Wolf's Pack (Wolves Next Door #3) - Auryn Hadley Page 0,184

drag her out of sight. "Couldn't even have died as a wolf. Not even as a woman. Gonna have to burn you now."

And then, only when there was nothing left to scare my little bunny, would I go back, because now I knew she was safe.

CHAPTER 56

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Damon bolted, and my eyes jumped to my Alpha. The permission was barely out of Ian's mouth before I was going. Unfortunately, those few seconds was more of a lead than I wanted to admit. Even worse, Damon chose the best side of the community, running up the street that led straight to the trail area.

I caught him before the first cross street. My teeth closed on the hair across his lower back. He tried to jerk away, but all he accomplished was sending the both of us tumbling across the street. I went with it, knocked a few paces away, but that made it easier to get back up without that Damon's mass slamming into me.

But he just ran again, barking out for help. And he kept barking, wasting his breath - or so I thought until a trio of wolves rushed me from the side. Converts, all of them, and untrained ones at that. The last one tripped on his own paws trying to make the transition from the curb to the street. The first two, however, were a little more of a threat.

I grabbed one and slung him away. Surprisingly, the wolf didn't know how to stop me. The other grabbed my hip, but from the side, so his teeth didn't sink in. I skittered away, then came back hard. A bite to his muzzle, a yank to his ear, then a puncture to his upper leg was enough to make him back the fuck off.

I turned to the one still on the ground but he - no, she - submitted. Damn, but I still felt bad about hitting women, so I left them both, taking off to catch up with Damon again. Thankfully, they didn't follow.

That was the downside of not being natural-born. If we converts tried hard enough, we could learn how to do most things, but there was a very big line between nature and nurture. I'd been raised not to use my strength against women. These ladies, however, were just as strong as the men, sometimes moreso. Ashley was just one example. Kim was another. Then there was Gabby, and while she was a convert, I was going with the theory that being a kid when she turned made it easier.

But right now, that was the least of my problems. Damon knew where our trails were, and he was rushing there fast. His barks had been heard - clearly his voice was recognized by his own pack - and about a block ahead of me, he was starting to pick up a few stragglers. Damon was running hard, and while I was still gaining on him, he was going to make it into the trees before me.

After that, finding the asshole would be a lot harder, so I stretched. I didn't care about the burning in my lungs or the blur of the world around me. I wanted that man. I owed him for what he'd done to me. Yes, I loved being a wolf, but I hadn't been the idiot who'd needed the lesson about consent! He'd taken my human life from me without permission, and I intended to get my pound of flesh back in return. For the scar on my leg, if nothing else.

Because I wouldn't trade all the shit I went through if it meant I had to give up Elena. I loved my mate with a passion I'd never expected. Ian and the guys had become more of a family than my own had ever been. Henry, his family, and the entire pack were like a dream come true to me - but that hadn't been what Damon intended. He'd wanted to take my life, and I'd made myself strong enough to show him what a big mistake that had been.

To my right, I could hear barking, howling, and the yelps of injured wolves. A roar made it clear our tigers were over there somewhere too, and probably the cause of the yelps. Elena should be safe at the clinic. The bears? Hopefully they were with her. That meant I was about to do one hell of a dumbfuck move. I was going to follow Damon and a group of