He chuckled but it was humorless. “Honey, Trey will tear me apart and you know it. Even if you could guarantee me that protection, my answer would be no. You have a mate, Taryn. Let me ask you…if someone killed him, took him from you, could you ever forgive them? Ever forget it? I’ve waited too long for this. He took my mate from me, and now I’m going to take his from him.”

He might have said more, she wasn’t sure, because at that moment she lost the strength to stay conscious any longer, and the blackness swamped her.

The grey wolf was just finishing a kill when the awareness struck him and penetrated the fog in his mind. Mate. She was close. She shouldn’t be close. The same instinct that told him she was nearby was also able to guide him to where she was. Quickly he galloped through the trees, intent on reaching her. He skidded to a halt when he saw her. She smelled like him and sickness and drugs and anxiety. Mixed in with all that was the scent of the male that held her – ‘uncle’.

The grey wolf threw back his head and howled, garnering the attention of every wolf around him. No other male should touch her. No one was allowed to hurt her. She was his. She belonged to him. The life in her womb belonged to him. They were both his to protect, to care for, to shelter. The only thing stopping the wolf from acting on his raging anger and going for the uncle’s throat was that his claws were pressed threateningly against her stomach – the grey wolf understood the threat, understood cause and effect. Although the man’s words made no sense, he also understood what he wanted. He wanted Trey. So the wolf drew back, though he remained closer to the surface than ever before.

Trey rose to his feet, panting and raging. The sight of Taryn, pale and flaccid, held with her back against Darryl’s chest had his blood boiling and something in his chest tightening. She was unconscious, had clearly been drugged. Seeing Darryl’s claws placed threateningly against the place where his baby was growing made it even more difficult for Trey to remain where he was. Every cell in his body urged him to pounce on Darryl. “Release her.” The words were barely distinguishable.

Darryl gave him a callous smile. “Now that’s not going to happen, my dear nephew. How strange it is to see something finally pull emotions from you. Rick would be devastated he’d missed this. Not as devastated as you’ll be when you watch her die, but still.”

A part of Trey’s brain registered that all had gone quiet and that his pack was gathering close. Another part of his brain noted that many of Darryl’s supporters had been slain and that Trey’s side was winning the battle, but his only care was for the limp woman in Darryl’s arms. “Release. Her.” The bastard didn’t. “If you want me, I’m right here. I won’t even fight you.”

Darryl laughed. “It’s tempting. After all, the only thing I really want is for the others to see me take you down. But, well, I’m afraid I don’t believe you would truly allow that. Plus, to let her live would be to break my half of the bargain with our cousin, Brock.” The very male then stepped out of the trees on Darryl’s left. His expression was cold, cruel.

“Dad?” Kirk choked out. “Dad, what’re you doing?”

“He has to know what it’s like, son.”

“What’re you talking about?”

“He has to know how it felt for me when he killed Louisa. What it was like to lose her.”

The truth hit Trey like a slap. “She was your mate?”

“And you took her from me.”

Kirk shook his head, his eyes dancing from Brock to Taryn. “Dad, tell me you didn’t hand her over to Darryl.”

“Like I said, he has to know what it’s like.”

“How could you do this?”

“He doesn’t deserve your loyalty, son, he never has. Darryl has agreed to make you one of his enforcers when this is over.”

Pale, wide-eyed, and clearly devastated, Kirk shook his head again and stumbled backwards. “I…I can’t believe you’ve done this.”

“Son -”

“No,” snapped Kirk. “I’m no longer your son.”

Trey honestly couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Although he’d never been able to work out what kind of motivation one of his pack could have had to betray him, he never would have expected this. Any of this. It didn’t matter what the motivation was though, it never had. The result would always have been the same. “You’re dead,” he told Brock.

“No, Trey, that would be your mate,” said Darryl with a smile. “Oh, and your unborn child.”

