Chapter Eleven

Rylan

As soon as my brain comprehended that there was a blade against Pearl’s throat, I saw red. Fury like molten lava took hold of me. Darkness clouded my mind, but I welcomed it, needing all the help I could get. Flashbacks of the night before had my wolf snarling so ferociously that even I was taken aback.

‘Mine!’my wolf roared in my mind and out loud.

The next second, we were behind our mate and her attacker. My partly shifted hand grabbed the back of the knife wielder’s throat. My chest rumbled with unsuppressed anger as my fingers squeezed, cutting off circulation to the brain.

The attacker slumped, unconscious, and I let go while sidestepping, letting the body hit the ground. It was a female wolf who had been eyeing me ever since she arrived. My lips curled as I debated, sinking my teeth into her neck and finishing her. How dare she touch what was mine? The offense was punishable by death, and while the option intrigued me, there was a part of me that advised caution.

I almost ignored it, almost picked the body up and tore into it with teeth and claws. I’d deposit the twisted corpse to my mate, a bloody gift that said I would kill anyone who dared to touch her.

My momentary pause allowed Pearl to approach, her hand reaching out to rest on my forearm, stopping me from any further action. Her brown eyes were wide with surprise or maybe fear, I wasn’t sure. The latter emotion made my heart stutter in my chest. Was she afraid of me?

As if she could read my thoughts, she shook her head, drawing closer to my partially shifted body. She needed me, and that was enough to make me forget about the wolf on the ground entirely. There was nothing in this world that could keep me away from her when she looked at me like that.

My wolf receded, letting me regain control as my body tingled and shifted back to my human form. It was a different feeling than when I normally transformed. Almost like a piece of string that had been wound too tight had finally loosened. The release of tension was almost pleasurable, but it usually left me depleted and exhausted.

Adrenaline was still pumping through me now, so when I returned to my human form, I was hyped up and ready to take on the world.

Pearl’s touch distracted me from the violence my wolf was urging me to unleash. She stood beside me, watching and waiting. Once I was back to myself, she fell into me. I caught her easily, her head resting on my chest just over my heart. Her shoulders relaxed once she heard my heartbeat.

I wrapped her in my arms as tightly as I dared. This was too close to what we had already experienced. Just the thought had my body shaking with anger. I couldn’t believe that this happened again. The need to sweep her up and run away was so strong I began to wonder why I was fighting it because she needed to be protected at all costs.

I felt like I was being stretched in two different directions. The first was the pull I felt to Pearl, my mate, my love. I had a responsibility to take care of her, to keep her safe. On the other side, I felt the need to act as an alpha, a call to be what every wolf needed. How was I going to do both? I refused to choose one over the other.

“It’s all right.” Pearl spoke softly, trying to ease my boiling emotions, no doubt.

“You could have been hurt,” I rumbled, still angry and ready to send everyone packing.

“I know, but this revealed something that we should have thought of before.”

“What’s that?”

“I am your weakness,” she whispered, guilt clear in her tone.

“No, you’re my strength.” I tilted my head back and sent a silent prayer to the Moon Spirit for guidance.

‘There is no need to choose between your mate and your pack,’the Moon Spirit’s voice whispered in my mind. ‘They are one and the same.’

Were they though?

‘Your mate is pack. Your pack is family.’

‘But I’d kill for my mate,’I countered, not seeing how they were the same.

‘You’d also kill anything that threatened your family. There is no separation between the two. Your mate and pack equal your family.’

Could it really be that simple?

My wolf grunted like he was annoyed that I couldn’t see the two things as one. It would be something I’d have to think about more.

My attention shifted to Deacon, who headed toward me with a serious expression on his face. He frowned at the she-wolf still unconscious on the ground, but I saw the corner of his lip tilt upward. He looked almost pleased while I just wanted to disappear.

“Well done,” he said when he was closer.

I debated snarling at him. My mate being held at knife point was not a situation to be proud of.

“You handled that really well.” He praised stepping over the downed wolf.

I scoffed, biting my lip and fighting the need to put Pearl behind me. My instincts were on high alert that I wanted to protect her from everyone, regardless of if I trusted them.

“I feel… volatile,” I admitted, stroking Pearl’s hair with my hand, hoping that touch would calm me.

“That is to be expected. Though your mate was threatened, you showed incredible restraint,” Teo chimed in, back in his human form. “Not just anyone could see past the initial rage and show mercy.”

“I wasn’t feeling merciful,” I countered, my anger reducing to a simmer now that we were talking about it.

“It wasn’t the first thing on your mind, I’m sure. I think your instincts are admirable.” Teo smiled like he was proud of me. I could sense his sincerity, but I didn’t feel like I deserved it. While my wolf and I hadn’t completely lost our shit, we were dangerously close. The next time something happened, I wasn’t sure we’d be able to stop ourselves.

The amount of power I felt coursing through me was immense, with no end in sight. I’d experienced this power before, had accessed it a couple times, but this time had been different. It was easier to reach, which made me apprehensive and leery. I didn’t trust it or myself not to completely lose control. I had to figure out how to harness and focus the power, so it did what I needed it to do.

A shrill scream split the air, making everyone bristle and look around for the source.

“There!” Arden shouted, pointing behind the group to the trees.

Deacon growled as I tried to figure out what was going on. Estella the human was running toward us with several wolves snapping at her heels. Her wolf’s chest was coated red, like she’d just torn into something to protect her human half.

“Rylan,” Pearl said urgently, drawing my attention. “Are they entranced?”

“Yes, subdue only,” I shouted, pleased to see all the enforcer wolves nod their understanding and take up defensive positions.

Estella ran straight to Deacon, who grabbed her and tucked her behind him. Her wolf was snarling furiously, her teeth bared.

“Stay back,” I told Pearl, who thankfully nodded and stayed where she was.

Enforcers and entranced wolves engaged in combat all around me. Arden had shifted to her wolf form and ran toward the stampeding wolves.

A black wolf speckled with white caught my eye and held my gaze. My lip curled at the obvious challenge, pulling my own wolf to the surface. I had a sinking suspicion that I knew them, but I couldn’t be sure.

Power surged through me as I stared into their eyes. There was a manic air to the wolf, which worried me. He didn’t seem to have gone feral, but he clearly wasn’t in control, and that alone was driving the shifter to anger. Drool dripped from his jowls, and I knew I had only moments before he attacked me, and I’d be forced to defend.

‘How did we do this last time?’I asked my wolf, feeling our power bubbling just under the surface of my skin. It wasn’t burning like before, which concerned me.

‘We were enraged because our mate had been injured. We weren’t in control of our emotions like we are now.’My wolf guided the power up from our core to our chest.

My muscles bulged, and it felt like I was going to burst apart from the power filling me up. Black fur rippled down my arms as my hands shifted, claws curled and ready to tear something apart.

‘This isn’t normal,’I pointed out to my wolf, feeling like I was about to combust with the energy I was trying to contain.

‘Think about our mate, Arden, Deacon, and Estella. They are our pack, and they are under attack. We must protect them.’

He was right. We’d formed this pack last time our power had been unleashed. The threat was staring me down, ready to engage at any moment. I had a split second to decide if I wanted bloodshed or to try to spare the entranced wolves.

It wasn’t an easy decision, but I went with the best course of action.

I inhaled deeply, filling my lungs with oxygen until it felt like they’d pop like balloons with too much air. The energy was in my chest, and I envisioned it merging with the air in my lungs.

Once it had merged to a point where I could no longer distinguish the two, my hands curled into fists, and I let out a roar.

Pouring all the energy into this one action, I prayed that it worked.