Page 61 of Same Difference
“Oh my gosh,” Nory whispered beside her as they slowed.
“Stay back,” Liam ordered softly as they approached the fight. He placed himself between Nory and the war of the wolves.
The snarl was loud, and the predators were so fast, they blurred with a violence that stole Delta’s breath away. Red sprayed across the snow, and Liam barked out, “Enough! It’s done!”
The fight stopped and Nathan stood with Dodger’s throat in his muzzle. His eyes were glued to Liam.
“Don’t,” Liam warned. “That’s an order.”
But Nathan had been offered Alpha. Would an order from Liam stick? The defiance in his eyes as he clamped down his teeth onto Dodger’s bleeding neck made Delta question it.
A whine escaped Dodger’s gurgling throat.
“Nathan,” Delta said, approaching with her hands out. “He’s in our Pack.” She shook her head. “Please don’t.”
Nathan held for a three-count more and then released Dodger. Dodger’s wolf scrambled off, bleeding heavily.
Nathan faced off with Liam.
“What are you doing?” Liam gritted out as the wolf moved in a half circle slowly around him. He reached back and grippedNory’s jacket, moving to keep himself between his mate and Nathan’s charcoal gray wolf.
His hackles were lifted in a mohawk down his back, and his lips were peeled back, baring blood-soaked, razor-sharp teeth.
“Nathan!” Delta snapped, running to place herself in front of Liam.
A fight between them would be to the death, she knew. If Liam Changed, there would be no peace here anymore.
Nathan wasn’t in his right mind right now. The week had made him snap, and Dodger’s constant poking had made it worse. Liam’s orders were fucking with his head, and he’d pulled him off a kill.
“Nathan, it’s me. It’s Delta,” she said, hands out, moving slowly. “If you do this, there will be no taking it back. You will destroy the Rogue Pack. You will destroy our friendships here.”
A long, low snarl emanated from the massive animal. It was terrifying being this close to him in human form. This version of him was what her father had seen in him as a potential Alpha.
“There is good here,” she said softly. “We can build here, even if you decide to leave. We can be okay here, but not if you go after Liam. You are friends.”
Another snarl and he kept moving to the side, eyes trained on Liam over her shoulder.
“Liam don’t,” Nory said.
Delta took a quick glance to the side, and Liam was pulling at his shirt. Shit.
“Nathan, I need you!” she yelled, her voice echoing through the trees. Crows lifted from the branches in the distance, cawing.
Nathan’s wolf hesitated, and his eyes ghosted to her.
With a shaking hand, Delta pointed in the direction of her cabin. “Go home. Now.”
The wolf’s ears perked but flattened again when he looked at Liam. It was enough. Just that little twitch of his ears was proof of something big. He was in there.
“Nathan, this is my home, and these are my people, and I need you to keep them safe. Even if it’s from you.”
With powerful strides, Nathan slowly walked away in the direction of her cabin, and Delta trailed him.
Dodger had Changed back to his human form and was sitting there with his elbows resting on his knees, blood streaming from the gashes in his neck.
“You don’t have to do this,” he said.
“Dodger, shut the fuck up!” she screamed, losing it. “I’m not doing anything I don’t want to do. He is mine!” The words echoed and came back on repeat. “I am his! Whatever bullshit you are trying to pull by creating a wedge between us, it’s a waste of your time. We can work through our shit without your input. The next time you prod him into a fight over me, I will let him eat you alive!” Her skin tingled with rage and the urge to Change, and her throat hurt from the gravel in her tone. “It’s done!”
