“She's not your mate!”
Rhett laughed. “I'm not looking for a mate. I want a new female. A human I can turn and claim.”
“You know you shouldn't turn humans into werewolves without their consent. They may not survive the turning, and they have to know the risks and the life they are giving up. You are making them part of your pack. They will be bound to you. They will have to heed your call, obey you, fight for you, sacrifice their lives for you.”
Rhett laughed. “Oh, but I didn't fully turn all those human women. I only half-turned them.”
Declan looked sickened by the revelation. “You should let them go,” he said slowly.
“Oh, you're going to interfere with what I do with my pack as well? You are not the Alpha of the Red Fangs pack, Declan. I am.”
“Not for long,” Declan muttered.
Rhett's claw dug into Mina's side. “You can watch me turn her, Declan. It'd be fun...for me.”
Mina screamed as jagged teeth pushed into her neck and clamped down on her soft flesh. The pain was so intense it was a wonder she didn't pass out.
Forcing her eyes open, Mina saw Declan throw off a dozen red wolves, batting them away like flies. The red wolves continued attacking, but they didn't slow Declan down. He charged towards Mina with a deafening roar, his face twisted in pain and wrath.
Mina tried to stretch out her hand to him. “Declan...” she croaked, struggling to remain conscious. Her body was going numb, even though her limbs were jerking uncontrollably. There must be something in the werewolf's saliva, some paralyzing agent or toxin that overrode her brain's signals to her nerves. Mina tried to move her legs to kick Rhett but she didn't even have the strength to remain upright.
Behind Declan, she saw a red wolf with hazel eyes coming towards her. With a powerful leap, the red wolf flew into the air, fangs and claws glinting dangerously. Mina tried to shout out a warning to Declan, but her voice wouldn't work. She twisted feebly in Rhett's grip and felt his teeth and claws retract from her body abruptly. The red wolf wasn't aiming for Declan. It was coming at Rhett.
The wolf knocked Rhett away from her, and stepped back, shifting smoothly to human form. In a blink, a dark-haired man stood in front of Rhett. He had his naked back to Mina, and she saw red fur receding rapidly from his muscular shoulders and corded legs.
Declan scooped her up in his arms and snarled, “Step away, Logan. Move, Logan, or I'll be forced to kill you!”
Logan turned and flicked his hazel eyes down at Mina. Mina clutched at Declan's arm and wheezed, “He...he saved me. He's not like...them.”
Turning to Logan, she whispered, “I remember you.” She tried to smile at him but her facial muscles wouldn't work.
Logan acknowledged her comment with a grim nod. “Go,” he told Declan. “She needs you.”
Rhett roared and tried to lunge at Mina, but Logan's arm shot out and blocked him.
Rhett's fangs elongated as he spat, “What do you think you are doing, Logan? Are you challenging me, your Alpha?”
“Yes,” Logan answered smoothly. “I challenge you.”
At his words, all the red wolves stopped fighting and backed away from the growling white wolves.
Logan and Rhett shifted into their wolf form at the same time, and howled. All the red wolves howled to acknowledge the declaration. Logan had just declared to his pack his intent to challenge the Alpha. The Red Fangs pack would now be split. The wolves would have to take sides. They could choose to back their Alpha, or support the challenger. Loyalties would be split, and blood would be spilled.
It would be a fight to the death.
If Logan won the challenge and became the new Alpha, all the wolves who had declared their loyalty to Rhett would either be executed or banished from the pack.
But if Rhett defeated and destroyed Logan, then all Logan's supporters would be banished. Banished or killed.
The white wolves ceased their attack on the Red Fangs pack. The red wolves had just bayed for blood. Blood and change. A change in Alpha would mean a change in the entire structure and size of the pack. When a leadership challenge was declared, there was a moratorium on the pack's external affairs. Other packs and clans would have to back off, and allow the pack some time to reorganize itself.
Declan held up a hand to his white wolves, and nodded once. They were to stand down and let the red wolves leave their territory.
