chapter 50

It doesn’t surprise me when my wolf growls viciously at Savannah, the woman who dared touch my mate. From the moment I arrived, I knew what my wolf would do if I ever let her out. Now that she’s free, I have a front-row seat to her tearing Savannah apart.

Savannah blanches, her skin turning ghostly white as she backs away, dropping her gaze. She’s not the only one affected by my wolf’s growl. The entire pack lowers their eyes.

Even Luka jerks his gaze to the ground. But when the pack shifts as if to shield Savannah from my glare, it triggers an even more enraged growl from my wolf.

They drop to their knees, heads bowed below mine, but it’s not enough to satisfy her. Nothing will satisfy her except the scent of Savannah’s blood in the air. The stink of her fear isn’t nearly enough.

My wolf takes a step toward Savannah. The pack tenses as one. “Talis,” Dayne calls, but my wolf ignores him. She takes another step, then another, preparing to lunge, to bite.

She’s going to rip out Savannah’s throat, and all I can do is watch. I try to close my eyes, but it’s useless. How do you stop seeing something you’re doing with your own claws and teeth?

“Talis,” Dayne says again, his voice laced with command. My wolf shrugs it off. Savannah trembles, not even trying to hide her fear, and my wolf prepares to spring. “Luna,” Dayne says softly. My wolf pauses, tilting her head to eye him. “I thought you’d like that,” he says, lips twitching. “You don’t need to hurt her.”

He’s protecting her, defending her. My wolf doesn’t like that one bit. She rounds on Dayne, snapping her jaws, her growls conveying her fury. Though we don’t speak in words but in emotions, I feel her rage and blame.

She remembers this isn’t the first time Savannah touched him, that he allowed it. “I understand,” Dayne says calmly. “But you need to control yourself now.”

How can he understand anything beyond my rage? With our mate bond still a wall between us, he shouldn’t sense my emotions. And telling my wolf to control herself? Not the best idea.

She stalks toward him, jaws loosening. I grab desperately for any part of her, trying to stop her from ripping out his throat, but I have no control. Not anymore. Her growl is low, guttural, furious. She snaps at his throat, and my heart stops.

But Dayne doesn’t flinch. He holds her gaze steadily. My wolf snorts, then turns back to Savannah, drawn to the delicious scent of her intensified fear. “Hey,” Dayne says, his hand settling on my back, stroking my fur. My wolf swings around, snarling. She didn’t give him permission to touch her, and she makes that clear. But Dayne doesn’t drop his hand. If anything, he tightens his grip, his eyes daring her to act.

This time, she doesn’t hold back. She lunges, the force of her attack sending Dayne crashing onto his back. Someone gasps, and I sense movement behind me. Before I can turn, Dayne rolls, trying to pin me. We’re fighting now rolling, growling, snarling. The human part of me scrambles desperately to stop my wolf from killing him, but I’m powerless.

At some point, the fight shifts. My wolf stops trying to kill Dayne and starts… playing? Or maybe he’s the one playing with her. I can’t tell. Our violent tussle becomes an extended wrestling match, ending with Dayne gasping for breath, pinning me down. I realize the pack has slipped away, leaving just me and Dayne in the clearing.

His eyes lock onto mine. “Time to change.” My wolf bristles, hating the command, but his hold is unbreakable. I’m relieved no one else is around for me to hurt, but my wolf wants to tear his throat out for besting her. “Playtime is over,” Dayne says, his voice firm, unflinching. “I need to talk to your human side.”

Playtime? I can smell his blood in the air, proof of the claw marks I’ve left. And he calls this playtime? I growl, low and vicious. He gazes back, unperturbed. “Two minutes, then I’m tossing you in the lake. Wet fur or wet skin you decide.”

My wolf hesitates, surprised. She doesn’t believe he’ll do it. But I know better. I’ve seen Dayne follow through before, and he’s not bluffing. While I love water, my wolf despises it, a trait that hasn’t changed. How Dayne knows this, I don’t understand, but I file it away as another mystery about me he shouldn’t know.

“One minute,” he says coolly, muscles straining as he holds back my sudden lunge. I wait, wondering if my wolf, now free, will relinquish control. The change hits abruptly one moment I’m a wolf, the next I’m a naked human girl, still pinned beneath Dayne. He eased his body away just enough to let me shift.

I stare at him in silence, the weight of what happened crashing over me. I shifted, and my crazed wolf didn’t kill anyone. No one died because Dayne refused to let it happen. Relief floods me, unlike anything I’ve ever felt. Tears spill over, and I bury my face in his neck, overwhelmed.