“Oh, I know what I’ve done. You used me as bait to draw Kade to my bar to fight him. And when that didn’t work, you sent your Second with a gun to kill him. Chicken-shit wolves. I know exactly what I’m doing. Kade will be the bullet, and I’ll be the trigger. I’ve declared war, asshole. Go get laid, eat a good steak, and enjoy your last couple of nights breathing.”
Trina hung up the phone and looked up to find Leah staring back at her, silver eyes churning, her hair raised up like a mohawk down her back. A long, hollow-sounding howl lifted on the breeze, and chills rippled up Trina’s arms as Leah let off a long snarl.
Monster.
Monster.
Monster.
The Wulfe Clan had turned her mate into a monster. They’d crossed a line they couldn’t uncross, and the cost to them would be Trina’s infinite fury.
She made another call.
Her mountain lion Alpha, Kurt, answered. “Hey.”
“I’ve got a dead wolf on Blackwood Crow property.”
There was a second of silence and then, “Do you need a cleaner for the body? And whose fault is it?”
“It’s on the Wulfe Clan. Mick’s dead, but he shot Kade on his way to Hell. I don’t know how bad it is, but I can feel Kade, and something is wrong. Really, really wrong. He’s close. Probably watching me and Leah from the woods.”
“What do you need?”
“Alliances.”
“You’re calling a war?”
“Yes.”
“Does Kade feel like your mate?”
“Yes.” She choked on the word and blinked back burning tears, then tried again in a stronger voice. “Yes, he’s mine.”
“Then he has the fealty of our Clan. Two Claws Clan, too. I’ll talk to Hairpin Trigger and the Warmaker. The Blackwoods and Red Dead Mayhem are up to you. Don’t go in those woods alone, Trina. I’ll be there as soon as I can. I’ll make calls. We’ll all be there soon.”
The call disconnected, and Trina let the phone drop into her lap. There was too much blood from Kade. She couldn’t wait for help to arrive. She needed to see with her own eyes that he was okay. The scent of his blood was as thick as the dead wolf beside her. Strong mate, but he wasn’t invincible.
Trina stood and peeled her shirt over her head as she made her way straight for the part of the woods that emanated the most darkness.
“Go back under the house, Leah,” Trina told her. “Everything is going to be okay.”
Leah whined and slunk in front of her, almost tripping Trina. With a sigh, she knelt down and cupped the wolf’s face. “He’s mine. He’s hurt. I’m the only one who has a shot at reaching him. When help gets here, tell them what happened. If I’m not back before dark, send in the crows.”
The black wolf laid there watching her as Trina stood, stepped over her, and stripped out of her clothes. And when she reached the edge of the woods, she heaved a sigh and hesitated. It felt like polar opposite magnets. Like the woods were trying to keep her out. Another howl ripped through the air. But the wolf was calling her in. Push, pull, push, pull.
Trina filled her lungs with air and let the mountain lion inside of her shred her body. Three seconds of pain, and then she had weapons. Teeth, claws, agility, power.
Don’t go in those woods alone. Kurt had made the mistake of not making that an Alpha order.
Trina placed one paw in front of the other and stalked into the forest.
Kade was hers. Monster or not, she couldn’t leave him out in those woods alone.
Chapter Thirteen
Pain.
Rage.
Pain.
Rage.
Confusion.
It was hard to focus. The more Kade moved, the more it hurt, but then the fury would hit again, and he couldn’t sit still. He’d been calling for a pack he didn’t rule. He’d been calling for a Clan who wouldn’t answer. The she-wolf he’d made, Leah, had hidden under the house. And then the blond girl had shown up and confused him even more. She was familiar. She was his. No…no. Nothing was his. He was rogue. He was alone. He was an lone wolf. His only job was to exist and to kill.
But he’d watched that girl drop to her knees beside his kill. She’d cried. He could see the tears dripping from her fragile human jaw as she’d mourned that asshole who hurt Kade. She wasn’t his. The pain in his shoulder was nothing compared to the ache in his chest as he watched that girl cry over his prey. But why? Why did he care? She was a girl, and he was a beast, and they didn’t fit. Clearly. Her feelings were fragile. She went soft for the things that hurt Kade, and it only made him more confused and angrier.
Something bad was happening to his body. He let off another howl. He needed support, or to kill something, or to have a Clan kill alongside him, or to die. He didn’t know which.
A leaf moved beside him and, on reflex, he snapped at it. The pain that burned through his shoulder at the motion made him flinch hard, and that movement hurt, too. Fuck, this wasn’t good. He wanted to kill anything that moved. He wanted to shred everything. The snarling in his throat became constant. He tried to find a more comfortable position, but the fire in his body only grew hotter. He couldn’t see straight. The edges of his vision were starting to get blurry, and the trees were starting to blend together.
Right through the shoulder.
Couldn’t put weight on that paw at all.
Choking on the scent of his own blood.
The mossy rock under him was cool, but it didn’t give him the relief he’d hoped for, so he stood again and limped mindlessly down the incline, across boulders and felled logs covered with moss. He loved these woods. They were familiar and comfortable, and now they would be where he died. Alone.
He tossed his head back once more and let a howl shred through him.
But this time, he was answered.
A panther scream echoed through the woods. She was close. Good. Fighting would take his mind off dying.
He limped faster, spurred on by the bloodlust. The only thing that could help him now was making something else hurt as much as he hurt.
Through the trees, a mountain lion sauntered gracefully toward him. For a moment, he paused. There was a little voice inside his head, annoying as a gnat, saying, “Don’t fight her. She’s special.”
That was the weak side of him. Sometimes he liked to talk, but all that voice ever had to say was “Stop,” or “Don’t do that,” and he was a motherfucking wolf. He was top of the food chain and could do whatever he pleased, no boring human logic required. That voice could piss off.
A lion fight was exactly what would feed the rage pulsing inside him.
He gave her a smile. And by smile, he drew his lips back over his teeth so she could see her death coming.
The cat was stunning, sleek with muscles and striations sitting right under her skin as she moved toward him. The woods came alive with the pitter-patter of a rain shower. Gloomy day to die, cat.
But she kept coming straight for him. Whiskers twitching, massive paws flattening against the moss with every step, ears erect like she wasn’t afraid at all. Her golden eyes were steady on him, her pupils little pinpoints, her tan coat becoming spotted with rain drops. She had black around her mouth, contrasting with her white chin, and when she drew her lips back from her canines, he had to appreciate them. They were like long, curved daggers.
She was a beautiful weapon, and if she bested him, it would be an honorable death. Much better than the bullet of a coward’s gun.
Kade charged.
****
Kade was a mangled mess. His shoulder was matted with red, and he wasn’t putting weight on one leg. She was shocked he was still standing at all. It was a testament to how strong he really was. There was this moment when she thought he recognized her. He was descending a mossy rockface and paused to look her right in the eyes. And for a split second, the hate disappeared. There was only pain. Only vulnerability. But then his face twisted with rage, his ears flattened, his muzzle wrinkled with a menacing growl, and he ran right for her on all four legs, as if he wasn’t hurt at all. And holy hell, even injured, Kade was as quick as a cobra strike.
Kade was massive, bigger than any other wolf she’d ever seen, and he was closing in on her with the promise of death churning in his silver eyes.