Link stood over her, hackles raised, making him look even bigger. She’d never seen him next to another wolf, but as she laid here, frozen and gasping for breath, she realized what a beast her mate was. He was bigger than every one of them, almost twice the size of some. In shock, she turned her face and met the empty gaze of the dead alpha. His fur wasn’t white anymore. It was red.
Link let off a low growl to command the attention of the wolves who were looking at the dead alpha with half-crazed, brightly-colored eyes in every hue. Link took a step toward the closest one, but it held its ground. Link took another step, and when the wolf didn’t give, he hit him so fast he blurred, and after a volley of brutality, Link tossed another limp body aside and leveled his white gaze on the next closest wolf. This one hunched down and made whining sounds deep in its throat as Link approached. It wagged its tail slightly against the snow as Link stood over him, head high, ears erect, eyes on the others.
As Nicole sat up, clutching her arm to her chest to ease the searing pain, silence descended upon the woods.
Link let out a soft woof, and the wolves backed away. One by one, they slunk off into the woods until she and Link were alone.
Nicole heaved breath as the realization of what had just occurred here slammed down on her.
Vera had told her to keep Link away from the McCalls.
And now he was their damned alpha.
Chapter Fifteen
“Are you still with me?” Nicole asked softly as Link wrapped the last layer of gauze around her bitten arm. He’d used most of the first-aid kit on her, and it still wasn’t enough to fix the damage that had been done. She needed stitches. Lots of them. If she didn’t take her mind off her ruined arm, she was going to pass out.
The growl was constant in Link’s throat, and his eyes were still the same demon-bright color they had been when he’d taken the McCall pack. He didn’t answer her, which was answer enough.
“I have to get you to Vera,” he gritted out in an inhuman, gravelly voice.
“Link—”
“I can feel them. Feel it. Dark. Darkness so thick I can’t breathe. I’m not with you, Nicole.” He lifted his terrifying gaze to hers. “But I will be.”
There was promise in his tone, so she nodded and scooted back to give him room to sit on the snow machine in front of her. Their supplies had been hastily wadded up and thrown on top of the bags of caribou meat, then tied down in a hurry, but at least they wouldn’t have to come back out here for it. These woods were haunted now.
She dragged her sad gaze over the wolves she’d killed that lay scattered around the camp and beyond. “I killed men.” Her voice came out ragged and shaky.
“Those assholes weren’t men. They were monsters. You did the world a favor.”
Link jammed the throttle and didn’t say another word as he drove them back through the mountain passes, down Buck’s trap line, and toward the Silvers’ land.
Her arm hurt like hell to use, so she kept it tucked between her stomach and Link’s tense back and held on with all her might with her other hand as the snow-covered evergreen woods blurred by.
He didn’t say a word as he cut the engine in front of Vera’s cabin. He just picked her up and ran with her up the porch stairs, shoved the door open, and yelled, “Vera!”
“What is it?” Vera asked, rushing in from the other room, her chestnut curls blowing behind her. “Fuck, Link!” she yelled, skidding to a stop. She looked from him to Nicole and back. “Why do you smell like that?”
“Nicole’s hurt.” His voice couldn’t pass for human at all anymore.
“Link set her down. I can’t come any closer. Send her to me. You feel… My fox won’t let me near you.”
Nicole scrambled from his arms and shrugged numbly out of her jacket, then shoved her warm layers up her arm to expose the bandages. Vera was growling now, too, as she unwrapped the bloody gauze, and when she got the first glimpse of the torn skin, Vera whispered, “Shit. Is this what I think it is?”
Nicole swallowed audibly and nodded. “The McCalls came for me when Link was looking for firewood.”
Vera jerked her attention to Link. She scented the air, and a wave of disbelief washed over her face. Even Nicole could feel it now. Link was different. He was filling the air with something heavy that made her nauseous.
“You didn’t.” Vera dropped Nicole’s arm and strode for the radio on the wall. She jammed the button and said, “Elyse, are you there? Please tell me you are there. Elyse!”
“Yes, I’m here. Damn, woman, you barely gave me any time to respond to—”
“Nicole’s hurt. The McCalls came after her, and now Link feels like a fucking alpha. Family meeting now, and please bring your sutures. Your stitches are better than mine.”
There was a single beat of silence, then, “We’re on our way.”
Vera slammed the handset back into its sling and rounded on Link. “You stay there. I can’t work on her with you at my back growling like that. I’ll take care of your mate, but you have to give me room.”