Page 36 of Never Tamed (Bad Wolves #3)

Ren

T he storm has turned the forest into a white hell. Branches heavy with frost and snowdrifts pile up in treacherous mounds. The snarls and growls reverberate across the mountain, a symphony of a bloody war.

I crouch low in the snow, claws scraping ice, watching, waiting for Andras to make his appearance. He’s looking for me; I can feel it in my bones, but I can’t see him. I can smell him though, just faintly. The smell of black pepper and gasoline. Of madness.

He’s close.

Since my wolf is his opposite, I blend in with the storm seamlessly. It masks my presence, but even still, I don’t dare underestimate him. He’s already proved himself to be too ruthless and too clever to do that for even a second. It could cost me my life.

Snow churns red in front of me. Wolves battle with fangs and fury.

It’s so chaotic, it’s hard to pick out the Grey Valley and Steel Claw wolves amongst the Blood Moons.

I spot Mathis, though, in his animal form off to my right.

He slams into a grey wolf with bone-cracking force and their bodies roll into one of the snowy mounds.

Next to them is Noble, who fights like a storm unleashed, every strike brutal and unlike the sweet man I know him to be.

And Torin—gods, Torin moves like a blade, even in his human form, each punch and jab taking down his opponent in an instant.

Even with the explosion in the sewers, more of the Blood Moons escaped than we had planned for, and their numbers only add to their strength.

But someone is missing.

Where’s Dax? I push the question through the mate bond. When no one answers, my chest tightens. Dax would have cut down half the Blood Moons by now. Has anyone seen him?

There’s a resounding no between my three mates, and the worry grows. He’s not a part of our bond, so I can’t feel him. I can’t sense his location or if he’s in trouble.

I could track him. Sniff him out.

But that would mean leaving Mathis, Torin, and Noble to take on Andras, plus all his wolves, themselves. I’m the Moon Goddess’s weapon. It’s up to me to restore balance and take him out.

I’m sure he’s fine, Mathis says as he licks the blood from his muzzle. The grey wolf lies dead beside him. He’s probably setting up for a sneak attack.

True. Dax is the most bloodthirsty and capable in a fight. I shouldn’t be worrying at all.

But still, I point my nose into the wind and sniff. The excess blood makes it hard to catch a whiff of anything else, but from what I can smell, there’s no sign of him close.

I don’t like this…

There’s a bad feeling in my gut telling me something’s wrong. Horribly wrong.

When I look up again, across the mayhem, my heart stops at the sight of Andras’s glowing red eyes staring directly at me.

He has shifted, and his tongue lops out, showing off crimson- stained fangs.

His fur is matted with blood, claw marks rake across his face, and his leg is badly bloodied and torn up.

He’s definitely been in a fight. But if he hasn’t been here, who—

He’s off and sprinting for me at full speed.

Shit.

Andras weaves through the trees, slicing through the fight like a shadow carved from night itself. He’s unbelievably large and impossibly fast, but, in a sea of white, his black fur stands out. He can’t hide or sneak up on anyone here.

That’s his disadvantage. One I’m going to make sure I use against him.

I break from cover, snow exploding under my feet.

I’m faster than the wind itself, faster than anything should be.

My body surges forward, and my paws barely touch the ground.

Then, the world narrows to a tunnel of black and white, my heartbeat syncing with the rhythm of the earth, driving me faster.

Head whipping around, Andras stops in the center of the melee. He’s lost sight of me. I can tell because his nostrils flare, trying to catch my scent.

I slip around silently, and in a heartbeat, I’m behind him and close enough to see the blood smeared into his black pelt, close enough to strike.

My lips peel back, and I launch myself at him.

Andras spins suddenly, muscles coiling, eyes blazing. There’s only a flash of fangs as he snaps his jaws at me, but I roll last second, tucking my paws beneath me. When I pop back up to my feet, he turns and regards me, head tilting.

Yeah, it’s me, you asshole. I’m going to be the one to kill you.

He raises his snout to the sky and lets out a howl of triumph. The sound rips through the forest, low and guttural, rattling the marrow in my bones.

He thinks he’s already won.

This cocky fucker.

I use the opening to strike again. My teeth sink into his throat and tear into fur and muscle. Hot, coppery blood floods my mouth, making my wolf growl with pleasure.

Andras’s howl turns into a roar of fury. His body slams into mine, and the sheer force knocks the air from my lungs. I’m thrown back, and I skid through the snow. Throwing my arms and legs out, my claws tear deep grooves in the earth until I manage to stop.

