Colton broke away from the others and loped quickly over to me. He whimpered and licked the back of my neck, where Neil bit me. “Are you okay? You’re bleeding.”
“I’m okay. Just shaken,” I replied.
Colton pressed close to me like a white wall of fur and I used him as a crutch to lean on. I didn’t notice until we were touching that I was still trembling from the encounter.
Another wolf bolted into the clearing. I recognized her light grey pelt as Crystal. She was soon followed by a few other of Eric’s guards, who made an outer ring surrounding Neil. Crystal surveyed the situation, then decided it was best to join me and Colton.
“Answer us!” Ramsay snapped.
Neil pressed low to the ground, obviously knowing he was outmatched by the two stronger alphas, but he still bared his teeth. “I was taking Matheson back home where he belongs, not here in this whorehouse.”
It happened so fast I barely registered it. Eric lunged, giving Neil a quick but firm bite on the snout before backing off. Neil yelped more in fear than pain, then glared hatefully at Eric.
“You’re on my territory, mouthing off to a pack leader,” Eric growled. “You should be glad my guards haven’t torn you apart for threatening my mate.”
I noticed Crystal’s fangs, all bared and ready.
“You’re all idiots!” Neil cried. “You’ll get us all killed because you don’t want to actually listen to the prophecy. It doesn’t say anything about three alphas and one omega!” His face twisted into a hideous, angry snarl. “Just let me take Matheson if you want to live.”
I expected Ramsay or Eric to bite him again, but instead they began to laugh. I looked on in confusion. From the corner of my eye, I noticed Colton had a sparkle of amusement in his eyes, too.
“What’s so funny?” Neil snapped.
“Unlike you, we’ve actually been studying the verse,” Eric told him, his voice deathly calm. “And we think we’ve figured out something important.”
Neil’s face fell. “What?”
“Fat chance if you think we’d tellyouabout it, though.” Ramsay grinned a wolfy grin, showing all his sharp teeth. “Sorry, Neil.”
“Take him,” Eric commanded his guards. To Neil, he added, “They won’t hurt you unless you fight back. So don’t be foolish.”
“What are you going to do with him?” I asked.
Eric faced me. His black fur rustled in the breeze. “He may be a piece of shit, but the decision isn’t up to me. I’ll have my guards escort him back to East Pack where your parents, the pack leaders, can figure out what to do with him.”
At hearing this, Neil flattened to the ground, a look of horror in his eyes. I frowned.
“Wait a second, Neil,” I began, taking a step closer to him. “They don’t know, do they?”
Neil must have realized it was best not to lie. “No.”
“They didn’t tell you to supervise me!” I snapped, urged on by my anger. “You just made that whole story up so you could come here and try to force me to fall in love with you!”
“Are you serious?” Ramsay growled.
“Unbelievable,” Eric muttered.
Colton stood beside me, not saying a word, but he didn’t need to--the cold fury in his expression said everything.
“Just take me back already,” Neil mumbled, avoiding eye contact.
“Do it,” Eric told the guards. They gathered around Neil, growling softly, but at this point Neil knew he was in trouble and didn’t fight back. They led him out of the clearing and back to East Pack to face his fate.
I shifted back and shuddered as adrenaline slowly faded from my blood. Still in his wolf form, Colton wordlessly pressed against me. I sunk my hands into his fur, letting his warmth comfort me.
Eric and Ramsay shifted, then came up to us.
“Are you okay?” Ramsay asked. He gave me a quick kiss on the cheek.
