She took another step and her mate’s arm shot out, hand reaching for her. She darted away again, bolting out of reach until she stood between the man she loved and the woman who’d gladly end her life.
“Trista, get your ass back here.” Her mate’s words were hard and commanding.
“Move and he dies.” Reid was calm as could be, as if he couldn’t care less. The male wanted her gone, wanted her to face the Challenge and disappear. The grudge he held for so long was finally culminating in this moment.
But why?
Fuck it, she was already losing, she might as well find out why. “Why this? What have you got against me? My family? Why’d my mother have to die and why did you chase me every day of my life?”
She kept her attention split between the three people occupying the small area. She was aware of the home looming behind them and just as aware of the fact that they were hidden—partially or fully—from the house’s occupants.
“Why?” she tried again.
Red suffused Reid’s face, anger and heartache overcoming him. The muscles in his arm bulged and skin strained, his hand tightening ever so slightly on the gun. Asking had obviously been a mistake.
“I’m older than you.” He curled his lip and she nodded. He’d always been the big, bad wolf. Older than her by at least five years. “So you don’t know what your
daddy
”—it was a slur and curse in one—“did to our pack.”
Adrienne shifted, feet crunching and snapping the dried twigs and leaves beneath her. Trista shuffled back, still between her mate and the female, yet farther away.
“Your
daddy
caught my mother on his lands. She was there to pick up a few things for the pack since Redby’s store was out of stock. Your
daddy
didn’t listen to those laws of visitation. Instead, he took her.” A ripple of fur slithered along Reid’s arm, attesting to his wavering control. “He took her. And beat her. And raped her.” The snap of bone cut through the air. “And when he was done, he kicked her over the border with a note pinned to her chest,
in her flesh
, that thanked my father for use of his whore.”
The air rushed from Trista’s lungs, stealing her breath and punching a whole in her chest. She’d hated Mr. Scott for as long as she could remember, he was a bastard, but she hadn’t ever heard…
“You wanna know how your
daddy
died?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “My father gutted him. Found the bastard close enough to the border that he dragged the asshole onto our territory and tore him apart. I did the same to your brother. Parker’s kidnapping was the perfect reason to join the bears’ fight and it gave me the chance I needed to go after that piece of shit.” The Alpha focused on her fully, yellow eyes boring into hers. “And you’re the last one, the last piece of shit in that family. But I don’t kill women, I don’t fight women. So, Adrienne is going to take care of that for me.” Reid waved the gun between her and the she-wolf. “Get to it then.”
The rest was a blur. Trista went from panicking on the inside, heart racing and pounding, to battling for her life.
Adrienne was on her, teeth exposed, hands curled like claws and aimed right for her. She heard Keen’s roar, felt the sound vibrate through her bones, but she couldn’t spare him a glance. If he was making noise, he was alive, and that’s all that mattered as she fought for her own existence.
Since Heath’s attack on her at thirteen, Trista had taken a few free self-defense classes at the various YMCA centers throughout the towns. They came in handy now. If only the lessons included ways to defend herself from teeth and claws.
Adrienne struck out, claws extended, and Trista jumped aside, tripping on her own feet as she scrambled away. Her shoes slid in the damp dirt, but she managed to clamber out of reach.
Then the woman pounced, flying through the air. Fur sprouted and the she-wolf’s mouth formed a muzzle as she sailed toward Trista. Teeth lengthened and became more menacing, deadlier.
Roars and growls came from her right, Keen’s animal battling Reid. The Alpha kept her mate occupied while giving Adrienne the chance to get the job done. She turned her head, worried for the man who’d become her whole world, but was only able to spare him the sparsest glance.
Because suddenly the woman was there, on top of Trista, claws aimed for her throat and open maw heading toward her head. Death lurked in Adrienne’s eyes, the promise of a quick, painful demise.
That expression had Trista’s inner-animal raging against the situation. It was stuck inside her, deep within her body and unable to emerge. She was a shifter, but not, and it enraged the beast in her heart.
But just because it couldn’t appear didn’t mean it couldn’t help. She’d healed quickly her entire life due to the animal. Now it gave her strength and speed.
