Page 33 of The Alpha Dire Wolf (Bloodlines & Bloodbonds #1)

Lincoln

A nother growl filled my throat as I crouched low on all fours. How dare it. How dare this thing try to bring harm to her. White-hot fury burned its way through my veins. She was mine. Mine to have. Mine to hold.

Mine to protect.

A vicious snarl lashed at the air between us as I bristled at the audacity of the creature that thought it could touch my woman.

The pain was wiped away like it had never been there, the still-healing wounds from the night before no more than a footnote under the anger infusing me with fresh strength.

That strength had but one purpose, one desire, one need.

Murder anything that thought it could bring harm to Vee.

I didn’t know what I faced. The shiny ebony skin-armor looked mildly like tree bark, but the faceless thing was unknown to me. Something new. But the stench of the Chained was all over it. That much was clear.

Recovering from my unexpected presence, the spindly creature again reached down toward Sylvie, ignoring me.

Big mistake.

Incredibly powerful muscles twitched, and I launched myself across the clearing in the blink of an eye, slamming the bulk of my massive dire wolf body into it. The creature was tossed back while I stood over my Vee, my teeth bared, snarling until I frothed at the mouth.

Limbs reached down into the forest floor, latching on and acting like anchors, as the monster spun through the air. The thing came to a stop and oriented upward. The entire time, it didn’t make a sound. Moving in eerie silence, it started toward Vee once more, ignoring me.

I stepped forward, blocking its path. One of its tree-limb-like arms whipped out with impossible speed, aiming to simply slap me aside. I barely ducked the blow—but not the backhand. Reversing its course, the limb crashed firmly into my flank, knocking me down and out of the way.

Rolling hard, I leaped to my feet the instant I could recover and pounced on the creature, pushing aside the astonishment at how hard it could hit with just one arm.

The power of the Chained was pouring from it now, growing stronger with every passing breath.

This was no rabid animal. No warped shadow creature.

Whatever this thing was, it was the next stage of the Chained breaking its bonds.

Taking the tree-thing to the ground, I tore giant chunks of soft wooden armor from its flank and then bounced away before it could retaliate. Whatever its purpose, the single-minded focus on Sylvie was certainly helping.

Darting back in, I took a chunk out of its leg and then raced back out of reach just ahead of the strike. Now that I knew how fast it could move, I could time my attacks better and make sure—

Its leg split in half in a giant sweeping kick that should have been impossible given its forward momentum. The blow slammed into my flank with sledgehammer force, landing right on top of the deep cuts left from the night before.

Agony blinded me as I was thrown halfway across the little clearing. A tiny sapling gave way, simply snapping in half as I went right through it, the splinters not even noticeable under the intense pain lashing at my eyes.

When I came to a halt, my body was crying out for a moment’s respite—a second to catch its breath, to recover and let the pain subside.

My wolf and I disagreed with the physical manifestation of ourselves.

There simply was no time. Take a second, and the tree-thing would get to Sylvie.

That absolutely could not happen. Not while I still drew breath.

United in our furor, we forced ourselves up on all four legs.

The world spun around us, but we took a step forward anyway.

And then another. Sylvie was helpless before the tree-thing, and it was up to us, up to me, to stop it.

Any way I could. If that meant suffering further pain for her, so be it.

I would do whatever it took, to make sure she survived.

I couldn’t do less. Regardless of what I tried to tell myself, I couldn’t ignore that Sylvie was coming to be a core part of who I was. Of what I was. Without her …

Without her.

Cold fear at the idea of losing her dulled my brain, dulled my pain. Dulled everything except for the one thing that mattered—the battle ahead of me. Saving Sylvie.

Throwing myself clear across the gap, I landed on the tree-thing. My claws dug deep into its wooden armor, ripping gaps. Then I bounced off, and hit it again. And again. Driving it back, step by step, while ripping its outer body apart until it was practically shredded.

But nothing stopped it. Inexorably, bit by bit, it slowed my progress. Then it began to push forward. It hit back. Blood poured down my sides, and into my right eye, partially blinding me. Still it came on.

I didn’t yield. I couldn’t. Sylvie needed me.

Growling angrily, I gathered myself for yet another attack.

But in my weakened state, that split second telegraphed my next move.

The tree-thing saw it, and as I leaped for it, its arm split apart, unwinding into the many individual branches that made it.

Reaching out toward me in what would have been a punch right to the snout, instead ended up a trap.