His mate, his child. He had thought that if any of them would die today, it would be Trey. He had comforted himself with the knowledge that at least Taryn and his child would live. Dante would have ensured that. But now Trey saw that he didn’t have the luxury of knowing that they would survive his death, because Darryl intended to kill them first. He wanted Trey to watch them die, to feel his bond with Taryn die, to see the life drain out of the only person he had ever loved. A jolt went through him at the realization he just had. He loved her.

Of course he f**king loved her!

And not just because she was his mate, but because of the person she was. Her inner strength, her spirit, her sensuality, her big heart, her loyalty, her tenaciousness, her bravery, hell, even her damn sarcastic streak – it all came together to make a package that called to him and made it impossible for him to feel anything but love for her. The realization didn’t even scare him as it once would have done. So now that the thread of fear had been removed from the knot of emotions inside him, the rest of the knot unraveled and fell away. And those mental walls went right along with them.

Abruptly there was a bang in his chest and a strange sensation in his head as though his brain had hiccupped or something. Then he could feel Taryn’s heartbeat as if it was his own, feel her inside of him like she was burrowed under his skin. But she was, wasn’t she? Because she was the other half of his soul. He understood immediately what had happened. Their bond had snapped fully into being. He felt as her pulse rate improved and she struggled to a conscious state. He realized then that his strength was bolstering her own through their bond.

He also realized that Darryl was still talking, totally unaware of what was happening. Funny that – how such a significant, life-changing occurrence could happen yet go unnoticed by every person around them. It was a very good thing in this case.

“…and I bet you’ve never felt so helpless before in your entire life, have you, Trey?”

No, he hadn’t. And Darryl was going to die for that. Die for daring to touch her at all. Trey’s heart practically jumped when he watched Taryn’s eyes flutter open. A few seconds later they widened and – quick as f**king lightening – she had one of the hands that were pinned behind her back positioned at Darryl’s crotch with her claws placed threateningly around his balls. Obviously having felt the prick of claws on his na**d skin, Darryl froze instantly. Trey shot him a falsely sympathetic look. Clearly his uncle had forgotten that latent shifters who were alphas could partially shift, lengthening their claws and canines.

“Let go of me, f**ker, or I’ll dig my claws into your crown jewels and rip them off – I don’t give a shit.”

Taryn meant every word.

The threat to the life of her unborn child had rage pumping through her body, a rage that was beyond the scales of normal – her insides burned, her heart was working overtime, her skin felt too tight for her body, her fangs had lengthened, and her entire being itched to hurt him. The primitive urge to protect had adrenalin coursing through her, preparing for anything, preparing her to do anything.

Dimly she recognized that her bond with Trey was cemented, that he was alive and relatively unharmed, but the red hot fury blasting through her was so overwhelming that it left no room for her to feel anything else right now. The only thought she had in her head was that if her and her unborn child were about to leave this world then this a**hole’s balls were going with them.

Her wolf smelt his fear, loved it. She wanted this threat to her and her pup dead. Wanted it with such desperation that she was warring with Taryn for control, pushing and struggling and twisting for freedom much like someone trapped under a frozen lake. The force with which she beat at Taryn’s skin was actually painful. So painful that it was weakening Taryn. Not physically, though. Physically, she was still strong and steady. But mentally, she was weakening…kind of like she was fading. Her wolf relentlessly continued her assault, wanting her stupid human half to step aside and let her deal with this. Then Taryn weakened that little bit more as a particularly hard shove fractured that layer of iced water. That was all it took – her wolf smashed her way out.

Utter shock rushed over Trey as the scene played out before him. Darryl’s hold on Taryn broke as, with a speed that only an extremely experienced shifter should have been able to achieve, she shifted into a creamy-white wolf. She was absolutely beautiful. As a female, her muzzle and forehead were narrower and her neck was thinner than that of males. Her limbs had smoother fur, giving her a more graceful look. All that gorgeous fur looked so unbelievably soft that he couldn’t wait to comb his fingers through it just as he often did with Taryn’s hair.

