Of course he f**king loved her!

And not just because she was his mate, but because of the person she was. Her inner strength, her spirit, her sensuality, her big heart, her loyalty, her tenaciousness, her bravery, hell, even her damn sarcastic streak – it all came together to make a package that called to him and made it impossible for him to feel anything but love for her. The realization didn’t even scare him as it once would have done. So now that the thread of fear had been removed from the knot of emotions inside him, the rest of the knot unraveled and fell away. And those mental walls went right along with them.

Abruptly there was a bang in his chest and a strange sensation in his head as though his brain had hiccupped or something. Then he could feel Taryn’s heartbeat as if it was his own, feel her inside of him like she was burrowed under his skin. But she was, wasn’t she? Because she was the other half of his soul. He understood immediately what had happened. Their bond had snapped fully into being. He felt as her pulse rate improved and she struggled to a conscious state. He realized then that his strength was bolstering her own through their bond.

He also realized that Darryl was still talking, totally unaware of what was happening. Funny that – how such a significant, life-changing occurrence could happen yet go unnoticed by every person around them. It was a very good thing in this case.

“…and I bet you’ve never felt so helpless before in your entire life, have you, Trey?”

No, he hadn’t. And Darryl was going to die for that. Die for daring to touch her at all. Trey’s heart practically jumped when he watched Taryn’s eyes flutter open. A few seconds later they widened and – quick as f**king lightening – she had one of the hands that were pinned behind her back positioned at Darryl’s crotch with her claws placed threateningly around his balls. Obviously having felt the prick of claws on his naked skin, Darryl froze instantly. Trey shot him a falsely sympathetic look. Clearly his uncle had forgotten that latent shifters who were alphas could partially shift, lengthening their claws and canines.

“Let go of me, f**ker, or I’ll dig my claws into your crown jewels and rip them off – I don’t give a shit.”

Taryn meant every word.

The threat to the life of her unborn child had rage pumping through her body, a rage that was beyond the scales of normal – her insides burned, her heart was working overtime, her skin felt too tight for her body, her fangs had lengthened, and her entire being itched to hurt him. The primitive urge to protect had adrenalin coursing through her, preparing for anything, preparing her to do anything.

Dimly she recognized that her bond with Trey was cemented, that he was alive and relatively unharmed, but the red hot fury blasting through her was so overwhelming that it left no room for her to feel anything else right now. The only thought she had in her head was that if her and her unborn child were about to leave this world then this ass**le’s balls were going with them.

Her wolf smelt his fear, loved it. She wanted this threat to her and her pup dead. Wanted it with such desperation that she was warring with Taryn for control, pushing and struggling and twisting for freedom much like someone trapped under a frozen lake. The force with which she beat at Taryn’s skin was actually painful. So painful that it was weakening Taryn. Not physically, though. Physically, she was still strong and steady. But mentally, she was weakening…kind of like she was fading. Her wolf relentlessly continued her assault, wanting her stupid human half to step aside and let her deal with this. Then Taryn weakened that little bit more as a particularly hard shove fractured that layer of iced water. That was all it took – her wolf smashed her way out.

Utter shock rushed over Trey as the scene played out before him. Darryl’s hold on Taryn broke as, with a speed that only an extremely experienced shifter should have been able to achieve, she shifted into a creamy-white wolf. She was absolutely beautiful. As a female, her muzzle and forehead were narrower and her neck was thinner than that of males. Her limbs had smoother fur, giving her a more graceful look. All that gorgeous fur looked so unbelievably soft that he couldn’t wait to comb his fingers through it just as he often did with Taryn’s hair.

To his surprise, the she-wolf didn’t take a moment to marvel at finally being free. Oh no, she was only interested in Darryl – who was apparently too stupefied to move. She was on him in a blink, leaping up and snapping her teeth into his…nose…as she knocked him down. Damn, she was just like Taryn – went straight for the nose. No longer paralyzed by shock, it seemed, Darryl began to take his wolf form.

Snapping back into action – Trey shouldn’t be surprised that the crazy bitch was challenging a male wolf – he shifted shape and gave his wolf control again.

The grey wolf rushed at the black wolf that had now flipped over and was growling at his mate. Protectiveness surged through him, serving as an energy boost. She was not to be touched or harmed or threatened. He had to protect her – her and his unborn pup. He barreled into the black wolf, wrenching a yelp from him and sending him sprawling across the forest floor away from the she-wolf.

The black wolf righted himself quickly, his chest heaving, and faced the other. The grey wolf could sense that his opponent was less dominant and less powerful. It wouldn’t bring him any mercy from the grey wolf though – not when he had threatened his mate, not when his scent triggered memories of cruelty and pain being inflicted on a young Trey.

Hackles raised, ears upright, and lips curled back, they circled each other – never moving their eyes from the other. Many other wolves observed, but none of them moved, nor did any battle between themselves. All stood still and quiet as all understood that the outcome of this battle now rested on which of the two Alpha males won the challenge.

Suddenly the grey wolf rushed at his challenger and knocked him onto his side. Growling, he bit down hard on the black wolf’s shoulder, drawing first blood. In retaliation, the black wolf swiped his claws at the other, aiming for his muzzle. The grey wolf was able to dodge the move and then clamped his jaws around the offending leg.

The black wolf yelped – the sound satisfying his attacker and psyching the observing wolves. He raised his head just enough to bite down hard on the grey wolf’s ear. The surprise of it made the grey wolf jerk away while releasing a loud high-pitched bark. Taking advantage of that, the other quickly stood and swiped his paw at the grey wolf. His claw managed to slash his shoulder, and the scent of the grey wolf’s blood flavored the air and had the challenger growling with satisfaction.