Dozens of tendrils of wood wrapped themselves around my wolf’s head and, with a powerful twist, slammed me into the ground.

Wood tightened, squeezing, and I howled in pain, claws scrambling at the ground, trying to find traction, anything. The world started to go dark. If I gave up now, the light would never return, and Sylvie would die. She would die because I gave up.

Spinning my body around, I used the finger-trap as leverage so I could rake all four paws along its body, digging deeper and deeper with each frantic swipe. Something wet and warm began to pour down my hind legs, but I didn’t let up.

The force on my head relented, and loosened. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to draw breath. With that breath came renewed strength, and my jaws were able to trap a few strands between my teeth. I pulled them loose. Then some more.

The tree-thing slammed me into the ground by my head again, but I didn’t stop. I didn’t care. It was it, or me, and I had never lost a fight. I wasn’t about to now. Not to this perverted monstrosity.

Snatching my head free, I twisted as fast as I could, placed my legs on the ground, and lunged at the tree-thing.

My jaws yawned open wide, and then snapped down with as much force as I could muster.

Wood crunched, and then, with all the strength I could find left, I whipped my neck around, shaking it like a chew toy.

Something snapped, and what would have been the throat on a human came away in a fountain of blackened sap. A fermented, vile taste filled my mouth even after I spat out the chunk of tree-flesh.

The monster clapped both branch-arms to its neck and stumbled backward. A second later, a horrific keening sounded through the forest.

It was so loud and painful that both Sylvie and I fell to the ground, her hands over her ears, my paws trying desperately to blunt the sound before it destroyed my eardrums. Sylvie was screaming still as I managed to maneuver until she was under me. Safe.

Staggering, the tree-thing no longer advanced on us. Instead, it started to retreat.

Not on my watch.

Leaping to my feet, I lunged forward. It was time to put the thing down.

Permanently. My ears were probably bleeding, but I found a way to ignore the pain as I latched on to its already wounded arm and thrashed around as hard as I could, shaking it back and forth.

I clenched harder as the vomit-inducing rotting sap spilled into my mouth once more.

I was close. Just a little bit more and I would have it.

Snap.

The arm came free, separating from the thing entirely. I spat it aside. The tree-thing stared at its wound. Then at me. I bared my teeth and went in for more. That was my mistake.

Twisting at the torso faster than any human could, the tree-thing brought its other arm around like a whip, the branches soft and pliable. They connected with my side, and I screamed as it sawed right through my pelt, the force of the blow smashing me into the ground as well.

Warmth spread across my side. Too much warmth.

Each breath was the stabbing of dozens of spikes into my side.

But the effort cost the tree-thing, too, as it staggered off balance and went down.

Somehow, despite it, I forced myself to my feet, ignoring the blood dripping down onto the forest floor with incredible regularity.

Baring my teeth, I growled a challenge at the tree-thing. Wordless though it was, I knew it understood me.

You want her. You go through me.

It had had enough. Turning, it ran off in a straight line that would take it directly into the heart of the forest. In seconds, the sounds of the forest returned.

Insects buzzing. Animals in the distance.

The life seemed to return around us. That exact lack of sound had attracted me as I made my way toward Sylvie’s place to apologize for breaking my promise.

I would have a chance now. I commanded my wolf to turn. So I could see her.

Two of four paws responded as I crashed to the ground in a tangle of limbs and didn’t get back up. I couldn’t. Pain crashed over me in waves, bullying my eyes closed. I had done it. She was safe.

I had protected her.

Turning my head ever so slightly, I was able to find her. She was on her butt, back against a thick tree trunk, staring right back at me with wide, fear-filled eyes.

Get to her. Comfort her. Keep her safe.

The call was scary strong. Even in my current state, I somehow managed to crawl a few inches closer. But that was as close as I got. Seeing my wolf coming toward her caused Sylvie to backpedal around the tree until only her head was sticking out, watching me.

I could smell her fear, hear the pounding of her heart against her ribcage.

She was afraid. Afraid of me. Understandable.

But I could not let her go. Could not let her out of my sight.

Not now. I had to protect her. She was all that mattered.

She was what I needed. I had to show her that it was okay. That I had done my job.

Focus , I told myself, trying to gather my thoughts and summon the energy to do the one thing I never thought I would do with her. The thing I couldn’t do. But I had to. It was the only choice left to me.

One more time. You can do it. One more time. Just one more. One … more …

Behind the tree, Sylvie turned and ran.