my nose and curled my top lip at myself. Gods, I was pathetic. I didn’t want her out in gen pop unmarked and vulnerable, but neither did I want her carrying my pack mark which meant any male in my pack could claim her. I curled my fists, trying to control the urge to hit something. Deep down, I knew what I wanted, but I wasn’t ready to admit it, not even to myself.
We strode along the corridors and into the food hall. The guards had their weapons pointed at a group of fighting people. My brows shot up. It looked like a riot. I couldn’t tell what the hell was going on. There was food and trays scattered over the benches and floor. Lionel was fighting two males, easily holding them back, and a girl with spiky short hair and five other women, were pummeling the hell out of two males and a female on the ground.
My stomach clenched, tensing almost as hard as my fists. Ember was fighting three males, who looked to be taking turns attacking her. Just like the wolves they were, they were working together and wearing her down until she was so exhausted they could move in for the kill.
My wolf stirred as Ember took a kick to the ribs. She screeched, the sound full of pain, but still kept fighting. She’d always had an indomitable spirit, and four years later, she was more stubborn than ever. Her determination to win reached me even from where I stood across the hall. My wolf growled, confusion clouding our connection. He wanted to protect Ember, yet the wolf he had claimed as his mate was dead.
I had no doubts anymore that this was Ember. Her soul called to mine just as it always had, pulling at the darkness that I hid away from the world. And that glorious red hair she had tried to hide was too visible to me now. Every time I saw her, I made an effort not to grimace at the strange mix of fiery red next to the bright blonde dye. It was a bizarre combination of colours. I wanted to ask why she’d dyed it, but I hadn’t plucked up the courage to actually have a normal conversation with her. She was the only person in the world who terrified me—for so many reasons.
I inhaled deeply and was hit with the metallic scent of her blood. I’d know it anywhere. I’d grown up knowing it. My wolf might be confused over her wolf spirit, but his cold predatory attention fixed on the males fighting Ember. He remembered her blood scent, too. I snarled. It was a sound born of both wolf and man. Pulling from my wolf, I gathered my power, ready to blast every single person hard enough to force them to their knees.
“Don’t.” Stone stood in front of me, his grey eyes glinting. “You’ll make this worse for her, and you know it.”
I swallowed hard, knowing he was right. If I did this; if I protected her and made it obvious I cared for her, I’d put a bigger target on her back. She had to deal with this herself, or I had to leave and let my brothers step in. My fists clenched and my body tensed, rivulets of sweat running down my spine as I wrestled control back from my wolf.
Stone’s eyes narrowed on my struggle. “Dammit! I knew she’d fuck with your head.” His shoulders slumped. Sighing, he squared them again.
I frowned. He was right, she was fucking with my head—and my heart, and everything else. Not sure what to say, I ignored him and fixed my gaze on Ember. She twisted and jammed her shoulder into one opponent and threw him to the ground. Not giving him time to recover, she slammed an axe kick down onto his chest. I heard his sternum crack, from where I stood. She had always been a good fighter. Her life on the streets had instilled an unbreakable survival instinct in her, and whatever her life had entailed since I’d last seen her had cemented it. Now, fighting viciously and without mercy, she was a sight to see.
I tried to keep my cool facade when really, seeing her dispense her brand of justice was the hottest thing I'd ever witnessed. I wanted to give in to my urge to bring every single person in the hall to their knees and storm over there, grab her and plant a