Chapter 3: Teaming up

“Graham, where are the others?” Brantley asks the blond.

Ah, that’s what his name is. His pack had been an easy grab. Graham’s father was sick and his Beta was shit. It doesn’t mean that what I did was right. But it happened and I can’t apologize for doing only what all the other wolves would have done. I just got to it first.

“I don’t know. Why don’t you fucking check?” He snaps at him. 

Brantley rolls his eyes. “Don’t be a dick, man. Just go fucking find the rest. They will be pissed if they miss out.”

“I don’t see why you think I give two fucks about their retribution.”

“Trouble in paradise?” I ask, raising a brow. 

“Shut the fuck up, asshole. You’re as good as dead.” Graham shots at me.

Well, that’s not a good thought.

“We have an agreement.” One of the others, whose name I just can’t quite place, says joining the verbal argument.

“Then you go get the others. I’m not missing out on this shit.”

The men spread out, Brantley entering the water south of me while Graham eases in on the north, trying to coax me out. And unless I feel like fighting two alphas in the water, their plan will be successful. I put my hands up in a nonthreatening manner, easing out of the water; the alphas look pleased with my resignation.

The second I am free from the water, they lunge for me. I try to dive to the right, but Graham is fast and claps onto my arm with his razor-sharp teeth. There wasn’t time for me to consider how or when he shifted, as in the next moment, more of these old alphas came for me.

I slam my other fist into the side of his face twice before he releases me and Brantley jumps at me from the back. My legs sweep out from under me and I land on the dirty ground with a solid thud, the air whooshing from my lungs as my back bounces off an ill-placed rock. I turn to my side, forcing myself to push the pain away as I stand. A blow lands on my jaw and my wolf finally wakes up. 

Fury rips through me and I open my mouth in a howl, my wolf joining forces with me as I partially shift, giving me the advantage. My muscles bulge, ripping under my darkening skin, and my face shifts, rearranging as the bones crack and reform in a more wolf-like feature. My senses are heightened, and with better eyesight and a partial wolf’s snout, I can almost taste their worry. I can’t help but hiss as my nails grow long, breaking through my skin and becoming my weapons. 

Partially shifting is a rare trait. It has nothing to do with being special or more powerful. Only the right dose of black ooze your father slips into your tea, claiming it is vitamins when you are a child. It’s not a thing that wears off, only builds up, allowing for more morphing into your wolf's body without losing your human traits. 

It’s painful as shit to do, and it took me years to control it. It only comes out in the most dire of times, always where our mate is concerned. And I’m sure as shit not going to die here and make Adriana think she played any part in my death. It would kill her to think she might have caused this. As broken as I feel, my every instinct is to protect her in every damn way.   

“What the fuck” Brantley says backing away.

“Shit, I forgot he could do that.” Someone says from behind me. Stinging pain blossoms at my back and I spin to see the red-headed guy clawing at my back. I lunge for him, snapping at his paws until I get one in my teeth and I bite down. I hold tight. Even after the initial crack alerting me to his broken bones, it isn’t enough. These men are here to kill me. And with how they are trickling through the trees to help their rogue friends. It’s becoming painfully obvious that they are likely to succeed in their mission.

I toss the redhead to the right, his body crunching against a tree trunk, and I leap forward, swiping my enormous claws at anyone I can get my hands on. The sound of flesh tearing rings through the forest, whether it’s mine or my opponents, is yet to be seen as adrenaline pumps through me, acting as a life-sustaining source keeping me upright as I feel blood trickling down the side of my head. 

Two wolves attach themselves to my left leg and Brantly comes up with fists flying at my face. He lands one… two… three hits before I spit the blood in my mouth into his eyes and he stumbles back with a pained growl. 

There have to be at least eight men now, and the panic is settling in. I close my eyes, trying to center myself, to find the strength I need to get out of this. When I open them again, I drop all my weight crashing to the ground, carrying all the men attached to my flesh with me as they yelp out in surprise at my movement. I use their surprise and roll away, grabbing the black-haired alpha and kneeing him in the face. 

One I hadn’t seen before I went down runs up and Easily I sidestep him, grabbing him by the nape of his neck before reaching for his head and snapping his neck. Someone screams in anger and comes at me from the left. I drop to my knees, using my claws as I thrust my arm in an uppercut maneuver into his stomach. My nails easily slice through his center as if it were butter cut with a knife. I shake him off of me just in time for two guys to come at me together. 

