Wolf or Love

The grey wolf threw back his head and howled, garnering the attention of every wolf around him. No other male should touch her. No one was allowed to hurt her. She was his. She belonged to him. The life in her womb belonged to him. They were both his to protect, to care for, to shelter. The

only thing stopping the wolf from acting on his raging anger and going for the uncle’s throat was that his claws were pressed threateningly against her stomach – the grey wolf understood the threat, understood cause and effect. Although the man’s words made no sense, he also understood what he wanted. He wanted Gio. So the wolf drew back, though he remained closer to the surface than ever before. Gio rose to his feet, panting and raging. The sight of Danica, pale and flaccid, held with her back against Kevin’s chest had his blood boiling and something in his chest tightening. She was unconscious, had clearly been drugged. Seeing Kevin’s claws placed threateningly against the place where his baby was growing made it even more difficult for Gio to remain where he was. Every cell in his body urged him to pounce on Kevin. “Release her.”

The words were barely distinguishable.

Kevin gave him a callous smile. “Now that’s not going to happen, my dear nephew. How strange it is to see something finally pull emotions from you. George would be devastated he’d missed this. Not as devastated as you’ll be when you watch her die, but still.”

A part of Gio’s brain registered that all had gone quiet and that his pack was gathering close. Another part of his brain noted that many of

Kevin’s supporters had been slain and that Gio’s side was winning the battle, but his only care was for the limp woman in Kevin’s arms.

“Release. Her.”

The bastard didn’t. “If you want me, I’m right here. I won’t even fight you.”

Kevin laughed. “It’s tempting. After all, the only thing I really want is for the others to see me take you down. But, well, I’m afraid I don’t believe you would truly allow that. Plus, to let her live would be to break my half of the bargain with our cousin, Gary.” The very male then stepped out of the trees on Kevin’s left. His expression was cold, cruel.

“Dad?” Max choked out. “Dad, what’re you doing?”

“He has to know what it’s like, son.”

“What’re you talking about?”

“He has to know how it felt for me when he killed Kerr. What it was like to lose her.”

The truth hit Gio like a slap. “She was your mate?”

“And you took her from me.”

Max shook his head, his eyes dancing from Gary to Danica. “Dad, tell me you didn’t hand her over to Kevin.”

“Like I said, he has to know what it’s like.”

“How could you do this?”

“He doesn’t deserve your loyalty, son, he never has. Kevin has agreed to make you one of his enforcers when this is over.”

Pale, wide-eyed, and clearly devastated, Max shook his head again and stumbled backwards. “I…I can’t believe you’ve done this.”

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“No,” snapped Max. “I’m no longer your son.”

Gio honestly couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Although he’d never been able to work out what kind of motivation one of his pack could

have had to betray him, he never would have expected this. Any of this. It didn’t matter what the motivation was though, it never had. The result would always have been the same. “You’re dead,” he told Gary.

“No, Gio, that would be your mate,” said Kevin with a smile. “Oh, and your unborn child.”

His mate, his child. He had thought that if any of them would die today, it would be Gio. He had comforted himself with the knowledge that at least

Danica and his child would live. Duda would have ensured that. But now Gio saw that he didn’t have the luxury of knowing that they would survive his

death, because Kevin intended to kill them first. He wanted Gio to watch them die, to feel his bond with Danica die, to see the life drain out of the only person he had ever loved. A jolt went through him at the realization he just had. He loved her.

Of course he fucking 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 Danica’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 Kevin 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, Gio?”

No, he hadn’t. And Kevin was going to die for that. Die for daring to touch her at all. Gio’s heart practically jumped when he watched Danica’s eyes flutter open. A few seconds later they widened and – quick as fucking lightening – she had one of the hands that were pinned behind her back positioned at Kevin’s crotch with her claws placed threateningly around his balls. Obviously having felt the prick of claws on his naked skin, Kevin froze instantly. Gio 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, fucker, or I’ll dig my claws into your crown jewels and rip them off – I don’t give a shit.”

Danica 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 adrenaline coursing through her, preparing for anything, preparing her to do anything. Dimly she recognized that her bond with Gio 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 asshole’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 Danica for control, pushing and struggling and twisting for freedom much like someone trapped under a frozen lake. The force with which she beat at Danica’s skin was actually painful. So painful that it was weakening Danica.

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 Danica 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.