At that, Carver seemed to falter. A moment later, guilt leached into our bond. He didn’t want to abandon Casey’s mate, but he had every intention of doing that. For me.
For the rabbit shifter, he’d only met yesterday.
I still had bruises from when his human side tried to strangle me. Now, he was willing to betray his whole pack for me.
It was freaky how shit could flip so quickly. I felt like a different person than I did yesterday, and I knew he did, too.
When Carver didn’t answer, Lars let loose another jackal-like laugh. “What a way to spit on your brother’s memory, Carv. You know what? I’m feeling generous today. It is Easter, after all. I’ll kill your mate first. Doesn’t matter how addicted you are to her little cunt. No wolf can resist watching a rabbit be torn apart.”
The alpha wolf prowled closer. The sinews in Carver’s body pulled taut, he was coiled like a spring. Ready to lunge. If he did, RIP to my vagina.
“Come one step closer, and I’ll tear out your goddamn throat, Lars.”
“What, and wear your bunny rabbit as a codpiece?” The alpha raised his voice so every wolf that surrounded us could hear. “Looks like we’re in for a show.”
The alpha werewolf radiated arrogance, so of course, he took another step forward.
Everything that happened next moved at speeds my brain could barely keep up. Carver shifted. A werewolf in one blink and a tattooed, silver-haired man with death in his eyes on the next.
His knot disappeared with his wolf form and slipped out of me. He was on his feet, ready to shift again, but Lars was already lunging.
I hated feeling so helpless. If only I had the ax?—
Before a plan had time to set in, a blur of black streaked across my vision. It slammed into the blond wolf hard enough to stagger him. The hulking alpha recovered in a beat, in just enough time for Carver to shift back into his wolf.
“Lila! Get back! The pup!”Carver hissed at the black she-wolf.
Lila lurched at Lars, ignoring the silver wolf’s demands. The alpha snapped his attention as her jowls snapped at his legs. Jumping on yet another opportunity the black she-wolf opened, Carver lunged at Lars, pinning him to the ground.
I held my breath, expecting that the rest of the pack would jump to their alpha’s aid. But the wolves only looked on as silent spectators, every last one of them frozen in place.
Sheesh.How much of a turd leader did you have to be for no one to come to your aid when you’re about to get your guts ripped to shit?
“Rip his throat out.”
Lila hesitated at Carver’s command. “You know the pack law. The wolf to kill the alpha takes his place. You have to make the final blow.”
The silver wolf shook his head. “I’m not staying, Lila.”
My throat throbbed with emotion. Even when he had an opportunity to lead his pack, he was still choosing me.
Lars struggled beneath Carver’s hands, the downed alpha snarling and snapping at the wolf keeping him pinned.
Lila didn’t hesitate another moment. She lunged, latching onto Lars’ throat. The male wolf cried out when her teeth closed around his jugular, and with a twist and a sickening crack, he went limp.
The silence that stretched through the woods had my skin crawling. Not even the flora dared rustle as the wolves all stared their new leader down. If there was any hesitation about a pregnant, mateless she-wolf becoming alpha, no one dared say it out loud.
The wolves began muttering to themselves, nodding and chattering in agreement. Then, one by one, they all began to howl at the sky in broad daylight, sending birds exploding from the trees.
The woods came to life again, joining in on what was clearly some kind of pack ceremony.
Lila’s bloody muzzle unlatched from Lars’ tattered throat. Her attention flicked to me, her expression guarded and weary. I couldn’t blame her. She’d watched me decapitate her mate.
“Is she really worth all this, Carv? Lars is dead. I— I don’t know what to do as alpha.”
I picked myself up from the ground, brushing off the dirt. I felt every eye turn on me.
Normally, I didn’t mind being naked in front of other shifters. We couldn’t take our clothes with us when we shifted, so in a way, we were part-time nudists. However, being naked in front of a pack of starving wolves was a different matter.
