. He was a stunning alpha, but I felt no attraction. “My name is Valens, little female. Are you close to your heat? Your scent… It will be a struggle to keep the others away from you, but I have given my word. I will guard you as I guard my own sister.”
I shook my head no, the best I could manage, and tucked his name away for later. I wanted to ask Lucien why he trusted this stranger, though it seemed he’d made the best choice available.
Petr? had already shucked off most of his clothing. Lucien stood with his arms crossed, staring at his torturer.
He pointed at the cruel man, a deadly promise in his eyes. “You’re next after I take out your piss-poor Alpha.”
I scented the fury rolling off the other male, and resisted the urge to cower away. Only the fact that it hurt to breathe, let alone move, kept me still. Doing my best to ignore it all, I focused on Lucien, willing him to win with every last scrap of rapidly waning energy in my body.
The two males in the center of the ring shifted, and the last sight I saw as my own shift overtook me was Lucien barreling into Petr?, taking him down to the ground.
Lucien
My focus should have been single-minded as I barreled into Varga, but I couldn’t stop fantasizing about ripping Dominik limb from limb. The fucker who ruined my life was right there, and I was going to get my revenge if it killed me.
Petr? rolled underneath me, scrambling to get away now that I’d gone in broadside and taken him unaware.
He succeeded, but not before I managed to tear into his shoulder, leaving a gaping wound that should start to slow him down.
A smarter wolf might have been worried; he was fresh as a daisy after letting his lackeys wear me down. But I wasn’t. Pure hatred flowed through my veins, and neither my wolf nor I felt the least bit tired.
Worried about Olivia, yes, but I couldn’t let my brain go there in the middle of the battle. I needed to end this threat, then the next one in Dominik, and then get her to Brielle. That was it, that was the best I could do. After that, I had to hope that word spread quickly through their pack bond that this shit stain of a shifter was dead, and they all ran with their tails between their legs.
Petr? spun and leapt at my flank, and I had to stop thinking and fight. He was a better fighter than I gave him credit for, and for several minutes, we circled and traded blows, a swipe with claws here, a tearing bite there. But eventually, he started to show his lack of stamina in small ways. Missing opportunities to attack because he was still recovering from the last blow. Choosing to walk instead of run.
He was flagging. Petr? didn’t have the burning need for revenge in him that I did, and it showed. I executed a series of feints, slipping past his defenses and landing a crushing bite to his tail.
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