The grey wolf lunged at the other wolf and they came together in a clash of claws and teeth. As shifters had superior speed and strength, it was like watching a recording in fast-forward motion. There was growling, there was body slamming, there was scratching, there was biting, and there were side swipes as each wolf fought to pin the other to the ground.
Taryn winced when the grey wolf bit down hard on the other’s hind leg, making him yelp loudly. The yelping faded to whimpering until the grey wolf yanked hard with his powerful jaws, snapping the sandy wolf’s leg. Damn, that had to hurt. When the injured wolf tried scooping himself off the floor, the other wolf slammed into him and knocked him onto his back. Then, in a typical wolf shifter killing move, the grey wolf slashed open his opponent’s midsection with his claws and simultaneously closed his jaws around his throat. With one sharp yank, he’d torn out his challenger’s throat.
As much as it had seemed like forever before it was over, it couldn’t have taken more than a minute for the feral wolf to have overpowered the sandy wolf. Overpowered was a mild word. Hell, the grey wolf had the other’s lifeless body by the throat, shaking it like a rag doll while growling loudly.
Several more minutes went by and the grey wolf continuing to attack the carcass, showing no signs of tiring or calming or any willingness to part with it. It was clear that he wasn’t coming out of his feral state any time soon.
“One of us is going to have to do something,” said Taryn.
Dante shrugged. “When he gets like this, you just have to leave him to tire himself out.”
Trick nodded. “At least he hasn’t charged at any of us this time.”
“But he’s injured, I need to heal him and I can’t while he’s in wolf form.” She was going to regret this, she knew she was. “Let me see if I can calm him down.”
“Whoa, now hang on a minute,” began Dante, palms out to ward her off. “Taryn, you can see the state he’s in, right? That’s not Trey. He’s buried way down deep, very much aware of what’s going on, but with no way of taking control for as long as his wolf is feral. If you go near him, he’ll see you as a threat and he’ll attack you just as he would anyone else.”
She rolled her eyes, implying he was being dramatic. In actuality, he was dead on. “He won’t hurt me. I know it’s not Trey, I know his wolf is in control, but his wolf considers me his mate just as Trey does.”
“She’s got a point,” said Trick, sighing. “She’s the person he’s least likely to hurt. He usually shows signs of calming by now.”
“His mate was threatened. That’s why he’s like this.” Marcus gestured at him, as anxious and fidgety as the others. Whenever an Alpha was unstable it leaked out into the pack link.
“I can’t just stand here.” When Dante again blocked her path she growled. “Move out of my way.”
“Taryn, come on, I’m Beta he’ll kill me if something happens to you.”
“And I’m temporarily Alpha female, which means I outrank you, but even if I wasn’t Alpha, I’d still expect you to move the hell out of my way. So do it.”
“What if he hurts you? It’ll distress him to know he’s harmed his mate. Have you thought about that?”
She huffed impatiently. “He won’t hurt me.”
“You’re sure about that?”
Of course not. “Yes, I’m sure. Now move.”
Finally he did, signalling for the others to give her some space, but without going too far. Very slowly she took a few steps toward the wolf. She knew there was no point in calling Trey’s name and appealing for him to come back. The wolf wouldn’t respond to the name, wouldn’t understand the words. The only way that Trey could overcome his wolf was if his wolf came down from his feral state. And that wasn’t going to happen until she got him away from that carcass. The smell of the blood would only be making him worse.
As she couldn’t exactly go over there and snatch away his prize, she decided her best bet might be to distract him from it. As an idea formed in her mind, she removed her denim jacket and balled it up. Hoping like hell this worked and didn’t just act like a red flag to a bull, she gently threw the jacket so that it landed to the side of the carcass. Instantly the feral wolf dived on the jacket as though it was a rabbit or a hare. Picking it up with his jaws, he shook it just like he had the carcass.
And then he seemed to pause and his growling eased a little as if he recognised the scent on the jacket. Hopefully he recognised it as the scent of his mate and not another threat.
“Hey Cujo,” she called in a soothing voice. His head whipped around to face her and he snarled while at the same time standing over the carcass and flattening his ears outwardly, warning her away from his prize. There was no logic or rationality in those eyes. “Now that’s not very nice,” she said in the same gentling tone. She knew he wouldn’t understand her, that the words would be indistinguishable, but her hope was that he might recognise her voice and find it calming.
His head extended toward her and his nostrils flared, scenting the air. He let loose a low whine, and she had the feeling that he acknowledged who she was but wasn’t sure how to calm himself.
Feeling reassured by him recognising her, she moved another step toward him but then halted; she wanted him to come to her so that he was away from the dead wolf. Easier said than done, of course. “Come on, big guy, you don’t want to play with that nasty carcass. If you can hear what’s going on, Trey, then let me just tell you that you’ll be buying me a new jacket. This one’s now covered in foam, fur and blood.”
Tao took a step toward her. “Taryn -”
“Don’t,” she ordered, but the grey wolf had already seen the male approaching his mate and he wasn’t too pleased about it. With her jacket still in his mouth, he began to advance on Tao who very smartly froze. “Cujo,” she sang. “Hey, remember me.”