Nikolai's Wolf (2 page)

Besides, MacDougal was old-fashioned and dominant as hell. With her petite build and small stature, he was sure to try to intimidate her, just like her father had her mother. The first time he tried to forcefully bend her to his will, she’d kill him. There was no way he would be her mate.

Caleb, she actually liked. He was a good man and a strong wolf, not to mention extremely attractive with his dark skin, lean, muscular build, and long, carefully maintained dreadlocks. He would have been a consideration, except he didn’t move her. The thought of mating with him left the woman in her cold. There was no spark of attraction, no passion, nothing. She didn’t want to fight him and risk damaging their friendship, but she would if necessary. This was her life they were messing with. She couldn’t afford to throw away her future because her soft nature got in the way. There was no choice. No matter which man won, she would face off with the winner.

She sat back on her haunches and rested. She studied them as they trod into the clearing. Rory was the massive red wolf with a large barrel chest. In wolf form, he was the Nikolai’s Wolf

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size of a small pony. As a man, he was short, standing only five-nine, but stocky, thick with muscle.

Michael was equally large. His fur was a dull grayish black that reminded her of mud.

She’d seen him fight before and knew he used sheer brute strength in combat. Caleb was the smaller of the two suitors. His coat was the gray of a timber wolf, complete with all the traditional markings. Of the three, he was the only one who could pass as a regular wolf. He was also the most vicious. He never quit, and he didn’t give an inch. A fight between Michael and Caleb should be interesting. Maybe they’d kill each other and save her the trouble. On second thought, that’s probably why Rory was there -- to make sure no one died.

Instead of confronting each other as she expected, her brother and Caleb sat down on their haunches on the side of the clearing, out of the way. Michael approached with his head and tail high, his steps oozing confidence. The fool actually thought she’d submit. She crouched in challenge, ears straight, and growled. Something was wrong. This wasn’t the way things were done. Even her wolf knew and was angry.

Her brother’s words about acting like a bitch came back to mind. It was suddenly obvious. He had handpicked one of these men to be her mate. These were the two he had thrown at her most often. Tonight, he was hoping one of these men would leave the clearing victorious.

She looked at Rory and snarled again, low in her throat, expressing her displeasure.

Michael growled in return. She knew her refusal to simply drop and present herself for mounting would infuriate him. He would see it as a challenge to his manhood. They circled each other warily, watching to see what the other would do. She waited, knowing Michael would use his size to try to overpower her.

Suddenly, he sprang. Agile on her feet, she rolled out of the way. In the process, she caught him with a quick nip to his sensitive underbelly, drawing first blood. Spinning around, she crouched, already waiting when he landed and turned.

She’d surprised him. No one, with the exception of Rory, knew how well she could fight. MacDougal thought she’d be an easy victory. Now he was pissed. Although with his ego, he more than likely thought she got in a lucky blow.

He came at her again, using the same attack, confirming her low opinion of his cognitive ability. Wanting this over, she pulled every dirty trick her brother had ever taught her and defeated him quickly with only a few scratches to show for it.

Michael would have continued to fight, no doubt unable to believe that a woman defeated him, but her brother called him off. It was either stop as commanded or face the McFelan.

As MacDougal skulked away, Caleb entered the clearing. She felt like a wrestler being tag-teamed by her opponents.

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Caleb was closer to her size. He was also fast and could think on his feet, which was why he was Rory’s second. She watched Caleb closely, knowing he’d had time to sit and study her fighting techniques. She wouldn’t catch him off guard like she had Michael.

He stalked slowly into the clearing, giving her time to submit. When she didn’t turn and present herself, he growled, low and vicious. She’d hoped when he realized she wasn’t interested that he would let it go. But for some unknown reason, he seemed to want her just as badly as MacDougal did.

She was tired, and Caleb was fresh. She couldn’t let him draw this thing out or her weariness would work against her. She took the initiative and charged. The only thing she had working for her right now was that he wasn’t trying to kill her. She wasn’t in a fight for her life, just her virtue. Of course, being mated to a man she didn’t want could be deemed as fighting for her life.

