22
Ryder
“Makea move and I’ll slit her throat,” Alvin said.
He shoved Ness onto her knees and tucked his claws under her chin. Ness stared straight ahead, her blank eyes flickering with light as if there were some sort of battle raging within. I sure hoped so.
I wanted to see her rise and direct her command at Alvin, because he deserved it. I wanted her to tell him to kneel before me so I could end this.
No.
I wouldn’t kill again. I would make sure that Alvin could never hurt another soul, but I wasn’t going to take a life. Blood was one thing, but death was another.
My beast snarled in disagreement. It craved blood and violence for what our mate was going through. Alvin’s hands were on her, on her bare skin, threatening her life.
The pack prowled closer, though. Connor and Bruce approached from the front while others pressed in from behind. Jackson and Marcus snarled at the wolves behind them, but the way they looked to their master for direction told me that they were scared.
I opened my wings again and flexed them. The sky overhead lit up with chain lightning leaping from cloud to cloud. The display did nothing to change Alvin’s expression, though. While his minions nervously looked from wolf to wolf, Alvin wore that same manic grin.
Alvin straightened. As he rose, his claws pressed into Ness’s throat. Thin rivulets of blood trickled down her pale skin. My beast slammed into the surface and sent me rushing forward. Alvin’s laugh drew me to a halt. More blood spilled down Ness’s throat.
“Wake up, Vanessa,” I growled. “Get your ass back here, right this instant. You know where you belong. You know your place in all of this is at my side.”
Her eyes lit up. She lifted her chin as her attention slid in my direction. Before we could lock eyes, the blank stare returned to steal my mate away from me again. She’d heard me, though.
“Everyone is here,” I said. “Your pack came out to save you. Don’t let them down. Show them what it means to be an Alpha’s mate.”
I expected Bruce to look back at me with shock, but it was Connor who stopped. Stunned, Connor shook himself. We would have a talk later, but right now I was grateful that the young wolf didn’t let his jealousy get in the way.
Connor loved Ness. That affection kept Connor staring straight ahead, at the target before us. He deserved better rank, I realized. I would give it to him. I would award the changes he’d made and the valor that he’d been showing.
Ness’s shoulders shuddered. Her skin rippled. For a moment, her form darkened. Her hound was trying to break free. But she remained human. No fur appeared on her skin; her body wouldn’t bend to the hound’s will.
I nearly laughed when a slight frown turned down the corners of Ness’s mouth. Even though she was locked away from us, her frustration was so immense that it could still reach her face. That was my stubborn mate, always fighting the impossible odds and coming out on top.
But when her mouth opened and her eyes rolled up to meet Alvin’s, she spoke two words that destroyed me.
“Kill me.”
I rushed forward. The wind roared in my ears as I threw myself at Alvin. He jerked back, away from me. I thought he would drag his claws along her throat, but he grabbed ahold of her, instead.
From the right, Connor struck. His teeth closed around Alvin’s forearm. Alvin cried out, the sound turning into a snarl. Even though Alvin backhanded Connor, the cinnamon-colored wolf held on tight. Connor tossed his head back and forth, tearing flesh from bone.
Released from Alvin’s grasp, Ness dropped. I caught her before she could hit the ground. Her nose wrinkled and light flared in her eyes. She sucked in a deep breath, her expression coming to life.
A snarl beyond her sent me into motion. I twisted and snapped out my wings to put my body between her and danger. Alvin’s roar cut through the tense air like shattering glass. The resounding snap that came afterward chilled me to the bone.
Ness thrashed and threw herself out of my arms. She scrambled onto her feet. Though I twisted and caught her wrist before she could fling herself into the heat of action, I wasn’t quick enough to stop her from seeing what’d happened.
Alvin released Connor’s body. He slumped lifeless at the base of the tree that he’d been thrown against. Ness whimpered before clamping a hand over her mouth.
I gently tugged her back into my body. The pack pulled in around us, wolf bodies pressing against ours like a wall of fur and fangs.
Rage turned my blood into fire. I rose and pulled Ness behind me. Alvin’s shoulders heaved. Half bent, he spun and snarled at us. Whatever curse had been placed over him was taking its toll. He was more monster than man at this point. It wasn’t the way his claws curled or the sneer on his lips. It was in his frantic fury.
“Connor!” Ness called out.
She ducked around my outstretched arm despite all attempts to stop her. She dropped to her knees near the cinnamon-colored wolf and pulled his head into her lap. Marcus and Jackson saw her distracted and decided to strike.