Alphas burden

40AVERY

Something warm and familiar brushes me from within. I cling to it, following it from the dark abyss my mind is trapped in. The bond. Caden. I cling tighter to our co

I take in my surroundings, squinting at the crowd groggily as my healing fights to flush whatever I was injected with from my body. They’re in a circle around the edges of the room. They’re not looking at me, they’re watching a fight.

Ice drives into my chest. Caden’s here, circling his cousin. It’s a rank challenge.

Lorne’s gloating about taking the pack and me. My stomach convulses. I struggle to move my body.

I gasp, shivering as magic washes over me. Jade’s voice whispers through my head, her words too soft to make out. She’s here somewhere. I hope she got my sisters away before coming back for me.

I’m able to move, my senses coming back with a pop of my ears. Sluggishness leaves my body. The room grows loud with shouting and thick with too many scents at once. I clutch my head, curling on my side.

Caden’s worry flows inside me. I stroke it, tucking it close to my heart. The jangling bond smooths out, strands resonating.

When I turn my attention back to the fight, Caden’s wolf is a beautiful sight to behold, sinewy muscles rippling beneath his thick black fur with every step. He roars with command, forcing Lorne to shift with undeniable Alpha power.

Lorne’s efforts falter against Caden’s massive wolf. He’s outmatched, failing to gain an advantage in the fight. When Caden pins him, jaws going for Lorne’s neck, relief floods me. It’s over.

A wolf flies over my head, heading straight for the challenge circle.

No. Horror and wrath fill me at the sight of Cormac’s wolf attacking Caden’s unguarded back. Caden doesn’t see it coming, unable to escape the underhanded blow to keep him from wi

This isn’t happening. I just got my pack back. They won’t take it from me again.

No one will take Caden from me.

Chaos breaks out all around me simultaneously. Those on Lorne’s side shift, clashing with Caden’s lieutenants.

Liam breaks free of Dane and melts into his fur.

He’s a blur of furious motion. Before Dane has a chance to become his wolf, Liam’s is on him, deadly and vengeful. Liam’s wolf snaps Dane’s neck with a fearsome clench of his jaws around his throat. Dane’s body jerks, then collapses with a hard thud against the floor.

My wolf rises to my call. Our sights are set on Cormac, blood singing with the promise of violence for touching our mate.

I leap from the platform, my wolf landing on Cormac’s back. He snarls, swiveling his head and bucking to unseat me. I sink my teeth into his fur, growling and shaking my jaw. A piece of his pelt tears off. He howls, rolling me to the ground.

He leaves Caden for Lorne to deal with on his own, turning his cruel gaze on me. His wolf isn’t as big as mine, but he’s built. Wiry gray fur shot through with silvery white covers him, tufting from his ears. One’s missing a chunk and his eye is clouded with permanent damage from a fight in the past.

He sinks low, then bolts for me faster than I expect for an older wolf. I sidestep him, my wolf vigilant, her gaze sharpening. He doesn’t put his weight on his front right arm where she bit his shoulder.

I charge, head butting that side. He goes for my tail, grabbing it between his teeth to drag me. Fuck, that hurts. I kick his snout until he releases me.

I swing around, ready for his next attack, but he’s not going for me. He leaps at Caden’s side. Caden growls, dropping to roll out of the way. I go for Lorne, knocking him off balance when he isn’t paying attention.

He flashes his teeth at me. I draw him away, switching opponents with my mate.

At last, I face Lorne one on one. This time he doesn’t have an unfair advantage.

He pins his ears, growling with bluster. My wolf thinks he’s a joke. She doesn’t want to play games, springing into the air with devastating speed and strength. He tries to avoid it, but I land on his side, taking him down. We skid across the floor.

I close my teeth around his throat, pi

He releases a violent bark. Calling for help won’t help him. He’s lost. I put pressure on his neck to silence his plea.

My jaw stiffens against my will. I couldn’t bite down fully if I wanted to. My limbs don’t obey, not working when my wolf struggles to move. She doesn’t like it. She feels trapped, jerking hard to free herself. A jolt of fire licks up my spine and she shrieks.

Magic burns in my veins.

I writhe, unable to fight it off. What the fuck is this? What’s happening and who’s causing it? My gaze darts around but all I see are shifters, unable to find the witch casting the spell.

It’s terrible. Pi

Lorne knocks me over with much more force than before. I fly back, slumping motionless. The magic stops abruptly and something explodes overhead. My wolf shakes her head, scraping her snout with her arm at the intense taste of magic crackling on her tongue.

Someone screams. I can’t focus on it, returning my attention to fighting Lorne.

He tackles me when I stagger to my feet. I go down again, the wind knocked from me. Shit, how did he get that powerful?

Lorne stands over me, a murderous gleam of victory in his eyes.

I snap at him with my teeth, not giving up. He plants a paw in my chest, crushing me to the floor. I yelp in pain, clawing at him. It’s useless. I’m not able to get enough leverage to do more damage than feeble scratches. He tosses his head with a whuff, gri

Fuck him.

I plant my hind paws in his stomach and kick with all my might, my wolf growling brutally. He doesn’t budge. Shit.

Changing tactics, I scratch his face, managing to catch his eye with my claws before he rears back with a bellow. He peels his lips from his teeth. My heart thuds.

A barbaric noise to our left distracts him before he attacks. Caden and Cormac are locked in a remorseless battle. Both of them are bleeding from bite marks and angry slashes on their flanks and sides. Cormac adds another to Caden’s chest, dragging his claws with a ferocious swipe.

Caden turns the tables, jumping on his uncle’s back, sending him to the ground. His jaws squeeze the scruff of his neck. Cormac wrestles to free himself, seizing when Caden jerks his head.

The snap of Cormac’s bones breaking resounds over the cacophony of fighting. His wolf’s eyes bulge, then fade to a dull gray as he falls with a resounding crash, lifeless. Lorne releases an enraged howl and goes for my throat, intent on taking me away from my mate.

Caden locks his deadly gaze on Lorne and charges.

His wolf tackles Lorne with a feral roar, getting him off me. I roll to my feet as they crash beside me, the floorboards splintering beneath Lorne from Caden’s force.

There’s no hesitation in him when his jaw clamps down. He’s merciless, tearing out Lorne’s throat with a wrenching bite. Blood pools beneath Lorne, matting his fur. He gurgles in agony and panic, limbs flailing as he struggles to breathe.

Caden growls thunderously as he bites down again, spitting mangled pieces of tendon and furry flesh aside, ripping Lorne to shreds. He’s unrelenting even when Lorne stops fighting for his life, eventually going still. He’s not satisfied until the head severs with a terrible crack of bone.

I have no sympathy for Lorne. He got what he fucking deserved. So did his father. Neither of them will ever harm my mate or my pack again. I bump into Caden’s side, resting my snout over his back.

Standing over Lorne’s dead wolf, Caden howls in victory.