Caleb was ready for her and only sheer determination got her away from him without being pinned when his jaw locked around her throat. He was patient, toying with her, waiting her out. He knew time was on his side. He harassed her just enough to keep her on the move and from catching her breath. Sheer desperation gave her the strength she needed to defeat him, that and timely interference from her brother. Rory must have realized how determined she was not to submit, and called Caleb off.

As she stood there with her tongue hanging out and her sides heaving, Rory approached her. By this time she was ready to drop from pain and exhaustion as the adrenaline began to wear off. There were deep gouges in several places where she hadn’t moved quickly enough. Had Caleb actually been trying to kill her, no doubt she’d be dead.

She wanted to shift back and heal herself, but she refused to be naked in front of these two, especially after tonight.

She needed to close her eyes and rest, but that would have to wait until this entire fiasco was over. She couldn’t afford to show any weakness, not now. She waited uncertainly to see what would happen, for the rules as she knew them had seemingly been thrown out the proverbial window. She felt like she was playing a game where she was the only player who didn’t have a copy of the rule book. She’d always hated being left in the dark.

Rory was pissed. This was not going as planned. Shannon was too strong and stubborn for her own good. No shifter in the pack would have her now, not after she’d defeated two of their strongest males. She would never find a mate.

Look at her, bleeding and exhausted, but still proud.

When he came toward her, he did so as the McFelan. She should show him proper respect -- ears, tail, and head down -- especially in front of others. Though she knew how important it was to him to maintain a proper image, she stood there tall and proud, unconsciously issuing a silent challenge he couldn’t afford to ignore now that his men knew just how strong Shannon really was.

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The Sparrowhawks weren’t ready to deal with an alpha she-wolf. Their way of thinking was too backward. He was trying to bring them out of the dark ages, but it would take time. Time, thanks to Shannon, he no longer had.

For the well-being of the pack, he knew what he had to do. Rory attacked.

Though he’d caught her by surprise, she responded instinctively, just the way he’d taught her. Had this been a real dominance fight, he’d have shown no mercy, but this was about teaching his baby sister a lesson -- to show her alpha the proper respect.

As they circled each other, another plan came to his mind that was so genius in its simplicity, he didn’t know why he hadn’t thought of it before. Shannon needed a mate, one who was strong enough to tame her wolf, yet gentle enough to treat her with the love and respect she deserved. His wolves had already proven themselves too weak, but his was not the only pack in the area.

Just a few short miles away as the crow -- or bird shifter -- flew was another pack full of strong, unmated males, including Alex Wolfe, their alpha. The Ravens had twice as many unmated males as the Sparrowhawks, including some alphas.

He needed to get his sister to the Raven pack.

Concentrating on Shannon once more, he attacked with a controlled savagery. He knew just where to bite to inflict the most pain but the least amount of permanent physical damage, and he used that knowledge ruthlessly.

Shannon didn’t have much fight left. He lashed at her until her wolf took control, turned, and ran. With his betas at his back, he herded her east toward the Raven pack, nipping at her heels whenever she tried to retreat to the safety of their home.

He kept her fleeing until she reached the Raven pack’s territory. To ensure she stayed there, he took a chunk out of the tendon in one of her hind legs. By now, she was bleeding profusely. He ran her until she collapsed. Then he backed off, letting her think he’d gone away. She immediately dragged herself until she could go no farther.

When she was down, Rory sent his betas back to the gathering place. He let out a howl of triumph, one guaranteed to be heard, hoping Alex Wolfe came to investigate. Then he sat and watched her from a distance, protecting her from predators and any human seeking to do her harm.

Hearing a sound, he backed into the shadows. He was upwind so he had no fear of his presence being detected. He watched carefully as an unfamiliar male approached his sister.

Rory sniffed the air. The male smelled like a wolf-shifter and was moving slowly, so as not to alarm or startle her.

