Page 66 of Wild Wolves

Silence fills the air.

Chapter twenty-two

Tristan

Hunted

“STOP!THAT’SFUCKINGenough!”Anger rushes through me, and I yank against the ropes binding me to the tree. A wolf growls and pins Chase to the ground, getting in his face and looking as if he’s going to maul it off.

“Easy, Miles. That’s not how we do things around here. You might treat the pups in the Crystalrock pack as such, but we are more civilized.” A tall, hairy as fuck man grabs the wolf by the scruff of his neck and yanks him off, pinning him to the ground. The wolf submits and exposes his stomach, releasing a whimper like a little puppy. How he can go from vicious to complacent is weird as fuck.

The wolf transforms into a man, and I scowl at him. “They can bring the girl to you. Isn’t that what you want? You don’t truly think Ravi deserves her, do you?”

The man straightens his shoulders. I think he’s the leader of this pack. “Mind your place. You are not a part of the Sunset Pointe pack yet. The arrangement I have with my betaborne is none of your concern.”

He flicks his eyes down to where Chase hangs his head. “But—”

Blood squirts from Miles as his words gurgle. A small dagger lodges in his neck. I have no clue where it came from, and from the shock crossing the alpha’s face, neither does he. Chaos breaks out as our captors transform into wolves. I rub my palms together, trying to roll the ropes down my hands. If I work at it long enough, I might be able to free myself.

“Shit, Tristan. Brace yourself.” Evander’s voice cuts through the air, and he bucks, trying to block a tan wolf charging us. Another wolf crashes into it, and the two wolves roll and snarl, sending tufts of fur through the air as they tear into each other’s coats.

I release a breath, peering around the small camp. At least ten wolves fight each other. Our only saving grace is that they consider each other the bigger threat. Clenching my jaw, I rub my hands together harder, loosening the ropes as they slide lower on my wrists. Evander groans, startling beside me. A wolf gets within biting reach, snatching his ankles. The thick rope blocks the wolf’s teeth, and Evander kicks his legs up, knocking the wolf away.

Snarling, the wolf lunges again. It dodges Evander’s kick and whips its head at me, sinking its teeth into my shin. I holler and thrash, the movement enough to drop the rope from my wrists. The wolf grabs the rope around my ankles, attempting to drag me. I clutch onto Evander, using him to hold on and fight the wolf as it tries to play tug-of-war.

A long spear whacks the wolf across its snout, and it whimpers and shakes its head, backing off. Someone throws a rock next, the baseball-sized stone enough to get the wolf to back up. My mind whirls. Fiery agony crawls up my leg.

“Tristan, hey. Tristan, look at me.” Eliana’s voice prods at my attention, but shadows crowd my vision. I think I black out from the pain. One second, I’m sitting on the ground, tied up by my ankles, and in the next, Davian hoists me up, holding my weight. Fuck, he’s strong.

“Hustle your cute ass, Eliana. We gotta move. More wolves are coming.” Adam’s familiar voice hums in my ear. I blink a few times, trying to figure out what the hell happened. “You good, Davian?”

“Yeah, man. He’s putting weight on his feet.” Davian adjusts his hand around my side. “You’re doing good, Trist. The fucker bit your leg to make it easier to grab you. Suck up the pain and try to walk. They’ll hunt us next.”

Davian guides me forward, getting my legs to move. It’s as if my body and mind finally connect and realize if I don’t do as Davian asks, I’m a dead man. But fuck. I already might be one. I was bitten. Surviving a stabbing just couldn’t be enough. Now this godforsaken island is testing me with a curse. I could turn into one of those beast things at any minute. I could turn on Davian and hurt him.

“One step at a time, Tristan. You got this.” Davian practically carries me along.

“Fuck, incoming,” Adam says, stepping in front of us. “Evander, the fuckers are out to bite. Use this. Keep them back from you and Chase.”

“I’ve been bitten,” Chase responds, coughing. “A white wolf.”

Shit.

“Goddamnit!” Evander groans with his words. “What the fuck!”

I lose my footing, stumbling toward a tree. I try to brace on the trunk, but my leg gives out on me. I can’t focus. I don’t think I’m going to make it. I don’t know if I should be terrified or relieved. Being one of these lykoswulves? What kind of life is that? Trapped on this island forever. Fuck that.

Several deep, guttural growls strike me to the core. I use the tree trunk, trying to pull myself to my feet. A white wolf darts through the trees, blurring past me. I tighten my jaw, bracing for the beast to crash into one of the others. It skids past Eliana and circles her, its hackles rising on its back. Evander swings his makeshift spear, missing the wolf by inches. The gesture leaves him open, and a black wolf launches toward Evander, locking his jowls to Evander’s arm. He flails, knocking the wolf away. Eliana screams out and jerks her arm. A blade sparkles on the ground in the soft sunlight bursting through the thinning trees. We’re closer to shore than I realized. If we can make it to the beach, we can escape.

We have to. It’s the only way.

Pushing away from the tree, I stumble toward Eliana and Adam. Davian catches me, locking his arms around my waist. Neither of us sees the wolf darting from the tree. A grey wolf lands on top of me. It growls in my ear, the vicious sound cooling my blood.

“Take his throat, Lou!” someone shouts. “Don’t let Windshore get another asshole.”

Windshore? That’s the pack that had gotten to the others—who was supposed to take Tiffany.

“No!” Eliana screams. “Tristan!”

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