Mated To The Cold Hearted Alpha
Chapter 131

Leander

I had known several minutes into the forest that we were in the right location because as soon as we were close enough, Hycinth’s pain had exploded into my consciousness. It was like I’d crossed an invisible barrier. One moment, nothing, and then the next, agony like I’d never known crashed through the barrier of our mind link, the one-way door my bite had established. Anguished flames of hurt and trauma licked my insides, tormenting me with their intensity.

I’d stumbled under the onslaught, not entirely sure I was going to survive, as it consumed every part of me. But a more severe emotion, the irrevocable force that bound. us together, wouldn’t be denied -my female and my unborn pup needed me-causing me to immediately stabilize my footing and drove me forward even faster.

The moment we drew close, Ever had barked orders through the mind link, and instantly, the warriors broke into strategic formation.

Without one misstep or even slowing down from our breathtakingly fast pace, Ryan and Oliver, our best two sharpshooters, fluidly withdrew their weapons and angled to the sides, one to the right and the other to the left. They dropped low to the ground behind the shelter of two trees, ready to provide cover, just as the rest of us sprinted past them.

I’d expected to face gunfire and I’d been right. Shots had rung out as soon as we broke the tree line, a chaotic flurry of bullets as wolves dove and weaved to avoid being hit.

Reflexes firing on all cylinders, instinct and nature propelled my body as I first darted to the left, rolled, and then veered hard to the right.

I had one goal-getting to Hycinth.

But when I saw her for the first time, naked and laid out like a sacrifice on a dirty wooden table, fury had detonated in my gut. Whether it was my Wolf’s decision or mine, I didn’t know, but either way, the change happened. We shifted, the bulk of his muscular form shredding the clothes off of my body.

My Wolf was in a blind rage. He salivated for their b***d, eager to feel it drip off his tongue, eager to shred their bodies apart. I completely agreed with him. Barreling forward, the world faded away. His vision distorted by the ferocity of his anger, but yet crystal clear as his eyes zoomed in on our target, the Wolf standing between us and our mate- Dagger.

Dagger had seen us as well. And the son of a bitch had the audacity to grin as five wolves came at us from the side, ears pressed forward, snarling in their throats.

It was a mistake.

The idiot thought he was slowing me down, when in truth, adding wolves in direct combat, gave me a distinct advantage. Being surrounded by opposing wolves meant his shooters wouldn’t be able to acquire me as their target nearly so easily.

From my peripheral vision, I saw Ever about fifteen feet away. Somewhere between the tree line and now, he had shifted as well.

His big gray Wolf’s head whipped around in my direction, and then he leapt forward, accelerating in a burst of speed. Paws pounding the earth, he eliminated the distance between us just as the enemy Wolves made contact with me.

The impact was fierce.

Fur, fangs and claws flew in a frenzied chaos.

A powerful wave of Alpha dominance emanated from my Wolf’s chest, directed at his enemies, the wolves who dared to harm our mate.

Neither of us expected it to affect to them. Dagger was too smart to engage in battle without swearing fealty to another Alpha first.

But surprisingly, there was a effect. It was slight, but it was there, and the shocked look in their eyes meant they also registered the truth. Still, they pressed forward, intent on destruction.

Next to me, Ever moved with lethal grace. Safeguarding me from my shoulder to my flank, our bodies moved fluidly together. A fine-tuned machine, we fought side-by-side, fending off and killing Wolf after Wolf. There was no need for communication. He knew what I needed. And I had no doubt he would gladly sacrifice his own life before he let anything happen to me. There was no Wolf more worthy than him. But suddenly, right after another shot rang out, Ever yelped in pain and went down hard with a thud.

My Wolf’s head flew around. The maneuver left us vulnerable on one side but he needed to assess the damage and protect Ever from further harm in his vulnerable state. When he saw b***d pouring from the gunshot wound in Ever’s hind leg, my Wolf roared furiously.

A large tawny Wolf darted forward, fangs bared, opportunistic intent on delivering a killing blow to our fallen Beta, but my Wolf leapt over Ever’s body and collided with the other Wolf in the air. The ferocity of the attack knocked the light brown Wolf off his paws as we tumbled back to the ground. It was all my Wolf needed. He snaked forward and sank his teeth into the other Wolf’s neck, powerful jaws locking closed until his enemy sagged dead in his grip.

Spitting him out, my Wolf jerked back around only to replace Ever had struggled to his feet. He was once again covering our back, limping and precariously teetering off balance whenever he had to put weight on the foot, but he fought with all he was worth, fully engaged in the ongoing battle.

Still warring with wolves on both sides, my anxiety amplified.

During the fight, I’d kept an eye on Hycinth. No other Wolf had gone near her helpless and battered body which made it clear that Dagger was waiting for me to lose so that he had my full attention before he made his next move. I was thankful, but his intentions could change at any moment.

We’d also noticeably shortened the distance between us and Hycinth, but every minute that went by felt like an eternity.