I tu
rned and—
Robbie was on top of Joe, teeth buried in his throat. Joe was kicking up at him, the claws on his back legs shredding into Robbie’s sides, his stomach.
There was an angry roar behind me as Carter and Kelly burst out from the trees. Robbie let out a high-pitched whine as Joe got in a vicious kick, knocking him off and into a tree.
Elizabeth and Mark came from the other direction, eyes orange and teeth bared. They stood in front of Robbie as he tried to pick himself up, blood dripping from the lacerations on his sides.
Joe was already on his feet, the hair around his throat stained red. Carter and Kelly came up on either side of him, growling, backs arched as they crept toward Robbie, who had managed to get himself to his feet.
There was too much going on in my head.
I was being pulled in different directions.
There were threads pouring out of me, latching on to Robbie and Elizabeth and Mark and these threads were strong and true and they said pack and protect and mine. They only grew stronger as humans ran through the trees toward us, spiked with fear and thoughts of attack are we under attack remember the training remember what the Alpha taught.
There were other threads too, shredded and thin and weak, and they pulled toward the white wolf, the Alpha, even as the thought of another Alpha in my territory made me want to bare my teeth in anger. These threads spread to him and, through him, out to the others, to the other two wolves by his side, to the witch that came to stand next to them. He ran his hands over the Betas, arms flaring, the raven’s mouth open in a silent call as it flew up along his arm and out of sight onto his back.
They were protecting him.
Much like my pack was protecting Robbie, idiot that he was.
It didn’t matter that family was spread out among two packs.
All that mattered was the bonds between us that told us nothing touched pack, that nothing harmed what was ours. If it came down to it, they would fight each other.
Joe, though.
Joe wasn’t moving. By rights, he could. He was attacked unprovoked.
And was his pack really advancing? Or were they defending?
I couldn’t do this. I couldn’t have this.
Not like this.
Robbie took a step forward, spittle dripping down into the grass as he rumbled deep in his chest.
Carter crouched low.
And I said, “Stop.”
My voice was a crack in the air.
All the wolves stopped at once, ears flattening to the backs of their heads.
Except Joe. His eyes grew brighter.
Even the humans took a step back, reacting to their Alpha, eyes wide, shoulders tense.
They waited.
There was an order here. No matter how much I wanted to go to Joe, wanted to make sure the wounds in his neck were closing, that the red on his throat was nothing serious, I couldn’t.
Because I had to tend to my own first.
His eyes tracked every step I took.