Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 54580 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 273(@200wpm)___ 218(@250wpm)___ 182(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54580 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 273(@200wpm)___ 218(@250wpm)___ 182(@300wpm)
If their Alpha failed, then it would fall to the next McNally and then the next to dispatch Sorley. It was unlikely he’d survive three much younger, powerful bears, but anything was possible. Olcan was a fierce opponent, but Sorley was strong, much stronger than he’d anticipated. Still, it was up to him to get this done, and he had rage on his side.
Much to Olcan’s surprise, he didn’t shift. Instead, he stood sneering at him, a sickening expression on his face.
“Been a long time since I saw any of you red bastards. I’ve not laid eyes on a ginger bear since I finished off the last of your clan and your auld fella ran off with you boys like a coward in the night. So, which one are you? Fergus? Olcan? One of those younger pissants who I can’t be bothered to remember their name?”
Olcan responded with a loud growl and was quickly flanked by Niall and Ronan as they finished off the others who had exited the vehicles.
“Oh, lookie here, but I only count three of you. One’s missing? I’m guessing it’s Fergus, still hiding away somewhere with that sweet little family of his. Family is everything, isn’t it? I know I enjoyed mine, but sadly I lost them to a little uprising within the ranks. You’ve got to be careful who you let in, you know? Killed all my boys and then that little bitch, Niamh, took the last one away from me.”
Olcan roared at him, stepping forward and raising on his back two feet. It was a threat, a warning. Olcan would prefer that he shift and fight like a warrior, but if he insisted on staying in human form and mouthing off about Niamh, he would forego normal rules of engagement between clans and tear him apart.
“Oh, there you are. I think I just found out which one of you is Olcan . . . or should I call you Alpha?” he taunted.
Olcan growled at him, a guttural warning to let him know his patience was wearing thin. He could shift, talk to him like a man, but it solved nothing. What he wanted was to end this piece of shit once and for all, bear to bear.
“Yeah, you’re the Alpha, at least until big brother comes home. Sadly, not the first Alpha to fuck that sweet little Omega of yours. I have to say that’s one sweet little pussy. Me and my chiefs had ourselves a real enjoyable time with her, gave her a taste of what her future’s gonna hold as soon as I’m done with you and take her back home. Sometimes, I can still hear her screaming.”
Olcan saw nothing but red. Fuck the rules of engagement. He lunged at Sorley, but the old man was surprisingly fast for his age and sidestepped him long enough to shift. Niall and Ronan stood back, as did the rest of their crew, letting the two Alphas settle both an old and a new score.
Loud growls filled the air as the two men rolled around on the embankment to one side of the highway. Sorley let out a wounded sound as Olcan slashed at his side with his claws, making contact and sending blood flying. He tried desperately to get to his neck, to finish him off, but Sorley was pretty agile for an older man—a much fiercer opponent than Olcan had anticipated.
Olcan felt a wave of dizziness as Sorley pinned him and caught his shoulder with his powerful jaws, sending shocks of pain shooting throughout him. He forced himself upward, using all of his strength to force his opponent backward. Much to his surprise, Olcan didn’t just bounce back and come for him again. Instead, he kept going backward and disappeared.
Olcan struggled to his feet as the other bears rushed forward. It took a moment for him to comprehend what had happened. They’d been close to the edge of the large canyon that ran alongside the highway. Sorley hadn’t been able to recover his ground because there was no ground beneath him. Instead, he’d gone sailing over the side and into the trees growing up from the valley below.
“Can you see him?” Olcan asked, shifting, and looking over the edge.
The others shifted, looking over the edge in all directions for any sign of him.
“Can’t see a damned thing for the trees, but no way could he have survived that fall. It’s nothing but jagged rocks and trees down there,” Niall replied.
“We need to be sure. Can we get down there?”
“Not as bears. We’ll need to drive down on the highway and shift again to go through the woods.”
“Let’s go.”
“What about this mess up here?”
“Leave it. I’m not worried about anyone being able to figure out what happened here. Those who can will heed the warning; everyone else will just cloud it with the usual conspiracy theories.”