This Dark Wolf (Soul Bitten Shifter #1) - Everly Frost Page 0,7
the alphas.
My heart sinks as five men and a woman race from the forest into the clearing, followed by their betas. They pull up sharply at the edge of the forest. Every one of them is taller than the average shifter. The men are chiseled, their bare chests tattooed. The woman is dressed in a black leather bodice and tight ebony pants, her blond ponytail drawn high and tight.
The power pouring off them floods my heightened senses, washing across my vision. Despite their strength, none of them matches the cobalt flame of Cody’s form that remains bright even while he groans on the grass several paces away.
His focus remains on me despite the pain he must be in. A determined intensity fills his expression. His gaze unsettles me, but I can’t worry about him right now.
I have bigger problems.
I’ve never met any of the seven alphas other than Dawson’s father, Peter Nash, but there’s no doubt in my mind I’m looking at them now.
Except… where is the seventh?
The absent alpha isn’t my largest concern.
The other alphas won’t miss the fact that three alphas-in-training lie wounded or unconscious around the clearing. It’s not as if I can hide the fact that I’m squeezing my half-brother’s throat, or that I must be responsible for defeating all three of them—despite the fact that I’m supposed to be weak.
My father’s fear punches me like a fist as his gaze darts from me to the alphas. “Tessa!”
Dad launches into a sprint toward me, but Dawson’s father is faster. Peter Nash races across from the side, cutting Dad off with a punch to his face, forcing my father to veer off course.
My father is strong, as big as any other alpha. His dark brown hair is shaved close to his head—the best haircut I could give him with clippers. The tattoo of his wolf looks outward from his shoulder and chest, one half of its face realistic, while the other half blazes with flames.
Forced aside by his alpha, my father retreats to the side of the clearing, the color bleaching from his cheeks.
He has no power here. He lost everything the day after I was born when Peter Nash accused him of weakness for not killing me at birth. On that day, Peter Nash fought and defeated my father, forcing Dad to retreat to the mountain with me. My mother chose to reject both of us and become Peter’s mate.
My father has spent every day since then trying to protect me from this moment.
Now, if he wants to stay alive, he must remain completely silent and not interfere.
“Nobody goes near that bitch!” Peter Nash roars, pointing at me. His brown hair is cut short, but not by necessity. Apparently, he prefers it that way. His neck and chest are thick, the muscles across his shoulders bulging. His biceps and thighs are just as solid. He always reminded me more of a bulldog than a wolf. The tattoo across his left shoulder depicts the skull of a wolf’s snarling head, a promise of death to anyone who dares to challenge him. He has worked hard to try to build a reputation as ruthless as Tristan Masters and Baxter Griffin.
Compared to him, I’m like a blade of grass trying to stand in a storm.
He could cave in my skull with a single hit.
I jump to my feet, releasing Dawson, who rolls to the side with a groan. His voice is raspy, his vocal chords damaged, but he manages to laugh, a scratchy sound as he wobbles to his feet. “You’re maggot food now, Tessa.”
Two of the betas break off from the edge of the clearing, running to Cameron and Cody and dragging them away. Cody struggles against them, his gaze darting from Peter Nash to me. Whatever concussion I gave Cody, it appears to be clearing.
At the same time, Peter Nash hooks a finger at Dawson, sharply indicating that his son should get the hell away from me. My half-brother doesn’t hang around, racing after Cody and Cameron to the edge of the clearing.
One of the alphas strides away from the others when the betas drop Cody to the grass. This alpha has the same sandy blond hair as Cody and Cameron, but he’s weathered, older. I can only assume he’s Cody’s father—the notorious Baxter Griffin.
Baxter grabs Cody’s shoulders and shakes him roughly before he points at me. My sensitive hearing picks up the derision in his speech. “That freak bitch beat you? You’re a fucking disappointment.”