Page 26 of Bullied Alpha Bride (Wolfshade Brides-for-Hire #2)

I can barely feel my wounds. Blood trickles across my skin, turning cold in the early morning air, but in my veins, it still runs hot.

Breath rushes steadily through my lungs, and my heart pounds with a slow, steady beat. These guys might be vicious, but they really don’t know how to fight.

Cool, calm, and collected. Grandfather taught me you can’t do any real damage with unbridled rage. The only way to hurt people is with a direct purpose.

So far, these wolves are just running blindly at me, expecting their fangs and adrenaline to do the job. It’s only when they come at me as a group that they manage to injure me.

And I’m still kicking their asses.

A low, pathetic whining is still whistling through the teeth of the wolf whose spine I broke. The noise seems to be unsettling the others, so I leave him there, suffering.

I glare at Lex’s father, still not speaking a word. I clench my fists and nod slightly.

I won’t leave this circle until we’re all dead.

I don’t have to live; I only have to stay alive long enough to kill Lexa’s father and her promised husband. The Grace’s Fall pack will immediately retreat and leave Lexa here once their alpha is dead and there is no one to claim her.

Lexa will find her way back, and her friends will care for her. She’ll be fine. All I have to do is kill that fucking bastard!

I let my eyes flick over to where the ugly younger guy is holding my woman. The second he meets my gaze, he feels her up, grinning as he puts his hand under the jacket to squeeze her breasts. Rage burns through me, making my vision waver.

"Careful, careful… anger clouds the mind. “Never hurt people accidentally. Do it on purpose.”

To some people, that line might mean mercy, but to sadists like my grandfather, it means you can cause much more pain when you are calm and collected.

Lexa’s father whistles again, and seven more wolves come from the trees.

They don’t rush in, though. Every wolf here has to be feeling at least a bit scared now after watching so many of their friends get slaughtered. I stay still, carefully monitoring their position as they stalk towards me.

They coordinate their moves well, and three come at me from the front while four circle from behind. I drop and roll, but they sail over me and twist back around, all of them fanning out in a half-circle as they stalk me again.

Shit… they knew I was trying to make them crash into each other. This is going to be a bit tougher.

Even though it will make me vulnerable for a few seconds, I shift back into my wolf form. I have to drop and roll the second I change forms, as all seven of them try to latch on while I can’t defend myself. I barely make it out of the kill ring and back away from them, trying to plan my next move.

They flank me, two coming at me from either side while three spread out in front. The circle closes behind me, and I know I’m trapped.

Growling, I plant my paws, letting my hackles rise.

Come on, then.

Two wolves from either side leap, as well as one from the front.

I try to dodge, but all of them anticipate and come down on top of me.

They hold me down as the others dart in, biting and clawing.

I feel my skin being ripped apart in dozens of small wounds, and a howl of pain spirals out of my throat.

I can hear Lexa screaming, and it gives me strength. I put all my effort into a massive shake, twisting and snapping wildly. They latch onto me, biting and ripping at my fur, but I don’t stop, hearing yelps and howls all around as I give back twice what I get.

After a few frenzied moments, I stagger backwards to survey the damage. Two of the wolves are dead, while the others are so injured they can’t rise. I walk back towards the head of the circle, my eyes focused on Lexa’s father.

“Looks like it might be your turn, Vince,” he says coolly. “The boy is done.”

I’m nowhere near done, you fucking bastard!

My lips peel back from my teeth as a deep growl rumbles through me. Even though I’m bleeding from multiple wounds and I can barely stand, I will kill this fucker as my last act on this earth.

He will not have you, Lexa. This, I swear.

Then Lexa’s father gestures to one of the others, who goes over to hold Lexa as Vince lets her go. Lexa’s father shifts to come into the circle with Vince.

Fine, then. I’ll kill you both at once.

Vince lets out a weird, coughing little laugh as he approaches, baring his teeth. Lexa’s father stalks me carefully, paying attention to how I move.

He’s a wily old fuck, and clearly enjoys killing. I have to be careful.

Suddenly, Vince leaps towards me as Lexa’s father swiftly moves around to flank me from behind. Vince lands on top of me, pressing me into the ground and snapping at my face. I twist under him like a snake, going for his throat.

Strong jaws clamp around one of my hind legs, and I feel teeth digging into me.

In seconds, he’ll snap my leg in two. I’ll overreact to the pain, crumple to the ground, and wait for them to come in.

It’s a good bet that their confidence would be high enough at that point, I could lure them close enough to take them out. Once that’s done, I can collapse where I stand, knowing that Lexa is safe.

I wait for the pain, but it never comes. Vince stops snapping at me, still holding me down with his paws, but looking up into the hills with his ears pricked.

Then I hear a faraway howl.

Galen!

