Huge, with multi-colored fur, the animal stood just inside the door of the cabin, snarling at Kerrigan.
Black flickered at Trager’s vision. A wolf threatened his mate. A wolf he would tear to tiny shreds.
“Kerrigan, step back.” His voice shook with rage. “Go into the bedroom, and don’t come out no matter what you hear.”
“Trager?”
His words were warbling, almost unrecognizable. “Now, Kerri. Go.”
He didn’t look to see if she went. There was no way he could contain his wolf any longer. His mate was in danger, and wolf would respond.
With a ferocious growl, his animal sprang forth, lunging at the multi-colored wolf, and rolling with him out the door. Jaws snapped and claws sliced through fur. Trager felt the pain of his wounds but couldn’t find the will to care. He would annihilate this wolf if it was the last fucking thing he did. His teeth clamped on the bastard’s ear and he pulled. A sharp yelp split the air and Trager gloried in the sound.
More growling. More snarling and yelping. Blood spattered the grass, and coated both animals’ fur.
From out of nowhere, Trager felt the vice of his opponent’s jaw clamped around his neck. It froze him. If he moved he’d die. If he died, he couldn’t protect his mate.
Wait… wait… the fucker will ease up, and I’ll kill him. Patience.
But he didn’t. The two wolves stayed locked like that for what seemed like eternity. The growls subsided, but Trager’s rage was intact. He inhaled, hoping to appear calmer to his enemy, but that was when Trager smelled the familiar scent. He knew the wolf.
Farrow.
That motherfucking, shit-eating, son-of-a-bitch traitor.
Farrow growled low, as if in warning.
After another few seconds, he changed form, becoming human, and jumped on top of Trager, smashing his snarling nose into the dirt. “Stop it, asshole. You’re hurt. Shift back.”
Trager couldn’t change if he wanted to. And he definitely didn’t want to. His wolf was in control until Farrow was dead.
Farrow. Dead.
Something about that didn’t sit right with Trager.
He tried to breath but all he got was a lungful of gritty dirt.
“Shift back. Now. So we can talk. It’s about Gabby.”
Gabby. Gabby. His sister. Farrow wanted to talk about his sister.
Trager warred with his desire to know what the wolf had to say about his sister, and his desire to kill him for threatening Kerrigan. He decided he could kill him later.
It took his wolf several minutes to calm down enough to change, and still he resisted. Which meant Trager must be hurt worse than he’d thought.
Shifting to his human form, he hacked up blood, spitting in into the dirt while Farrow rolled off him.
“How did you find this place?” Trager always took precautions to mask his scent anytime he’d met with Farrow in the past.
Farrow laughed, and it sounded like the gurgling of a creek over rocks. “I’ve known where you lived for a while now.”
“How dare you,” he spat. “How dare you come to my land, and threaten my mate. You fucking bastard. I’ll kill you for it.”
Trager rolled to his back, but the motion only made him aware of the blood oozing from a gash in his side.
“You idiot,” Farrow muttered, breathing heavily. “I wasn’t threatening her, I just couldn’t change. I was trying to calm her down.”
“Why couldn’t you change?”
“Think about it, Tra. I smelled her. Knew who she was right away. A naked wolf, in your house, that close to your mate… you would’ve killed me without blinking. It’s what I would’ve done if someone had gotten that close to Gabby in my space.”
Trager blinked at the blue sky. Four times, before Farrow’s words sank in.
“Gabby?”
“Yes,” Farrow snapped. “That’s why I’m here.”
“My sister?” Trager felt the rage rise again, like water filling a bathtub.
“She’s mine, Trager. Now cut the shit.”
Trager attempted to sit up, but his side revolted. The gash was deep. “You mated my sister?”
“Yes! Now get over it. We have bigger problems, and I’m running out of time.” Farrow managed to sit up. “You need help. I’m going to get your mate.”
“Stay away from her,” Trager growled.
“Don’t be an asshole, Tra. Your wolf needs her.”
He was gone before Trager could stop him. He laid there, waiting, breathing shallow.
A loud bang came from the house, followed by Farrow cursing, and then Kerrigan bounded down the porch steps. She stopped short when she saw Trager, naked and bleeding on the ground.
“Oh my god, Trager!” she cried. Her hands flew to her mouth. Tears streaked down her face.