“This is it,” I growled. I didn’t even wait for Max to stop the truck before I bolted out the door.
“Natasha, wait!” Donovan shouted.
I didn’t need to listen to him. He wasn’t my alpha yet. He wouldn’t be my alpha if I lost Rhys tonight. And I knew something was terribly wrong. Even as Donovan grabbed my shoulders to slow me down, my body shivered with the scent hanging in the air. “Do you smell that?”
Donovan sniffed and then dropped his head.
“It’s Rhys’ blood. It’s his fucking blood, Donovan.”
“Shit,” Max grumbled, jogging up to our sides. “We have to—”
I didn’t stick around to see what the two of them had planned. In an instant, I set my wolf free and was running toward the warehouse before the boys could say another word. Heavy on the scent of my mate’s trail, I jumped up against the double metal doors and felt them give under my momentum. And just as I landed inside the building, Rhys let out a pained howl that almost stopped me cold.
The men of Cade’s pack turned and crouched when they saw my intrusion. The ones across the room cheered for Rhys’ demise so I headed that way. Before any of the wolves could stop me, I sprinted through the crowd and took in the situation. Darkness covered the floor and a chunk of bloodied meat lay near Cade’s feet. Rhys squirmed against the ground, unable to push away from a massive polar bear standing on his chest and readying himself for the killing blow. Blood poured from his hind quarters and his stomach. His heart beat thumped slowly. He attempted to kick at the bear but his fight was worthless against an animal so big and so strong.
My anger surged. Red filled my vision. And before I could think about my stupid plan, I raced forward toward the beast four times my size. Leaping into the air, I landed on his back and used my legs to grab a hold of every part of his body I could. It wasn’t pretty, but it was enough to roll him off Rhys and knock him to the ground. I spun on my back and quickly jumped to my feet. My wolf felt Rhys staring at us, so I made a point of looking at him. He tried to say something, but no words escaped his mouth. He wasn’t well, and if we didn’t get him out of here soon, he would die.
Howling into the air, I leapt toward the polar bear again. He still hadn’t gotten up, slipping on the massive amount of blood on the concrete floor. I used this to my advantage, landing a bite to the back of his neck and tearing a mouthful of fur away. He roared and stood to face me. Huffing several breaths, he shook his head and I smiled on the inside when I saw the blood flying through the air. I’d injured him.
And now I needed to finish this off.
The bear charged, but I was quick. A bite to the ankle left him limping even as I skidded across the damp floor. The second time he came after me, I managed to rip away a part of his bowls. I might only be a wolf. But I was pissed and I wouldn’t let this asshole stop me from saving my mate.
When the bear stood on his back legs, I knew it was now or never. I couldn’t fight him on strength—I would never win. I had to outsmart him. So, as he was busy showing off his giant body and massive roar, I took in my surroundings and made a decision my wolf fought me on. In an instant, I ran to the side…and shifted back to my human form. Everyone gasped and even the polar bear took a moment to ponder my decision. And while I grabbed the metal pipe laying on the ground behind Rhys, I swear I saw that idiot bear smile. He continued his posturing, waving his hands through the air and exposing the most vulnerable part of his body. White fur stained red, he was too proud to think that I could be a threat in this form.
So, I aimed to prove him wrong. Rhys had stopped moving, although his heart had steadied. I gave him one last glance and waited for the bear to charge. Bending my knees to get the best stance possible, I watched him approach. As if time slowed, he ran toward me. His mouth hung open, saliva and blood dripped from his teeth, and that wound in his neck pulsed blood in time with his heart.
Steady…
The bear only needed to take a few steps but it felt like an eternity. Thump, thump. Thump, thump. His feet hit the ground, shaking the earth underneath. The blood splished and splashed underneath his weight. The crowd grew silent as they waited for the ultimate kill.
One more step…
The polar bear roared and opened his mouth. At the same time, I sucked in a deep breath and willed every ounce of strength I had left in me. I thought about Cash. Thought about the way he hit me like I deserved it. Thought about the way his brother gave him a high-five every time he saw my battered face. And then I thought about that last night together. The night Cash took it one step too far and tried to force me into submission with more than just his fists. I remembered feeling helpless as he pushed me onto the couch. I remembered feeling that little voice inside my head telling me to fight back. I remembered my wolf snapping and taking over my body.
And I remembered how good it felt to rip his throat out.
All of that anger surged through my arms as I lifted the pipe and swung. The metal made contact with the side of the polar bear’s skull, the impact vibrating my entire body. But the hit had worked, and the bear fell sideways. He made some kind of noise, between a growl and a roar, and slid to the floor. I spun on my heels and lifted the pipe again. I’d planned on smacking him until he stopped moving, but one look at the beast and I knew I’d done enough. Tongue lolled out and silver eyes going black, I knew I’d killed him with just one hit.
“You bitch!” Cade shouted.
I turned to see the red-faced bastard waving his arms at me. Pointing at the angry alpha, I said, “Cade Jenssen. I challenge you.”
“Fuck you, blondie.” He looked at the surrounding crowd and shouted, “Kill her!”
