Page 34 of Midnight Hunt (Wolves of Midnight #4)

33

VIOLET

I ran like the wind, my feet barely touching the snow-covered ground.

Determination fueled me, along with a heavy dose of terror.

Worried that the other females would panic and scatter, I barked, “Follow me!” before taking off down the mountain. So far, it sounded like they’d obeyed me, but they barely knew me. Once the males started to pursue us, their fear would override common sense.

The second we all disappeared from sight, dozens of eerie howls lit up the night.

The chase was on.

Several females cried out in fear, but before they could bolt, I snapped, “Stick together!”

I led them farther down the mountain, frantically searching for a spot where we could make our stand. When I finally found a relatively flat open clearing, I ignored my instinct to keep running and skidded to a halt.

“No! We have to keep going!” one of the females cried, pushing past me.

I grabbed her arm and spun her around, shouting, “Stop! If we keep going, we’ll reach the boundary and trigger the collars. The best thing we can do right now is stay together and fight them.”

“Fight?” another female shrieked. “We’re outnumbered and weak with these collars on. Fighting is useless.”

“No, it’s not ,” I argued, whirling to face the others. “We’re still strong. Still capable. Still fierce female werewolves. We’re not helpless, and we’re not submitting to these feral bastards without a fight. There’s too many of them and not enough of us. Use that against them. Make them fight each other for you. Make them kill each other. All I need to do is get that remote. Once I’ve deactivated our collars, the males don’t stand a chance. You know this. You’re freaking hybrids, so act like it.”

Every single female stared at me in utter terror, sounds of the ravenous male pack closing in fast. I wouldn’t blame them if they tucked tail and ran right now, if they took their chances alone instead of agreeing to a flimsy plan that could get them killed. These males were stark raving mad, and who knew what they would do if the females didn’t submit.

I desperately wanted to flee myself, but I knew it wouldn’t get me anywhere. This was our only chance. We had to fight .

As the ground started to rumble, the sound of stampeding footsteps almost deafening, Desirae stepped forward and said, “I’m with you.”

Hope fluttered in my chest. I glanced at the others, and one by one, they all said the same thing.

“I’m with you.”

“I’m with you.”

“I’m with you.”

Giving them all a grateful smile, I replied, “Then stand your ground. Fight with everything you have. And remember . . .” I turned to face the approaching males. “Atticus is mine.”

Seconds later, several males burst through the trees and into the clearing. Spotting the females in the center, their stances far from submissive, they skidded to a halt in confusion. Several more arrived and did the same thing, clearly not expecting the females to be standing their ground.

As I saw Atticus and Ivan start to push through the throng, I let a grin stretch my lips. Crooking my finger at them in a taunting gesture, I crooned, “If you want us, come and get us, boys.”

Dead silence fell over the clearing. It was so quiet that I heard a snowflake land on my nose. And then . . .

The world erupted into chaos.

In a flash, the males rushed forward and collided with the females. Growls and screams echoed through the clearing. A male plowed into me and almost took me down, but I used the momentum to reverse our positions. As he hit the ground, I landed on top and immediately lit into him with all of my pent-up rage. After only two punches, I knocked him out cold.

I was immediately up again, but before I could engage another male, a cry for help distracted me. Not too far away, I spotted Desirae. A big male had her. A familiar male. She cried out again as Jensen yanked her head back and savagely bit into her neck just below her collar.

At the sight of him forcing a claim on her, fury flooded me. I raced forward and jumped onto his back, snaking an arm around his throat. I squeezed and squeezed, clinging to him with all of my might. He released Desirae with a roar and tried to buck me off. I wound my legs around his waist and held on, ignoring the pain as he yanked and clawed at my arms.

He abruptly threw himself backward and landed on top of me. The move knocked the wind out of me, and my grip loosened. He jerked his head back and hit my cheek, making me see stars. My grip loosened even more. Just as I was about to lose, his head violently snapped to the side. The blow came again and again, pounding into him like a battering ram. Sobs reached my ears, but the hits kept coming until Jensen finally went limp.

With a grunt, I shoved him off me and reached for the sobbing girl.

“Desirae, stop. Stop . It’s okay. I’ve got you.”

She clung to me, shaking uncontrollably. Werewolves were fighting each other everywhere I looked. A few females were holding their own, teaming up to drive the males back. Several more looked ready to bolt but valiantly held their ground. Blood and carnage littered the white snow, and I saw more than one male rip into another male as they grappled over the same female.

My plan was working. The males were fighting each other.

Now, I just needed that stupid remote.

