Chapter 104 Sinkhole Salvation
Wynter's POV
Jax was already fully shifted, his wolf form massive and silver-gray, eyes burning with rage. He stood nearly six feet at the shoulder, radiating an Alpha's authority that made even Fang instinctively step back.
The masked man laughed, voice sharp with delight, and began his own transformation. "There we go. Show me what the great Rogue leader can really do."
If Jax was fighting in wolf form, I needed to as well. I closed my eyes, reaching for my wolf. The shift came with the familiar snap and crackle of bone, my clothes left in the mud behind me. My wolf form was smaller, about four and a half feet at the shoulder, fur a mix of brown and silver-gray.
Small but fierce, my wolf thought with satisfaction.
The masked man's wolf was larger than mine but smaller than Jax's—midnight-black fur, eyes gleaming with cruel intelligence. A Bloodrock wolf, trained and deadly.
He lunged at Jax, and they collided in a tangle of fur and fangs. I circled, looking for an opening.
"You've been quite the nuisance," the Bloodrock wolf taunted, his voice carrying through the magic of the shift. "Freeing those brats we prepared. Our Lord is very displeased."
"Good," Jax snarled, snapping at his throat.
The Bloodrock wolf twisted away, subtly pushing Jax northeast, toward the old mining pit.
"Jax!" I tried to warn him, but the Bloodrock wolf slammed into Jax, sending him stumbling backward—straight toward a patch of ground that looked solid but was the edge of a sinkhole.
Jax's back paws hit the edge and began to sink. He scrambled, but the mud sucked him down, chest-deep in seconds.
"No!" I lunged forward, but the Bloodrock wolf cut me off with a slash of his claws. I ignored the sting, darting past him, but he slammed into me from behind, sending me tumbling. The ground gave way, and I slid toward the mire, terror flooding me as the mud sucked at my legs.
Jax was there, his massive paws bracing me, keeping me from going under even as he sank deeper.
Not like this, I thought desperately.
"Touching," the Bloodrock wolf sneered from solid ground. "The great Rogue leader and his cursed little pet, dying together. Our Lord regrets not finishing the job when he destroyed your Pack. Leaving you alive was an oversight he's now correcting."
He gathered himself for the killing blow.
Then—a massive silver shape exploded from the trees with a snarl that shook the ground.
Chase.
He arrived in full wolf form, fur gleaming, eyes burning with golden fire. The sheer Alpha presence radiating from him was overwhelming.
He didn’t bother with words. He attacked.
It was a blur of silver and black violence. Chase fought with the controlled fury of an Alpha heir, his movements precise and devastating. He slammed into the Bloodrock wolf, tumbling him across the marsh. Fangs flashed, snapping at throats and limbs.
The Bloodrock wolf was skilled, but outmatched. Chase ducked under snapping jaws to ram his shoulder into the enemy’s exposed flank with a thunderclap of impact. The black wolf yelped, tumbling, favoring his left leg.
Chase stalked forward, lips pulled back in a snarl, ready to end this.
But the Bloodrock wolf didn’t cower. Instead, he shifted back to human form with jarring speed, naked and slick with mud and blood. As Chase lunged, the man’s hand whipped to a pouch on his thigh.
"Mr. Sterling, I didn’t expect to see you here. Let’s call it a day."
He smashed something against the ground.
BOOM.
A cloud of acrid, purple-black smoke exploded outward, choking and blinding us. It reeked of sulfur and wolfsbane. Chase roared, snapping blindly, but his jaws closed on empty air.
I coughed, wolf senses overwhelmed. By the time the wind cleared the haze, the clearing was empty. The Bloodrock operative was gone, leaving only a trail of blood into the marsh.
"He's gone," I realized, frustration bitter in my mouth.
No time to dwell. Chase turned to us, golden eyes scanning me for injuries, then locking onto the sinkhole.
Jax was nearly submerged, only his head and one arm visible, struggling to keep his nose above the muck.
I shifted back to human, shivering as cold air hit my bare skin—my clothes lost in the mud. "Jax! Hold on!"
"Trying," he gasped, voice strained.
"Chase!" I pointed to a massive fallen tree trunk nearby. "We need that!"
Chase shifted back, tall and naked in the fading light, urgent. He heaved the log across the mud until it reached Jax.
I scrambled onto the trunk, reaching out. "Grab my hand!"
Jax’s muddy fingers locked around mine. Chase grabbed my waist from behind, anchoring me. "Pull!"
Together, we hauled Jax from the earth’s grip. It fought us, sucking and popping, but finally, with a wet slurp, Jax slid free, collapsing onto solid ground, gasping for air and covered in black slime.
For a moment, only our ragged breathing.
Then the adrenaline faded, replaced by a different kind of awareness.
We were all alive. And all completely naked.
I stood, wiping mud from my face, and my eyes locked onto Chase. He stood protectively between me and Jax, chest heaving, water and mud trailing down his body.
He was... magnificent. Even covered in filth, the sight of him—powerful, masculine—hit me with a physical force.
I felt a sharp pull low in my belly, a heavy throbbing that had nothing to do with fear. My nipples hardened against the cool air, and a flush rose from my chest to my neck.
Chase saw my reaction. His eyes darkened, pupils wide. A low rumble started in his chest as he stepped closer, blocking Jax’s view with his broad back.
He reached out, thumb brushing mud from my collarbone, his touch hot.
"Are you okay?" he murmured, voice rough.
"I... yes," I breathed, struggling to focus.
Behind him, Jax coughed, sitting up and wiping his eyes. He looked at us—at Chase’s protective stance—and looked away, pain flashing across his features before he masked it.
"He got away," Jax rasped, pulling on tattered pants. "But he knows we're onto him. He won’t stop."
"Neither will we," Chase said, eyes still on me.
Jax hesitated, then nodded. "I... I should head back. Check on the settlement. I'll go bring those three rogue kids we tied up back to camp."
The tied-up pups were whimpering nearby.
"Go," Chase said, voice carrying Alpha command. "We’ll handle things here."
Jax nodded. "See you, Sis."
He jogged into the treeline, disappearing into shadow.
When we were alone, Chase stepped closer, until his chest brushed my sensitive, hardened nipples, sending a jolt of electricity through me.
"I’ll find my clothes," he murmured, hands sliding to my hips, pulling me against him. "But first..."
He leaned down, lips grazing my ear. "I want to kiss you."
He cupped my face and kissed me.