Page 111 of Wild Mate
“Sienna already has.” Callum raises an eyebrow. “Are you calling our mate insane?”
“That wasonetime?—”
“Of many, I assure you.”
My body heats at the reminder of our...activities. I shift my weight and feel the evidence slicking my thighs. “What if I mate with both of you?” I chew my bottom lip as I think aloud. “Then I can heal Revyn, and Callum can heal me if anything bad happens. My bond with Alistair will break once I’m bound to another, right? So it’s a win-win. Everyone gets what they want.”
I avoid Revyn’s piercing stare and look out the window. My eyes prick with tears despite me having come up with the perfect solution. Revyn finally gets me as his mate, he and Callum can stop fighting over me, and Alistair will find peace.
“You won’t have a pack,” Callum murmurs, gently brushing his fingertips along the back of my arm. “But I can give you a home, Sienna. We’ll have family that extends generations into the pastandfuture. Vampires don’t say goodbye to our loved ones.”
“That sounds nice,” I gasp, unable to keep the tiniest sob at bay. Fuck. Why can’t I be happy? This is the best solution for all of us. I can make it work. It’s not like having a pack will magically make my life better. I’ll still have to navigate shifter politics and rivalries and whatever tasks my alpha assigns. It’s not like pack life would be perfect.
So why can’t my heart let it go?
Revyn takes my hand and leads me onto the balcony, the flames kissing my palm kindly skirting around his fingers. “One thing at a time, baby. If you want to sever your connection with Alistair, that’s what we’ll do.” His gaze roams my body briefly. “Can you shift?”
I nod.
“The vampire can follow,” he grunts, backing up to the railing. The drop to the ground looms just beyond, and my heart pounds in anticipation of a run. I haven’t gone running in wolf form inages.
Taking the lead, I propel myself over the edge and shift in midair, landing on the snow with four paws and fiery red fur. Without waiting for the boys, I pick up Alistair’s scent and break into a run, sensing his agitation, his sorrow, and his anger all at once.
A wolf’s howl echoes down from the mountain, resonating with the deepest parts of me.
Alistair knows that I’m coming.
My resolve wavers as a fresh wave of heartache ripples across our bond, the connection a mere fraction of what it was a few days prior. Until it’s severed, we’ll continue experiencing each other’s emotions and prolonging our pain.
Despite the knot of worry in my gut, I know that I’m making the right decision. Alistair and I were thrown together by the whims of the gods, not of our own volition. We’re trapped in aweb of suffering that others have woven, and the only way we break free is by cutting the tether binding us together.
He’s already tried to reject our bond once; now it’s my responsibility to see it through.
The relief I feel as I close the distance between us is painfully short-lived. The moment I reach the mountain path, Alistair’s scent changes, turning sour with regret. I slow my gait and scan the area for him. He’s close. I can sense him nearby, but our connection wavers, making it difficult to pinpoint his location.
Closing my eyes, I focus on our connection and wait for the gentle tug inside my chest to lead me to him . . . but a wave of fury crashes through the trees and knocks me over.
Revyn’s warning howl comes a moment too late.
Something lunges at me from the woods and tears its claws through my flesh. Flames engulf my body as survival instinct takes over, only for them to sputter out as soon as someone stomps on my rib cage. The bones crack and splinter, piercing my lungs. White hot agony rips through me, and I cough blood onto the snow.
Callum shouts for me tomove.
But as I gaze up at my attacker, panic races through my veins.
I’m no match for an Alpha.
Glowing eyes filled with malice, Thaddeus Dire stalks toward me, his wolfish features overtaking human ones. Fangs sharp as knives. Thick claws dripping with blood. A beast’s snarl rumbling in his chest.
The scent of decay seeping from his pores.
Movement in my peripheral catches my attention, and I watch in horror as Revyn charges. He snaps his jaw around Thaddeus’s shoulder, aiming for his neck and missing by mere inches. Grabbing Revyn by the scruff, Alpha Dire tears him off and tosses him aside, the sickening crack of my lover’s body hitting a massive oak tree making me flinch. Callum is next,his eyes turning pitch black as he reaches for the depths of his power.
In the split second that Thaddeus’s mind is thrown into one of Callum’s illusions, I run for him, my heart pounding as I sink my teeth into his flesh. Rancid blood hits my tongue, but I don’t dare let go, using every ounce of my strength to rip his forearm from his body.
He shouts, the pain of losing a limb breaking his trance, and wraps his remaining hand around my neck. The grin splitting his face is as wild as his eyes, a sight that so closely resembles Revyn’s in a fight that I scream, my wolven vocal cords straining to make the sound. A pathetic whimper catches in my throat as he squeezes his fist, cutting off my airway and lifting me into the air.
The bone-chilling crackle of his voice mixing with a scent so similar to Alistair’s becomes a nightmare I’ll never forget.
“Hybrid bitch,” he growls, spitting in my face. “Rot in the hells with your disgrace of a pack, you fucking wild whore.” He crushes my neck in his fist, and my heart catches fire. An inferno erupts from my body, burning so hot that it scorches the earth. Alpha Dire’s malicious grin melts away, his flesh feeding the fire as his bones turn to embers.
As I fall to my knees, Thaddeus’s ashes hover around us, his scent lingering but his final words echoing across the mountain. I snap my head up just in time to witness Alistair rushing toward me, the fury in his eyes matching his father’s.
I killed a pack Alpha...and I’m going to die for it.