Once he was sure the shifter was there to help Shannon, he headed home. He would miss having his baby sister around, but it was for her own good. After tonight’s events, the council would have made her life a living hell. They were already saying she was unnaturally strong, and they hadn’t even seen the true extent of her power. By defeating two of the 8 Zena Wynn

highest-ranking males in the pack, she’d done the unforgivable. As the alpha-fem, her actions would set an undesirable precedent with the other females, one which the council, with their outdated ways, would not tolerate.

The Raven pack was run the way a pack should be. Their alpha was an honorable man and a strong wolf. Alex Wolfe was one of the few alphas Rory’s father had respected. If Shannon had to go to another pack, he couldn’t have picked a better alpha to entrust her to.

They would be good to her, or he would truly become his father’s son and kill them all.

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Chapter Two

The strong scent of shifter blood hit Nikolai Taranosky’s nostrils. Normally he kept to himself, but something about the smell called to him, and his beast rose in response. Giving in to impulse, he shape-shifted into a raven and went to investigate the source of that divine smell.

After circling the area, he found the injured shifter on the ridge overlooking the river.

He landed out of sight a few feet away and shifted back into his natural form. Before stepping into the clearing and revealing himself, he disguised his appearance and scent to that of a shifter from the Raven pack, just in case any of the wolf’s brethren were close.

Nikolai approached carefully. Though it appeared to be half-dead, he knew appearances could be deceiving. As he drew closer, he tried scanning the creature’s mind but was blocked. This shifter was strong and possessed a natural barrier, making it difficult for him to connect with it, even in wolf form.

When he was close enough to touch it, he slowly lowered to the ground to see how badly it was injured. At its most vulnerable, the wolf launched at him, aiming for his throat.

Nikolai was caught off guard. He reflexively threw up an arm to protect his face.

The enraged wolf locked down on his arm, its bite savage as it attempted to snap the bone in two. He sensed the moment the wolf swallowed some of his blood. The protective barrier vanished. Nikolai instantly seized control.

“Be at peace. Sleep.” He buried every ounce of compulsion he could within the commands.

The wolf immediately lost consciousness. Nikolai gently pried its mouth open and removed his arm, examining it to see the extent of the damage. It was nasty looking and painful, but the wound would heal quickly.

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He turned his attention to the sleeping wolf, their minds still firmly linked. The she-wolf bled profusely from several wounds, which appeared to be fairly recent. She should be healing or at least shape-shifting back into her normal state to speed the process. That she hadn’t revealed the seriousness of her condition.

Knowing he couldn’t just leave her, Nikolai picked her up and flew with her to the one place where he knew she would receive the medical attention she needed. Alex Wolfe lived nearby. Not only was Alex the Raven pack’s alpha, he was the doctor all local shape-shifters used. Nikolai wouldn’t say that they were friends. They shared the natural wariness of two predators residing within the same territory. They each recognized the other’s power and had no desire to test to see which one of them was stronger.

He landed in the yard and walked slowly, in a nonthreatening manner, to the door.

From the looks of things, Alex was entertaining. No telling how many shifters were inside.

They should be alerted to his presence any minute now.

He was surprised when he made it as far as the porch without being noticed. The smell of blood was overpowering. Both he and the she-wolf were covered in it. Though her bleeding seemed to be lessening, it hadn’t completely stopped. He walked up onto the porch and called out, “Alex, it’s Nikolai. Open up.” The door opened immediately. With one all-encompassing glance, Alex took in the sight of Nikolai and the bloody, wounded wolf in his arms. “Please enter, Nikolai.” Pushing the door open with his shoulder, Nikolai strode past Alex. He barely acknowledged the other people in the room. “I found her down by the ridge. She must have been attacked. She’s lost a lot of blood.”

“Place her over here. Carol, go get my supplies while I take a look at her.” Sweeping the throw off the back of the couch, Alex laid it on the floor in front of the fireplace.

“You say you found her out by the ridge?” The question came from the other male wolf.