A gasp behind him caught his attention more than any of the growls or snaps of the wolves. His nose told him what it should have alerted him to minutes earlier had he not been so distracted—Elizabeth had disobeyed. She had not remained in the car. He swung around, dropping the bit of flesh he’d torn from his opponent’s neck as he stared at her.
His mate surveyed the scene with her eyes wide. He didn’t need to be psychic to hear her thoughts. She was repulsed. The clear light of the moon let her witness exactly what happened around her. She’d have no doubt now of Rex’s true nature. He was a killer, and she would be right to be afraid of him. A part of his heart he wasn’t used to noticing during battle, sunk into his stomach. A gentle soul—witch or no witch—wouldn’t be able to tolerate brutality of this nature.
One of the made wolves leapt for her. Rex could see the scene play out before the other beast’s feet had even left the ground. The enemy would go right for her throat. It was a perfect tactical move from a creature designed for death and destruction.
Rex leapt into the air, banging on top of the other wolf before it had gotten anywhere near Elizabeth. He slammed the other male to the floor, but in doing so left his back open to attack from the rest of the made pack waiting in the background.
The first set of teeth plunged into his back, and he growled. Before he could count them, he was overrun with the made wolves. If he were alone, he would back up and give himself space to move forward to plunge into the fray again, this time with tactical advantage. But to do so would place the wolves too close to his foolish Elizabeth.
He sniffed the air, not daring to turn to look at her. Her scent remained but he thought he could scent some distance between them. Good. She would have moved away.
Pain assaulted him as the wolves began to get closer to his targeted vital organs. He stumbled backward. Damn it.
Rex didn’t have to be a genius to know he was in big trouble. The momentum of the fight had shifted and not in his favor. Well, this was always how he wanted to die. In battle, not alone in some random accident or having to choose ritual suicide to escape the pain of never finding his mate.
Not that he would go down easily. He scrambled to his feet, throwing off one wolf as he maneuvered backward. If this was it, he’d have a few regrets. He would never get to prove to Tristan he deserved the trust of the pack. He’d never get to see the pack restored to its old glory. His father’s defeat would not be something he witnessed.
The way Elizabeth looked when she woke up in the morning after a night of heavy lovemaking…
Whack. He blinked, feeling like the world was heavy and unclear. One of the wolves on top of him went flying. He heard a thud as a second wolf flew off his body.
“Don’t worry about it, Rex. I got it.” Elizabeth’s voice penetrated his fog. “I’ve got it.”
She sounded slightly hysterical. Her voice was raised to an octave he’d not heard her use before. What was going on?
A third wolf flew off his body, and he finally got a good look at his mate. She wielded a large tree branch like a baseball bat. The brown wooden weapon was so large it nearly dwarfed her as she struggled to hold it up, but once again she lifted it up and swung at the remaining wolf on his back.
She dropped the branch with a thud. “Are they dead or did I just stun them?” Her words were spoken together fast and sounded almost like one long word instead of separate thoughts.
He shook his head and tried to get to his feet. He was slower than usual but he managed the task. She’d asked him a question. Were they dead or were they just stunned?
Five wolves had fled. He had an idea where they’d gone since his senses had gone hay-wire.
The last wolf jumped up and ran at him. Teeth bared, Rex ducked out of the way.
Swinging around even though the movement made him dizzy, he bit down hard on the other wolf’s neck. In two seconds, he’d ended the other wolf’s life.
Well, that one was now dead. He sniffed the air. His senses were pretty dulled. It seemed to him some of them were, in fact, expired, but two of them were probably just dazed.
“Rex?” Elizabeth approached him slowly. “It’s Elizabeth. Do you know me?” Did she think he was an idiot? He took a deep breath. His mate was new to all of this. She didn’t know how it worked. Elizabeth had never had to learn the relationship between beast and man in the shifter world. Why should she have? Hell, at that moment he wasn’t certain he understood it. Where had his senses gone during the fight?
He limped toward her. Bites marred his entire body. He was certainly losing blood.
Shifting to heal was rapidly becoming a requirement but he wouldn’t do it here. Not where he could risk Elizabeth.