To his surprise, the she-wolf didn’t take a moment to marvel at finally being free. Oh no, she was only interested in Darryl – who was apparently too stupefied to move. She was on him in a blink, leaping up and snapping her teeth into his…nose…as she knocked him down. Damn, she was just like Taryn – went straight for the nose. No longer paralyzed by shock, it seemed, Darryl began to take his wolf form.

Snapping back into action – Trey shouldn’t be surprised that the crazy bitch was challenging a male wolf – he shifted shape and gave his wolf control again.

The grey wolf rushed at the black wolf that had now flipped over and was growling at his mate. Protectiveness surged through him, serving as an energy boost. She was not to be touched or harmed or threatened. He had to protect her – her and his unborn pup. He barreled into the black wolf, wrenching a yelp from him and sending him sprawling across the forest floor away from the she-wolf.

The black wolf righted himself quickly, his chest heaving, and faced the other. The grey wolf could sense that his opponent was less dominant and less powerful. It wouldn’t bring him any mercy from the grey wolf though – not when he had threatened his mate, not when his scent triggered memories of cruelty and pain being inflicted on a young Trey.

Hackles raised, ears upright, and lips curled back, they circled each other – never moving their eyes from the other. Many other wolves observed, but none of them moved, nor did any battle between themselves. All stood still and quiet as all understood that the outcome of this battle now rested on which of the two Alpha males won the challenge.

Suddenly the grey wolf rushed at his challenger and knocked him onto his side. Growling, he bit down hard on the black wolf’s shoulder, drawing first blood. In retaliation, the black wolf swiped his claws at the other, aiming for his muzzle. The grey wolf was able to dodge the move and then clamped his jaws around the offending leg.

The black wolf yelped – the sound satisfying his attacker and psyching the observing wolves. He raised his head just enough to bite down hard on the grey wolf’s ear. The surprise of it made the grey wolf jerk away while releasing a loud high-pitched bark. Taking advantage of that, the other quickly stood and swiped his paw at the grey wolf. His claw managed to slash his shoulder, and the scent of the grey wolf’s blood flavored the air and had the challenger growling with satisfaction.

Growling with rage, the grey wolf leapt at the other wolf. He wrapped his forepaws around his challenger’s neck and, calling on every ounce of his strength, wrestled him to the ground. Just as the grey wolf wanted, the other was now flat on his back in a vulnerable position that exposed his belly. The black wolf didn’t offer his submission, but continued to growl and snap his teeth, knowing that any offers of submission would be ignored.

In one fluid move, the grey wolf straddled over his challenger, using his forepaws to pin down his shoulders as his back paws slashed open black wolf’s belly. The yelps of pain and the overwhelming scents of fear, blood and defeat that wafted from his challenger didn’t placate the grey wolf or give him any sense of satisfaction. Only one thing would give him that.

He clamped his jaws around the black’s wolf throat, biting down hard into fur and flesh. Blood gushed into his mouth, warm and tasting of victory. It tasted better than the blood of the sandy wolf who had once coveted his mate, and it even tasted better than the blood of the male who had sired him. With a loud growl, the grey wolf twisted his head sharply, ripping out his challenger’s throat. Only then did satisfaction fill him.

The creamy white she-wolf approved of the act. Her mate – strong, dominant, powerful – had defeated the challenger, had eliminated the threat to them and their pack. Slowly she walked to him, pleased at finally being free and being able to have fur-to-fur contact with her mate as she had hungered to do from the second she picked up his scent. She had known he was her mate from the beginning, had always been annoyed with her human side for not recognizing this, for not recognizing the importance of this male to her life and her soul. Apparently sensing her approach, he turned. The dominant, confident Alpha held his tail up high and his ears erect as he covered the short distance between them.

She kept her ears down and fur flat as she licked and nipped at his muzzle in greeting. He pushed at her nose and rubbed his cheek against hers, returning her greeting – a greeting that had been long awaited but not been possible until now. Then they were licking each other’s faces and placing their noses behind the other’s ears to inhale each other’s scent.