They began to circle, Cale’s body coiled, bristling with aggression. Matt moved with him, light on his feet, keeping low, waiting for the opening.
Cale feinted, but Matt didn’t fall for it.
Then Cale snarled, a short, savage sound, and lunged. Matt met him mid-leap, and the world exploded into fur and teeth and pain. They slammed together, claws raking, the snapping of their jaws the only sound in the still summer night.
Cale twisted mid-air, going for Matt’s throat. Matt wrenched sideways—too slow. Fangs grazed his neck, sharp as razors, and a jolt of cold fear stabbed through him.
He struck back hard, teeth sinking deep into the meat of Cale’s shoulder and flooding his mouth with warm blood. Claws raked his ribs, sending lances of pain through him, sudden and vicious. He tore free with a snarl, dragging fur and flesh with him, and Cale let out a furious yelp.
As they broke apart, Matt staggered, blood slicking his side. He breathed through the pain, matching Cale’s circling, tail stiff, hackles up. This was for his pack, forJesse.He wouldn’t let Cale get to his mate.
Cale snarled and lunged again. Matt braced, but Cale’s weight hit like a falling tree. His paws left the ground, and the earth slammed into him, knocking the breath from his lungs.
Cale’s bulk crashed down, pinning him. Claws raked his ribs again, turning pain into hot torment. Matt twisted, snarling, and drove his own claws deep into Cale’s belly. He felt the warm gush of blood, but Cale barely flinched.
His jaws closed on Matt’s throat, locking tight. Cale hadn’t reached the artery yet—Matt’s thick ruff had stopped him—but the pressure was brutal, crushing his windpipe.
He couldn’t breathe. His lungs heaved, desperate for air, and panic surged. Cale was holding on, strangling him, waiting for his moment to shift his grip and go for the kill.
Black dots swarmed in Matt’s vision as he scrabbled uselessly at the dirt. His heartbeat thundered, and Cale held on, immovable.
No. This wasn’t how it ended. Not whenJesse—
Fury surged. Matt drove upward with everything he had, pushingintothe chokehold, and slashed Cale’s face hard enough to blind him. Cale reared back, snarling, blood in his eyes, and Matt tore free.
He wasn’t going to let Cale close again. Matt fought smart, fast, darting in and out while Cale floundered, blinking blood from his eyes. One of them was swelling shut, while the other streamed red. Matt pressed the advantage, slicing deep and vanishing before Cale could counter. Wound after wound, he kept moving, relentless.
Cale twisted in an attempt to follow Matt, but his strikes were slower and his aim wilder. He was losing blood, and his balance was faltering. Matt tore into him again, a strip at a time, until the big wolf’s legs stiffened beneath him, locked just to hold him upright. He was growling, low and furious, but his snarls came through clenched teeth. His lungs were laboring, his eyes nearly blind.
Matt tensed to throw himself at him, to end it, but something slammed into his side. He twisted, teeth and claws digging deep, and the wolf that attacked him whimpered and stumbled away.
That moment had been enough—four of Cale’s pack were now in Matt’s way, shielding their alpha. The rest were attacking Matt’s pack.
JESSE
Jesse stalked the hallway, his claws clicking sharp and restless against the floor. Every instinct screamed at him to move, to run, to fight—but all he could do was wait.
If Cale got through Matt’s pack and came for him, he was determined to fight so hard they’d be forced to kill him. He couldn’t bear the sort of life Matt had outlined would be his as the pawn of power seekers, but so much worse would be living with the knowledgethat Matt had died because of him. When he’d submitted to Matt in the yard, he’d given him everything. There was no Jesse Turner left without Matt Urban.
He turned sharply, tail flicking, muscles tight, and paced back again. Tristan was sitting upright in the doorway of Matt’s den, bushy tail curled neatly around his paws. His young face was solemn, his eyes too wide as he watched Jesse.
The seconds crawled past.They also serve who only stand and wait—he’d heard that in some old movie or something, but it didn’t make this any easier. It hurt to know the others were out there, fighting for him, and all he could do was sit here in safety.
If it even was safety. The house felt colder all of a sudden, shadows stretching too far, too still. Maybe it was adrenaline, but every instinct was screaming at him to run, not to allow himself to be trapped.
He flopped down, setting his chin on his paws, and let out a little whine of frustration and longing. He belonged at Matt’s side, fighting with him, not here, like this.
Tristan came over and licked his ear consolingly, and he huffed. It felt wrong, accepting comfort when he should be out there. But right now, he’d take it, because Tristan had offered it.
He wanted Matt. He wanted Matt like he’d never wanted anything in his life before. He wanted Matt to be safe and to come back to him.
Tristan snuffled into his fur and then lay down beside him, pressed close. Jesse raised his head and draped it over Tristan’s back, trying to provide some comfort in return. Tristan must be feeling as knotted up inside as Jesse was right now. All they could do was wait.
MATT
Matt heard a sharp sound of pain from Dave, swiftly cut off, followed by a snarl from the depths of hell that had to be Karl. Four of them were ripping at Karl, too many even for him as he fought for his life. Throwing himself into the fray, Matt dispatched the wolf whose jaws were locked on Karl’s right foreleg, freeing Karl to protect himself. Matt bowled another over, his teeth slashing as he sprinted across the ground to where Dave and Christian were besieged.
The night was filled with snarls and blood. So much blood. Exhaustion was deep in every bone in Matt’s body, but he wouldn’t stop. Hecouldn’tstop, because stopping meant surrender, and that was something he would never do.
