Series: Willow Winters
Total pages in book: 56
Estimated words: 51151 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 256(@200wpm)___ 205(@250wpm)___ 171(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 51151 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 256(@200wpm)___ 205(@250wpm)___ 171(@300wpm)
“No!” A shrill cry comes from the thin lips of Shadow’s mate.
“Ah fuck, I didn’t want to kill a woman.” Dom mutters in my head as Shadow’s mate shifts into a mangy looking mutt. Dom’s wolf pounces, his paws landing on her shoulders. She falls helplessly as he pins her to the ground. He growls into her ear as a warning, but she still fights, nipping and snapping her jaws. Her teeth puncture his ear, and he snarls a greater threat. She barks loudly over and over, but her pack is silent.
Slowly, I rise from the corpse and take in what’s happened while I attempt to breathe and steady myself.
From my place at the edge of the woods I can easily see everything. Two wolves lie dead. One at the feet of Caleb and the other a few feet behind Devin. Dom has the Alpha mate pinned and the last remaining man, the one with a shotgun at his feet, and the three women are standing with wide eyes by the fire pit. The man has his hands raised in surrender and the front of his pants are soaked in urine. He didn’t even attempt to shift. The women are shaking, and one is rocking back and forth crying hysterically. This is so fucked.
“Are they really fucking surrendering?” I sneer in my head. I find it hard to believe that the fight is already over. There’s no surprise waiting for us. This wasn’t enough. My wolf paces in a small circle. He snarls and barks with agitation. My mate. What they did to my mate comes back in flashes. My wolf isn’t over it. There needs to be more. He tries to go back to the lifeless body, but I pull him away. This wasn’t nearly enough to rectify the pain Shadow has caused me. Let alone the hell he put Lena through.
“Please don’t hurt us.” One of the women finally speaks. She sniffles and grabs hold of her shoulders. She’s a pitiful sight. Her eyes are bloodshot, and her body shakes with every movement she makes. I’m not sure if it’s from fear or from whatever high she’s on.
My Alpha shifts. I’m momentarily surprised that he would shift to his weaker form and show such vulnerability. But then I take another look around. There’s nothing here that’s even close to a threat.
It’s sickening. Both the disgust and the guilt. A pack with no Alpha, surely one left in this condition, is pathetic and in need of great help. Devin was right to alert the Authority.
“Tie up your Alpha mate.” He commands the man and in an instant Dom releases her. She slashes out at him and snarls. The man looks back at Devin with an expression of equal confusion and fear. “Now!” Devin commands him and the Alpha waves rock through the camp. The women all fall to the ground and the man’s legs weaken as he looks furiously around the camp for something to restrain the Alpha mate. She rises on her legs and attempts another futile attack. Dom merely swipes his heavy paw at her body as she leaps in the air. She crashes to the ground from the blow and her wolf gives in, shifting back to human.
“I don’t fight women, Devin.” Dom’s voice is low and sorrowful in our heads.
Devin doesn’t even bother shifting. His feet pound against the dirt as he walks with purpose to the Alpha mate, still partially stunned from the fall and naked in human form. His large hand grips her nape and pushes her head into the ground. The shifter from the other pack approaches quickly with rope in his hand, but I don’t give him a chance to get anywhere near my Alpha. I barrel toward him, snarling and practically foaming at the mouth for another fight. He screams in terror and drops the rope as he falls to his ass in the dirt.
I pick up the rope in my mouth and turn my back to the bastard. Showing him he means nothing to me. He’s not worth my energy. Devin huffs a laugh and takes the rope in his other hand while the woman struggles beneath him. I shift and help him tie her to the tree to keep her from attacking us. More so we don’t have to kill her. We’ll leave her here for the Authority.
All the while she screams and cries “Shadow” while attempting to buck. Her effort is futile.
Once she’s secure, Devin tugs on the rope and nods before turning back to the silent spectators. Everyone is in human form; the pathetic battle is over. My wolf howls with discontent, but I remind him that our mate is waiting for us. He shuffles and paces with impatience. I feel the same as my wolf. This wasn’t a hard enough battle. I look back at Shadow, wishing I’d restrained my wolf and given him time to shift so I could’ve enjoyed the fight. My only regret is that he barely had a moment to suffer.