Alphas burden

“If you’d like, I have ginger root paste at my place. I can mix in some elderberries, too. Give him that regularly to help keep him strong.”

Nina nods. “Thank you.”

I catch her wrist. “Just so you know, if Eugene were here, he would’ve written it off and called your pup weak. He’s not.”

She slides her lips together, eyes shimmering. “He’s not.”

Sylvie waves her out, taking two vials from the basket on the way. I follow them through the front door.

“If you need anything else, come to me. Anything,” I stress, glancing between them so they understand my meaning. “I’ll help you.”

Nina drops her gaze to the ground. “Don’t talk about that out in the open. You never know who’s around to listen.”

“Hush, girl,” Sylvie mumbles. “Just say thank you and keep your head down.”

She nods to me curtly and bustles down the road with Nina. I’ll need to talk to Caden about their situation. I don’t want females scurrying around in fear.

When I’m finished late in the afternoon, I head home for the night. Caden didn’t come to interrupt my work. He must’ve gotten wrapped up in Alpha duties. Before I reach the split in the road with the trail that leads up to my cabin, five males stop me.

Lorne, Dane, and a handful of the other dimwitted males that hang around them. One leers at me while scratching his ass. Dane and the other two crowd me with smug expressions.

My wolf rumbles in warning, displeased with them encroaching her like this. She rears up, fighting for control. I hold her back with my teeth clenched. If I do as I always have, I’ll get out of this.

I sidestep, but Lorne’s lackeys shove me.

“Not so fast. We saw you at the healer’s with my dam and one of my cousins’ mates,” Lorne says.

They’ve been following me that long? They kept their distance enough that I didn’t sense them.

He leans into my space. “They were supposed to be home with the other females. Family meeting.”

I grit my teeth, giving up ground. It’s either back away, or be assaulted by his stench. It’s not as strong as it was the night of the full moon run, but it still makes my wolf want to puke.

One of his cousins is at my back. I bump into him. Lorne smirks, blocking me in.

“I don’t see how that’s my problem,” I mutter.

“You’re go

I pretend to think. “How about… No.”

His a

They chortle and call out suggestions to show me my place. Tension winds down my spine. I should’ve held my tongue.

Lorne grabs my chin, lip curling. “You’ve grown bold. You think because the current alpha’s your fated that you can get away with disrespecting his bloodline?”

He winds a lock of my hair around his finger, tugging until I’m forced to bare my throat to him. I struggle, flashing my teeth as I scramble to take hold of the bond. It’s stretched taut with distance. Caden’s far, on the other side of the perimeter. I don’t know if he’ll sense I’m in trouble, but he still might not make it in time if I yank for him to come to me. I have to deal with this myself.

“Get off me. Caden’s bloodline has nothing to do with it. You’re being a dick and I don’t have to tell you anything. But you know what? When I tell him you were messing with me, he’ll be furious.”

Dane freezes, shuffling back a step. “Lorne.”

Lorne laughs. “Relax. It’s fine.” He gives my head a shake. “You truly think my cousin gives a shit about you? He rejected you. He doesn’t want to claim you. All you’re good for is an extra pussy to present for him.”

The words sting and turn my stomach, but I know he’s wrong. I feel it in the thrum of the mending bond.

“Leave me alone. Now,” I snap, kicking out at Dane at my side.

He snorts. “She attacked first.”

Lorne grins. “Females should know their place.”

He uses his grip on my hair to wrench me to my knees. I go down with a bitten-off cry of pain, my scalp throbbing.

“You like using that mouth so much, you can use it on me.” Lorne grabs his belt with a sickening leer. “After we’ve taught you a lesson.”

He lifts his boot to kick me. I roll away before the blow lands, grunting as his toe catches my shoulder instead. The males snicker. They think I’m nothing. They believe I’ll lose to them and allow them to rough me up simply because they feel superior to me.