As I had the thought, my eyes collided with a broad, black-haired male several yards off. I stood up with Desirae and pushed her behind me to face Ivan. His pupils were dilated, his gaze wholly locked on me. At the feral way he was looking at me, I mistakenly took a step back. Retreated . Like prey.

He surged forward, shoving male after male aside in his haste to get to me. I planted my feet and squared off with him, a growl of defiance burning my throat. Sable bristled, ready to aid me as best she could against the male determined to claim me. Feet away from reaching me, another male barrelled toward him with a roar.

Barely taking his eyes off me, Ivan twisted around and grabbed Jensen by the head. Using his forward momentum against him, Ivan savagely jerked Jensen’s head sideways and snapped his neck. I flinched at the awful cracking noise but continued to hold my ground, watching as Jensen collapsed to the snow dead.

Ivan started toward me again, bloodlust sparking in his eyes—only for another male to step into his path and draw him up short.

Immediately recognizing the dark-haired male, I froze, barely daring to breathe.

“Step aside, Alpha,” Ivan growled, hyped up on his recent kill. “She’s mine to claim.”

“She’s too alpha for you, Ivan,” Atticus growled back, his voice nearly as feral as his second’s. “I need a strong alpha female like her to carry my heirs.”

Eww, gross. No way was I having babies with that old creep.

“Ivan,” I called, saying his name like a plea. Like I wanted him to claim me.

That one word might as well have been a kill switch. Just like that, their brains switched off and they became mindless animals. The two males let out bellowing roars and charged each other, clashing in a powerful display of brute force. Snow and blood sprayed as they attacked each other like rabid beasts, their intentions crystal clear.

Only one of them was walking away from this fight alive.

I watched their every move, shielding Desirae any time they got too close. Bones cracked. Clothing ripped. I watched and watched. Waiting. Hoping. One move. One little move would change everything. So close. So close .

When the fight dragged on and on, both males equally matched, my patience thinned. I had to end this. Females everywhere were crying out for help as they began to lose their fight against the males. There were too many of them, and even though half of them were fighting each other, the winners would move on to claim their chosen females next.

Unable to wait another second, I wailed, “Ivan!”

Just as I’d hoped, he paused to look at me. One move. One little move.

Atticus immediately took advantage and punched a hole straight through Ivan’s chest. Ivan’s eyes were on mine as they filled with stunned disbelief. Atticus ripped his hand back out, removing Ivan’s heart in the process. The life in Ivan’s eyes instantly vanished, and he toppled over sideways, hitting the snow with a muffled thud.

Before I could feel guilty for what I’d done, Atticus dropped Ivan’s heart and turned to face me. His blue eyes were impossibly bright, glittering with victory. Covered in Ivan’s blood and breathing heavily, he slowly stalked toward me. Dread skated down my spine, but I held my ground, refusing to run.

Desirae whimpered out my name, but I waved her back. This was between him and me. The only way I was going to save these females was to let him get close. Really close. And close he came, striding right up to me to yank me against him.

“I won,” he said in a guttural voice, still juiced up from the fight. “You’re mine to claim now.”

Ignoring the nausea swirling in my gut, I lowered my eyes in submission and whispered, “Then claim me.”

A growl of satisfaction rumbled from him, and he gripped my nape to force my head back. Squeezing my eyes shut so I couldn’t see his face, I went pliant in his arms, fully submitting to him. Excited that I was willingly giving myself up to him, his arousal saturated the air. I almost gagged but managed not to react. A second later, his mouth was on my neck, nuzzling and nipping me.

Then he struck.

His canines sank deeply into my flesh, marking me in the exact same spot where Griff had. A howl of dismay rose up inside me, doubling in volume as Sable joined in. She didn’t try to stop it from happening, though, because she knew. She knew that this was the only way.

The only way to stop him.

As he pulled me even closer, groaning as he sank his canines deeper, I made my move. Quick as a snake, I grabbed the chain around his neck and yanked.

“Desirae!” I shouted and tossed her the chain containing the remote.

Atticus jerked his canines from my neck with a growl, but it was too late.

My collar unlocked with a click, and I yanked it off, throwing it to the ground.

As I did, an earth-shattering roar cleaved the air. Atticus’s eyes widened, and we both looked up just as something fell from the sky. Like a shooting star, it hit the ground with a resounding boom . As the impact trembled through me, I started to laugh, realizing that it wasn’t a star at all. It was a man—a werewolf —with spiky blond hair.

My laughter turned to sobs, tears of relief rolling down my cheeks.

My best friend. My mate had arrived.