"I know you're there. Stop being cowards and come out."
I hate how relieved I am that he isn't an idiot.
Twigs snap and leaves rustle as two gray wolves slink into the open. "I thought it might be you, Billings. And you brought your little friend with you. How nice."
I don't know who Billings or his friend are, but one of them snorts as they start circling Parker.
We're going. Are you ready?
I roll my eyes, but anxiety slams into me, making my heart thud painfully.We should just let his arrogant self deal with this on his own.
That would hurt our mate. He's going to be so proud of us when he finds out we helped his…chosen.
I bite back my argument and tell her it's her call.
"One of you could shift so I'd know what I've done to earn the spotlight on this hunt." Parker, as always, is the embodiment of cocky sarcasm. Too bad the wolves circling closer aren't amused. Their growls take on a more threatening timbre as they stalk closer. "This hardly seems fair, boys. I can't shift," he taps the collar around his neck. "I'm not going to lay down for you, though. You'll have to earn it."
This doesn't seem like a new situation for him. What do they want, other than to hurt him? Everyone knows he's Drew Cross's chosen partner. Nobody in their right mind would risk offending the heir of such a powerful pack. The wind shifts, and the scent of male lust blasts my heightened senses. Several things click into place at once.
They don't want to kill Parker. They want to hurt him. They want to force his submission.
My wolf snarls.And take what doesn't belong to them.
I don't hate Parker enough for the hardship he's caused me to allow that to happen. These males are going to have to go through me to get to him.
Chapter Thirty-three
Parker
Billings and Turney have been watching me for years. Billings has even tried to take me down on his own on a few different occasions. I've only been alone for one of those attempts and I'm lucky he didn't have anyone with him to help him or I would have been fucked. Literally. Only one male has successfully come close to taking what Billings is after, and Drew turned him inside out. Literally.
If I could shift, I'd be alright. I can take both of these assholes. It wouldn't be pretty, but I'd walk away from it on four paws and my head held high. Without shifting… I'm in a lot of trouble. They're still going to have to take it if they want it. I'm not laying down for anybody but Drew and they know that.
I roll my shoulders and pop my neck. "Ready whenever you are."
Billings takes a step toward me, but a low growl comes from behind me, and he stills. The growl becomes louder, more threatening, and the hair on the back of my neck stands up. From the corner of my eye, a dark brown wolf steps lightly from the darkness of the thick trees and comes forward, her body wound tight and aggressive as she places herself between Billings and me. Her fur brushes against me as she paces, and I catch her scent on her second pass.
Genie.
What the fuck is she doing here? To protect me? Surely not. She's supposed to be watching a movie right about now. But one look at her tells me that's exactly why she's here. I'm not stupid enough to turn down help when I need it so desperately. "Well, boys, it looks like it won't be as easy as you thought." I take a chance and reach down to stroke the tip of Genie's ear, praying she won't change her mind about helping me and rip my fucking hand off.
She doesn't snap at me, but she doesn't acknowledge me, either. That's fine. This isn't the time for a friendly cuddle.
Turney lunges then, and the fight is on. She doesn't let either of them get within sniffing distance of me. She takes several terrible bites, one especially bad one on her left flank, but everyone always underestimates a protective female. Billings and Turney never stood a chance. Sure, they would have eventually worn her down, but not before she really fucked them up. They made the intelligent choice to back down andleave after she ripped Billings's right ear right off of his head. It was beautiful, and right now I'm fighting every instinct within me to stop myself from running my hands over her to check her injuries and show my appreciation. I can't do that, though. She wouldn't appreciate it at all. Not after everything that's happened to her because of me.
Still, I can't do nothing. "Thank you for helping me, Genie. You didn't have to do that, but you did. I owe you."
She blinks at me and looks back toward the Recovery buildings.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm going back. I tried to go to my room but I was ambushed in the hallway.” Stress, shock, hell, a lot of things tighten my throat all at once as I look into her eyes and tell her what happened to me. It's overwhelming and I reach up to pull at the collar. I tried to get it off earlier when I realized how closely I was being followed, but the clasp is different than before and I need help getting it off. “I can't breathe with this thing on."
She blinks again.
"Okay. I'm going." I start back through the woods and get the shock of a lifetime when she steps in front of me to lead the way. She's limping badly on the side of that awful flank injury, and a little whine escapes every few steps. She doesn't falter, though. She looks back every so often to make sure I'm following closely enough until we get to the dorm building where Cross is pacing back and forth in front of the main door as he glares into the surrounding forest.
For the life of me, all I want to tell him is how amazing Genie was when she was protecting me from Billings and Turney. I want to tell him that she walked me all the way back here to make sure I'm safe when this is probably the last place she wants to be. But I don't get the chance. He rushes right past her andpulls me to his chest. He doesn't even look at her, and even I feel the blow.
"I've been so fucking worried, Parker. Are you alright? I saw Billings and Turney come back ripped all to shit and talking about you. I've been terrified. I was giving you three more minutes to show up before I went looking for you."
