I was alive.

Red was alive.

We were winning! Red was bleeding, though, and I wanted to rush over to him and help him, but right now he was being the alpha, and I had to let him finish things.

His speech had sown dissent among the remaining four alphas protecting Sonny. I wanted to vomit as his scent drifted over us. I’d almost forgotten what it was like to smell it, but now all the memories of my previous life came flooding back to me and had formed a pit in my stomach.

I actually couldn’t remember the last time I saw Sonny in fox form. Unlike my new mate, Sonny and I never had gone on runs together or anything, and he was always strutting around in his suits with his cigars and his fat hands, ordering people around.

“I say again,” Red roared. “This is your last chance. Leave now, or die!”

Red was a leader, and I finally understood it in a way I hadn’t before. Until that moment, Red had been my mate, the most gorgeous, strong, tender and loving man I’d ever known, but as he spoke, commanding such authority, I understood him as the leader he was.

One of Sonny’s alphas shifted, and I recognized him but couldn’t remember his name.

“Okay!” he said quickly, backing away with his hands up. “I’m out of here. Thank you. Thank you!”

Another of them shifted. “Yeah, we just work for the guy!”

The other two shifted and quickly raced after their companions, leaving Sonny alone. Red stepped forward, and the rest of our pack, joined in step behind him as he advanced on the lone alpha.

I could see Sonny’s mind working behind his eyes.

Fight or flight – fight or flight. And he couldn’t decide. He was a proud alpha, almost to a fault, and I just couldn’t see him backing down.

“My pack and I could destroy you now,” Red told him, stopping a few feet in front of him. “But I am willing to call them off, and face you one on one.”

I shifted and opened my mouth to speak, but I knew I could not. This was Red’s moment, Red’s decision, and if I tried to intervene, I’d be undermining everything he stood for. Regardless of what I wanted, I had to let Red go through with what he thought was the best course of action.

Sonny shifted, and I turned away from his naked body. Seeing him just brought bad memories flooding back to me that I didn’t want to relive.

“You’ve got balls. I’ll give you that!” Sonny called out. “Is that my Casper I see standing over there?”

I jumped at his words and felt my heartbeat start to race as a shot of adrenaline coursed through me as my anxiety level started to peak.

“Do not speak to him!” Red bellowed. “Speak to me. Do you accept my challenge or not!?”

Sonny paused before he spoke. It was like I could feel his eyes on me, boring holes into my back like a pair of lasers.

“You’re wounded, big fella,” Sonny finally replied to Red. “You sure you wanna do this? Get your throat torn out in front of your entire pack?”

“The only one losing his throat will be you,” Red replied.

“And what if you’re wrong?” Sonny asked. “If I kill you, your pack’s just going to tear me to shreds.”

“They will not,” Red replied. “You have my word. But you will never take Casper back with you. They will take him so far away from here that you will never be able to track him again.”

I felt like I was going to throw up, my anxiety level was so high. My ears were on fire, my limbs were tingling and my heart was ready to collapse. I waited for Sonny’s response, completely on edge, but he took so long to answer that I actually turned back around to see what was happening.

He was just standing there, his eyes on Red in a way I’d never seen him before. I was so used to him strutting around in his suits with his cigars, bossing around his men, surrounded by luxury, wealth and power, that seeing him nude and exposed before the pack, facing a life or death situation, was almost paradoxical.

“Fine,” Sonny eventually said with a snarl. “You’re a wounded pup, and I’ll crush you like the bug you are!”

Sonny shifted, and Red followed.

No! Was the first thought in my mind as they leapt towards each other.

They slammed bodies in midair, but both managed to land on their feet. Red’s shoulder was really bleeding. If this wasn’t a quick fight, there was a real possibility that he might lose consciousness.

He darted in and snapped at Sonny, trying to get ahold of one of his front legs, but Sonny jumped back and dodged the attack. Red nipped forward again, this time aiming for the neck, but again Sonny managed to move out of the way. But this time, he counterattacked.

He lashed out, aiming for Red’s already open wound. Red managed to get out of the way, but just barely. Sonny’s teeth snatched a clump of fur from his hide and Red yelped in pain.

Do something!

I made a move forward, right on the edge of shifting, but felt a hand on my chest. Kitchi looked down at me and simply shook his head.

I heard another cry and looked back to see Sonny with his jaws clenched down on Red’s front left leg. Red fought to free himself, but Sonny wasn’t letting go. Snarling, he whipped his head back and forth to do maximum damage. Red cried out and sank his teeth into Sonny’s shoulder.

Sonny cried out and let go and tried to move back, but Red was too fast. He leapt forward, jaws open, and I watched as his fangs pierced the soft skin of Sonny’s neck.

It was like watching something happen in slow motion as Red tore his jugular vein and the red blood began to fountain out of his neck. Red leapt back as Sonny collapsed onto the ground, falling in one of the remaining patches of snow. He was finished.

“Red!” I cried out, racing toward my mate, followed by the rest of the pack. Red’s tongue was hanging from his mouth and he was panting heavily. Before I could reach him, his legs gave out and he fell to the ground. “Hang in there, Red! Osana! Osana!”

My terrified voice echoed through the night as the rest of the pack came up beside me. I was shaking almost uncontrollably as I clamped one hand over his shoulder wound and another over his back leg where he’d been bitten.

“Casper!?” I heard Osana’s voice call out and turned to see her racing out of the darkness. Thank God she was a brilliant woman and was carrying medical supplies with her.

“He’s hurt!” I cried out as she raced up beside me. “He’s bleeding bad!”

“Kitchi!” she shouted, handing him a thick wad of gauze. “Put this over that wound, and wrap it tight!”

Kitchi took it and quickly wrapped Red’s front leg with the gauze.

“Here, let me, Casper,” she told me. “He’s losing blood and I need to stop the bleeding. Let me do it.”

It took all the strength I had to take my hand off Red’s shoulder wound. Instantly, more blood started to pour, but Osana quickly covered it with gauze and signaled Bryce to apply pressure as she went to work on his other leg.

“Okay, let’s get him back to the cabin!” Osana said. “He needs fluids. Come on!”

The other alphas took hold of Red, lifted him into the air and began to hurry toward the cabin. My heart was about to commit mutiny against my body as I chased after them.

“Hang in there, baby!” I cried out as the tears began to spill from my eyes. “I love you!”