Fated to the Warrior Wolf (The Hunted Omegas #3)

43. Gael

FORTY-THREE

Gael

S tay safe . Two words, but they almost brought me to my knees. She still cared. I wasn’t completely out of her life. There is still hope .

I held on to that thought like a life raft as Sergei released the last of Varga’s restraints. My wolf rose to the surface with vicious glee, ready to put on a show for our female. But I kept my head, watching as the older alpha shook out his limbs, acting as if he’d been restrained for five years instead of a few minutes. Sergei slipped off the stage but stayed close, eagle eyes surveying everything. He had my back, as did Kane. I could feel his support radiating through the pack bonds, though he didn’t speak and distract me.

Put on your show, motherfucker. You’re going to pay for your crimes.

I kept my eyes on his as I flicked open the button on my pants, quickly shucking them and leaving them to lie on the edge of the stage. Someone had the poor taste to wolf-whistle, and several people had shifted and now howled out in the throng of watchers, but I ignored it all. There was no one in the world except my opponent .

And my mate . My wolf was acutely aware of Leigh because he was always going to ensure her safety first. I didn’t think we had to worry about that, not now. Varga’s multiple attempts to take Kane out had failed, his surviving attack force had fled the castle with their tails between their legs, and he was grossly outnumbered here, even if someone tried to stage a rescue. No, he was done, and he knew it. This was the last stalling of a doomed man.

He spun toward me and charged, shifting midstride. A large, short-coated gray wolf burst from his skin, eyes glowing orange as he leapt, jaws wide.

I didn’t shift yet, bracing myself for the hit. He aimed for my throat, but I was ready. Both hands up, I deflected, using his momentum to toss him over my shoulder. I added all my strength to the throw, and he hit the wooden boards so hard, they shook under my feet. He’d landed on his feet, but before he could reverse direction and charge me again, I shifted, letting my own wolf out to play. I was larger by at least half a foot, and everything seemed to slow as my wolf took control of the fight.

Everything in my line of sight turned to a sepia wash, minute details snapping into focus as a bouquet of scents and sounds flooded in, honing the details to razor clarity. We charged Varga, even as he spun to intercept. He almost managed to evade, but my wolf caught the tip of his tail as we flew past, latching on with his fangs and tearing as we ran.

He spat the bloody hunk on the ground as Varga howled his rage and humiliation. A wolf’s tail was a point of pride, and we’d disfigured it before he’d made a mark.

Good, get pissed off and make a mistake.

I ran the full circumference of the stage at top speed, ears back and tail low as I stretched out my stride. It kept him off-balance as he tried to follow my track from the inside. He quickly grew tired of spinning like a top, gauging the distance and charging at where he thought I’d be. But my wolf saw that a mile off and dove for his belly.

We nailed his rib cage at top speed, sending him tumbling paws over tail. I heard bones crack as he landed this time, a sick satisfaction filling my wolf.

Weak prey. Time to finish him.

He had barely gotten to his feet when my jaws wrapped around his throat. I ripped.

It was over in seconds, the spray of blood and fur as I went in to finish him like grim confetti in the heavy silence.

I heard when Varga’s heart stopped and stepped back, looking to my Alpha for approval. It had been a fair tribunal and a fair challenge.

It was over. Kosta and Mihaela had their justice, and I hoped they’d rest easy now.

Kane stepped up onto the stage, face surprisingly neutral as he knelt next to the fallen wolf. He reached down and confirmed there was no pulse, then rose.

“A life for a life, so let it be. This tribunal is complete.”

The cheer that went up was as bloodthirsty as it was earsplitting, and my wolf didn’t like it. He looked around for Leigh and found her pale faced and clutching a hand over her mouth as if she was barely hanging on to her nausea.

I jogged across the stage and leapt down, shifting back in midair, to land at her side. I knelt, ignoring the pulsating crowd that Dirge and the other males of the pack were barely keeping back.

“Are you okay?”

She didn’t answer. Can’t answer?

“Let’s get them out of here. This crowd is going to want to celebrate all night,” Dirge said with a low growl. He was right.

