The crowd was once again satisfied.
It was time to put on a show.
Chapter Ten
He could feel her. The closer they got to Heather, the more he sensed her emotions, and swore he heard her thoughts. She was already a part of him even though they hadn’t completed the mating bond.
“She’s nearby,” David said.
Mika tested the air. “I feel her, too.”
The small group of massive wolf shifters flanked him on both sides. No one, feral or shifter, would dare get in their way. The humans were another story. They were cocky and had death in their hearts. Sometimes he was ashamed to be part human but had to remind himself these hunters were the worst of the worst.
Then he heard it—the raucous laughter.
And smelled it—the alcohol and tobacco.
He sprinted forward, picking up speed until he was at top velocity, rushing around trees and leaping over downed logs. There were countless vehicles haphazardly parked in a clearing in the forest. David stopped and began to move with stealth around the trucks. Then he heard her calling his wolf.
She needed him.
His pack was close behind him, but he didn’t wait. He couldn’t spare another second. David reached the edge of the melee. Humans were crowded up around an unnatural pit.
He smelled blood.
Her wolf cried out for him.
David pushed through the human men and leaped blindly into the pit, throwing caution to the wind. When he landed, he braced himself on all fours, scanning the area. Heather was there in her wolf form, another wolf lunging at her.
“Heather!”
He ran over, throwing himself on the wolf, sinking his teeth into flesh and fur. They rolled through the dust, thrashing, clawing, and snapping.
“David, stop!”
He leaped back and shook out his fur, making eye contact with his mate.
“You came,” she said.
“Of course, I came. Are you injured?”
“I’m okay.”
Once he knew she was okay for the moment, he turned around, completely facing the wolf he was about to slaughter.
“Oh, shit,” the wolf said.
He scoffed. “So, you’re a shifter. All the better for me to rip you to shreds for harming my mate.”
David wasn’t afraid of another shifter. Far from it. He was huge, capable, and seriously pissed off. It was hard to focus with the uproar from the crowd above. Why were they throwing meat at them?
“David, no, it’s not what you think. He’s trying to help. We’re distracting them from the she-bear,” Heather said.
He looked to the other end of the pit and, sure enough, that sneaky little bear was in the hole with them. She said she was going home. Now he had to worry about saving both of them. The sides of the pit were sheer. He’d probably only be able to get them out in his human form, but he couldn’t focus on that now.
All those humans likely had rifles. And then there was this wolf in front of him that was supposedly an ally. He wasn’t ready to put down his guards just yet. This wolf wasn’t from his pack, which made him a natural-born enemy. He probably just wanted to steal his luscious mate. And that would happen over his dead body.
“What the fuck is going on?”
“They’re betting on us, hoping we’ll kill each other. The humans are bloodthirsty. We’ve been mock fighting for a while now, but they’re getting bored,” she said. “And the she-bear is getting antsy being trapped down here.”
“It’s okay. We’re getting out of here.”
As if on cue, the humans started running around, scattering, yelling, and screaming. Gunshots fired and engines roared to life.
It was his pack.
He kept close to Heather the entire time. Nothing would harm her now that he was there to protect her. They all moved to the far corner, away from the attention and remaining humans.
“Shift, Heather. Climb on my back and get the fuck out of here. Your uncle and the rest of the pack are up there.”
“No, I won’t leave you,” she said.
“Now! Take the she-bear, too. We don’t have a lot of time. Make it fast while no one’s paying attention.”
He felt her inner turmoil, but saving his mate was the number one priority. His life would always come second. She shifted into her skin, briefly collapsing. The poor thing had been through so much. She needed food, sleep, and time to regenerate from her injuries. She climbed onto his back as he leaned against the crude dirt wall. Her little hands gripped handfuls of his fur. He rose up on his hind legs, bringing her higher, but it still wasn’t enough.
Then he felt the brush of fur from the she-bear. She stood on her back legs, easily helping Heather out of the pit. The bear was massive and much tamer than it had been when they first met.
He nodded to the she-bear. It was her turn to climb out, but she wouldn’t listen. He couldn’t even communicate with her. They weren’t even the same species.