A few of the men rushed forward, already pulling off their clothes. But a deafening roar followed by the presence of a large black panther and Donovan’s impressive size stopped them cold. The two men held everyone else back as Donovan spoke. “She challenged you, alpha. You must fight her.”
“I will not,” he snarled. “Kevin, attack.”
Speaking to his pack member like a dog had me huffing a laugh as I felt the feral smile spread across my face. I tapped the pipe on the ground when douchebag Kevin took a step forward. “Yeah, Kevin. Attack.”
Donovan sighed and I knew that was an eye roll meant for me. But he, once again, held out his hand and shook his head. “You know the rules, Kevin. We are nothing without the rules.”
Kevin’s gaze scrambled back and forth between his alpha, me, and Donovan. After a few agonizing moments, he shook his head and retreated into the circle.
“Fucking pussies,” Cade shouted at them. “All of you. Are you afraid of a girl?” Spit flew from his mouth and his face turned bright red again. “I’m your alpha, and I order you to kill her!”
Max hissed and swatted at him, and everyone bit their lips when Cade jumped back. “Do you accept her challenge?” Donovan asked. His voice had that powerful alpha presence again. He was so much stronger than Cade. Even the other wolves started to bow their heads.
“She’ll never beat me,” Cade spat.
“Do you accept her challenge?” Donovan asked again, slowly so he could enunciate every word.
Cade looked at me and narrowed his eyes. I glared right back at him. “Fuck you, little Natasha.”
Lifting my arms, pipe still in hand, I egged him on. “This is what you wanted, right? Now’s your chance to kill me.”
Without a second’s hesitation, Cade’s grey wolf exploded from his body and ran straight for me. I barely had time to call on my animal before he was on me. Standing upright, and walking on our hind legs, we snapped and grabbed at each other with nothing but vengeance on our minds. Cade bit my ear and tore a chunk away. I got a hold of his shoulder and clamped down until I found bone. He snapped at my eye, barely missing the fur and I slammed my skull into the side of his face. With a whimper, we both fell back onto all fours. And then it was on again. Snapping and snarling and dodging blows, Cade and I were evenly matched. I had no idea I had this kind of fight in me. But when it came to protecting those I loved…when it came to Rhys…I would fight until my last breath.
Cade jumped forward, but slipped on the blood and slammed his face into the ground. I used this mistake as a chance to take a bite at his stomach. But as I leaned forward to get my teeth in his skin, I felt a sharp stab of pain in the back of my neck. Fuck, he’d turned around too fast.
Fortunately, he didn’t get a good enough grip, and I was able to yank myself free, even though I lost a piece of skin at the same time. Back on our feet, we circled each other. At one point, Cade barked at Kevin, who took a step forward like he was going to help. But in an instant, Max’s panther was there blocking him from entering the fight. With a hiss from the Eagle Creek Enforcer, Kevin bowed his head while several other wolves pulled him back into line. Had that been a breakthrough? Had they been waiting for someone to take out Cade?
The alpha wolfed snapped at me again and I barely dodged his jaws. Hunching forward, I got a grip on his back leg and tossed him to the side. He whimpered when his ribs hit the ground but rolled to his feet easily enough. When he glared across the room at me, I knew he was coming in for his final attack.
And all I had to do was wait for my opening.
Cade ran forward, teeth barred and jaw prepped for a killing blow. One bite on my neck and I would be done for. As he barreled toward me, I prepared to dodge. But when he got within striking distance, and I tried to jump out of the way, my back feet slipped on the floor and I landed on my hip with a crash. Cade’s jaws came at me full force but only managed to grab my front shoulder. I pushed back the pain and searched for his neck. He clamped down and I almost lost my nerve. But just as he snapped my bone, I saw the side of his neck and reached forward with my teeth.
Making contact, I grabbed on and didn’t let go. He continued to crunch on my upper leg while I dug in deeper in search of his trachea. At one point, my jaw and my leg hurt so bad, I thought I’d have to let go. But then I saw Rhys’ eyes. He was awake. And watching. And something in that look told me that I needed to finish this fight so I could be free. So we could be free.
Cade’s grip started to fade the longer I crushed his neck. Eventually, he was forced to let go of my leg and with a quick adjustment, I repositioned my mouth over the entire underside of his neck. Cade gurgled and growled but didn’t fight back as he knew that one wrong move would mean I’d bite down and finish him.
Dragging his body to the center of the circle, I made a point of looking every single wolf in the eyes. I only saw a few hostile ones, the others had a look of…relief wafting across their faces. Max snarled from somewhere behind me and when I made eye contact with Donovan, I stopped. With Cade’s neck planted firmly in my jaws, I now had a decision to make.
Do I finish this? Or do we walk away?
I looked to Donovan for advice. The wolves were silent. Rhys was silent. Max chuffed a weird sound like he was trying to talk to me. But I stayed focus on Donovan. Did I have his permission?
Donovan surveyed the room, paying close attention to the dead polar bear and the alpha wolf acting submissive under my grip. And then, with a quick nod of his head, he gave me the power I’d been searching for.
I was strong.
I’d beaten Cade.
I wouldn’t have to run anymore.
A split second later I shook my head…and ripped out Cade Jenssen’s throat.