Page 71 of Mortal Shift
“You were taking too long and we were on the clock. If Aodh had shut the portal we’d still be stuck in the inn. Do you want to stand here arguing about this, or go find your mom?”
I crossed my arms and glared at him, but we both knew the answer to that.
“Fine. Which way?”
“Halt!” The voice echoed from the far end of the street, and then, without warning, six large snarling wolves sprang from the shadows, surrounding us in a circle of raised fur and unsheathed fangs. “One more step, and you’re both dead.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
I took a step back on instinct, then stopped dead as a loud snarl sounded from behind me. I spun round in time to see the wolf advancing on me, its back raised and spittle flying from its bared fangs.
A hand wrapped around my wrist and yanked me back, and suddenly Cole was between me and the wolf, and I could feel the fury rolling off him in waves. His hand released me and he rolled out his shoulders.
“Stand down, Silas,” he commanded through a tight jaw, and at once, the wolf stopped snarling, canting its head as it took us in. A second later, the other wolves stopped snarling, too, and backed off, giving us some breathing space, but continued to watch us with wary eyes.
“Owen,” Cole growled into the darkness. “Get your worthless, ignorant ass down here. Now.”
A figure appeared from the far end of the street, hurrying towards us on two legs. He reached us and immediately dropped into a crouch on one knee, head bowed so far down his chin was touching his chest.
“Forgive me, Alpha Heir Cole,” he said. “We didn’t expect you back. And when I sensed two shifters arriving through a fae portal…”
He trailed off, and swallowed audibly.
“Idiot,” Cole sneered. “If you think this is a shifter then you’re going senile. Maybe you’re not up to guard duty anymore.”
“But—” He jerked his head up to stare at me, then caught himself and quickly averted his gaze again. “I’m sorry, Alpha Heir. It won’t happen again. I—”
“Do I look like I’ve finished speaking?” Cole demanded, and the other man shook his head mutely.
“This isn’t just any human, this is my mate, and you fucking threatened her.”
All the blood seemed to drain from the man’s face, and his whole body started to shake.
“I’m sorry, Alpha Heir. I didn’t know. I swear, I would never threaten your mate, I would never harm a hair on her head. I meant no offence, please…”
“Shut up,” Cole snapped, and the man clamped his jaw shut. Cole turned his glare on the other wolves, who shrank back from his fury. “If a single one of you ever dares to so much as look at my mate the wrong way, I’ll end you. Is that clear?”
The wolves, of course, said nothing, but they all ducked their heads, and three of them, including the one who’d snarled in my face, pressed their bellies to the floor. For a moment, I didn’t think it’d be enough to sate Cole’s fury. It seemed like nothing less than blood would do that.
“Good. Now fuck off, all of you.”
“I’ll alert your father to your presence,” Owen said, still in his crouch with his head bowed.
“You will haul your worthless carcass to the perimeter of the packlands and carry out guard duty properly, or I’ll make sure you spend the next year on garbage disposal. Is that clear?”
“Y—Yes, Alpha Heir.”
“Good.” Some of the tension left Cole’s voice and I narrowed my eyes. Had he been expecting Owen to argue? Taking the man in, it didn’t seem likely that he’d even try. “And take the rest of these pups with you. I don’t want to see so much as a hair from any of you before dawn. Understand?”
“Yes, Alpha Heir,” the shifter replied without lifting his head.
“Then what the hell are you still doing at my feet? Get out of here!”
“Yes, Alpha Heir,” the shifter said quickly. “Of course.”
He scrambled back and then to his feet, signaling hurriedly to the wolves before they all left the street at a lope. I watched them go, awed and horrified in equal measure by their utter subservience to Cole. I’d seen submission before, of course—I’d spent the last few months around wolves—but that was a whole new level. Those men, grown, powerful adults, if their size had been anything to go by, wereafraidof Cole.
Which said my plan to escape with my mom was a whole new level of stupid. But then, self-preservation had never stopped me before, it’d be a shame to start now.
