Page 27 of A Surprise Baby for the Wolf Shifter

She was partially shifted and settled her deadly glare on me. I met her gaze and tensed seconds before she charged me. I squatted down, ready to take her force and wrestle her to the ground. But when her body collided with mine, she managed to, instead, knock me out of the way. I landed against the wall leading to my kitchen with a thump, and my breath wooshed out of me. She pulled open the door and leaped out.

“I’m going to destroy her!” she said, though the words came out sounding off thanks to her partial shift.

My instincts took over. Anger I had never felt before burned through me until I could see nothing but red.

Not if I could help it, I thought as my wolf stretched against me.

I shifted and charged after her.

It didn’t take me long to catch up to her and tackle her to the ground. She was fully shifted and batted at my face with her razor-sharp claws, leaving a gash over my left eye. The sting only added to my anger.

I bit her neck and clamped down hard. She struggled against me, roaring and fighting against the hold I had on her. Seconds later, my body collided with a tree, sandwiched between her and the wood.

It did the trick. I let go of her.

She took off again.

I was in full protect mode, and I wasn’t above killing her if it meant Gemma and the baby could be safe.

Tabitha gained some speed and tried to lose me by crossing a river.

She was smart, but she would have to do better than that to lose me.

I crossed the river, shucked the water from my body, and took off running again.

We were half a mile outside of town when I caught up to her again. This time, she wasn’t getting away from me. She was going to take the hint. I was done with her.

I tackled her to the ground, and we wrestled around, using tooth and claw to get the other to go down. It was a bloody battle that I refused to lose. Not with so much at stake.

I finally managed to get ahold of her neck and held strong. Luckily, there weren’t any trees around us for her to slam my body into. With nothing else to work with, she gave in. I stayed that way for several minutes longer, listening to her heart start to calm.

She relented. Good girl. I would’ve hated killing her.

Once I released her neck, we shifted back into our human forms.

She panted, sitting on her ass with her knees bent in front of her. She glared at me and ran her fingers through her hair.

“Listen to me very carefully,” I said. “Don’t talk, just listen.”

She nodded and gestured for me to continue.

“I am not your mate. I never was your mate. I will never be your mate. And as tough as that is to hear, understand that by focusing so much time and energy on me, you are losing out on that time with your true mate. The person who was destined for you.”

She nodded. Tears filled her eyes and spilled down her cheeks. “But I love you.”

I nodded. “I’m flattered. But I don’t share your feelings.”

“It’s her, isn’t it?” she asked with too much of an edge to her voice.

“If you so much as harm a hair on her head, I will kill you. Please don’t force me to do that today,” I said.

She glared at me, pressing her lips together.

“Who she is and what she is to me is none of your business, much less any part of your concern,” I warned.

She snorted.

“I mean it, Tabitha,” I snapped, pulling her attention back to me. “This is over. Leave it alone.”

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