I dodge the first one and grab hold of the second’s wrist, yanking him so he is standing with his back to me, and quickly cut through his throat with my claw. I look around for the next attack, finding that the alphas have backed off and are retreating. 

Brantley stands before me, covered in blood and holding his nose. Nothing but pure hate and murderous rage in his eyes. 

“If we were to kill you without the others, we would be as good as dead. You are lucky.” He snarls at me. 

I’m not feeling so lucky as I pant and hold my aching side. I watch Brantley back into the tree line and disappear. My leg fucking hurts and when I glance down at my side, I realize how much damage they inflicted on me. Shit. There were so many. 

Reluctantly, I shift back to my full human form; the pain intensifying as my cuts and aches morph and move, finding their rightful places on my flesh. I try to walk, but my leg quivers, and I fall to my knees with a pained grunt. Black dots dance before my eyes and I curse my father for all the shit he raised me to do, hoping to raise the biggest and baddest alpha in the werewolf community. Instead, he raised the most hated.

I drop to my stomach, breathing heavily as I try to crawl to a tree to prop myself up. My injuries aren't enough to kill me. I've had far worse in the past. Mostly the one that scarred my face. A nice little present my first mate's second chance mate gave me when I tried to kill his beta. I wanted to kill Wade for having what was supposed to be mine. But that would have killed Ali. And despite wanting to hate her I couldn't find it in myself to kill the only person who taught me real lessons in life. 

Just like I can't hate Adriana for doing what she did. As much as I want to deny it, I know Adriana loves me. She always has. She is like me though, struggling to find the balance and afraid of the next terrible thing that will ruin everything she has built. She has wanted a life where she can help people and be a badass again since she was injured. It was the only thing that kept her going for so long. And I should be happy she allowed me to help give her that dream.

"What the hell..." A whisper comes from behind me as I finally make it to the tree and grunt with the effort to twist myself up with my back pressed against the rough bark. I see the redheaded girl from earlier as she steps over a body, her eyes wide with horror as she scans the area. 

She stops when her eyes land on me and they widen in fear.

"You aren't one of them?" She asks still a distance away from me. 

"No," I huff out, trying to situate my leg in a less painful position. "They kind of want me dead. Why were they after you?"

She stares at me intensely for a minute. "Because I'm different."

"Different how?"

"I can change into an animal," she says. I can't help but laugh and I immediately regret the decision.

"So can they and so can I. What's your point?"

"A fox?!" She moves closer as if I'm about to tell her some damn exciting bedtime story. and I look at her incredulously. 

"You are in werewolf territory, kid. No foxes around here." I frown at her and she blinks. 

"But I'm not a wolf. I'm a fox," she mutters. 

"Yeah well, it turns out there are lots of different shifters in this world." A fun little nugget of information I learned thanks to Axel and his merry band of misfits. All shifters, all different animals. He has fucking weremonkies in his packs. and a were-elephant. Those two threw me through a loop when I saw them the first time. 

"Other foxes?" She asks. 

I give her a confused look. "Shouldn't you know this from your parents? Are you even old enough to be out in the woods alone?"

"I'm trying to find my dad. I was raised in a werewolf pack. And my eighteenth birthday was three days ago. When I shifted into a fox...I was chased out...I thought I was a wolf."

"Look, kid."

She growls. "Gwen. And I'm not a kid."

"Fine." I grit out. I can feel my consciousness waning, which pisses me off. I hate feeling weak. 

Gwen suddenly jumps up, spooked as she swings her head from side to side-stepping back closer to me until she trips and falls directly onto the open injury on my leg. I growl at her angrily.

"What the fuck is wrong with you" I hiss, giving her a rough shove to the right. 

She doesn't seem phased by my anger as she stares at the dark woods. "I heard someone."

I strain my ears listening.

"Liam!" Adriana's voice floats through the opening on a breeze and a shiver runs through me. She came for me after all.

"Adriana" her name falls from my lips as her frantic calling for me grows closer and my eyes grow heavier.

"HERE!" Gwen calls out, her face coming before my hazy eyes as she looks at me with worry. "He is here!" She screams.