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CHAPTER SEVEN

SEBASTIAN

The cold air stings my face as I burst out the back door. Claire’s scent is all over me, and it’s driving my wolf wild. My skin feels much too tight, and my body is itching with the urge to shift.

I knew it was risky giving her my clothes, but seeing her in them . . . holy fuck.

The sight awakened something in my wolf — this aching need to claim her. I wanted to rip that shirt off her right then and worship her perfect tits. I wanted to lay her out on the kitchen counter, spread her thighs, and fucking devour her sweetness.

When I scented Claire’s arousal, I knew I was a goner. And when she rubbed up against me like that, I nearly lost control.

Mine .

The word hums through my bones, rattling my insides .

I’m smart enough to know what it means, but I won’t let myself accept it.

One by one, I’ve watched my pack brothers succumb to the mating urge. It infected my pack like the plague.

When each of my brothers found his mate, he became a slave to the bond. His wolf would not stop — would not rest — until he marked her.

I can’t do that to Claire. My angel just escaped an abusive bear shifter, and she’s pregnant with his cub.

I’m the last thing she needs in her life, but my wolf isn’t convinced. He keeps pushing to the fore, begging me to mark her, and I know that if I don’t let him out soon, he’s going to become impossible to manage.

As soon as I’m far enough from the house, I feverishly start shedding my clothes. My feet go numb as they sink into the snow, and I’ve barely disentangled myself from my pants when my wolf bursts out of me.

A strangled cry rips from my throat as I succumb to the Change. Bones break apart and reform. Muscles and tendons shred as my nose lengthens into a snout. My scream morphs into a howl as fur spreads all over my body.

I land on four paws and lift my nose into the air, delighting in the spicy aroma of pine sap, wood smoke, and crisp, clean snow.

I catch a whiff of a ground squirrel and burst into a run. My prey provides a welcome distraction from the burning need to sink my teeth into Claire and claim her as my mate .

She’s far too good. Too pure. Too young. She managed to escape the clutches of one monster, only to take shelter in another’s lair.

I’m a selfish bastard at heart, but I won’t sentence her to a lifetime shackled to me.

I push myself harder, cold wind in my fur. But just as I lose myself to the thrill of the hunt, I’m distracted by a new scent. This one stops me in my tracks and makes me flatten my ears to my head.

Bear. And not just any mundane bear. I’m picking up on the sour musk of a certain eight-hundred-pound shifter.

Murphy .

I can’t believe he followed us here to my territory. Dane Murphy is a coward, and yet he came here . All because I took what he thinks is his.

A deadly snarl rips from my throat at the thought. Claire is mine , and so is the child she’s carrying. I don’t care if it has bear genes. I’ll raise it as my own.

Murphy isn’t getting anywhere near my mate.

Possessed by my thirst for blood, I follow the bear’s ungodly stink. But then I catch another shifter’s scent on the wind, and I realize he didn’t come alone.

I may be hellbent on slaughtering Murphy, but I’m not stupid. I’m outmatched against two bear shifters, but they’re on my land. My scent is all over these woods, which will make me difficult to track. They don’t know that I’m aware of their presence, which gives me a momentary advantage.

Breaking into a dead sprint, I double back toward my shed. I shift mid-run when the building comes into view, darting inside and picking up one of my burners.

I call Adrian first, but it just rings and rings.

Shit.

There’s only one reason my alpha wouldn’t pick up the phone, and that’s if his mate has gone into labor. I didn’t think Cassie was due for another three or four weeks, but if the pup decided to make an early appearance, it couldn’t have picked a worse time.

I dial Maddox next, who picks up on the second ring.

“Bears,” I croak. “My place.”

“How many?”

“Dunno,” I huff, raking a hand through my hair. “At least two.”

I hear Maddox speaking to someone in the background — probably Paige, his mate. “I’ll be there in fifteen.”

He hangs up without another word, and relief floods my system. My hands shake as I dial Nick. Like Mad Dog Maddox, the delta wolf in our pack is a cold motherfucker, which is exactly what I need.

