Wolf's Pack (Wolves Next Door #3) - Auryn Hadley Page 0,186

him and doubled back. Damon whipped his head around the other way, but it was too late. I jumped onto his back, biting at his spine as hard as I could. He went for my hind legs, but I could jump. Without letting go of his body, I threw myself across him, pulling us both to the ground, yet I was facing the way I wanted.

He huffed as he hit, that moment of distraction all I needed. One last push, and my jaws closed on his throat. Using every inch of force I had, I bit hard, feeling something crunch in my mouth. Nope, I did not want to think about that, but I'd be damned if I'd let go. Ian thrashed. Lane thrashed. I was pretty sure even Pax and Trent would, but I was just a little too human for that trick.

I just leaned in, using the power of my teeth, the angle of my body, and the pressure of my jaws to hold his head against the ground. Like he had with Ian, Damon tried to use his legs for leverage. I had to dance around them, making sure he couldn't get any purchase, but I would not let him go. I was pretty sure that my life depended on just hanging on.

And then I heard a woman scream! My eyes flicked over, but there wasn't one here. That had to be a convert. It was the only thing I could think of, yet the roar of a bear proved it wasn't. I tried to count foxes, but that moment of distraction was all it took for Damon to get the upper hand.

The man lunged. His teeth sank into the side of my throat, and he pulled. I felt the burn, then the cold ice of true pain, and I knew this was bad. I also didn't fucking care. Let him kill me. Let him try to tear me apart, but he'd never again do to anyone else what he'd done to me. The rage of that night so long ago, the fear, and all of the adrenaline coursing through my body built up, and nothing else mattered.

I growled, I snarled, I snapped. He tried to dislodge my teeth. He desperately fought back, but I was done. I was so far beyond done that he couldn't understand. I was the fucking beta of this pack. I'd claimed the Alpha Female myself. I was the man who was supposed to keep them all safe, and nothing was going to stop me.

I darted in for another bite just as Damon turned the wrong way, and it was almost like his throat shoved itself into my mouth. I bit, feeling the skin tear. And then, for the first time in my life, I heaved my shoulders to the side, whipping my head to add more force, and I thrashed as hard as I could. Damon cried out in both pain and surprise, but the sound failed quickly as something inside him broke.

Warmth filled my mouth tasting of copper. Fur wedged between my teeth. My hold slipped as the skin loosened, and the wolf beneath me made a noise I'd never heard before. It was almost a gurgle, but mixed with a gasp, and it was enough to make me back off and look at what I'd done.

Damon's mouth hung open. His entire body heaved as he tried to pull in a breath, but it didn't seem to be working. His tongue lay sprawled on the ground, his eyes were wide and focused on nothing. That was when it hit me: the man was dying. I'd just killed him.

I'd defeated the Alpha of the Hidden Forest pack - and my friends were still fighting.

I forced my body back to its human form and then yelled, "Enough! Damon is dead. I claim leadership of Hidden Forest and you will all back down now!"

The craziest thing was that it worked. Damon's fight with Ian had been about keeping or losing Wolf's Run. This one was different.

Most of these new converts probably hadn't learned all of our traditions and laws - but they saw this. At my feet, their pack leader was dying, and I was the one who'd dealt the final blow. That made me Damon's replacement, and there was no way to dispute it.

The wolves backed off. Their heads turned to see the dead animal at my feet, but that didn't mean they liked it. A few broke off, running back toward