Page 53 of Forbidden Wolf

“That’s the curse of a black wolf. They have their own mind.”

This was why every pack feared the emergence of a black wolf. We were stronger and more feral in battle, but when that wolf took control, there was no turning back. The only time he was tame was in Tasha’s presence.

Bracing myself against the wall, I finally rose to my feet.

“Stefan?” I asked.

“Touch and go, but at least you gave him a chance at survival.”

I was disgusted with myself that it got to this stage. Given free reign, my wolf would have slaughtered him and pissed on his remains.

“Is the base ours?” I demanded.

“There is no doubt you are our leader. What do you want me to do?”

“Bring everyone together. I want access to all the files and intel that Stefan had. Get our scientists working on those samples from the different hellspawn. I want a way to kill those things as quickly as possible.” My gaze moved in and out of focus as I tried to fit back into my skin again even as my wolf snarled his protest in my head. I’d pleaded with Stefan to acknowledge the presence and risk of the hellspawn, but he’d preferred to wage his war against the vampires. To him, the hellspawn were insignificant to us and our studies had been confined to what my team could achieve.

Radar’s hand landed on my shoulder. “Is she worth all this?”

My head snapped toward him and my wolf clawed his way back to the surface.

Radar took a step back, putting his hands up in submission. “Don’t be biting my head off.”

He’d been the one who rescued us in the helicopter, and the only one who knew about her existence. I’d shared my information with Stefan and my team about what was out there, including the master hellspawn who was in charge of them. Tasha had been removed from that version.

I trailed my fingers through my unruly hair. “He’s a little defensive about his mate.”

“Levi, he’s going to get you both killed if he continues to lose control. The council won’t let a headstrong wolf lead one of their main bases.”

Radar was right, but my wolf sensed Tasha’s despair. He knew that hellspawn was stalking her, and every protective instinct inside was on red alert.

Mine.

I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes at his claim. He spent most of his time shouting it in my head. After that hellspawn touched Tasha, I barely had control of my wolf. All I knew was that I had to mark her so that everyone knew she belonged to me alone. Her emotions still thrummed inside me, driving me slowly insane.

Her emotional pain had nearly broken her until I syphoned it all into me, bearing that agony for both of us. Her fear returned yesterday, forcing me to fight for control of this base. If something was threatening her, I would destroy it.

I strode through the base, ignoring all the looks from other wolves. They would understand in time why I had to take over. Inside my room, I peeled my bloody clothes off and stood under the pounding water of the shower until I gained control of my body and senses. Instead of a commander’s uniform, I wore the black combat trousers and T-shirt of every other soldier in this base. They needed to see me as an equal who wanted to rule among them, not over them.

Terrified glances and muted whispers met me in the massive hall that fitted every person on the base. I picked here deliberately, having left everything ready earlier before the fight. These lycans needed to see the war from my viewpoint. They needed to know why I challenged Stefan for his leadership.

“I didn’t want to rule this base, but six months ago I brought evidence of creatures out there that are killing us.”

All eyes watched me intently.

“They are killing the vampires in equal measure. We need to find a way to fight this new enemy before they crush us completely.”

As I paced through the crowd, an avenue opened for me to walk through. Large storage boxes sat at the back of the hall. Radar stood beside them. I nodded to him and he removed the lid from the first container, kicking it over, and muddy liquid spread across the floor. Gasps echoed around the room as tranquilised hellspawn spilled out of it, including one of the tentacled creatures that attacked Tasha.

Revulsion coiled inside me like a rattlesnake tapping against the length of my spine. “These creatures are hellspawn. The swamps are created by them for their aquatic form. They were killing us underwater. There are land-dwelling forms, and some we’ve identified with wings. These are the enemy we need to focus on.” I pointed at the creatures that were waking up and beginning to crawl toward the heat of the lycans around them.

A female lycan stepped back when one reached her boots.

“Our enemy is no longer the vampires. These hellspawn are decimating both our species out there. Our only hope of survival is to forge an alliance.” I stopped and lowered my head. “That is why I challenged Stefan. It is also the reason I didn’t kill him. There is enough death waiting for us out there without bringing it in here.”

One of the tentacled hellspawn leapt forward, its teeth snapping and four arms waving around it. Without speaking, one of the team leaders Spencer drew a weapon from the back of his combat trousers and fired. Deadly silence surrounded us, and the scent of charring filled the air.

“We all heard the rumours of strange creatures out there,” Spencer said. “Several members of my team are missing, presumed dead. If these things are killing us, then I’ll stand behind you and do a deal with the devil himself to stop them.”

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