This Dark Wolf (Soul Bitten Shifter #1) - Everly Frost Page 0,6
only makes the light of his silhouette grow stronger and sharper.
His pupils remain dilated. He continues to focus on my left shoulder and my exposed skin. His jaw shifts and his teeth sharpen to points. My eyes widen with shock when he grips my face with one hand and my shoulder with the other, a possessive move I’ve seen dominant wolves make with their mates.
He leans across my neck as if he’s going to nip me.
Holy damn.
He’s not trying to kill me or tear me apart.
He’s trying to mark me as his.
I shove Cody hard against his chest, my wolf’s strength flooding through me.
Nobody will ever own me.
The strength behind my push finally knocks him off me—so fast that he gains air. He lands with a heavy thud, blinking and shaking his head. He’s only down for a second before he leaps upright and charges back toward me.
I roll to my feet, growls growing in my throat, the sensation of energy filling my palms and chest. I retain my human form by choice right now, but my wolf’s power flows strong inside me.
Blood drips down my shoulder from the claw wounds he gave me, but the pain is a distant ache now that my wolf’s energy has taken over. My hair has come completely loose, falling all of the way to my waist, static making the strands cling to my shape.
Cody launches himself at me.
His right fist knocks into my shoulder, his left swinging toward my face, trying to force me down again, but I twist and absorb each blow.
I retaliate with a punch to his face that sends him sprawling on the grass. I could run, but I have to end this, knock each of the men out so I have a head start and a chance to get away. Already, I’m plotting my course down the other side of the mountain away from the main village.
My boot connects with Cody’s side—a hard kick against his ribs as he tries to roll away—before I stomp again, this time at his face.
My foot cracks across his cheek.
“You want to mark me, asshole?” I scream. “Take this and be damned.”
Right as I stomp my boot again, preparing to break Cody’s jaw, rough hands rip me away from him. I inhale Dawson’s musky scent a second before his fist knocks into the side of my face, but my wolf’s strength is like armor, preventing concussion.
I spin, drop, and sweep his feet out from under him.
Cameron throws himself at me from the other side, but my hand darts up, wrapping around his neck and squeezing as I use my upward momentum to hurl him backward, flinging him across the clearing. He hits the splitting block and slumps to the ground, unconscious.
I turn back to Dawson just in time to discover he’s picked up my axe. I dodge the downward cut he aims at my chest and dart to the side. Shoving both of my hands against his ribs, I knock him to the ground.
Kicking the axe out of his reach as he tries to catch his breath, I drop onto his chest, wrench off my gloves, and wrap my hands around his throat, squeezing tightly. He struggles to free himself, thrashing beneath me and thumping his fists against my sides and chest.
I take the blows without wincing.
I will be bruised. Badly. I’m not immune to damage right now. But my wolf’s energy protects me from the pain temporarily.
“How about I break your bones, little brother?” I ask, memories of the thousand times he’s hurt me rushing through my mind.
Dawson’s blue eyes grow wide. He struggles harder. His friends can’t help him now. Cameron is unconscious and Cody groans in the dirt a few paces away, clutching his bleeding face. If my scent was controlling his actions before, I’m sure his current pain has driven all thoughts of marking me from his mind.
Dawson’s fingernails extend into claws that rake at my clothing, shredding the side of my shirt as he tries to free himself from my grip around his neck. His vocal chords vibrate beneath my hands when he tries to shout, but I squeeze harder, cutting off his sound.
Strength flows through my arms, my vision flickering sapphire again as my wolf’s energy courses through me in a new burst. Battle rage is hot inside me, volcanic enough that I don’t think about what I’m doing.
“Tessa!” My father’s shout breaks through my rage. “No!”