Mated To The Wrong Alpha
Chapter 52

“Arthur!” She ceased her struggles against Ryne and stared at her mate. He snarled and lowered his head, lips drawn back to reveal an impressive set of teeth. Slowly he stalked towards them, the fur on his back rising. With surprise, she realized that the door to his mind had been opened to her and she had some idea of what he was thinking and feeling. It was still hard to interpret, but she knew he was incredibly angry. She hastened to offer reassurance, trying to project her thoughts while speaking. “I’m all right. Ryne was carrying me because of my leg. He accidentally squeezed it but didn’t mean me any harm.”

Her efforts had some effect, since Arthur stopped in his tracks, but he still didn’t back down.

Ryne kept his eyes locked on Arthur and a low rumble emitted from his chest. She felt his muscles tensing around her and her head snapped to look at the man holding her. What was he doing?

“Ryne!” She gasped at his audacity. Anxious to move away from Ryne in order to keep the peace, she tried to step back as soon as her feet touched the ground, while still sending good thoughts Arthur’s way. Unfortunately, she discovered she wasn’t that good at doing two things at once. Forgetting to balance her weight on one leg, her injured limb gave way. With a cry, she automatically grabbed onto the nearest object that could provide some stability. Unfortunately, it was Ryne’s arm and that was enough to send Arthur over the edge.

What happened next was a blur of movement. She pushed herself away from Ryne and gave a sideways hop, shifting her grip to a nearby tree trunk. Arthur leapt towards his half brother and Ryne jumped back, phasing into his wolf form even as he moved. In the blink of an eye, the two males were engaged in combat, growling and biting each other, while she clung to a tree trunk, watching in horror as the situation dissolved into a primitive battle.

It was a terrifying sight, yet some ancient part of her thrilled at the idea of the powerful males fighting over her. Her heart was pounding, b***d rushed through her veins. Shaking her head, she tried to suppress the feelings inside her and clear her thinking. She wasn’t some animal waiting to be won by the strongest male! This was barbaric and she had to stop it. Frantically, she looked around for something that could be used to separate the two, but of course there was nothing to be found. Returning her gaze to the scene in front of her, she stood transfixed.

Snarls filled the air as teeth flashed and claws slashed. The two were equally matched, with first one and then the other seeming to be ahead. Ryne grabbed Arthur’s back leg, but Arthur whipped around and grabbed his brother’s neck. Rolling over Ryne freed himself and regained his footing, then charged his opponent again. Arthur yipped in pain as teeth slashed his side, but he pulled away and swiped his claws across Ryne’s face, narrowly missing his eye. B***d was freely streaming from their wounds and their fur was matted with dirt and saliva. Around them, the trampled snow was stained with a combination of mud and b***d. Drawing back, they circled each other panting heavily, each looking for an opening that would allow them to get past the other’s guard.

“Stop it!” She knew she had to get through to them. The thoughts coming at her from Arthur were frighteningly violent and primitive. Had his wolf taken over completely? Had he lost touch with his human side? Did either of them even understand what she was saying?

“Listen! You both have to listen to me! Please! There’s no need for this.” She projected her thoughts towards Arthur but had no idea if he was sensing her. There was no break in his movement as he slowly circled Ryne, his gaze locked on those of his opponent. His step never faltered, his ear didn’t even twitch in her direction. Knowing it was useless, she still felt compelled to try again, since there was little else she could do. “Arthur! Ryne isn’t trying to take me away from you and he isn’t the bad guy in all of this! I know what’s going on. It’s all M—”

Mid-sentence, she stopped speaking. So intent was she on the fight in front of her that she hadn’t noticed anyone approaching, until a cold blade pressed against her throat.

“Hello, Ava.” Marla whispered into her ear.

A wave of icy fear washed over her and Arthur suddenly froze, his head swinging her way.

Ryne, obviously not knowing what was going on, lunged at Arthur who neatly sidestepped, allowing Ryne to overshoot his mark and fall heavily to the ground. Ryne leapt up and twirled around, only to stop dead in his tracks as he finally noticed the new arrival.

“My, my! Look at you two. All bloody and dirty. Tsk, tsk. Is that any way for loving brothers to behave, fighting over a little bitch?” Marla mocked the pair of black wolves that faced her.

Arthur’s eyes reflected his confusion, disbelief, and then rapid assimilation of the situation as it dawned on him that Marla had a knife to Ava’s neck, and was the source of his mate’s fear. He took a step towards her, growling, only to stop when Marla spoke.

“I wouldn’t come any closer Arthur, darling. I might get nervous and flinch. This knife is extremely sharp, and the slightest pressure could break the skin.” Arthur shifted into human form, while Ryne’s wolf snarled.

Marla laughed. “Temper, temper, Ryne. Remember all of the trouble it’s caused you already.”

“What are you up to, Marla?” Arthur’s voice was cold, his face stony.