Trista caught Adrienne’s hands, wrapping her fingers around the woman’s wrists and keeping her at bay. She used her hold to halt the woman’s progress, but the she-wolf leaned down and snapped at Trista’s vulnerable throat. The wolf’s heated, moist breath coated her neck and face, bathing her in the disgusting stench of wolf and rage.
She jerked her head aside, bolting left while pushing Adrienne right, attempting to buck the woman from her body.
But it didn’t work. Even with her animal’s strength. No, it allowed the wolf to snap her right arm free and scrape those deadly nails down Trista’s arm. She dug deep furrows into her flesh, exposing muscle and releasing blood. She tried to suppress the scream that rose furiously, but it emerged anyway.
The sound soaked the area and Keen bellowed in return. She sensed his anger, his pure fury. Hopefully he’d take out his rage on Reid and then come to her before Adrienne got her way.
Then the she-wolf was there again, clawing and snapping, hunting for any hint of Trista’s flesh. Her wounded arm throbbed and pulsed with agony, but she couldn’t spare a thought for the damage. Not when Adrienne attacked anew.
When Adrienne swiped again she released the woman altogether. She blocked the strike with one arm while she formed a fist with her other hand. She’d been taught how to punch. She’d just never used it on a half-shifted woman before. Well, she used it now. She cocked her arm back, borrowed strength from her animal, and struck. Her bare fist collided with the woman’s lower jaw and more pain vibrated down her arm. Knowing how to throw a punch and actually striking skin and bone were two entirely different things.
But while she recovered from the bolting ache, Adrienne rocked back. Her balance shifted, the bulk of her weight no longer crouched over Trista but on her ass as it rested on Trista’s hips. This was another thing she’d been taught, how to lie passively beneath someone and then buck them before they had a chance to do any further damage.
She planted a foot and shoved, twisting her hips to dislodge the fierce woman. The moment she was free, she rolled in the opposite direction and sprang to her feet. Her left arm hung limply at her side, blood trickling over her skin to soak the ground.
It didn’t matter, though. She was free and she had to survive. Survive long enough for Keen to get to her, to save her.
She was depending on him to save her, and her mind didn’t balk at the idea. Sometimes leaning on someone was necessary and Keen was the first person, the first male, she’d ever put all of her faith in.
He
would
save her.
Survive. Survive. Survive.
And she did. When Adrienne came after her, pushing to her feet as she wiped blood from her cut maw, Trista ran. She ducked behind trees and wove through the forest. The heavy thump and crunch of Adrienne’s pursuit filled her ears, but it also spurred her to go faster.
She skirted the area where the battle began, making sure she was still within Keen’s reach.
Survive. Survive. Survive.
She was running and winning. Staying alive meant winning. Adrienne was there, she hadn’t caught her, and she hadn’t—
Claws scraped down her back, scoring her skin and snaring her shirt. The sudden tug jolted her and she went from racing away to falling back. She shouted in surprise, stumbling until she collided with a tree.
Blood dripping from her claws, a morbidly smiling she-wolf advanced on her. That was Trista’s blood, Trista’s life, coating the woman’s paws. The pain of her new wound intensified, the nerves finally realizing that bare skin was pressed against rough bark.
Didn’t matter though because Trista had to remain mobile, had to remain on her feet and out of the woman’s clutches. She backed away, shuffling behind the tree and continuing her backward escape. Still the woman advanced, keeping pace.
“I’m going to win. I’m going to gut you and bathe in your blood, little bitch. I’ll make it quick if you submit now.”
No. She wouldn’t submit. Not ever. Before Keen, she might have. She might have given up and let the woman end her rapidly worsening existence. But no more.
Trista spun and ran. Blood created a red trail across the leaf-strewn forest floor. She tripped and shuffled, but kept distance between her and the wolf. She flew over the ground, racing toward her original position by Keen.
She neared the tree line, clear sky in sight, and tripped before she could burst into the air. Once again Adrienne was on her, straddling her as she reached for Trista’s hands.
“I’ll tear out your throat, bitch.” Adrienne’s face was more wolf than woman. Yellow eyes, gray fur instead of skin. The head of a wolf on a female’s body. The beast nightmares were made of captured her.
