Rachel would be more than happy with that scenario. Her wolf bristled, and her claws began to slide out. “She’s my soulmate,” she said, jutting out her chin in defiance. “We have a potential bond so strong, there’s no sign of it fading even though it’s been weeks since it first started. How can you not want that for your daughter?”
He bared his teeth, lips curled back. Rachel swallowed down her fear and held her ground. “I will not let her waste her life on a childless union with—”
“Waste herlife?” Rachel’s voice rose, shrill to her own ears as she struggled to keep control. “Do you even hear yourself?” She knew she was pushing him too far, but the words wouldn’t stop.
“How dare you—”
“If you loved her like you claim to, you’d want her to be happy. Not try and ruin her life by robbing her of the chance to bond because you’re too damned close-minded and—”
“No!” Sara screamed as Gallen launched himself at Rachel.
Everything seemed to slow down.
Rachel stood frozen. Her limbs felt wrapped in treacle, so slow to react as Sara threw herself in front of Rachel, taking the full brunt of Gallen’s attack.
She screamed again as his claws tore across her chest, blood pouring out of the wounds a moment later. The impact sent her flying backwards into Rachel, and they collapsed on the ground in a tangled heap. Wriggling out from underneath her, Rachel gently laid Sara on her back.
So much blood.
“Sara,” Gallen whispered, a look of horror on his face.
The metallic scent of Sara’s blood filled the air, saturating Rachel’s lungs until it was all she could smell, and the very last of her control snapped.
Gallen took a step towards them, blood-covered clawed hand held out in front of him, and with a roar of her own, Rachel shifted.
Pain, bright and sharp, shot through her, clearing her mind of everything but the need to protect what was hers. Taking a stance in front of Sara’s prone form, she let out a warning growl.
Come near her… I dare you.
Footsteps and shouting sounded behind them, but Rachel didn’t take her eyes off Gallen.
Still in his half shift, he looked from Rachel to Sara, then back again. “Change back,” he ordered. “And get away from my daughter.”
Rachel snarled—another warning for him to stay away. She hunched lower, ready to spring at him if he came any closer. Sara moaned behind her, and Rachel whimpered in response—torn between keeping Gallen away and turning to check on Sara.
“If you don’t move out of the way, I’ll—”
“You’ll what, Alpha Gallen?” Celia Cornell’s icy voice cut through the air like a whip.
Gallen turned to face her as she approached, but Rachel kept her eyes on Gallen.
“By the looks of things, I think you’ve done quite enough already.”
He opened his mouth to answer, but Alpha Cornell cut him off. “Shift to your human form, Alpha Gallen, and step away.”
“But I—”
“That’s my granddaughter lying bleeding on the ground. I won’t ask a second time.” The threat hung heavy in the air, and after a couple of drawn-out seconds, Gallen’s features returned to normal and he took a couple of steps back.
Rachel relaxed, but her hackles went back up immediately as she sensed movement to the side.
Cam crouched down on her left, keeping a few feet between them, hands out in front of him. “Rachel. I know you’re protecting her, and that’s totally understandable, but I want to take a look at her injuries. Can I do that?”
Sara moaned again, and some of Rachel’s anger drained away. Cam was her temporary alpha, but he hadn’t used his alpha voice, hadn’t ordered her to shift back or to move out of the way. Ducking her head in submission, Rachel moved enough for him to kneel beside Sara’s head. She changed position so she could keep an eye on both Cam and Gallen.
“How is she?” Alpha Cornell asked, the worry in her tone hard to miss.
“The cuts are deep,” Cam said, voice grave. “But she’s healing. A couple of inches higher and she might not have been so lucky.”