Turning to Logan, Declan bit out two words, “Three days.”
The red wolf nodded and barked a command to his followers. Mina raised her head from Declan's chest and watched Logan lead the majority of the Red Fangs pack away from Snow River territory.
“They are leaving?” Mina asked dazedly.
“Yes,” Declan answered. “Logan has just issued a challenge to his Alpha. He is going to fight him for leadership of the Red Fangs pack. The wolves who are following Logan right now are supporting him in his challenge.”
Mina smiled when she saw most of the red wolves running after Logan, throwing their support behind him.
She glanced down at the huge wolf eyeing her from a few feet away. “You...are going down,” she spat at Rhett. “I hope you lose!”
Rhett growled but he couldn't do anything to her. She was in Declan's arms, and six white wolves had positioned themselves between Rhett and Declan.
The white wolves watched the rest of the Red Fangs pack follow their Alpha silently back to their territory, where the challenger was waiting. Blood would be spilled in the Red Fangs pack this night. There would be blood and death, and the pack would be radically changed. The white wolves would just have to wait and see if the Red Fangs pack emerged stronger, leaner and better after the challenge.
Mina clawed at Declan's bare chest, digging her nails into his smooth, tanned skin. “I...I'm cold, Declan,” she whispered through chattering teeth. “I'm so cold...so very cold...”
Declan pressed his lips to her forehead as he turned and strode back into his house. His wolves watched him in silence. Without glancing back, Declan kicked his front door shut with so much force the walls shook. Taking three steps at a time, he carried her up the stairs and into his bedroom.
Without a word, he laid her on the bed and started stripping off her clothes.
“W-what are you d-doing?” she protested weakly. “Stop...”
“I have to do this, Mina,” he snapped, tearing off her bra and panties. She tried to turn away but he held her and covered her shivering body with his own. Immediately, she felt the heat of his body seep through her pores, warming her up and easing the acute pain all over her body.
“W-what's happening to me, Declan?” she stammered.
He inhaled a sharp, painful breath. “He bit you. Rhett bit you with his fangs. He injected you with his toxin.”
“Toxin?”
“If we want to turn a human, we inject a toxin from our fangs into their bloodstream.”
“T-turn? I...I'm turning...into a werewolf?” Mina could hear the hysteria in her voice.
“No. Rhett didn't inject enough toxin into your bloodstream. He intended to only half-turn you. You will experience the wants and cravings of a werewolf, but you will not have the strength and power of the wolf in you. You won't be able to shift into wolf form, and you won't have the instincts and the power of the beast.”
Mina tried to swallow. “Then what...”
“You'll just have the appetite of the wolf. You will want, but you won't have the ability to fight for what you want.” Declan's eyes blazed with fury.
“Want? You mean...no. No,” she whispered, remembering the agonizing ache she'd felt earlier with Declan. “I'll be...in need, in heat...” She shook her head.
“Yes. You will want to mate. But you won't be able to claim your mate. You won't be able to hunt, to fight, to survive.”
Mina's eyes widened at the realization. “I'll die...”
“N
o, Mina. You have a choice. You can either go back, or go forward. You can try to reverse the turning. Some witches have succeeded in purging the toxin and erasing the trauma from the victim's mind. But the process is dangerous and not always successful. Some of the humans survive the reversal, but their minds and memories are damaged forever...”
Mina shuddered. “W-what's the other choice?”
Declan stared into her eyes. “You can choose to reverse the turning...or—complete the turning. You can choose to be turned into a full werewolf.”
“A werewolf.” Mina closed her eyes for an instant, then opened them to gaze into Declan's intense blue eyes. “Like you.”
He nodded. “Like me.”
Mina cried out as a crushing wave of pain pulled her under. She gripped Declan's huge hand and crushed his long fingers in her palm. She must have broken all the bones in his hand, but he didn't pull away. When she could open her eyes again, she panted, “Do it. Turn me, Declan. I don't want to lose my mind and my memories. I want to fight! Like a wolf!”