Or rather, her body, but not her hands. One, but not both.
Trista reached for a weapon, a rock, a branch, anything. And God, for fucking once, answered her prayers. Maybe he didn’t hate her any longer.
Her hand closed over a rock, a stone larger than her palm, and she curled her fingers around her makeshift weapon. Adrienne still scrambled to capture her wrist, but Trista’s animal was pissed. Pissed and angry and aching to taste the she-wolf’s blood.
With all of her strength, with every ounce of power she had lingering in her body, she raised her arm. She heaved the stone at Adrienne’s head, pushing through the motion, pretending she punched through the woman’s skull. She imagined it sinking into bone and flesh and destroying the woman.
Once again, vibrations jarred her bones, sending a new ache along her frame. But her strike connected, landed on Adrienne’s temple. Split the she-wolf’s skin and a trail of blood snaked down her face. It also stunned the woman, freezing her in place for a moment. Adrienne’s eyes flickered from yellow to brown and then a soft gasp escaped her lips. The female’s body went slack, first shoulders slumping forward followed by the rest of her body caving in and finally falling to the side.
Trista didn’t check to see if the woman was simply knocked out or dead. No, she sprang to her feet and ran. She ran toward the sounds of roars and snarls, bear against wolf. She knew her mate would win, knew that a bear could defeat a single wolf. But could a bear battle a gun and come out the winner?
She clutched the rock in her hand, the stone coated in Adrienne’s blood. She’d use it on Reid, if needed. Use it over and over until he too remained prone on the ground. Then she’d pray he didn’t get up.
She emerged into the space, stumbling past the last few trees and finally sliding to a stop. The sight had her heart freezing mid-beat as a new type of pain overtook her.
Keen was a bear, a massive, glorious animal that stood tall on his back legs. A bellowing roar escaped him, shaking the earth itself with its volume.
That awed her, but also exposed the fact he was injured. Blood coated his fur, darkening until matted and black against his skin.
Reid had done that to her mate, hurt him.
The beast inside her released its animalistic cackle that eventually pushed past her human lips. The sound halted the battle before her as the males flicked their attention to her. Keen faced her, focused and intent as he took in the condition of her body. Reid glanced over his shoulder, giving her a good look at his bloodied and bruised face, but it also told her other things.
He was on two feet, so he obviously hadn’t fully shifted, but his face was still mostly human, as was the hand clutching his gun. She took a moment to take in more of him, noting the shredded clothing and the gray fur covering parts of his tanned skin.
She connected the dots in that split second. While she fought Adrienne, Reid and Keen went at it as animals and then, when Reid realized he was on the losing end, went back to two feet. Two feet and no paws so he could aim that fucking gun at her mate once again.
Reid’s eyes roamed over her, one flick up and then down. His expression told her he didn’t see her as a threat and she had to admit that battered and bloodied, she didn’t look like much. Except he hadn’t counted on pure stupidity and animalistic rage. He hadn’t anticipated a half-shifter woman not giving a fuck about his power or his strength.
He hadn’t considered her.
The moment, the instant his attention was on Keen, that instrument of death aimed at her mate, Trista sprinted. Not away—no—right at Reid. She truly flew over dirt and grass, feet hardly touching the ground before she was mid-stride. Then she leapt, going airborne and aimed at the Alpha. The arm holding the rock came back, the stone tight in her hand, and when she was upon him, almost frozen in the air, she brought that weapon down. She struck his head, rock colliding with his skull just before her body crashed into his. She was over two hundred pounds of furious, hyena-souled woman and this wolf had threatened her male.
He was hers and she’d be damned if someone took that away from her. She’d finally learned to trust and this
bastard
thought he’d ruin that? No. Just… no.
Again she hit him, the wolf flailing beneath her, rolling and shoving at her. His hands weren’t claws, they were human and
nothing
compared to the she-wolf.
Was that all he had? No, he’d bloodied her mate. She’d simply surprised him. So she’d surprise him again, she’d hit and scratch and bite and…
A streak of brown teased her periphery and she caught site of another bear, not her mate, soaring over the ground, racing toward a snarling, bleeding wolf speeding from the forest.