Once my pack brothers have been dispatched, I shift back into wolf form and slink out of my shed, leaving the door cracked for easy access. My black fur allows me to blend into the night, my eyes glowing like twin torches ready to burn the whole fucking world down to protect my mate.

I pick up Murphy’s trail along the back of the house just as pain explodes in my side .

For a moment, I am airborne, and the world tilts on its axis.

Glass shatters as the giant bear drives me through a window. We hit the floor in a heap of fur and claws, bits of glass embedding in my coat as we tumble across the polished concrete.

My back hits the fireplace, but I roll to my feet, facing off against the black bear snarling in my living room. I bare my teeth, ropes of saliva dripping from my maw, and Murphy rises onto his hind legs with a roar.

If I were in human form, I’d be sneering. Everything is a dick-measuring contest with bears. They try to dominate with their size alone, but wolves are faster and meaner.

In this moment, I’d gladly take on ten bloody bears. This male hurt my mate, and now he has the fucking balls to come onto my land, into my house?

Cowards like Murphy who prey on those weaker than them don’t deserve to live. Slaughter is the only option.

I lunge at Murphy, feigning left. He swipes out one huge paw, but I change directions and sink my teeth into his soft, fleshy side.

The bear roars and tries to shake me loose, but I cling on for dear life. Only when his blood pools in my mouth do I let go, rebounding off the hearth and aiming for his throat.

This time, Murphy catches me with one giant paw, and pain ricochets out from my ribs. I smack into the couch, but before I can get my legs under me, he swipes at me again.

I yelp as claws rip through the tender flesh along my belly, but the pain only sharpens my focus. I roll back up and circle out, ears flat against my head.

The bear must see the crazy in my eyes, because he starts backing away. Broken glass crunches under my paws as I drive him out the giant hole he made in my living-room window.

A strangled scream from the staircase draws my attention, and I turn my head to see Claire standing on the bottom step.

My distraction costs me. Murphy stops his retreat and barrels toward me on all fours. I jump out of the way, but not before his claws rake across my spine.

Claire whimpers in terror and darts back up the stairs.

Good girl .

Recovered, I continue herding Murphy out into the frigid night air. Then the crunch of snow catches my attention, and I see the outline of another bear stalking toward me.

Shit .

He probably smelled the blood and came running — my blood. I can feel the warmth seeping from my wounds, but I hold my ground. My angel’s life depends on it.

A murderous growl rumbles through me as I charge the newcomer. I don’t think. I just attack, losing myself to the pain as I rip at the bear with fang and claw. I’m aware of an engine humming in the distance, but I keep my focus on the two giant bears trying to take what’s mine.

I don’t see the second bear’s paw fly out until it’s too late. It catches me squarely in my injured side, and I slam into a tree trunk.

I whimper in pain, trying to stand, but I can’t make my legs obey.

Get up, get up!

But it’s no use. My strength is failing. I can feel it draining from my body, staining the snow around me crimson.

A pair of eyes flash in the dark as Murphy lopes toward me. He moves slowly, lazily, as if he has all the time in the world — as if he plans to savor the scent of my fear before he disembowels me in my own backyard.

But then a blur of dark fur barrels out of nowhere, latching onto Murphy. I hear a deadly snarl and know from his scent that Mad Dog Maddox is off his leash. Nick flies in next, and the two of them bring down the bear as I struggle once more to gain my feet.

I don’t have to tell them that Murphy is mine — even if I have to drag myself over there on two legs. They know I’ve been hunting him for over a year.

The bear growls as I limp toward him. Every step is pain. And yet I won’t rest until the bastard who hurt my mate is nothing but a pelt at my feet.

When my fangs sink through Murphy’s flesh, I have no intention of letting go. The iron tang of blood overwhelms my senses as I rip and claw at the bear. The woods fill with the sounds of a dying animal, though I’m unsure if they’re coming from me or the filthy beast between my jaws. I just keep moving, keep fighting, until the thing beneath me stills.

When I look up, there’s an angel framed in the broken window, her legs bare to the cold. My bloodied mouth falls open in a happy pant, and then the world goes dark.