Her body began to spasm and convulse violently. Gritting her teeth against the agony, she screamed, “Do it. Now!”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Declan held her tight as she thrashed and writhed in his arms. Her body was drenched in sweat, and her breathing was rapid and shallow. Her eyes rolled back in her head, and her hand slipped from his.
“Mina!” he roared, feeling his wolf rise to the surface. His fangs pushed out, and he tilted her head to the side to see the angry bite mark on her pale neck. The wound was jagged and still oozing blood. The skin around the bite mark was turning deep purple and her skin was flushed and blotchy as the werewolf toxins invaded her bloodstream. The continuous bleeding and the ugly purple bruise were classic signs that not enough werewolf toxins had been injected into her system to fully turn her. If enough toxins had been released into her body, the turning would have kick-started her healing process and her body would already have repaired itself. The bleeding would have stopped by now and the bruise would have disappeared. She would be feverish, but she wouldn't be bleeding and convulsing in agony.
Mina coughed and blood spewed from her mouth. Declan's claws dug into the mattress. He would slaughter the red wolves. Every single one of them.
“Stay with me, Mina.” He smoothed her hair from her face as tenderly as he could. “I will turn you. And...I will claim you,” he whispered. He held her shoulders to hold her steady. If he claimed her as his mate while turning her, she would become the Alpha's mate, and she would be an alpha wolf. She would be strong, powerful, dominant, and her turning would be easier and less painful. “Mina, do you accept me as your mate? I will still turn you, even if you don't accept my mate claim.”
She opened her clear, gray eyes and stared at him. “You...want me as your mate?”
“Yes. I will cherish you, protect you, love you and want you forever,” he said.
“Declan...” she sighed softly. “I knew it was you. I knew it was you the first time I saw you, as a great white wolf.” She smiled and raised her hand to cup his face. “My heart recognized you. You are mine. And I am yours, Declan.” She placed her palm over his heart. “Forever.”
That was all he needed to hear. It was everything he wanted to hear.
Kicking off his jeans, he covered her body with his and laved his tongue down the column of her neck. Licking her blood away, he covered the bite mark with his mouth and sucked gently. Her blood bubbled up and clotted over her wound, sealing it. Her body felt too cold and clammy against his. He had to turn her quickly. She had lost a lot of blood and was going into shock.
Spreading her legs with his knees, he positioned his erect cock at her entrance and bent over her. With a deep breath, he pierced his fangs into her neck and pushed himself deep into her body.
Mina gasped and bucked, but he held her down firmly. He moved his hips slowly, and she instinctively wrapped her legs around his waist. He let the werewolf toxins flow from his fangs into her blood, as he took her. He could feel the tension leave her body as her pleasure built. He thumbed her nipples as he bit down harder on her shoulder. She cried out and her muscles clenched around him. Declan released her neck and moved his mouth down her heaving chest. She whimpered when he scraped his teeth across her hard nipples. Her breasts quivered as he thrust into her, making her groan with pleasure. Slipping a nipple into his mouth, he suckled her before pushing his fangs into her soft, fleshy breast. More werewolf toxins flooded into her body and her body began to heat up.
Mina's hips were rising to meet his thrusts as he bit down her body. He bit her all over, marking every inch of her beautiful, curvy body. The marks would disappear once she was fully turned. As a werewolf, a fully claimed and turned werewolf, her body would be strong and her wolf would be connected to his. She would be able to draw on his power, his strength and she would be able to heal and regenerate swiftly.
Declan bit into her waist, her hips, her buttocks, her thighs. He could see her skin becoming pink, and feel her temperature rise. Guiding her gently to her knees, he sank his fangs into her round shoulder as he took her from behind. She was so wet now, and her juices were dripping down the insides of her quivering thighs. Declan smeared the tips of his fingers with her honey and coated it over her swollen clit. As he fingered her clit, he clamped down hard on her neck, pushing his fangs deep in. Mina threw her head back and screamed, and he felt her walls tighten and pulse around him, gripping him and milking him. Declan closed his eyes and pumped his seed deep into her sweet, hot body. She was his. She was his woman, his mate, his love.
