But as my beast stirred and prepared to take his fur, I sensed something but couldn’t grasp what it was.
But my wolf picked up a scent belonging to someone I’d avoided during most of my time at Sombertooth. Atticus. My beast didn’t acknowledge him, but when he shed his skin, his beast communicated with his wolf sibling.
I’m here for you.
And the scent that was a permanent part of Eira and me because I couldn’t and wouldn’t ever shake it off. Phelan. He was on my right side, still in human form, and the tension was evident in his shoulders and his mouth set in a straight line. I expected him to plead with me to back off, but his gaze was resigned, and he gave a slight nod of his head.
And finally, Jack, the woman I considered my sister, who’d loved, protected, and lied for me.
I wasn’t alone.
THIRTY-SEVEN
RAWLING
I’ve got this.
My wolf was young and untried. He’d never fought another wolf. He’d only downed rabbits and a squirrel in the woods, so he was hardly a battle-hardened warrior. But perhaps what he lacked in skill, he made up for in youthful energetic exuberance.
Coach kept her human form, and my beast ignored her. The others could take care of her if necessary ‘cause she was a squirrel. While the shifter council would take note of her supposed embezzlement, I owed my parents a debt, and she was irrelevant.
I glanced at Atticus’s wolf and wondered, as he was my blood, whether he would partake in the fight. But my wolf said no, my experience of being adopted was not shared by my brother.
Phelan and Jack also took their fur, and the three formed a large circle, with the professor and me in the center. Jack’s hulking bear was closest to the construction site, while my mate’s beast kept his eyes on my wolf.
The professor transformed into his wolf, and his beast’s cunning expression laid bare his lust for blood and revenge. Everything the professor had done was to extinguish mymother’s memory, and after getting rid of me, the last part of her would be eradicated.
And yet while he hoped that would give him what he desired, it would never be enough. Her memory and how she rejected him would go with him to his grave.
The air smelled of wet cement, sawdust, torn earth, and wolf, and the unfinished building cast long dark shadows over us. The professor’s beast had a sprinkling of gray fur on his muzzle, and there was a bare patch on his flank, a result of another fight I assumed.
But his gaze was anything but weak. His wolf studied my beast, no doubt assessing his weaknesses. He was aware, as was everyone at Sombertooth, that my wolf was almost brand-new.
It’s time for him to pay.
There was no warning—our opponent was a wise and wily fighter—and he lunged. My beast leaped, and the two wolves collided. The crunch reminded me of metal falling from a height or two cars smashing against one another. Bones cracked and teeth tore bits of flesh, resulting in blood spurting over us.
When the two wolves hit the ground, they were tangled together, and my head was spinning as we tumbled over the gravel. The professor’s beast recovered first, and he snapped at my wolf’s throat. It could have been fatal, but while blood was streaming over his fur, my wolf didn’t falter.
My beast freed himself, resulting in more blood and skin tearing over his shoulder, but he slammed against the professor’s wolf, sending both careening into a pile of wood.
The professor’s beast clamped his teeth into my wolf’s foreleg, and the pain was intense, even for me who was experiencing it from a distance. My beast howled, and the sound echoed around the construction site, but he raked his claws over his opponent’s muzzle. Blood combined with dirt as the wolves broke apart and circled one another.
Professor Shaw’s wolf pulled away, and I wondered if his cold, calculating gaze was the same one he’s given Mika or my parents. His wolf darted toward mine, but mine dropped low and charged. The wolves fell as my beast clawed at his opponent’s chest.
The professor’s wolf bucked and twisted while trying to tear at my wolf’s throat, but my beast bit down hard. The other wolf didn’t give up, and his hind claws raked over my beast’s belly. The smell of blood clogged my head, but my beast ignored the pain.
He bit down again and this time his teeth caught the soft flesh on the other wolf’s throat. Blood flooded out of the wolf’s mouth, and his body convulsed as his legs pawed the air. He jerked violently but didn’t get up. His eyes glazed, and his jaw became slack.
I sensed the life leaving his body, but I wasn’t triumphant. The professor’s actions had caused this confrontation. My beast was just administering the necessary punishment. It was justice, not just for me, but perhaps for Mika too.
My wolf growled as the light went out of the other wolf’s eyes and his body went still.
It is done. We have avenged your parents.
Killing a rabbit while inside my beast was traumatic at first, but tonight, we’d ended a man’s life. His beating heart was still, and while my family had been in danger from him, I would need days, weeks, and maybe months to process what my wolf had done. How would I justify this to Eira when she was old enough?
I glanced around for Coach, but she had scuttled off. Finding her was for the shifter authorities. Phelan, Jack, and Atticus closed in around me as they took their skin. I was in my mate’s arms, saturating him in blood from both wolves, while Jack rested against my back mumbling how amazing I was. Phelanpeppered me with kisses, saying how bonkers it was for me to have come out here alone to meet the professor.
