Total pages in book: 120
Estimated words: 113406 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 567(@200wpm)___ 454(@250wpm)___ 378(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113406 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 567(@200wpm)___ 454(@250wpm)___ 378(@300wpm)
His injuries stung and burned. But adrenaline coursed through him, dimming the pain. It enabled him to keep fighting hard.
The gray wolf body-slammed his opponent, unbalancing him. Legs going out from under him, the Tundra wolf crashed to the ground. Before the male could rise, the gray wolf pinned him flat and sank his teeth down hard into his neck, severing arteries.
Leaving his enemy to choke on his own blood, he turned to see that his other opponent had stumbled to his feet and was preparing to pounce. The gray wolf growled, goading him. Together, they lunged.
The gray wolf savagely slashed, bit, and mauled. Tore into his opponent again and again, overpowering him. Weakening him. Slowing him down.
Yet another enemy joined the fray, biting into the gray’s wolf flank. He ignored the pain. Focused instead on the wheezing opponent in front of him. The other wolf was now badly wounded and weak with blood loss. But then razor-sharp teeth ripped through the gray wolf’s flesh and scored bone, sending little reverberations down his leg.
Lips peeled back, the gray wolf spun sharply, dislodging his attacker. It was the Beta they called “Joe.” Leg burning, the gray wolf swiped at his muzzle, scoring deeply.
The Beta bit into his ear and yanked, eliciting a yelp from the gray wolf. And then they were lunging at each other. They crashed, furiously clawing and biting and growling.
The gray wolf fought hard. Brutally. Showed no mercy. Refused to submit. Sank his teeth past fur and flesh, clawed through muscle, scraped bone. The Beta was every bit as vicious, targeting existing wounds, deepening them.
The gray wolf blinked, startled, as a blinding rage vibrated down the mating bond. His mate was alive, she was unhurt, but she was facing down something or someone. The wolf felt her determination to kill them. His legs shook as he fought the drive to rush to her and—
A hard weight slammed into the gray wolf, blindsiding him. He landed hard on his wounded shoulder, and white-hot pain lanced through him. And then the Beta was standing over him, teeth bared.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Sitting on the grassy bank near the creek, listening to the relaxing sound of water trickling over rocks, Madisyn subtly caught Shaya’s attention and slid her eyes to the left, indicating that she was detecting movement from that direction. The redhead gave an almost imperceptible nod. Madisyn was about to give the same signal to Kathy, but she saw the female pause in chewing a berry she’d picked from a bush, eyes briefly flicking to Madisyn’s left. Yeah, she’d heard them.
Their phones had received an alert a mere minute ago, notifying them that the sensors had been tripped, so they’d known that Archer and his companions would arrive soon enough. At Madisyn’s suggestion, she, Shaya, and Kathy had selected a little spot and settled there, planning to let the bears happen upon them. If Archer thought he’d caught them unawares, it would make him cocky and lower his guard. Hopefully.
He certainly wouldn’t guess that Marcus and Roni had headed off in one direction while Ally, Harley, and Jesse had headed in the other, all planning to pick off as many of Archer’s companions as possible. He also wouldn’t guess that there was a gun trained on him—yeah, Gwen had made herself comfortable in a nearby tree.
Sadly, Gwen wouldn’t be able to simply shoot him on sight. That wouldn’t end the problem. The other bears would be furious, and they would instantly attack to avenge their Alpha. They needed to delay the battle until help came, not speed the whole thing up.
Casually tossing a pebble in the water, Madisyn fought the urge to glance around. Her nerves were raw, her muscles were tight with tension, and her stomach was churning with both anxiety and anticipation. It bugged her that she had no idea exactly how many people they would be facing. It meant they couldn’t properly prepare for what was coming.
What she hated most was that Bracken’s wolf had been drawn into a battle and was fighting for his life. She wanted to be there, wanted to fight at his side, but she couldn’t.
Feeling small echoes of his wolf’s pain through their mating bond wasn’t helping at all. He wasn’t badly hurt, but he was still hurting. That was bad enough for her and her cat, who was still hissing and pacing and wanting to rip someone’s throat out—she wasn’t even fussy about whose throat it was.
Grass rustling.
Madisyn snapped her gaze to the left just as a smirking Archer stepped out of the trees on the other side of the creek. He wasn’t alone. Several people fanned out behind him, including Copper, Ink, Charity, Leanna, and Cady. Worse, there were several people behind them. And so on and so on. But that was how bear shifters led their armies: the leader stood at the front while the others stood in lines behind him, and each line was just a little longer than the one before it.