but shit, a girl had needs!
Assuming that was where Austin had gone too, I shifted, and rather than try to find him, I sniffed him out—in this form, his scent was like a neon light. I knew exactly where he was now, and it was just beyond the pond. The water marred his essence some, but I could hear he was doing something.
To a tree, I thought.
Concerned he was defacing one, even though it made no sense for him to do that, I hurried about my business and began to sprint toward him.
I heard the snarl before I saw them, and it had me wondering how on Earth I’d failed to discern that I wasn’t alone.
I froze in the middle of a clearing, totally open and exposed, totally unable to defend myself in this form because I’d never had to fight, was literally a puppy in comparison to a grown wolf, and that noise?
From a wolf.
From the scent? Pungent and strong, rich with earth tones.
A natural one. Not a shifter who, beneath it all, had the faint smell of soap. These creatures had never seen a bar of soap in their lives.
When I froze, the snarl turned into a growl, long and low. It sent fear into my heart, and made my fur stand on edge.
I wanted to shift back to call on Austin for help, but I was frozen. Frozen to the point where I couldn’t even howl.
I didn’t even have the ability to whimper or mewl. And mentally? I could feel the block between us. I had no idea where it had come from or why, but whatever the wolf did to me, it was like he’d thrown water on me, then turned me to ice.
I’d never felt anything like it before.
In my own way, I was scrappy.
The only reason I’d run and hadn’t fought my father when I was a girl was because I was like a wounded bear in the aftermath of a hunter’s attack.
Here, now, I felt sure I was stronger. Hadn’t I told Austin that I’d take on my father in this form if he came after me now?
What the hell was wrong with me?
Why couldn’t I move?
As irritated as I was, I almost pissed myself when I felt the wolf approach me.
Only this time, I heard them.
It wasn’t just him, it was them. All male, all alpha. I sensed that like I sensed that they were natural. I also discerned they were big. Their padding noises were heavy, indicating a large weight, and that just—
Fuck.
Why would I hold any interest to them?
I was a shifter.
When one of them sniffed my butt, that had me instantly defrosting.
I was not about to be fucking mounted by a goddamn wolf!
Whipping around so fast I knew I surprised them, I snarled at them, my head dropping to the ground, fangs bared as I declared my outrage at their behavior.
They weren’t cowed, not by any means. And Kali Sara help me, there were eight of them.
Eight big bastards who were so much larger than me.
Terror filled me at what their intent might be, and then, when I feared I might die, or be wolf raped if that was even a thing, he was there.
I heard him, his pounding gait, his swift run. He was racing toward me, flat out, and I felt his energy in the air.
God, it made me want to sing.
But the naturals? They took my relief as a weakness. The leader, the nastiest with scars on his face, his thick silver fur looking charred at the ends with how black it was, his eyes a watery green that were loaded with hunger, went to pounce.
I flinched, waiting on his attack, but before I could, Austin sailed into the clearing.
He wasn’t there one minute, and the next, he was.
The naturals were smaller than him, and I only just registered how big he was, but there were eight of them and only one Austin. I was useless in this situation, like an ice sculpture, but I wanted to help, even though I knew, more than likely, if I did, I’d only get in the way.
So I watched on in horror as Austin took them all on at once.
I’d never seen anything like it outside of a documentary, and even then, I’d changed the channel because I didn’t want to watch wolves tear each other to shreds.
My God, that was what they did too.
This was unlike Ethan’s challenge. Nor was there any of that choreographed shit like you