Wolf's Hunger (Mafia Monsters #5) - Atlas Rose Page 0,61
filled the air. My heart thundered, ready for the pain. But instead of my agony, the shrill sound of another’s came. Sickening, savage sounds forced me to open my eyes. There wasn’t one beast…there was two.
My heart pounded as I stumbled backwards. In the murky glare I saw him…the deep amber of my Wolf. A cry tore free, thick and choking. “Vitold?”
He thrashed his head side to side, driving the other beast backwards with sheer force, his jaws clamped around the bastard’s throat…until he ripped it free with a sickening squelch.
Blood spurted from the beast underneath him. He opened those massive jaws and dropped the glistening chunk of bloody fur to the ground before swinging that terrifying gaze to his next quarry.
My heart boomed in my ears, the sound deafening. It was all I could hear…all I could feel. But my Wolf was all I could see. Vitold stepped over the twitching body of the Wolf and stalked forward, hunting like nothing I’d ever seen before. This wasn’t stalking…wasn’t just warning. This was an outright bloodbath. One my Russian knew well indeed.
I jerked my gaze to the two others, who flanked him on each side.
No…my heart squeezed. I took a step closer, fingers curled into fists, before Vitold swung that piercing gaze my way, lips furled as he gave a soft snarl. The command was unmistakable…No.
My fists stayed tight and strained, then slowly released. Only then did my Wolf swing that dangerous gaze to his left, finding the remaining two Wolves who closed in from his sides.
But he never let them behind him…and not anywhere near me. Instead, he strode forward, moving with that sleek, prowling gait of a predator—and he was all beast in that moment. A beast among beasts.
One glance from the third Wolf toward me, then he followed my Wolf.
You want the Alpha, you crave the second. Arran is comforting for you. But you will come to ache for me, as well…Vitold’s words filled me as the two Wolves closed in, coming for him all at once. But he never turned until he was nearer the other side.
He was drawing them away from me, giving me the chance to run…and survive. Tears welled in my eyes. This wasn’t just a battle. This was him ensuring my survival.
My throat thickened as that hit home.
My protector wouldn’t just fight…he’d sacrifice, as well. The gray Wolf lunged, eyes glistening in the night, white teeth ready to draw blood. But as my Wolf swung to meet the attack head-on, the other Wolf sprang. In a blur of savagery, he landed on Vitold’s back and sank his fangs in deep.
A howl of pain cleaved through the air, one that stopped my heart.
“NO!” I screamed and lunged. “NO…NO…NO…NOOOO!”
Blood and fangs were all I saw as they both attacked with blinding fury. Vitold fought, biting and clawing, using his sheer strength to drive them backwards toward the other side of the park…and further from me.
Tears blurred my vision. My fists trembled, clenched tight at my sides. Part of me wanted to turn and run…and another part of me wanted to lunge headlong onto the bite of the beast. He buckled as the gray Wolf sank his teeth into the back of his neck again. The soft thud was a sledgehammer to my chest. Bloodied and limping, he pushed himself to stand, onto to wheel to face the next attack. He lunged, keeping one bloodied and mangled paw off the ground, and hit the brown Wolf head-on with a terrifying crack!
Both Wolves tumbled, hitting the ground hard, and didn’t move. Heat lashed my chest, burning all the way from my lungs to the back of my throat. I let out a pent-up breath and jerked my gaze toward movement as the gray Wolf limped forward, circling the two silent beasts.
Warm slipped down my cheeks. I never brushed away the tears. Never even lifted my hand from my side. All I could see was the blood-matted dark amber fur of my protector, fur that didn’t rise and fall with slow, even breaths…fur that now didn’t move at all.
The gray Wolf limped toward my silent protector, head low…lips curled. His intent was clear. The movement shattered the unseen bonds around me, tearing me from that frozen state. I stumbled forward, my knees knocking. “No…no, you fucking don’t.”
A faint whimper drifted through the air, The sound so quiet I almost missed it, so focused was I on the gray Wolf advancing toward my Vitold…until the sound came again.