8. Dean

8

DEAN

I woke abruptly to my heart racing and my body drenched in sweat. My hand smoothed over my face while I struggled to forget the nightmare I'd had. Everything had felt so real. Lucius had been there.

Of course he had.

That fucker would haunt my dreams forever.

As I lay in bed, I thought I heard something outside. The sound was faint, but it was enough to make me tense. I strained to listen, my heart pounding in my chest. My wolf was on high alert, sensing that something was off. An instinctual unease prickled at the edges of my consciousness.

Someone was outside.

"Stop!" a woman cried, her voice filled with terror and desperation.

The raw fear in her scream sent a jolt of adrenaline through my veins. I leaped out of bed, muscles coiled and ready for action, my mind racing with a thousand possibilities of what I might find beyond my front door. My wolf surged to the surface, demanding I charge outside to see what was going on, but I refused to listen.

Instead, I kept a hold on him while making my way through my place to the living room. Peering out the front window, what I saw made my blood boil.

Xander and Astrid were standing near the tree line.

I narrowed my eyes, surveying the scene. Xander loomed over Astrid as she knelt on the ground with her head in her hands. Pain and fear twisted her features and a wicked smirk was stretched across Xander's face. Whatever he was doing to her, he was enjoying himself. For a moment, I thought he might be giving her an alpha order, but then I remembered he wasn't her alpha. He was only her brother, which meant he couldn't command her to do anything.

So, then what the fuck was he doing to her?

My wolf nipped at me. His desire to be out there helping Astrid was nearly overwhelming. I didn't understand why he cared so much about her. All I wanted was for them to take their fight elsewhere. They needed to get off my property.

Now.

In the next instant, another cry of torment released from Astrid, and something inside me shifted. A protective instinct flared up, one that didn't stem only from my wolf. There was a part of me that felt obligated to help her—to stop whatever Xander was doing to her. It ate at my insides, refusing to be shoved away or ignored.

Astrid looked as though she couldn't handle much more of whatever Xander was doing to her. The sight caused my heart to slam against my ribs as the reality of the situation set in.

He would kill her if I didn't step in.

There was no way I'd let that happen. Not on my property. This place wasn't much, but it was my sanctuary and these two weren't about to ruin it for me. That was the deciding factor in my choosing to intervene. However, my reasoning made my wolf laugh.

Asshole .

I swung the front door open and stepped outside, letting my wolf take over without hesitation. Shifter magic pulsed through the air around me. My body tensed as my muscles expanded and fur sprouted across my skin. Without a sound, I charged at Xander. He was so focused on tormenting Astrid that he didn't see me coming.

I slammed into him, knocking him back and forcing him away from her. Anger rippled off him as he tried to regain his footing. My wolf wasn't about to let him do that, though. Circling him, my wolf locked on him like a predator selecting his prey.

"Stop," Astrid muttered, her breathing labored.

My wolf wanted to go to her, to make sure she was all right, but our attention needed to remain on Xander.

What the hell was his problem? Why was he trying to hurt his sister?

Before my wolf could attack again, a familiar nudge pushed through his head, and he froze. That weird itching feeling was something we'd never forget. It was also something we thought we'd felt the other night in the parking lot of Last Drop.

Maybe we hadn't been imagining it—or imagining or being followed—after all.

How was it possible, though?

When the sensation pushed harder into my wolf's head, a look of pure joy and satisfaction spread across Xander's face. He knew he'd shocked us, and he was elated by it.

His elation only lasted a brief moment, though.

My wolf revealed his teeth, snarling with a vicious rage I'd never felt before. It simmered through him, blistering and white-hot. He lowered his head, ready to attack, but Astrid's voice had him pausing.

"Don't," she whispered.

Xander's lips twisted into a smirk, and that was all it took for my wolf to lunge at him. The forceful nudge powering through my wolf's head came too late and wasn't nearly strong enough to stop him.

After all, we'd done nothing besides fight Lucius and his mind control ability while we'd been under his thumb. We could tolerate a push much more forceful than that.

We had in the past on many occasions.

My wolf's teeth sank into the top of Xander's thigh and blood coated his mouth. Sweet satisfaction coursed through him and me all at once. It intensified when Xander released a yell of pain.

"Please, stop!" Astrid shouted, her tone pleading.

Was she seriously asking my wolf to stop?

Xander had nearly killed her.

Still, my wolf did as she wanted. He released his hold on Xander and took a step back until he stood near Astrid. Even though he never took his eyes off Xander, my wolf's attention became zeroed in on Astrid's presence beside him.

"This isn't over," Xander spat, before giving way to his raven and taking flight.

Astrid fell forward, her body limp on the ground. My wolf sniffed at her, trying to understand what was wrong. Her eyes were wide with fear while she clutched her chest and struggled to breathe. While my wolf might not know what the hell was happening to her, I did.

She was having a panic attack.

I nudged my wolf, asking him to step aside so I could help her. Panic attacks sucked, which I knew from personal experience. The way your chest suddenly felt as though there was a vice gripping it tight. The tingling sensation that spreads through your limbs. The breathlessness that made every inhale feel like a battle. The dizziness that made the world spin and tilt around you. And the overwhelming sense of dread that made you feel like you were drowning in your own fear.

It was crippling to say the least.

"Hey," I said, kneeling down to make eye contact with her. "He's gone. You're good."

"I can't breathe," she gasped.

Sympathy for her situation flickered through me.

"You need to calm down," I said, which I knew wouldn't make her feel any better. I frowned and then exhaled a huff. "Come on, let's get inside. I'll get you some water."

I reached out to help her to her feet and the moment we touched, an electric current zapped me. My hand jerked back while her eyes grew wide as they locked with mine. My wolf released a howl that rattled my skull and the world shifted around me for the better.

Aw hell, Astrid was my mate.