Page 49 of Banished Mates
“How could you be so foolish?” I snapped, pent up frustration exploding.
She remained frozen as she stared at me. Her temper flashed in her gaze before narrowing.
My shoulders tightened as a scent of a male filled my nose. “Do nae speak to her like that.”
Shock locked me in place. Who was he to demand anything, especially aboutmymate?
His smell was all over her. My already overstimulated wolf wasn’t having it, he ripped forward, fur exploding out, and I lunged at him.
He shifted midair, twisting and snarling. I skidded through the snow but quickly got my footing, setting my gaze on him. I mirrored his lowered head and flicked back ears. His shoulders bunched and then he took another shot at me which I avoided. In the same motion, I lashed out, dragging my claw across his leg. Blood splattered across the white blanket of snow. He lunged forward, spit dripping from his teeth as he opened his maw. I wasn’t going to be quick enough to avoid it.
He suddenly careened to a halt, his muzzle wide open.
Snow sprayed in my eyes and then Willow was between us. Chest heaving, her lips were set in a thin line.She was pissed.Practically spitting obscenities with her gaze.
The gray wolf’s teeth clicked together, and he growled but didn’t move forward to continue our fight.
I wasn’t liking this—
A sudden force rammed into me from the side. My body thumped against a rock, a sting radiating from the gash in my side. Shoving off the pain, I faced my attacker.
What the ever fuck was that?
It was similarly colored to the other wolf but much larger. The form monstrous and standing on slightly bowed legs. His face remained wolf, but with a much larger muzzle and the teeth to go with it.
Willow threw her hands up in... exasperation? Then charged at the creature. I sucked in a breath, instinctively trying to call out to her but my wolf form wouldn’t allow it. She pulled back her arm and released a sudden fist into thething’sside, but it didn’t even budge. It just looked down at her and roared.
My heart was about to pound out of my chest, but this wasn’t the time for me to lose it. I’d taken down big opponents before, but nothing like that. I was already hurtling through the snow, my aim to getitaway from her.
I expected her to jump out of the way when she saw me coming at them, but instead, she put up a hand, forcing me to careen to a stop.
The wolf beast lowered his head, snarling teeth coming right at me until Willow gripped its ear and twisted it. He roared, body hunched as he tried tugging free, but she wouldn’t let go.
I gawked, watching it happen.
Then she yanked at a wad of fur on the back of my neck. The tug on my fur was excruciating, the pinpricks stabbing at her rough pull. She’d always been violent, so she’d perfected the grip. If I tried pulling away, I’d just rip a hunk of my coat out, but I was more concerned with hurting her. I begrudgingly fixed my glare on her to see her lips move with an obviousno.
She shoved as she released me and turned her back to me, facing the beast. She’d released its ear and pressed both palms to his stomach and pushed. I didn’t know what shocked me more, her calm in the face of it or how it let her force him to retreat a step. The monster sneezed hard.
“Enough, Rowan,” the wolf I’d fought with ordered, the dominance lifting the hair on my body. Before I could pounce on him, Willow signed.
“What are you doing here?”Willow’s teeth clicked together. It was a gamble, but I needed to communicate with her, so I let my shift pulse over my body. I stood before her naked, my cock pointing toward her. The way her gaze dropped to it and her pink tongue flicked over her lip didn’t escape me.“Don’t you have a chosen mate to go back to?”The color was high on her cheeks, flushing them pink. Those angry sparks in her eyes and the jealousy peeking out made my chest expand. A smirk tilted my lips. She cared. Why had she acted like she didn’t when we argued? Even telling me to go to another woman.Thatconcern had taken second place while finding her swallowed me up. With that one look, all my doubts about her feelings for me evaporated.
The dark-haired fucker who’d shifted into a human was still looking at me. His lip lifting in a sneer.
“Step away from her,” I snarled. My wolf thrashed inside my chest, but a feeling came from him I didn’t understand. It was almost like... begrudging acceptance?
What the fuck was going on?
“Please stop, Den. They’re my mates.”
No, no. They must have tricked her. She wasmymate. Why was she protecting them?
“Lies,” I hissed, striding forward and gripping her shoulder to jerk her toward me. She resisted and pressed her hand into the other man’s stomach, way too close to his dick. Up close, the creature was larger than I thought.
My body shook with restrained rage. I wanted nothing more than to hold her tightly to my chest, but I refused to trap her hands when they were her only form of communicating.
“I’m an Omega.”