He’s even bigger up close. A beast of nightmares. He towers over me, and his ruby eyes gleam with something feral. But I’m not afraid. I am faster. Stronger. Something powerful and wild burns in me, wild and untamed. The mate bond thrums through me like a tether to my three men.

I lower myself, muscles coiled. When he attacks, I’m already gone.

I shoot to the side. Andras’s claws slash through empty air where I’d been a millisecond before.

He snarls, spinning to follow, but I’m already behind him, snapping at his flank.

My teeth catch flesh, tearing a gash along his haunch.

His growl rises up in the air, raw and furious, and he whips around again, mouth wide.

But I duck, slide under his chest, and rake my claws across his belly. Blood spatters hot against the snow.

He stumbles but recovers instantly, his size and rage giving him momentum. His paw slams into my side with bone-crushing force. Pain flares and I tumble, rolling over and over in the snow until I crash into a fallen tree. Bark cracks from the impact.

The world tilts for a moment. My vision pulses with black spots, but I shake my head and try to force myself back up.

Andras is already on me.

He charges. His next bite catches my shoulder, and agony tears through me as his teeth pierce deep, all the way to bone. Then he pins me; his massive weight drives me into the snow.

A whimper threatens to rise, but I choke it down. I twist violently, and with a surge of strength I didn’t know I had, I slam my paw against his throat. My claws pierce and rake down.

Blood sprays. He jerks back.

For any other wolf, his wounds would be a death sentence, but Andras isn’t even swaying on his feet. My chest lurches, and my shoulder is screaming with pain, but I stand. I have to. Andras and the Blood Moons’ reign ends tonight.

Our eyes lock.

He pounces again, faster this time, but I meet him head-on. We crash. His jaws close around empty space as I spin, my speed carrying me past him, and I sink my teeth into his neck again. This time the back. Blood pours hot, but I hold on, crunching down harder.

He bellows, thrashing, and tries to shake me loose. I hang on with everything in me, plunging deeper, tasting a little more of his life in every hot gush. His claws slam into my ribs, and with a sickening crack, I’m wrenched free and hurled across the clearing.

I hit the ground with a loud thud. Snow and blood smear together beneath me.

My vision narrows. Time seems to slow, and every detail looks sharper—Andras’s massive jaws opening, the whites of his eyes burning, the drops of blood caked into his black fur. It’s time for me to vanish.

My speed carries me around him, faster than his eye can track. I circle once, twice, in a blur of white. He can only snap at the air.

And then, I attack.

I leap onto his back. My nails expand and sink into his flesh. He bucks and thrashes in the attempt to throw me off, but I hold onto a thick muscle on the back of his neck. I bite down, harder, harder, until my jaw aches, until I feel tendon snap and more metallic blood fills my throat.

He bucks, throwing his body into tree trunks to get me loose. But I don’t budge.

Twisting my head, I clamp harder and tear deeper. Eventually, his movements slow and his strength wanes.

Finally, Andras staggers then collapses in a heap. With one last surge of strength, I wrench my head sideways and rip his throat wide open.

The sound is wretched. Final.

Andras crumples. His blood makes dark rivers across the snow. His body twitches once then stills.

As I back away, chest heaving, his form starts to shrink. The fur falls away as the final shift transforms him back into a human. My shoulder throbs, my lungs burn, and every inch of me is blaring with pain. But I’m still standing.

I killed him.

I did it.

I killed Andras, the monster.

The forest falls eerily silent. The snarls and growls of battle fade, as if the earth itself recognizes the end. I lift my head, my muzzle slick with blood, and let out a mighty howl.

It’s over. We’ve won.

When I turn back to the battle nearby, I find that the fighting has thinned to almost nothing. Only a few of the Blood Moons are left, and Torin, Noble, and Mathis are picking them off one by one. I prowl forward, about to help them when my ears prick and my gut churns with dread.

My head swings east.

There it is.

A scent I know better than my own heartbeat.

Dax.

It’s faint, telling me he’s far away, but I definitely smell him, sharp and sweet, but wrong, too. It carries too much blood with it.

My chest seizes, and before I can think, I’m running.

Dax’s scent grows stronger, heavier with iron, and I follow it at full speed. Fear slashes down my spine, but I push harder, ignoring my wounds and the pain trying to slow me down.

Then I see him.

And my heart stops.