PAIGE 016

PAIGE 016
Panic gripped my chest. I started forward but was grabbed quickly. I fought their hold, not even knowing who held me. All I could see was Nate stepping closer into the circle as he removed his T-shirt. “Nate, no, you can’t do this,” I told him, my throat thick with tension.
“Paige, stop. He has to,” Thorn said into my ear.
“No, he doesn’t.” I shook my head again and again. “No, I won’t allow it.”
Fenris let out a belly laugh. “Hear that, mutt? She won’t allow it. You gonna stop to please your pussy?”
“Shut the fuck up. We doing this or not?”
“Not,” I yelled. They ignored me.
Nate nodded, and I wanted to reach out to him to smack him upside the head or pick him up and run for the hills to protect him. I knew I couldn’t, and I hated it. Wolves were proud creatures who lived by their own set of rules. If I interfered, it could mean bad things for not only us, but Jessup, Gregory, and Jessup’s pack. I had to think about others rather than just me and my feelings. Still, knowing Nate was about to fight and could possibly be hurt, killed me inside. I gripped Thorn’s arms around my waist and whimpered.
“He’ll be fine,” he whispered.
“He’s strong,” Alex said quietly from our side. Even though he was trying to reassure me, Alex looked like he’d swallowed something foul. He disliked what was about to happen as much as I did. I took his hand in mine again and brought it up to hold it against my chest.
“Skin or fur? I’ll let you pick since I’ll kill you in either form.” Fenris grinned evilly.
“Skin,” Nate replied. “But if the shift comes over either of us, there won’t be any repercussions.”
“Agreed,” Fenris answered, then charged Nate, who braced.
Fenris hit Nate in the face so hard Nate’s head whipped to the side. I slapped a hand over my mouth to keep the scream building at bay, not wanting to distract him. Alex’s hand in mine squeezed harder, while Thorn held me tighter. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Asher step up to Alex and place his hand on his shoulder. To my surprise, Nate grinned, only it wasn’t a nice one. Fenris’s cocky smile disappeared when Nate slowly turned his head back to face him.
Fenris went to hit him again, but Nate grabbed Fenris’s fist in one hand and used the other to punch him in the gut. Fenris stumbled back, barely catching himself from falling, and snarled at Nate. Fenris bounced from one foot to another, his hand cocked in front of him like some type of boxer. Using his fingers, he called Nate forward, only Nate didn’t move. He stood there and crossed his arms over his chest.
“Fight,” Fenris roared.
Nate raised a brow.
“Fight me,” Fenris yelled.
Nate relaxed his arms at his sides and took a step forward. Fenris charged again, jabbing his fist to the left, but Nate gracefully moved back. Fenris jabbed to the right, and Nate twirled out of the way.
I wanted to race in there, grab Nate’s shoulders, and shake the shit out of him. He needed to end this fight before my nerves ate at my beating organ.
Fenris swept out his leg, kicking Nate in the thigh before bouncing back. He spun back in, grabbed Nate on the back of the neck, and kneed him in the stomach before moving out of reach. Another smile splayed across Fenris’s face. He was sure of himself now that he’d gotten a couple of shots in.
“Nate, stop dragging this out,” Asher called.
Fenris’s smile vanished. He straightened, glancing from Asher to Nate. It was then Nate snapped out his leg, kicking Fenris in the chest, sending him flying backward and landing with a thud on the ground. Growling low, he rolled onto all fours and, still in human form, charged Nate.
Nate braced again, and as soon as Fenris was close, Nate jumped, flipping in the air and landing on Fenris’s back. His knees dug into Fenris’s spine, his arm locking around Fenris’s neck, squeezing. Fenris dropped to the ground, skidding along the dirt, scraping his skin, which would heal easily.
“Do you yield?” Nate offered, his voice rough and thick.
“No,” Fenris rasped. He rolled, flipping Nate off, and jumped to his feet as Nate did. With a nod, two other shifters stepped up behind Nate and grabbed his arms.
“Foul play,” I yelled. Dropping Alex’s hand, I forced Thorn’s arms off me and started toward them, ready to help.
In seconds, the coward Fenris punched, kicked, and then extended his claws, slashing at Nate’s chest and stomach.
“Paige,” Alex clipped in a vicious tone, one I hadn’t heard from him, so it had me looking back. “I have this,” he told me. His jaw clenched, his eyes glowed purple, and his hands and mouth moved. My clit pulsed, but I told it to get lost. I glanced back to Nate in time to see the shifters holding him stiffen.
Their arms fell away. Fenris cursed them but realized something was happening when their eyes widened. They let out a howl of pain right before we all heard their spines snapping in two and they tumbled to the ground.
Holy shit.
Nate lifted his head as his chest rose and fell rapidly. He was bloody and sore, but the smart-ass prick winked at me before shifting his gaze to Alex. I turned, and I’d never seen Alex look so scary before. His pulsating power had his hair sticking up everywhere, swaying in the invisible breeze only around him. His body was tense, his hands fisted at his sides, and his eyes were glowing brighter. He nodded once at Nate. I didn’t catch what Nate did, but it had Alex relaxing, his power subsiding.
A harsh snarl had me facing Nate again. He’d shifted to his wolf form. His jeans shredded, falling to the floor. Fenris followed and changed into his wolf. Where Nate was a dark brown, Fenris was a light amber color.
They circled each other, growling. Fenris jumped forward, nipping at Nate, but Nate was too fast and bounced back, only to jump forward and snap his jaw at Fenris’s side. Fenris let out a scared noise and tumbled back, popping back up onto his paws. They circled each other again, snarling.
Other wolves around the circle scraped with claws into the dirt, growling, wanting to join the fight, but stayed back.