Savage (Wolf Ranch 4)

It was night. It was dark. There were no streetlights. But the moon was out, and the snow made it bright. I couldn’t miss the outline of the men against the stark white ground. They’d changed from human to wolf.

Yes, a fucking wolf. Then Clint had done the same thing. I blinked. Then again.

I stared, trying to process what I knew I’d seen when they loped off out of view.

I ran to the front door and stifled a scream when I bumped into someone. Big hands gripped my upper arms, and I began to fight. “It’s Boyd, darlin’. Shh, it’s okay.”

I stilled. “He’s a wolf,” I muttered, holding the blanket snug around me.

“Yeah, darlin’, he is,” Boyd replied. “You’re safe now. You’re not hurt, are you? The baby okay?”

I heard snarls and movement outside, but Boyd blocked my view.

“I’m… I’m fine. Why aren’t you helping? Stop them. Something.”

“Nah, Clint’s got it under control.”

Under control? “I… I don’t know what that even means.”

“That guy, Donald, is a danger.” Snarls filled the air, and I shivered.

“He said he killed Todd, that he wanted to kill me,” I said, staring at the front of his coat. “For revenge.”

A growl rumbled from Boyd’s chest. “Like I said, Clint will take care of him.”

My stomach roiled. “I need to see.”

He sighed, not letting go of me. “That’s not a good idea. It’s gonna get—”

“Clint’s going to kill him, isn’t he?”

“Donald threatened his mate. His unborn child.”

Mate. Boyd must mean me.

“He said… he said Clint was an enforcer.”

Boyd stilled, and his fingers tightened on his arms. “Holy shit. That fucking makes sense.”

I blinked. “I don’t understand. What’s an enforcer? Why are they wolves?”

Boyd bent down, so we were eye to eye. “Darlin’, we all are. And that baby of yours? Probably will be, too.”

I tried to step out of his hold. Boyd, a wolf?

“Now, don’t be scared,” he said, his voice soft as if placating a child. “You know we’d never hurt you. We’re here to keep you safe. That’s what Clint’s doin’ out there right now.”

“No.” I shook my head and tried to pull away again. “This is nuts. I—” I wrenched away from him. “Let me see,” I said with fierce determination.

“Clint won’t want you to watch this.”

“Clint doesn’t have any say,” I snapped.

“Fuck,” he whispered then studied me. “You sure? It’s gonna be pretty gruesome. I think it’s best if you—”

“I have to see. I have to know what Clint is.” Everyone knew. Everyone knew Clint was a wolf but me. I’d been in the dark this whole time. The father of my child wasn’t even human. So no, I wasn’t letting Boyd control what I learned about Clint.

“Audrey’s gonna kill me. But all right. Got some boots? Yeah, there they are.” He brought them over to me, dropped them on the floor and took my hand to balance. “Tuck your feet in them, all right. Come on.”

I pushed past him and ran outside, past the front door hanging off its hinges. Boyd caught up and kept his arm around me as we watched. Two wolves circling, fighting. Snarling. Biting. Clint was the black one—massive and terrifying. They weren’t like any wolves I’d seen before. They were both oversized. Ferocious.

Clint lunged and pinned the brown wolf. He went for his throat. A high-pitched yelp pierced the air. Blood splattered the snow and the animal lay still. Clint had won. He killed the other wolf.

I turned and threw up off the side of the porch.

And then I ran. I ran back inside and threw on my clothes. My hands shook so badly I could barely make my fingers work.

Boyd followed me at first, I thought, but of course, when I dropped the sheet and started dressing, he shut the bedroom door and waited on the other side. I hardly noticed the tears coursing down my cheeks.

I just wanted to leave. Get the hell away from this crazy scene. This unbelievable unfolding. Clint was a wolf. Boyd was a wolf. I’d seen Rob, Colton and Rand standing around watching as we had. I had to assume they became wolves, too. What about Audrey and the other ladies? God, I’d been so dumb. So blind.

Jesus. I’d thought Todd was bad? At least he was human. And least he didn’t tear out throats with his teeth while his friends stood around watching.

These people had lied to me—all of them.

I threw open the bedroom door, smacking Boyd with it. “Is Audrey...”

“No,” Boyd said quickly, putting an arm around my shoulders again. I shrugged him off. “No, she’s human like you. Marina, too. You look like you’re bolting, and that’s not a good idea right now. Let me take you to Audrey. She can help talk you through some of this.”

I swiped at my nose. My mouth tasted like bile. “Yeah. Fine.”