The party had switched to revelry mode, the wolves inside high off the violence, the people high off the drama of it. They weren’t close enough to it to have any personal impact. To them, it was a spectacle. A historic moment—a failed coup and the fall of a powerful man.

It turned my stomach. My duty wasn’t for their entertainment. I scooped Leigh up under the elbows, helping her to her feet. I was about to lift her when screams nearby caught my attention.

“Gael! Gael! Come run with us!” It was a female, eyes bright with her wolf, already stripped naked and ready to shift. I averted my eyes, ignoring her and focusing on Leigh as Dirge put up an arm to block her from reaching us.

“Come on, I’ll?—”

“Gael.” The sensual purr came from closer this time. Too close . My wolf snarled, but before I could turn to find her, she had already pressed herself up against my side, rubbing shamelessly against my bare skin. My eyes went bright with my wolf, fangs dropping at his displeasure. He would never approve of any female but Leigh.

“Come on. We’ll show you a warrior’s welcome,” she said in a sultry whisper.

My snarl was not the response she was looking for. “Get off me,” I snapped, taking a giant step away. I wasn’t going to hurt a woman, but I didn’t have to entertain her bullshit while my mate watched either.

“Aww, come on. We would have a good time, I promise.” She smirked and sidled closer, ignoring my obvious rejection.

I wasn’t expecting what happened next, but when Leigh stepped between us, it was the most glorious sight I’d ever seen.

“He’s taken. Now take a hint and fuck all the way off .” Leigh stood tall, glowering at the other woman with vicious promise in her eyes.

“I don’t see any mate marks, sweetie?—”

Holy shit, how did women make a word like sweetie sound like an insult?

She pointedly looked me up and down, and I was kicking myself for still being bare-ass naked. “—and you clearly haven’t bitten any of that glorious skin. Maybe he’d like to spend the night with me. Nothing like a good fight to get your hormones pumping.”

I was frozen, unsure whether to let Leigh handle it or step back in. Or run for the hills. That seemed like the safest option, because I already had enough crazy in my life dealing with Celeste, and I sure as hell didn’t want more from a stranger who was willing to strip naked and rub up against me in public.

I want Leigh.

“If you don’t take your mangy ass out of my sight in the next three seconds, I’m going to shift and show you how an alpha bitch takes it when someone comes on to her fated mate. And I guarantee it, you won’t be so brash when I’m done with you.”

“Please, you and what army? You don’t look so well.” The other woman squinched up her nose at Leigh.

“This one,” Shay snarled, taking Leigh’s shoulder, and I blinked twice when I realized that for the first time, she was glittering , her fae side showing in full force.

The other woman gaped at Shay, then me as I snapped out of frozen-statue mode and slipped my arm around Leigh’s shoulders on the other side.

“She’s mine, and I’m not interested. So, please, leave before she rips your throat out. She might have morning sickness, but that won’t stop her.”

The other woman looked like she was about to argue, when a female alpha barked from over Dirge’s shoulder.

“Cristina! Knock it off. The man said no. Get yourself back to the inn, now.” The last was laced with alpha command, and Cristina whined and darted away. Thank the Goddess.

“Sorry about that. She’s young and doesn’t have any manners yet.” The female alpha shook her head, sizing the group of us up. “You’re part of the high alpha’s pack from the US, right? ”

“Right,” Dirge answered. “And we’re leaving.”

“Understood. I’ll make sure you get no more trouble from my pack tonight. Congratulations, by the way.” She nodded politely to Leigh, then disappeared into the crowd.

As soon as she was gone, Leigh shrugged out from under my touch and wrapped herself around Shay’s arm. “Let’s go. I’m exhausted.”

It stung, but I wasn’t surprised as they walked away. Two steps forward, one step back. It was the tango we were trapped in.

But as long as she was my partner, I’d keep dancing.

I grabbed my pants from the stage and slipped them on, trailing behind them and making sure they got back to the castle safely. Once all the females were safely in their rooms, I stepped into my own. I needed a shower, but there was something I had to do first.

My desk was tucked in a corner, dusty and rarely used. But it still had paper and pens, which was all I needed. I swiped away the dust with my forearm and settled in. I bit my lip as I tried to figure out how to start. Finally, it hit me.

Dear Princess…