He had marked her, claimed her, turned her.
Laying her head on his shoulder, Declan tucked Mina into his side and held her as she snuggled against him and fell into a deep sleep. He kissed the top of her head softly. His Mina would wake as a werewolf. And the Snow River pack would have an Alpha pair.
A pack led by an Alpha pair was usually stronger than a pack that was led by just a single Alpha. The Alpha pair would work together, hunt together, and lead the pack together. There would be more balance, less aggression and recklessness.
Mina had been wholly human. There had been no shifter blood in her at all, yet she had fearlessly made the decision to be turned. She wanted to be with him, and to fight. Declan knew that she would make a great Alpha in her own right. She was spunky, funny, and she didn't let anything get her down. She had driven herself all the way from New Moon City, down that long, dark highway, and just kept going. Even after the attack by the Red Fangs, she didn't turn tail and run. Any other city gal would have lost her mind and screamed her way back to the city, but not his Mina. His Mina was a fighter. A wolf. An alpha wolf of the Snow River pack.
Declan hugged her tight.
“I love you, Mina. I never thought I'd find you. You complete me,” he whispered.
Mina snorted loudly in her sleep.
“Okay, so that wasn't too original,” Declan grumbled, kissing her temple. “But I meant every word. You do complete me, and I do love you.” Declan closed his eyes at last and sighed. “So very much.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
Mina put her hand on his arm. “No, Declan,” she said. “I don't think we should attack the Red Fangs pack.”
“It's been three days,” Declan growled. “The challenge should be over. And I don't care who won. Logan or Rhett or some other red wolf makes no difference to me. I'm going to kill them all!”
Mina shook her head. “It makes a big difference. If Logan is the new Alpha of the Red Fangs pack, then I won't allow you to attack his pack.”
Declan narrowed his eyes at her. “They hurt you.”
“Logan saved me. Out on the highway, before you guys reached me, Logan protected me from Rhett by pretending to attack me. He snapped his jaws and growled and went through all the motions, but he never touched a hair on my head. If he's leading the Red Fangs pack, I want us to make peace with the Red Fangs. Th
e Red Fangs pack and the Snow River pack should be allies, not enemies.”
“She's right, Declan,” Iona said, taking a sip of her coffee. “It's easy to make enemies. Blowing up a bridge is easy. Building one is way more difficult.” She shrugged. “You should know. You're in the construction business.”
Declan scowled at his Beta and glanced at his mate. Mina was seated beside him at the head of the long table. He stared round the meeting room. His team leaders looked back at him, careful to keep their faces straight. They were sitting in the conference room of Snow River Construction, discussing company business and pack business.
Declan looked at his beautiful mate. Mina's turning had been smooth and successful. She had slept deeply through the night, and when Declan woke in the morning, he found a sweet white wolf in his bed beside him. She had leaped off the bed playfully and pranced around the bedroom, showing off her fluffy, snowy coat. Then, as he sucked in an awed breath, she shifted effortlessly to human. She was a natural. It was as if she had a wolf inside her all along, just lying dormant under her human form, waiting for the perfect time to emerge.
When Declan threw open his front door, he found the entire Snow River pack camped outside his house. His wolves were waiting in front of his house, standing in the street, guarding their Alpha and his mate. Declan had proudly presented Mina to his pack, and there was a moment of stunned silence before everyone clapped and cheered wildly. Even his wolves were surprised at how fast Mina had recovered. A human could take days to turn. The speed of her turning spoke volumes about her willpower and tenacity. The Snow River pack was proud to have her as an Alpha.
Declan had briefed her on the operations of Snow River Construction, and she had caught on immediately. She had insisted on going with him to the office the very next day instead of resting at home. “I'm your office assistant, remember? I may be your mate, but I have a job. And there's lots to do at the office. Come on! Let's go!” And with that, she was out the door.
Growl for Me: BBW Paranormal Shifter Romance Page 6
