Page 50 of Brutal Alpha

Restricted as he was, the one closest to me was easy to take down—one quick bite to his throat and he was gurgling his last—but before I could see to the other, the first hunter was on me again. Even with his face cut to ribbons, blood matting his fur and staining his teeth, he was intent on taking me out, barreling into my side and rolling us over until he was on top of me, his rancid breath in my face and his eyes dark with violence.

Planting my hind paws on his lower belly, I used all my strength to push him off me before his jaws could snap closed around my throat. He went sprawling, and then I was on him. Without hesitation, I sank my claws into his belly, ripping him open and leaving his innards steaming on the ground.

When I raised my head again, Julia still had the other hunter ensnared in shadow, with a sharp-looking tendril poised and ready to strike. I shifted quickly, holding out one hand.

“Wait!” I called, and she froze. “Can you keep him bound if he shifts?”

“We’ll see, I guess,” said Julia. Her voice sounded strained, but she was holding strong.

I approached the bound hunter, stepping in front of him as I gathered all my Alpha authority. If this was going to work on a wolf from another Pack, I was going to need every drop of power that nature allowed me.

“Shift,” I commanded.

The hunter squirmed under my gaze, clearly wanting to refuse the order. Had it been a member of my own Pack, they could never have disobeyed, even for this long, but he was stubborn.

“Shift,” I repeated, and this time he could not resist the weight of my authority.

The shadows around him loosened as he shifted, but the moment he was fully human, he was once again tethered at the ankles and wrists, completely at my mercy.

“Look, m-man,” he started, stuttering with fear, “I just—just do what my Alpha tells me, I don’t—”

“Shut up,” I growled, and his mouth snapped closed. “I’m feeling generous today, so you get to keep your life, but I’m going to need something in return.”

The hunter nodded. Smart.

“You’re going to run back to your island, to your Alpha, and tell him that if he sends one more shifter after us, if he lays anotherfingeron this woman—” I jerked my head in Julia’s direction to avoid any misunderstandings “—then between the two of us, Ferris and Lapine will wipe your entire miserable Pack off the face of this earth. Do you understand me?”

“Yep. Loud and clear.” The guy sounded like he was on the verge of pissing himself, so I trusted that he’d gotten the message.

“Let him go,” I told Julia, and she looked relieved to release the shadows that had surrounded him. The second he was free, the hunter began to sprint away, shifting mid-stride as he fled west toward the Arbor bridge.

It was torture not to go to Julia immediately, but I watched his retreating form until I could no longer see him. I meant every word of that threat: if Arbor made one more attempt on my mate’s life or her freedom, I would ensure they regretted it.

When I turned around, Julia was trying valiantly to stride away but made it only a few steps before her legs gave out beneath her. I rushed to her side, taking her arm to help her back to her feet. As I did so, I scanned her body for injuries, but none were apparent. She was just shocked. She was fine. She was whole and alive.

“Come on, come away from here,” I said, ushering her away from the bodies that littered the grass. Even in her shell-shocked state, Julia shrugged me off as soon as we’d put enough distance between ourselves and the dead hunters.

“I’m fine,” she said. “Thank you for—thank you for helping. I can manage the rest of the way.”

I couldn’t help the incredulous laugh that escaped me; she was naked and blood-splattered and still visibly shaken, yet still so damn stubborn. She was utterly ridiculous, and I adored her.

“You absolutely cannot,” I said. “You nearly died.”

“Well, I didn’t die,” she retorted, tossing her hair over her shoulder as she tried to rally herself. She took a few more unsteady steps forward—the attempt was clearly to stalk away from me, but she looked more like a baby deer taking its first steps. “I don’t want to take up any more of your time, so—”

“Why are you being like this?” I insisted. She was treating me like a stranger, like some virtuous passer-by who had stepped between her and danger. She was barely even looking at me.

“Like what?” she said, as though she didn’t know damn well. “I’m just trying to make things easier for you.”

“Easier?” I parroted. It was so absurd that I could think of no retort, but I clearly didn’t need one. She continued as though I hadn’t spoken, her voice beginning to tremble with emotion.

“You didn’t have to come after me! I know you’re trying to be a good friend to Cal, but I’ll be fine on my own. You’ve made it more than clear you don’t want us, and I’m not going to hang around when—”

“Wait,” I said. She was so wrong, so utterly, utterly wrong, and I had no one to blame but myself. I was ready to correct her, but a single word was demanding my attention first: “What do you mean,us?”

Chapter 23 - Julia

I could lie. I could brush it off, say it was a slip of the tongue, or claim that I was speaking not only for myself but for every other woman he’d fucked and then abandoned. I could push him away, return to Lapine, and do my best to hide my baby’s parentage for as long as I could, but that had always been a stupid plan.

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