I was on his trail like lightning. I slammed into him, knocking him to the ground andpinninghim.
“Ken, wait!” Wesleycried.
My blood boiling, I paused and looked up. With a gasp I realized that all our friends - including us - were surrounded by unfamiliar alphawolves.
Beneath me, Gunner barked out a laugh. The sudden turn of the situation loosened my grip, and Gunner was able to slink out from underneath me. He got to his feet, and I realized just how much bigger of a wolf he wasthanme.
Wesley let out a whimper, holding his arm. I immediately rushed to his side and let him lean on me for support. I quickly examined the wound - it would bruise for sure, but it hadn’t broken the skin. Gunner clearly wanted him in onepiece.
My friends - Flint, Charlie, Jericho, Mason, Tyson, and David - all of them were out in the open. Their mouths were curled into snarls and they all growleddeeply.
Even with all eight of us gathered here, it wasn’t enough. There were easily ten Scarlet Ridge wolves surrounding us, including Gunner - who was clearly a powerful target on his own. And Wesley wasn’t able to fight, since he was pregnant - bringing us down to sevenversusten.
Was this a fight we would be abletowin?
Gunner shifted back to human form togloat.
“Did you really think you were being smart with your little plan?” Gunner asked loudly. His voice was cold and rang bitterly through the night air. “Really, Wesley. If I had known before what a bad liar you were, I would have chosen a different omega to take yourplace.”
Wesley’s jaw dropped, but he said nothing. The shock had rendered himsilent.
“And now look what a mess you’re in,” Gunner growled. “You’ve caused trouble for everyone around you willing to be onyourside.”
“That’s not true!” Tyson snapped. His wolf looked small compared to the other alphas, but he was just asfurious.
Gunner ignored him and turned his attention back to me. “So this is the top alpha. A little disappointing, if I’m beinghonest.”
My ear flicked backwards, but I ignored his remark. He was just trying to rile me up, but I didn’t know what his angle was yet. Why was he toying with uslikethis?
“I’ll tell you what, alpha,” Gunner said. “I’ll make a deal with you. Hand over your pack without a fuss, and I’ll let you live. Refuse and I’llkillyou.”
My eyes widened in shock. What kind of a deal was that? My lips curled into a snarl. He still didn’t know that I wasn’t the top alpha, either. How were we going to get outofthis?
I shifted back to human form to give him a long, hardstare.
“I don’t care what you say, Gunner. You’re not going to intimidate me into doing anything,” Igrowled.
Gunner crossed his arms and tapped his fingers, as if in amusement. “I see you don’t value your life, then. How about thisinstead?”
He nodded quickly, then I heard Wesley yelp. Jolting around, I saw one of his alpha lackeys holding Wesley’s arm between his jaws. The alpha brought Wesley over to Gunner’s side, using him as ahostage.
Now I was stuck. I couldn’t attack Gunner, because he would hurtWesley.
Gunner stepped towards me. He was massive, and easily towered over me. “If you refuse to hand over the pack, I’ll kill you and your mate. And what he told me earlier wasn’t a lie, was it? That he’s pregnant. So three lives will be lost for nothing. Once the top alpha is eliminated, your pack will have no choice but tojoinme.”
My blood boiled. How could he talk about hurting my mate and unborn child so nonchalantly? I suddenly realized how foolish I’d been to allow this ambush to take place; I should have never let Wesley talk us into going through with this. For the first time, I was seeing what Gunner truly was -pureevil.
I had to choose my words carefully. He had Wesley in his grasp, and he wasn’t afraid to hurt him. My eyes met my mate’s. I would get him and our child safely out of this situation if it was the last thingIdid.
I looked back up at Gunner, who was waiting with a smugexpression.
“I’m afraid I have to disappoint you,” I said. “But I’m not the top alpha ofthispack.”
Instantly his expressionfell. “What!?”
“In fact, there is no top alpha in Indigo Mountain pack,” I continued. “We have no ruler. We live as acommunity.”
The words came as a shock to Gunner. His face contorted in rage and confusion and displeasure. Even the alphas accompanying him were startled. The wolf that had its jaws around Wesley’s arm went slack from surprise - I saw mychance.
