Page 109 of Rhett

My heart raced with fear at the thought of the hybrid being killed.I have to protect her. I have to stop my kin.

“No.” I stepped forward. “I’ll kill her.”

Dad grinned. “Finally, you’ve grown a set of balls.”

“No!” the alpha female wailed before sprinting toward the hybrid. “Run, Ro,” she called out, prompting the hybrid to get to her feet and run off.

“Get them, Mack,” Dad ordered.

I didn’t bother shifting and sped after the two. Halfway into my run, I found the alpha female bleeding out on the ground.

“You are a brave and honorable female,” I said. “But you will not survive your injuries.” Even if she shifted from animal to human and back again, her injuries were too severe to heal.

Resignation gleamed in her eyes. “Please save my daughter.”

Her daughter was hybrid?

She continued. “Spare her life.” Blood trickled from her mouth. “Please…”

“I’ll try,” I said before taking off in a run across the grasslands in pursuit of the hybrid, whom I could see slicing through the night. But she wasn’t fast enough to evade me. Adrenaline surged through me as I sped faster.

As if sensing my pursuit, the hybrid kicked into high gear, her arms pumping at her sides. But she made a critical mistake when she turned, glancing over her shoulder at me. She tripped over her feet, and I pounced, grabbing the backpack she carried on her back.

I yanked her body against mine, and we tumbled to the ground. I landed on my back with her chest pressed against mine.

Growing up, I’d heard shifters talk trash about the existence of hybrids—children created from a mating between a shifter and human—as if they were the equivalent of the boogeyman. Most considered hybrids abominations. I’d reserved my opinion on the subject since, until tonight, I’d never met a hybrid before.

“No!” she yelled while trying in vain to tug out her arms that were pinned to her sides by my arms, which were wrapped around her body like a python. “Let me go.”

“Quiet,” I hissed.

“Please,” she begged.

“I’m trying to save your life.”

When she glared down at me defiantly, her beauty took my breath away. Thick black hair framed her heart-shaped mahogany face, and her clean, fresh, sweet scent captivated me.

“I saw what your pride did to mine. You’re a monster.”

Monster?My jaw tightened.

“Well, this monster is the only man who can save you from my kin.”

The hybrid squirmed. “Let go of me, asshole.”

“Calm the fuck down. I can’t save you until you stop fighting me.”

“Why?” she asked.

“Why what?” I replied.

“Why are you saving me?”

Because my stupid animal thinks that you’re mine.

“I am not like my kin,” I answered, which was true. “I do not kill for sport. I won’t kill you.” Which was also the truth. “I won’t kill you. I’m going to release my hold, but do not run. We’ve wasted enough time as it is. And if I’m not back soon, my family will come looking for me and you. And I don’t want that.”

Releasing her, I gently rolled her off me before getting to my feet. I extended my hand to her, but she hesitated before accepting it. And when her hand touched mine, an electric shock stung my palm.