Page 24 of Starting a New Life

Intruders, he snarled. Maim.

I ripped open the door of the packhouse and ran outside, the cadence of my steps changing as I went from two feet to four paws.

We’ll get them, my wolf snarled. Maim. Kill.

We were on the same page.

I was so fucking fed up with it all. Fed up with the thefts. With the constant security breaches. With some wolves disrespecting my authority again and again and again.

I let out a loud howl, a signal to my pack to start hunting.

Answering howls rose, shattering the peaceful silence of an early winter night. It didn’t take long for the first of my pack to find me.

My wolf howled as Rhett’s sandy-brown form emerged between the trees, his paws whirling up snow as we ran in sync to where our wolves were leading us. The barrier had been breached at the north-eastern border.

I panted, the cold air burning my lungs, as I kept spurring my wolf on. This was urgent. Someone was hurt.

I didn’t know who, didn’t know what was going on, didn’t know how exactly I could say for sure, but there was not a shred of doubt in my mind. Someone who had crossed the barrier was severely injured.

Not dangerous, my wolf supplied.

He was right again. The injured party was not a danger to us, but there was a danger lurking, close enough to the barrier that I could feel it.

A shudder went through my body as I jumped to dodge a set of roots growing above ground.

Angelo met us next; the huge lion jumped down a ravine and found a spot to my right. The patrol was ahead of us, having already been on their nightly rounds.

More wolves followed.

Paul.

Theo.

All of them neatly sliding into position, presenting a united front. A pack. The scent of blood wafted over as we got closer, the metallic hues crisp in the cold air. A warning sign that this was not like the breaches before. This was a fight.

A loud bang ripped through the night.

An agonized scream that made my wolf howl in fury.

I snarled.

Someone was shooting.

I doubled my efforts, my muscles burning as I increased my speed.

Maim, my wolf sang. Kill, kill, kill.

I spotted them seconds later, hovering just outside the barrier like pathetic cowards. Three shifters in wolf form and one in human form. The human one still had his gun raised, a triumphant smirk on his face.

My fury grew tenfold. A fucking wolf was using a gun to hurt people on my pack lands.

Maim. Kill, my wolf supplied, rage flooding my system.

Someone had dared to shoot someone on my territory.

I spotted a hooded figure kneeling over a man on the ground, his glowing hands pressed to a wolf’s chest. My mind came to a screeching halt at the strange sight, but I pushed the thoughts back. First things first—and right now, the armed wolf was our biggest problem.

“Guns,” I heard a hoarse voice whisper, but I flew past, eyes fixated on the gleaming gun in the wolf’s hand.