Page 31 of Sold Wolf Slave

“You ready to die?” Pierce jeered.

Will didn’t react. His face remained as motionless as stone, but the waves of disgust pulsing off him were unmistakable.

“I’m not going easy on you this time,” Will said, his voice soft, dangerous, and unyielding. There was something about the cool certainty in the tone that both chilled me to the bone and sent ripples of intrigue and excitement running through me.

Pierce let out a mocking laugh that quickly subsided when he saw the expression on Will’s face. The smirk turned into a sneer.

“We’ll see about that, asshole,” he snarled. A moment later, he launched himself into the air, shifting halfway through into the massive black wolf I remembered from the first fight.

I glanced over at Will. He hadn’t moved, hadn’t shifted. He kept a level gaze as Pierce charged toward him, not an ounce of fear or worry or concern anywhere on his face, as if this whole thing was as tedious as filling out forms in triplicate. Meanwhile, the great black wolf grew closer, jaws open, ready to receive his apparently willing prey.

One minute, Will was standing perfectly still, almost as if he had forgotten he was in the middle of a fight in the first place. The next, he disappeared, so fast that I had barely noticed him move at all. When Pierce slammed to the ground, he spun. Growling, he glared at Will, who had just appeared behind him.

“Come on, then,” Will said without even a smile. “You were going to kick my ass. Go ahead and do it.”

The great black wolf lunged again, jaws snapping. Will sidestepped as if it were as easy as breathing. What the hell was he doing? Why wasn’t he shifting?

I stared at Will’s face, that cool, impassive calculation, the intelligence lurking behind those eyes almost startling. Every move he made seemed carefully chosen, and yet I could see the anger lurking in him. He was furious with Pierce. I wouldn’t have expected this cold anger from Will, someone who seemed so rational.

Then I realized that he was furious enough with Pierce that he wasn’t just fighting him. He was teaching him a lesson.

It didn’t make sense. Everything I knew about Will told me he was calm and collected, but this wasn’t that. It was strange. I could see that the mere act of doing this, of toying with Pierce like this, was out of character for him. Glancing atChris and Nolan, who watched with their hands in their pockets, muttering to one another, I could tell they felt the same. I just couldn’t figure out why Will was doing it.

For you, of course,a voice in my head whispered.

I pushed that away. That made even less sense. I was a means to an end for him—I could help with his mission. That was all.

Will barely dodged Pierce’s claws, feet almost stumbling but not quite. I gasped as my knuckles whitened where I was gripping the edge of the barrier.

Shift, dammit, I urged Will. Why did I care? I shouldn’t care after everything, but watching him put himself in danger made my stomach twist and turn. My wolf paced anxiously, wanting to jump in to protect him.

The next swipe, Will wasn’t as lucky. Claws drew down across his stomach. He grunted, gritting his teeth as he staggered back. His eyes narrowed, and he let out a low growl.

Finally, Will shifted. I couldn’t help myself, I sucked in a breath. The last time I had seen Will’s tawny wolf, it had been from a distance. I’d been so far away that his size hadn’t registered.

This time, however, all I could do was gape in awe. He was gorgeous. Every inch of him was perfect, the fur sleek and shiny, so soft-looking that I imagined running my hands through it. Will’s blue eyes were striking when he was human. Now, they were almost electric as they narrowed and focused on his opponent. His claws dug into the dirt at his paws as he snarled, fur bristling, looking and sounding more primal and feral than he had been the first time.

The sight of him tugged at something in my own wolf, and for a moment, I forgot I was supposed to hate him. All I wanted was him.

Pierce swiped forward, claws darting out to scour across Will’s muzzle. Will dodged the blow. The next couple of minutes looked like a dance as they glided across the pit, matching blow for blow. But it didn’t take long for me to realize that Pierce was outmatched.

Pierce realized it, too. His swipes grew more frantic and desperate as he continued moving back. He growled and spat, but I could see the fear in his eyes. Will continued to stalk forward, growling, showing his perfect, sharp teeth. With one perfect movement, he knocked Pierce to the ground, and it was all over.

Will’s claws raked across Pierce’s belly as he bit down on the other wolf’s throat. A yip of pain escaped the black wolf’s throat, then the crunch of bone echoed through the fighting pit. Pierce twitched once, then stilled. Silence filled the pit.

Panting, Will stepped back, sitting on his haunches. His claws and muzzle were damp with blood, and the gash on his shoulder dripped crimson to the dirt below. He waited, staring at the corpse, watching to see if he would leap back up and resume the fight. After several long, silent moments, his tail thumped, and he turned away from his kill.

Without realizing I was doing it, I raced over, the guards no longer holding me back. There was no need. Will’s head tilted, the wolf looking at me intently, his gaze focused solely on me as if nothing else in the world mattered. His tail thumped once again as I raced forward. A moment later, the wolf was gone, replaced by Will. He stayed where he was, watching as I cleared the final distance. For a half-moment, I almost flew intohis arms, with that irresistible urge to hold him, to feel his arms around me, consuming me. I pulled up short just in time, trying to hide my own confusion at the temporary insanity that had threatened to drown me.

“Are you all right?” I asked. I couldn’t explain why I cared so much. I shouldn’t. Except the thought of Will getting hurt sent my wolf into a fury and made a pit of unease and dread settle in my stomach.

My eyes went to his stomach, where long claw marks ran along perfect abs. I sucked in a breath without thinking.

“I’ve had worse,” he said when he saw where I was looking.

I shot him an irritated look that earned me a chuckle.

“Seriously. It’s not that bad,” he said.

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