Page 31 of Forsaking His Mate

Hunters are an ever-present threat to the women atthe sanctuary, but this is the first time I have scented outsiders just beyond the wards.

I pick up at least four unique trails as instinct tells me I need to get back to safety. I turn and run in the direction of the sanctuary, but I barely reach the edge of the territory when a huge wolf steps out in front of me. The moonlight barely reaches the floor of the forest, the canopy of leaves overhead blocking most of the light, but my wolf senses help me see better than I can in my human form, so I track the wolf in front of me as a second one steps up behind me.

My wolf twists its head to glance over its shoulder and I steel myself, ready to fight. They are here for the women. For Tessa.

I will kill them before I let them touch her.

Two more wolves melt out of the shadows, and I realize I’m screwed. I can’t fight this many wolves, not alone, and I don’t have a pack I can call on.

The wolf in front of me attacks first, his teeth aiming for my throat.

I clash with him at the same time, a frenzy of motion as I manage to sink my teeth into his shoulder. Another wolf bites my hindquarters, making me snap my jaws. I fight with a fury I know won’t help. I’m outnumbered and I’m already bleeding.

I give my wolf full control, letting him take over and fight instinctively. I’m weakening, though, as attacks rain down on me.

There’s a flash of light and then the wolves are thrown off me as if by an invisible force. I struggle to move to see what happened, and as I turn my stomach fills with ice.

Tessa is standing behind me, wearing a tiny pair ofshorts and a camisole that shows her midriff. Her tousled hair tells me she must have climbed right out of bed to save me—the fucker who rejected her.

She mutters something under her breath and I watch as the other tau women step out of the trees behind her.

Hester is wearing a nightgown that’s billowing around her body. Roux and Apryle are in yoga pants and tees. All of them are barefoot, as if they raced out of the sanctuary to come to my rescue.

The relief I feel at seeing them dissipates quickly as I realize the danger they have put themselves in. I whimper as the four women hold hands and chant low. I don’t know what the words are, but an invisible force pushes the wolves further back, whimpering and howling, as if in intense pain.

Blood spurts out of each wolf, as if they are being torn apart by claws. I duck, trying to avoid the spray, but unable to tear my gaze away as their cries fill the air before falling silent. The tau wolves keep chanting, their hands clasped together as they work their magic. I can feel it crackling through the air, like static before a storm.

The wolves shudder and stop moving as the chanting ceases, and a coppery tang of blood fills the air.

Tessa rushes to my side. My wolf relaxes and tries to nuzzle her side as her fingers dig into my fur. “You need to change back, Abel,” she orders.

I don’t know if it’s her tone or the fact my wolf recognizes her as ours, but my body changes and morphs back into my human form until I’m lying naked on the forest floor.

Tessa crowds me, her fingers trailing over the wounds covering my skin. “You’re hurt.”

I don’t give a fuck about that. I grab her wrist, stopping her exploration of my wounds. Her featherlight touch on my skin is making me unravel.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” I demand, focusing on my anger instead. If I can keep that, maybe I’ll avoid lying her down in the dirt and rutting her like an animal. That’s what my wolf wants us to do.

At my words, Tessa’s face melts from concerned to pissed. “I’m saving your life.”

“By risking yours? Those hunters could have hurt you—all of you,” I say the last part to the other women. “Have you all lost your fucking minds? And what the hell did you do to them anyway?”

Roux glances at Hester. Apryle just glares at me, as she has from the moment Tessa crashed into my life. “We combined our magic and I was able to focus it enough to make them…explode.” Hester wrinkles her nose. “I wasn’t really sure what I was going to do, but that’s what happened. I’m not sorry.”

I stare at her. Hester is powerful in her own right. I know that because she keeps me under control when the moon sickness hits, but this… The girls working together is something else. The air crackles with the energy of what they did, and I can smell the traces of their magic.

Tessa falls back onto her ass, as if she’s struggling to stay upright. I can see the exhaustion in her face. “Whether you like it or not, we’re tied together. If you die, I’ll fade,” Tessa says.

I can’t describe how disappointed her words make me. I don’t want to mate with her, but a part of me was hoping she came because she was compelled to by her feelings.

It’s selfish as fuck to think that when I’m constantly pushing her away, but I can’t help it. My brain doesn’t know what it wants, other than her.

“Can you walk?” Hester asks, and I’m not sure if she’s talking to me or Tessa.

“I’m fine,” Tessa says, sounding a little stronger. “That was my first big use of magic.”

Hester nods. “It’ll take you a little time to get used to channeling that much, but you’ll be okay after a good sleep. You okay?” she asks me.

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