Heat Race - Tanya Chris Page 0,10

too as his heat pulled what was left of their non-human ancestry out of him—but Elias had to ask himself whether Jack Henry needed him or just relief.

“Would I be enough for you? I was afraid you thought…”

“I want you,” Jack Henry insisted.

“But more than me, you want…” One of the alphas fighting below them.

The grunts and groans rending the air told Elias their shared animal heritage was rising in all of them. He felt it—his alpha surging through his skin. This was Jack Henry’s last chance to tell him no.

“I don’t know what I want,” Jack Henry said as he squirmed even closer, though they were already too close for Elias’s frayed nerves to bear. “I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know. I need…”

“Saul? Jasper? Me?”

“Yes.”

JASPER

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The big guy on the ground was Saul, Jasper’s strongest competition but not as much of a threat to Jack Henry as Lon. Saul appeared to have the situation in hand. No reason for him to step in yet. Once one of these alphas had been eliminated, he would deal with the other. Civilly, if it was Saul. Less so, if it was Lon.

Saul pried Lon off him, tossing him to the side where he landed with a painful crash. Lon staggered to his feet as Saul approached. Saul would finish him now. But as Saul moved forward, a flash of light caught Jasper’s eye. Lon had pulled a knife, and the blade gleamed wickedly sharp in the moonlight.

They weren’t allowed to use weapons during a heat race, not beyond whatever claws or fangs they could summon from the vestigial traces of their inner wolves. Which was why Jasper was confident he could beat any competitor he faced, even if he had to face them two at a time. He was an uber-alpha—a throwback who carried a full wolf inside him—which meant his teeth and claws were longer, sharper, and far more deadly than anyone else’s. Deadlier even than that knife Lon was flashing around.

Saul stopped when he caught sight of the weapon. He raised his hands and said something about the rules, which only made Lon laugh. It was Lon who advanced now. Saul retreated, walking backward in such a way as to keep his body between Lon and trunk of the big elm, until he stumbled over a gnarled root and went down.

Lon was on him in an instant, the knife raised to strike a blow Jasper felt sure would be fatal. Jasper only had a moment to decide whether or not to interfere. He could be up in the tree claiming Jack Henry before Lon finished dispatching Saul. Hell, Elias might be up there claiming Jack Henry right now. Stepping in to save Saul might mean missing his own chance. Nevertheless, he needed to do it. Even if Elias had already claimed Jack Henry, that didn’t change the equation. Jasper had an omega to protect, whether the omega turned out to be his or not.

“Hey.” His shout, coming as Lon plunged the knife downward, distracted Lon enough that he missed his target. The knife caught the flesh of Saul’s upper arm instead of going straight though his chest. Lon pulled the blade back and turned to face Jasper with it.

“Jack Henry’s not your omega,” Jasper told him as he closed the distance between them.

“Whose omega is he then? His?” Lon pointed at Saul who’d pushed himself up on a shaky elbow, still determined to fight. Lon pulled a leg back to kick him, and Jasper used the opportunity to spring. He caught Lon on one foot and sent him sprawling to the ground.

“Jack Henry is mine.” Wasn’t anyone else standing, as far he could see. “So run along.”

“Like fuck.” Lon popped up, waving the knife with a carelessness that suggested he had no idea how to use it. He ran at Jasper, holding it in front of him like a spear. Jasper ducked and threw his body under Lon’s to send Lon hurtling over him. Lon crashed clumsily into the underbrush.

“He doesn’t want you,” Jasper told him.

“You think he wants you?” Lon returned as he extricated himself from his thorny bed. He circled around, more careful with his approach this time. “What have you got that he wants so much?”

Not to brag, but…

“All of it. I’m smart, I’m hot, I’m tough, I know how to treat an omega, and I’ve got these.” He popped all ten claws so Lon would understand what he was dealing with. “You’re just a