Page 40 of Bred By the Beast

“I’m not weak,” Wilder said, springing into action. He looked ahead in the forest, but Alder was not where he’d been moments ago. Wilder was not used to being close to another alpha, however, an alpha is what he sensed within Alder.

“Are you ready to get rid of your human whore?” Alder asked.

The insult was the final straw.

Alder may be an alpha. He may have gotten the upper hand, but no one messed with his mate, nor called her names.

This time, as Alder went to strike, Wilder was ready, calling on the power of his bear, as he intercepted the attack, wrapping his fingers around Alder’s throat, and within a matter of seconds, had him thrust against a tree. He’d transformed his arm only, and it was not even close to the full moon. Wilder mastered this skill many moons ago. Boredom had a way of making most people learn a skill they did not think they had.

Trapped. Unable to move. He held Alder at his mercy.

“Let me go,” Alder gritted out between clenched teeth, but it was only because Wilder gave him some leeway to be able to talk.

“Insult my mate again, and I will rip out your throat.”

“It’ll grow back,” Alder said.

“I know, and then I will gladly rip it out again. Try me, let’s see who’s lying.”

He stared at Alder, just as Alder stared right back at him. Seconds passed, maybe even minutes, but the fact remained, Wilder wasn’t joking.

“I mean no disrespect.”

Wilder didn’t let him go, because right now, he didn’t trust him. “My mate is with child,” he said.

Alder’s eyes went wide.

“You seem to know what’s going to happen. I need to know if my mate is going to live, or if I must consider if she should remain pregnant.”

Alder was silent.

That silence continued.

“Test my patience, Alder, and I would be happy to play with you and use you as my chew toy.”

It would be a battle of wills, but it would be fun while it lasted.

Chapter Fifteen

“We’re an endangered species,” Alder said once he’d let him go. “Humans are pure evil, and you’d gladly allow them to replace us by mating with one?”

“She’s not evil.”

“Look around you,” Alder said. “Or are you in ignorant bliss living out here in this forest? If you haven’t noticed, they’re killing the trees, the air, and the water every single day.”

Wilder took a breath because he couldn’t disagree. He’d felt the same way before Poppy showed up. But those that didn’t change went extinct. And you couldn’t ignore the mating call once it happened. It was something that chose you whether you liked it or not.

“I’m not saying humans are good. Most are not. But you can’t force your beliefs on other shifters.” He paused. “Are you mated?”

Alder furrowed his brow. “I have no plans to mate. My job is to protect our race from dilution.”

“And who the fuck put you in charge?”

“My parents were killed the same as yours. Only I see the injustice in that, and you don’t.”

Before Poppy came into his life, he was much the same as Alder. He hated humans and what they were doing to the world and the animals around him. But he didn’t make it his personal mission to police all shifters.

“If I don’t breed my mate, I won’t have offspring. At least now there will be more shifters in the world. That’s more than you plan to do.”