Thank fuck I’d had another shower before meeting Elliot. He hadn’t mentioned anything when I’d hugged him, so hopefully all evidence of what Jake and I had done earlier was long gone.
Despite saying that on repeat, my hand still shook as I reached for the door handle.
The second I had the door open, I knew something was wrong. The hairs on the back of my neck prickled, my wolf on high alert as the acrid stench of fear threatened to choke me.
I made it two paces into the hall before the enraged roar of an alpha wolf stopped me cold, instinct making my knees buckle, the urge to bare my throat so hard to withstand. But I gritted my teeth, clinging onto the radiator to keep me upright.
“His scent is all over you,” Xen hissed, words slightly slurred.
Because he’s in a half-shift.
Fuck.
I struggled to regain my balance, fighting against the effects of Xen’s wrath. Then Jake’s pained whine pierced the silence, the hurt and anguish in it cutting into me like a knife and something flipped inside me. The hold Xen had on me fell away and I burst into the living room full of righteous fury to find Xen holding Jake by the throat, blood trickling down to his collarbone where Xen’s claws dug into his skin.
The scent hit me a moment later as Xen’s head snapped round, lips curling back into a snarl.
Whatever he said was lost on me as a red haze descended, my wolf surging to the surface, primal instinct fighting to take over, and I welcomed it with open arms. Welcomed the sharp, stinging pain as my fangs cut through my jaw and my claws slid out through the ends of my fingers.
“Max,no!” Jake yelled as Xen let go of him. He dropped to the floor, screaming in pain as his legs gave out, the edge of fuckingbonepeeking out through a tear in his jeans.
My gaze swung back to Xen, a full shift rippling under my skin.
Goddess, help me, I was going to fucking kill him.
“I warned him,” Xen said, voice like ice. “I gave you both a fucking order.” He looked down at Jake, like he was shit on the bottom of his shoe. “In the old days, you would’ve been killed for that.”
I took a step towards him, my intention clear, and Xen raised an eyebrow.
“Careful, Max. Next time I won’t just break his leg.” He kicked Jake in the thigh, making him cry out. “I’ll rip his—”
I gave in to the pull of my wolf and shifted, launching myself at Xen with the sole intention of tearing him apart. Jake’s cries for me to stop fell on deaf ears as my base instincts kicked in.
Protect. Protect. Protect.
Xen shifted to meet me, and we collided mid-air, Xen slamming into me with enough force to send me flying back into the wall. Plaster rained down around us as I struggled to get out from underneath him. Xen bared his teeth, aiming for my throat, but I was quicker, scrabbling out of reach, swinging around to face him with a roar.
I was strong, fuelled by a murderous rage, but Xen was an alpha wolf. In the back of my mind I knew I was no match for him, but I didn’t fucking care. All I saw was Jake lying broken on the floor. All I smelt was the scent of his blood.
Everything else was white noise.
I launched at him again, catching him off guard and sinking my teeth into his exposed shoulder. But he was quick to recover, pulling away enough to get his back legs under him, two sets of claws raking down my chest and stomach, searing pain stealing my breath as I stumbled back.
Xen followed, lips curled back into a snarl as he stalked forward. My blood staining his teeth and his claws. His own dripped from the wound I’d managed to inflict on him, but it did nothing to slow him down.
He could stop me with one word. As lost to my wolf as I was, an alpha’s direct order would still stop me in my tracks. But he didn’t shift back, didn’t order me to stop, to show my throat. He launched himself at me again, and I met him head-on, biting into the wound I’d already given him, his cry of pain giving me the satisfaction I craved, but it was short-lived.
I’d left my flank exposed, and Xen seized his chance, claws digging deep before kicking me halfway across the room. I smashed into the TV, sending glass flying, a long shard of it slicing through the hamstring on my back leg. The howl I let out filled the room, echoing off the walls as I collapsed, unable to hold myself up any longer.
Xen stalked over to me, slow and predatory.
“Stop,” Jake cried. “Please.You’re gonna kill him.”
He was.
I could see it in his eyes. I braced myself for his teeth to tear into my throat, glancing over at Jake because, if I was about to die, I wanted his face to be the last thing I saw. I wanted to tell him I was sorry. Sorry I’d let him down, sorry I couldn’t save him, but all that came out was a mournful howl.
“Xen!” Elliot’s furious yell thundered from the hallway as the front door was ripped from its hinges. He flew into the living room, a blur of movement as he put himself between me and Xen. “What the fuck are you doing?” He roared, body vibrating as he faced off against his alpha. I saidhisalpha because he wasn’t fucking mine anymore.
