I drew on the hot energy burning inside me, battering him with it. I was weakening fast in the metaphysical area due to the physical and mental exertion, which had me panicking. Dylan was bruised and bleeding, yet he continued to strangle me like a rag doll. This would be one time when being a vampire would be beneficial. Strangling can’t kill you when you don’t need to breathe.
I struggled against him, trying anything to loosen his hold on me. I would have felt ill at the touching of our naked bodies if I hadn’t been trying so hard not to black out.
“Girls like you and Zoey, you are nothing. Not fit to be Alpha. No better than a warm body to f**k and then dispose of.” Dylan continued to rant and rave into my face as he choked the life out of me.
Those words spun around in my brain, playing over and over. He was sick. He was mentally f**ked. And, my ill ease quickly turned to the need to wretch violently when I felt him grow hard against me. No f**king way. I’d die first.
In my mind, I couldn’t help but flash back in time. To another time and place, when I was so young and at the mercy of a much older male wolf that was determined to make me his play thing whether I was willing or not. Raoul had stopped him before he could force me. Then, Raoul had beaten the shit out of him. Now, there was no chance of Raoul coming to my rescue.
I hit Dylan. I clawed him and even tried to gouge out his damn eyes. Still, he held firm. His eyes held no semblance of human. He was all monster. As he tried to work his knee in between my legs, I was suddenly sure that what he was trying to do to me was something he had done to others, many times before.
The raw hate that quickly grew to overflowing was all I needed. It seared through me like a jolt of electricity, coming out in a storm of power. It actually hurt me as it moved from my body to his. Dylan let out a pained cry and released me. Bastard choked me twice, what a miserable excuse for a wolf.
He stumbled back, almost slipping in the snow. He continued to make agonized sounds. His chest was burnt; the flesh, literally smoking. I was astonished. I could have burned the f**ker alive. Now that was encouraging.
I felt another wolf then. Expecting Shaz, I looked to the east. Except, I felt it to the north. Dylan looked around in confusion as he sensed it, too. He lunged forward, as if to shift forms, but he wasn’t fast enough. A black shape emerged from the forest, leaping through the air to hit him full on.
I stared in silent shock as Zoey Roberts took Dylan down on the forest floor and sunk fangs into his throat before he could utter a scream. The brown wolf locked inside my energy circle howled and yipped as he watched his Alpha die.
I took the opportunity to change forms, feeling more comfortable in my fur than standing naked in the forest. Watching Zoey make a bloody mess of Dylan, I knew that he had certainly done to her what he’d just tried to do to me. She deserved this vengeance.
I didn’t want to watch it though. It reminded me too much of watching her kill her father. The first man I’d ever loved. And hated.
Shaz’ arrival was a welcome relief. With his watchful eyes on Zoey and her kill, he came to me. If he knew what he’d just missed, he’d be sorry he didn’t get to kill Dylan himself.
I nuzzled Shaz lovingly before drawing his attention to the wolf freaking out inside my circle. Trotting over to it, I broke the circle with a simple touch. The brown wolf stared in horror at the three of us. I was braced for an attack. He turned tail and fled, kicking up snow as he went.
Shaz was after him like a bat out of hell. Letting him get away wasn’t an option. His pack needed to know what a mistake it was to take us on. If he made it back to them, who knew what move they’d make next? Though, I figured the death of their Alpha might be enough to keep them away.
I wasn’t sure if I should go after the brown wolf with Shaz or stay. Zoey lifted a muzzle covered in Dylan’s blood, and I tensed. If she came for me…
Our eyes met, and time seemed to stop. I searched her enchanting blue eyes, looking for something more than the predator staring back at me. She’d been in wolf form for several months. It was entirely plausible that she may have lost whatever humanity she’d had left. Then I saw it, the spark of human that glinted from deep inside her.
The recognition in her gaze held no menace. I wasn’t sure how to approach her.
Should I shift to human and try to talk to her? I felt pressured to communicate with her somehow.
Before I could decide, Zoey gave me one last lingering look and turned away to disappear into the night. I made no effort to go after her. Instinct told me to let her go, but compassion told me that I had to do something. I started to wonder, with all of the power Arys and I had, would it be possible to get Zoey Roberts back into her human body?
Chapter Fifteen
“I’m sorry, Alexa. I simply don’t have that kind of power.”