The Feral Alpha(25)

Something hot and cold and painful cleaved through her heart. Her eyebrows furrowed as her watering eyes burned with tears of a different nature. Regrets and rage swamped her mind, threatening to drown everything that was Kristi. Beneath the confusion and chaos, the wolf howled. It clawed its way through the mass bewilderment. Her wolf had spent too much time pent up and recuperating. It wanted – no, needed – to run free.



Kristi jerked to the ground, Gavin's grip slackening a little. She slammed herself back up, smashing the back of her skull into Gavin's nose. Streams of his blood oozed into her hair as he jolted back.



Baring its fangs in a malicious grin, the wilderness overtook Kristi in a blast of shape shifting. A howl ripped from her lips, scaring sleepy birds from their branches and confounding bats overhead. Her body bulged and grew, her nose and mouth lengthened into a muzzle as fur sprouted down her limbs.



Standing, she loomed over Gavin, as a monstrous dark lycan bathed in partial moonlight. He held his nose, rivulets of blood leaking between his claws. He glared up at her, hatred bright in his green eyes. His pupils narrowed into slits, fur sprouted at the edge of his jaw. Instantly, Kristi swiped her claws across his face, greeted with the stench of more blood and a hollered obscenity from Gavin.



Kristi's nose twitched, ears perking forward, catching the scent and sounds of the pack – her pack – on the light breeze. Delight bubbled through her head. Good, Gavin's downfall would have witnesses. It paid to remind others why she was the most powerful, most apt, to lead them.



She rained slashes down on him, huffing and snarly with each movement. With one eye covered in blood, Gavin did his best to dodge. The two of them bounced around the battlefield, Gavin backwards as Kristi pursued him across the grass. As long as he was too busy ducking and evading her blows, he'd be too busy to transform. Now all she needed was an opening.



The gods smiled down upon her. Gavin's heel slammed into a large rock hidden amongst the weeds. The sudden stop jolted up his body, his equilibrium churning as he moved to duck Kristi's latest strike. He fell, landing on his ass with a grunt.



He barely had the chance to turn his gaze to Kristi before she pounced, jaw wide. Her claws dug into the sides of his body, pinning his arms to his sides, as a terrified shriek left his throat. The sound muffled against his trembling lips while Kristi glared at him down the length of her muzzle. A faint sense of rue lilted through her. He had been her alpha at one time. But not anymore.



Her maw cracked open, ready to sink her sharp fangs into Gavin's jugular. He ripped his arms free of her hold a split second before her mouth clapped around his neck. His fingers caught her maw, growling as he struggled to keep it open. Kristi forced her jaw to snap shut against Gavin's wobbling hold. Dirt and blood spilled into her lips from his fingertips, his arms shaking from the effort.



Even as he held her chomp at bay, Gavin struggled to transform. Having the benefit of transforming every night had taken its toll on his lunar resonance. The only thing he had was the fresh moonlight. Kristi, on the other hand, had immense reserves waiting to be used up.



A growl gurgled up her throat as Gavin's muzzle elongated. His ears pointed and migrated to the top of his head, more fur sprouted across his skin. His teeth elongated as he grimaced into her face. Beneath his flesh, his very muscles and bones morphed.



Kristi had enough. She withdrew her claws from Gavin's side. She drove her digits into again, this time aiming for his heart. Gavin gasped in pain, his grasp weakening. That was enough, though. Kristi's jaws clamped shut, red iron and fingers filled her mouth. Gavin let out a howl of pain, just before her other hand slammed into him. Her claws sunk into his body with a satisfying squelch. She could feel his internal organs split and marrow crack under her claws.



She shook her head savagely, further mangling his fingers in her mouth. Her hands slammed in and out of his body. The sound of meat against a razor edge split through the air. The smell of blood dizzied her senses as the steaming liquid splashed over her. It stained her fur, coated her claws, speckled across her face.



Kristi didn't stop until Gavin's head lolled back and his rigid body fell limp. She released his stumps from her jaws before sliding her claws from his body. Gavin's green eyes stared up at the sky, his face contorted in his partial transformation and pain. Kristi sharply spun away from the former alpha, though the scent of his blood coated the inside of her skull.



The pack watched her, intently, curiously. Sated, her inner wolf eased back. Her muscles smoothed and the fur rescinded. Though her clothes were torn and a chilly breeze kissed her bare skin, Kristi confidently strode before the pack. Blood dripped down her fingers and smeared across her mouth.