Page 30 of Forsaken Desire (Ruthless Wolves #1)

W e stepped out of the community center with me at Lucian’s side. Dusk—the darker stage of twilight—covered the horizon, the cloudiness lending an ominous ambiance.

Lucian guided me past the vehicles and through the edge of the woods. Until we reached the crowd of shifters. Many had shifted, while some stood around, naked and with an air of anticipation. I stopped myself from gawking.

Shifters moved aside, making way for us toward the middle, where Alex stood with Cierra and a bulky male in front of a podium.

Cierra sneered, her anger clear for everyone to see.

“Toby,” Lucian said, and the big male nodded, keeping his gaze lowered. He was built like a damn tree trunk. I clashed eyes with him and I struggled to keep hold of them. He was incredibly dominant.

“If you do this, I won’t sell you the land,” Cierra snapped, fury spitting from her eyes.

Lucian’s face didn’t twitch.

“Pity,” he drawled.

Her shoulders straightened, and she sneered at him and then me. She seemed on the verge of saying something, but then she clamped her lips shut.

Alex’s eyes widened, obviously surprised at his brother’s response.

“You have been challenged.” Lucian’s voice boomed.

The yips and cries of wolves melded together.

My mate stood on the podium, proud, strong, and hot.

The sun had lowered, and energy crackled around us.

At the highest peak of the moon, only instincts would reign.

The urge to rut and fuck would blanket every adult nearby.

Cierra backed up, her lips screwed up in a sneer. She jerked her shirt off and backed into the middle of the gathering. Toby also unclothed himself, and the bulging muscles were crazy.

Lucian looked down at me, turning away from the scene Cierra was making as she stripped.

She was going to fight that male?

“She won’t survive,” I muttered.

“I’m counting on it,” Lucian said calmly. I gawked up at him, but he didn’t seem even a little fazed. This was what he meant by ‘there might not be much of her left.’

When I turned back around, there were two wolves facing each other. One noticeably smaller than the other.

Lucian kissed the top of my head and stepped onto the risen wooden platform that put him a foot taller.

“The winner of this challenge will be one of the dominant three alongside Duane and Bruno.”

Silence fell across the clearing, and the wolves in the middle of the crowd suddenly clashed.

Cierra went for Toby’s neck, sinking her teeth in, but since the wolf was much larger, she only clamped onto fur and skin. It would hurt, but it wouldn’t do the damage it would have if she’d had a secure grip.

Toby easily shook her off, and he swatted her onto the floor with a swing of his paw. She landed with a loud screech. Based on her wheezing, the move had knocked the breath out of her lungs.

Toby opened his maw wide and sank his teeth into her shoulder. She didn’t move away. He dragged her upright and slammed her on the floor with a thud that sent dirt pluming.

She screeched.

Then Toby did the same thing again.

My heart pounded with the pumping adrenaline.

I swept my gaze around the crowd—the pack. They watched with hyperfocus; anticipatory.

“Why isn’t it stopping?” I whispered to Alex.

He jerked as if pulling himself from a trance and met my eyes. The moonlight spilled through the trees, only enough to cause shadows across his face.

“It’s her punishment.” With his words, Toby bit deeper into her shoulder, and blood gushed out of the wound.

“She’s already lost,” I said, my lips numb.

“It’s because,” he started, voice low enough that I leaned closer to hear him. “He wants her dead.”

I straightened and looked toward my mate.

Lucian watched with satisfaction curling his lips up. He definitely wanted her dead.

I pushed between two people to get near the platform and hoisted myself up. The wood thumped under my quick steps.

“Lucian,” I gasped, grabbing his arm hard and digging my nails into his flesh. I shook his arm and he finally blinked. His body turned more toward me, and he swept me against his side. His thumb caressed my back with little circles. It soothed my tension a notch. Enough to allow me to speak.

“Lucian, stop this,” I hissed. I bunched my hand in his bloody shirt, my knuckles pressing into his abs. “You can’t allow this to continue.”

When he looked down at me, the moon caught his eyes, giving the illusion that his eyes had a faint hazel glow.

“This is her own doing,” he said.

I growled and pushed away from him before hopping off the wood platform.

“Stop,” I snarled, not trying to hold back the guttural sound like I used to.

Toby immediately backed away.

Cierra was unconscious and lying on her side, but at least breathing. My gaze snagged on a familiar older couple that had been at the charity event. Her parents. They were being held back by two large males.

Toby paced from side to side. I turned to glare at my cruel Lucian.

“My mate has decided,” Lucian finally said.

My shoulders dropped. Thank the Moon.

On my way back to Lucian, I studied Cierra’s wolf. There was a chunk ripped out of her shoulder.

It would take her a long time to heal from those wounds. I couldn’t have stopped the satisfaction I felt. She’d tried to claim my mate, but I wanted her away from us, not dead.

“Wilder Pack has a new third,” Lucian announced. Toby shifted, and I averted my eyes, returning to my spot, next to Alex.

He raised an eyebrow at me, obviously questioning my decision. As descendants of wolves, our possessive tendencies were nothing close to human. Jealousy had been the reason for many deaths. It was normal —my stomach churned at my invasive thought. My memory.

“If she was always beatable, why was she one of the dominants?”

“Lucian allowed it.” There was a growl to his voice, and he kept rolling his shoulders.

My skin wouldn’t stop itching.

“No one is to help her,” Lucian ordered. Her mom dropped to her knees, and her father grabbed her, his features stretched tight.

This was a part of Lucian I didn’t know. He’d given me hints of him , a dark side, a cruel one.

The circle created by the pack dwindled, and people started to shuck their clothes. All of it was new to me, but it felt familiar.

I stepped back, returning my gaze to Lucian. He no longer wore a shirt, so his muscles were bathed in moonlight.

Alluring. Hot. Mine .

He’d stopped his plans for me. He’d chosen me, in front of everyone.

My stomach swirled with nerves. I wanted to be claimed by my mate.

The itchy urge to shift won. I yanked my shirt off and tossed it like everyone else. No one watched or paid attention, but Lucian suddenly came at me.

He crowded me until the bark of the tree pushed against my back.

“None see what is mine,” he snarled. His scent enveloped me and he slid his finger into the front of my bra with a swift yank. It snapped from the front, and my breasts spilled out. He tugged the button of my jeans, shoving them down, watching me with intense focus. I was dizzy with lust.

The way his muscles flexed made my stomach clench.

“Run as hard as you want, Princess, but you won’t escape me.” His roughened voice sent tingles south. Slick gathered between my legs.

“Shift,” he ordered, and a shiver coasted down my spine. I didn’t try to fight the command. Fur sprouted, and my body contorted, my vision blurring for a split second, then I was on all fours.

I didn’t waste any more time; I sprinted away.