One of them blocks my escape, roughly tossing me before Lorne so I land hard on my knees, scraping my hands to catch myself on the road. Another pulls my hair to make me look up at his arrogant smirk. He backhands me with enough force to snap my head to the side. I gasp for breath, my face on fire.

“This is going to be a long lesson if you don’t sit there and take it,” he says casually. “How long do you think it’ll take her to cry, boys?”

Fuck this.

I’ve had enough. I’m not a broken shifter who can’t defend myself. I’m not waiting for my mate to come to my rescue like I’m helpless. These males have treated me terribly for years, making sure I always knew my place at the bottom of the pack hierarchy. Beneath males like them.

They don’t get to hurt me anymore. The rage I’ve always swallowed down bubbles to the surface, overflowing in an unstoppable flood that demands retribution for myself and all the females shifters like Lorne have wronged.

My wolf bursts from me, shredding my clothes. The transformation startles two of the group back.

“Shit, she’s fucking huge,” someone balks behind me. “You didn’t say her wolf was that big.”

I go for him first, herding him back with clacking snaps of my teeth until he’s backed against a tree, eyes wide. I prowl a wide circle on the road, then face Lorne in challenge.

Fight me, male. See how strong you are against me. I’ll break your bones with my teeth.

He narrows his eyes and rips off his shirt. “You want a fight? You’ve got one, you stupid bitch. And when I’ve broken you, I’ll make you regret it.”

When he shifts, he’s smaller than me, covered in wiry gray hair. His eyes are deadly. They’re a mark of the danger he poses. I won’t underestimate him the way he does with me.

He waits for me to make a move, faking me out until my wolf grows frustrated with his games. She wants him to clash with her head on. When he runs us around in circles, he finally darts in. His charge fails to knock my balance. I headbutt him, then pounce on his back.

He goes down, but he manages to wriggle free, kicking at my feet until I trip over him. I round on him, biting his shoulder as he gets to his feet. He howls, teeth dragging over my ear. I growl at the sting without releasing his fur.

Another wolf barrels into my side. He’s slightly bigger, with the same wiry hair. Dane. He pants, attention split between me and his brother. Another of their cousins has shifted, too. The shaggy brown wolf comes at me from behind. One of the males that hasn’t transformed throws a rock at my side.

Then all at once, the five of them are on me. My wolf is a formidable beast, but the fight isn’t fair.

I swipe at brown fur with my claws and kick at a wiry gray muzzle at my rear flank. Someone’s teeth puncture my back when they try to pin me. My wolf isn’t going down without giving all of them hell.

She rolls to the side, attacking Dane’s leg. He yelps, backing away. Two others are back on me again.

Lorne is within reach. He stayed to the outskirts of the tussle once his friends joined in. If I take him down, the rest will give up.

Rearing up, I throw one of them off. The other keeps on me, biting at my heels as I charge Lorne. He snarls at me, hackles raised.

I leap into a tackle. Someone bites my ankle, but I focus on Lorne. My claws dig into his side and belly. I clamp my jaw around his throat. My teeth sink in, tearing at flesh and fur in warning to demand his submission.

One of them barks and their offensive stops. The one biting my ankle backs away. A furious growl booms from my chest. Blood drips from my snarling maw. They thought they could take me down, but they were wrong.

Lorne’s wolf alternates between whining and growling, attempting to swipe at me from the prone position I have him pi

Yield, I snarl.

He barks, then slumps with a pissed off noise. I keep my teeth bared, allowing him up. He surveys me with his tail rigid and fur ruffled down his spine.

I expect him to attack again with the way he meets my eye without an ounce of remorse. Then he turns tail and runs. The others follow his retreat. Fucking cowards. I bound after them, clacking my teeth at their heels until I chase them off.

Satisfaction and pride dance within me. I’m not coming away unscathed, but I have more than my wits to fight with now. I’m not Wolfless. Nor am I an easy target to pick on. Five males fought me at once and my wolf outlasted them. If any packmate tries me again, I know I’ll be able to take them on.