“Just trying to convince you to sell the land, so I can get my hands on the money it will generate.”

“Sell the land?” Arthur’s voice was incredulous. “Is that what this is all about?”

“Well, it’s certainly not about getting you back—not that it wouldn’t be a nice side benefit— but really, good-looking men are a dime a dozen once you have money.”

As she spoke, Arthur was slowly stepping to the left and Marla turned to keep him in sight, seeming not to realize that Ryne was inching his way to the right. Ava said nothing, silently watching the two brothers instinctively work as a unit, one providing the distraction while the other circled their prey.

“So how is hurting Ava going to get me to sell the land?” Arthur inquired blandly.

“You sign the papers from Northern Oil and I set her free, unharmed.” Marla explained.

“I don’t have them here.” Arthur’s gaze darted in Ryne’s direction.

She snorted derisively. “Of course not. I’m no fool. Ava is staying with me until the papers are in the hands of Northern Oil’s lawyers. I have friends there who will let me know when it happens. Then you’ll deposit the money into my bank account. Once that’s taken care of, Ava will be free to go.”

Arthur rubbed his chin thoughtfully as if considering the situation.

Ava observed him carefully, widening her eyes as a feeling—just the inkling of an idea— began to form in her head. She focused herself as best as she could, pushing through her own feelings of panic to find what Arthur was trying to communicate to her. It was a jumble and she strained to make sense of it, finally grasping a repeated thread; I love you. Be ready.

He loved her? Oh my gosh! Her heart leapt inside her chest. What a time to find out, when there was no chance of savouring the sweet words. She had to be ready, but ready for what? What was Arthur going to do? How would he signal her when Ryne was going to attack? Her gaze flew to his face hoping for a hint, but it remained impassive. She wished she could see Marla’s face to get some indication of what the woman might be thinking, but from her position with the knife against her throat, it wasn’t possible.

Marla sighed impatiently. “Hurry up, Arthur. Just agree. You know there’s no other way out of this. Oh, and Ryne?” Ava felt Marla move behind her. “Quit trying to sneak up behind me or I’ll blow your brains out sooner rather than later. I have a gun and I’m ambidextrous, so it won’t be a problem using my other hand to shoot.” There was the distinctive click of a gun, followed by a frustrated whine from Ryne. Trust Marla to have two weapons on her.

Ava saw the muscle in Arthur’s jaw flex, but his voice revealed nothing. “Well…” Arthur drawled the word out. “The problem is, Marla, I have to consider the needs of the whole pack, rather than what I might personally want.”

“Don’t give me all of that ‘for the good of the pack’ crap. This is what you need to deal with right here and now.” Marla’s voice had gone from mocking to hard and exasperated. She pressed the point of the knife into Ava’s neck causing her to whimper as warm liquid slowly trickled down her neck and between her breasts.

Arthur narrowed his eyes and they began to glow eerily. His body was shaking almost imperceptibly. Ava sensed how hard he was trying to maintain control of his human side, when the wolf within was crying out to be released and allowed to seek revenge.

“You really shouldn’t have done that, Marla.” Arthur’s voice was so cold and deadly that Ava shivered.

Marla possibly sensed she’d gone too far. She backed up a step, trying to drag Ava with her, but of course Ava couldn’t keep her balance on one leg without the tree to hold onto. She stumbled backwards into Marla, who flinched, causing the knife to dig deeper into her flesh. Her cry and Marla’s shout blended together as Ava reached up to push the knife away. Her body lurched to the left and Marla’s went to the right. As she hit the ground, two black blurs launched themselves toward their mutual enemy.

In rapid succession, two shots rang out, signalling the beginning of a terrifying symphony of screams, snarls, and whimpers of pain. Ava pulled herself upright and saw one black wolf was down, a puddle of red spilling onto the snow-covered ground. The remaining wolf, though bleeding heavily, had Marla by the leg. While badly injured, the woman wasn’t giving up. She was kicking and trying to pull herself away. Her arm was stretching towards the gun that had fallen to the ground.

“Hey!” A voice shouted from some distance away. Ava swung her head towards the sound and saw Seth a few hundred yards away, running in their direction. Help was coming, but would it be in time? She turned her attention back towards the fight.

Horrified, Ava saw that Marla’s hand had reached the gun… She was wrapping her fingers around the handle… Lifting the weapon… Now, she was bending her arm towards her unsuspecting attacker…

Ava tried to get up. She had to do something. Seth was still too far away. Frantically, she dragged herself towards the combatants using her arms. Her hand hit against something cold and hard, half buried in the snow… It was the knife that moments before had been pressed to her own throat! Grabbing it, she used all of her remaining energy to get to her feet and as a blinding pain shot up her leg, she threw herself forward on top of Marla.

“No!”

As the world went black, Ava was aware of three things. The gun had discharged. A warm, sticky substance was oozing over her body and the forest was suddenly incredibly quiet.