Wolf's Pack (Wolves Next Door #3) - Auryn Hadley Page 0,185

his wolves into what was basically an ambush.

Yet the moment they reached the open area before the nature trails, something small and dark rushed in from the side. A wolf yipped in surprise and jumped to get away from it. Next was a red and black streak. Then a coppery-colored one. It took me a moment to figure out my backup, and then I caught a flash of white.

Foxes!

Those were the girls. I didn't even know who was who, but I knew that a wolf could crush one with a single bite - and those were my packmates! Snarling, I crashed into the closest wolf, sending him tumbling beneath me. A jump got me out of the way but put me in the path of another. The four wolves - three plus Damon - turned to me with their lips raised, and I matched them. Two against one I could do. Three against one was possible, since one of these guys was a convert. But when that one I'd barreled into staggered back to his feet, I knew this was going to be bad.

But I wasn't alone. The sound that came from beside me made us all flinch. It sounded like a cross between some wild monkey and a woman screaming. My head turned that way to see all three vixens standing side by side. The melanistic one with the black and red fur had her lips curled in a foxy snarl. That had to be Zaria. Beside her, the black one was definitely Ridley. That meant the traditionally orange one had to be Sheridan, and her little tail was wagging behind her like a taunt.

Damon turned, letting out a peal of barks to scare them off, but he didn't know these girls at all. Immediately, they rushed in, so I joined them. Sheridan bit at a wolf's belly, never stopping to give him the chance to catch her. Ridley grabbed a tail and yanked as hard as her little body would allow, distracting another. Zaria went for the face of a third, screaming in the way that only foxes could.

I charged right at Damon, but he was ready for me. The guy was quite a bit bigger than me, so when my shoulder slammed into his, I was the one staggering. And then his teeth were snapping at my neck. I felt the burn of the first bite, jumping around to get my own teeth into him. I caught his ribs, felt the skin tear, but then he had my back - and then something roared.

The trees shook. The ground thundered. Damon and I separated just enough to look back, and six more wolves rushed at us, but they didn't stop - because the things chasing them were even worse. Shadows. The scent of sweet grass and fresh air. Then there were the snuffling grunts that I was starting to get very, very fond of.

I turned back to Damon just as Vic, Jax, and Scott all burst from the trees to stop beside me. Jax and Vic reared up on their hind legs and roared, but Scott was simply picking out his own target, that black head of his swiveling across the line of wolves before us. Damon's pack knew that running wouldn't do them any good. There were at least ten of them, but I figured the odds were in my favor. Three bears, three foxes, and me?

That bastard was going to regret the day he'd targeted our pack.

Scott charged first, rushing the line of wolves. Vic and Jax joined him. The vixens hit from the side. I just waited for them to pass then darted across the back of the line to the one man I wanted most: Damon. He braced, but I no longer had to worry about getting attacked from behind. Right here, right now, this was my chance to get revenge for all of it.

I went for his neck, he leaned, pivoting around me, but I'd expected that. The man was bigger, stronger, but much slower than me, yet the sound of his teeth clacking beside my ear still made me flinch. He noticed and rushed in again, but my teeth were sharp. I caught his lip in them and pulled, swinging my hips around for a better angle. The metallic taste of blood filled my mouth, but I tried to ignore it. It wasn't his face I wanted to bite, it was his throat.

The moment he tried to turn toward me, I released