Page 78 of The Alpha's Chosen Fate

“Really?”

“Really.Something’s off, Em.I told Colten but he’s adamant I stay put.”

Emery's eyes glinted with determination.“Come on.”

She tugged me into the workout room, which had a door that led out to the side of the cabin.

“My car is right there,” she pointed through the window.“Jim is taking a leak by the treeline.So if you’re sure, we have to make a run for it now.”

“I’m sure.”

She quietly unlocked and opened the door.We made a mad dash for her Subaru and tore down the driveway.

“They’ll chase us,” I said, gripping the door.

“Good,” Emery grinned.“We’ll need the backup.”

She grabbed something from the console and tossed it into my lap.“I forgot I had that.”

My fingers curved around the cool deer bone handle of my grandfather’s hunting knife, covered in its original leather sheath.

“You kept this in your car?”

“Yeah.You left it in here so I didn’t bother removing it.Why?Is that weird?”

“Uh—”

“Shut up.You might need it.”

My grip tightened, one hand on the oh-shit handle, the other on the knife.We couldn’t get there fast enough.

When the little SUV came to a screeching halt, I was already out the door.Emery shouted, but I was already running.

Snarls split the air.Blood tainted the wind.I burst into the clearing, breath catching in my throat.

Pockets of warriors faced off.My eyes searched for the one I needed to find.And then I saw him.

Briggs lay crumpled on the forest floor, his chest heaving, arrows jutting from his body.Phelps loomed over him, hand raised for the killing blow.

A scream of rage tore from my throat as I launched myself forward, my vision tunneling until all I could see was the threat to my mate.

Phelps turned and I stabbed into the meat of his bicep instead of his neck.He threw me off his back, yanking the weapon out of his arm and throwing it off to the side.

“You’ll pay for that, whore,” the Alpha threatened.

He looked down at Briggs.“But first you can watch your mate take his last breath.Then I’ll fuck you on top of his corpse.”

Rieka’s wrath was a white-hot blaze in my veins.With an unprecedented surge of power, my wolf exploded out of my flesh.

The world narrowed.Our beings combined into a single deadly unit with a single objective.

Kill.

I didn't think, didn't hesitate.I simply acted, my body moving on pure instinct as I threw myself between my mate and the threat to his life.

The sickening crunch of bone, the taste of blood in my mouth.Turner's howl of pain as my jaws clamped down on his arm, tearing and rending.

I was dimly aware of Emery rushing to Briggs' side, her hands covered in blood as she tried to staunch the flow of his lifeforce from the wounds.But my focus was on the enemy before me.

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