Page 18 of Banished Mates
Heavy breathing accompanied by dragging infiltrated my ears, and I rounded back toward the house where the sounds originated.
Our moss-covered house stretched into the night sky. I hadn’t realized how far I’d gone from it. Clouds overhead indicated the downturn of the weather. It would soon be winter, where snow would cover the landscape.
The front door was agape, and I stepped into the threshold. The lamp shined light over the furred bodies huddled at the entrance.
One as recognizable as my own.
The gray of Rowan’s shaggy fur almost blocked the bundle beneath him with the position of guarding he had over her. He slowly lowered his entire body as he kept me within sight, attempting to block my vision.
Even so, her head poked out from near his front paw.
The white of her eyes shone, the brown of her pelt matted. That was alarming, but I was too enraptured by the fact that my body became numb. A sweet scent of honey flooded my senses.
I dropped to my knees, sucking in a deep breath, needing more of it. A roar filled my ears and my heart thundered as my wolf lunged to the forefront.
Claim. Claim.
My thigh muscles twitched and my cock hardened.
Mine.That brown-furred female under him wasmine.Andan Omega?
Fuck.
Baring my teeth at my twin, I struggled to rein in the violence coursing through me. Clenching my jaw, I hissed in a breath as I glared at him.
He snarled, drool dripping from his fangs as he bared them at me. He defended the tiny wolf beneath him with a ferocity I’d never seen.
His eyes were glazed and hard—maddened. The way he behaved told me he was under the impression she was his.
I didn’t like that. My wolf bristled and I struggled for control. I exhaled with a shudder, gritting my teeth.
If I shifted, it would be a slaughter.
I wouldn’t give into him if it was a fight for my mate and we were evenly matched. Without a doubt, we would take each other out.
The hair on his neck stood straight up and I returned his snarl, usually that got him back in line, but not this time. He seemed as possessive as me.
A fissure divided us. One caused by a she-wolf, which I never thought possible.
The bundle twitched, and a breathy whine left her throat. My cock hardened and I battled the urge to shift and fuck her. My chest heaved as I staggered to my feet.
Kicking out, my boot slammed into his muzzle, and he flinched to the side, allowing the bundle under him to wiggle away. The movement jerked my wolf forward and I was already after her with Rowan at my side. She slunk down the hall to the vacant room at the end.
Her ball-tightening scent filled my nose and I groaned at the pressure.
“Fuck,” I growled and shook my head. I could not stop sucking in lungfuls of the sweetness. It was inexplicably mind scrambling, but the closest comparable smell was honeydew.
My dick throbbed.
She backed into the wall, baring her teeth, her eyes glinting in the darker room.
Rowan snapped his teeth toward the light mocha-colored wolf.
In his mind, there was no other way than to claim. He didn’t understand that the tremble in her body was fear. That she was cringing back to get away. In his mind, it was all about devouring her and making her his.
“Rowan,” I said, the name coming out in a half-growl. He ignored me, inching closer to her. I was about to intervene, even if it meant knocking him out.
Then she snapped her teeth in his face and to my utter astonishment, he jerked back, dipping his head like a scolded pup.