Even though I told them not to follow, I can’t be angry. Their timing is perfect, and maybe I won’t have to die after all.

Lexa’s father lets go of me to shift back to his human shape. He points at the man holding her and screams.

“Kill her!’

Vince yelps in dismay, leaping off me to run towards Lexa.

Well, holy fuck. We agree on something. He doesn’t want her to die, either!

The world slips into slow motion as I launch myself at Lexa’s father. He turns too slowly, his eyes widening in shock as he sees me coming for his throat. In his human shape, he’s defenseless against my teeth.

As I wrap my jaws around his neck, he lets out a frantic scream that gurgles into silence as I slowly crush his throat. His blood tastes sweet on my tongue as he twitches feebly, flopping on the ground like a fish.

All around me, I can hear sharp screams and sudden yelps as my pack and Galen’s sweep into the mountains, hunting down the enemy wolves. I turn towards Lexa.

The man ordered to kill her dropped her and turned to bolt into the forest. Vince is almost on her, and I charge, rushing towards them.

As Vince approaches, Lexa shifts, her wolf form pure white and glowing silver in the early morning sun. She leaps at Vince, tearing his face with her teeth. He staggers back, howling as he loses his footing and goes down.

Lexa keeps coming, but I jump on Vince before Lexa can get to him. Snarling, I got for his throat, only to have him slither out from underneath me and try to run.

Even as my pack and Galen’s come flowing out from the trees to surround us, Vince tries to keep running. My wolves part like waves, letting me run him down. When I finally leap forward to grab his tail, he howls as if his soul is being ripped out of his body.

That would be too good for you, motherfucker.

I tighten my jaws, shaking my head back and forth.

Bones pop and snap through Vince’s tail, and still he tries to run.

I lean back on my paws, sinking down as I anchor my weight against Vince’s momentum.

He starts to yelp and whine like a puppy as his claws drag through the dirt, slowly drawing him back towards me.

Finally, he collapses, all his effort spent.

When I leap on him, I see his wide, terrified eyes looking up at me briefly before I land on him and grab him by the ruff of his neck.

My teeth sink in, and I feel his spine under the skin.

With a growl of triumph, I close my jaws, hearing the satisfying snap as his bones shatter.

As he drops from my mouth, all the surrounding wolves begin to howl in triumph. There are far more in the hills than I expected. It looks like Galen brought in reinforcements from his own pack before they came after us.

“Kit,” Galen says, shifting to his human form as he comes towards me. “Are you alright?”

The shift comes over me slowly, with difficulty. When my human form resets, I can barely stand. Slowly, I stagger towards Galen. He catches me before I can hit the ground.

“I told you not to come,” I growl.

“I know,” Galen answers. “But—”

“But I’m glad you did,” I finish breathlessly.

Galen laughs. “Any time, old friend.”

I hold on to his shoulder, trying not to fall to my knees. Then I see Lexa running at me, tears flowing down her face.

“Kit!” she screams, running into me so hard that we both hit the ground. “Oh my God, my love, I was so scared!”

“I’m here, it’s okay,” I say soothingly. “Everything’s okay.”

“No, it’s not, you fucking jerk!” she yells, looking like she wants to slap me. “How dare you charge in here like that? You almost got yourself killed!”

I lay on my back, looking at her sitting on top of me with wild, bright eyes and her face twisted into a scowl. I reach up and stroke her messy hair, shaking my head a little.

“Lexa, I love you.”

“What?”

“I love you—so much. Now and forever.”

Lexa stares at me, her face going blank as her lip trembles violently. She screws her eyes shut before slapping me lightly on the shoulder.

“I love you, too, you stupid fucking idiot.”

“You what?”

“I love you, too.”

“One more time?”

“You fucking prick,” she laughs, leaning down. “Don’t play me.”

She kisses me, and I try to lean into it. Then both of us pull back, wincing.

“Ow,” I mutter. “I don’t think I’m up for it tonight, darling. I’m just a little torn to shreds.”

She laughs. “Okay. I’ll let you off tonight, but I won’t have any more of your excuses from now on. I expect sex at least three times a day.”

“I can do that,” I say, pulling her down to me to kiss her again. Both of us jump back again.

“Well, that’s not going to work until we heal a bit,” she says, smiling.

“Sadly, I concur,” I agree. “Do you want to let me get up?”

“I don’t know. Are you ready to stop being a goddamn fucking fool and not risk your life again?”

“Well, do you promise not to get kidnapped and dragged off into the woods? What am I supposed to do if you keep getting yourself in peril?”

She giggles. “Okay, you have a fair point. I won’t get kidnapped, and you won’t risk your life. Deal?”

“It’s a deal,” I whisper, pulling her back down for a kiss. This time, our love is stronger than our pain, and it doesn’t hurt at all.