Made To Be Hostile: Chapter 15

-Flint-

I ran from the home theater as fast as I could. If I stayed there any longer, I knew I'd do something I would regret. Just the slightest brush of her little body and pointed nipples against my muscular stomach sent my heart into overdrive and my cock at attention.

"Where are you running off to?" Conri rounded the corner and nearly collided with me.

I heaved a giant breath and willed my cock to go down. "Dot is in the home theater. Will you help her navigate the controls?"

"Are you scared of that little omega?" My son smirked, though his expression told me he knew of my real problem.

I grumbled irritably and shouldered past him.

"If you need something to take your mind off her, Mingan can use some help with the patrols."

I scoffed. If only Conri knew I hadn't been able to take my mind off my mate since I first met her. Still, being useful might help my restlessness.

"She at the main base?" I questioned.

Conri nodded before turning and making his way to my mate. I grumbled to myself, but I too began my trek to my destination. The main base wasn't very far from the pack house, and about halfway there, I spotted a familiar person.

"Rider!" I shouted.

Rider turned around and shot me a grin. "Good to see you, Alpha." He greeted as he slowed for me to catch up.

"I'm not Alpha anymore." I snorted.

"Habit." He chuckled. "Are you going to the main base too?"

I nodded. I didn't mind accompanying my old Beta. We'd been working together ever since I'd taken the role as Pack Alpha in my twenties, and he was my closest friend.

"I hear there's been some activity at the borders lately," he said solemnly.

I stiffened. With the rise of Mingan as Alpha, many rogues had started encroaching on our land. I reckoned they viewed her as weaker, especially compared to me.

"So that's why she's been increasing the patrols," I concluded with a furrowed brow. If I was Alpha, I'd do the same thing. However, while I usually handled the rogues with a swift death, Mingan took a lighter approach. She didn't believe in killing them without hearing their story first, and more often than not, she sent them away with only a few bruises.

"Times are changing." Rider sighed. He must have been thinking the same thing as me.

I grunted in response. We turned down a forest path, and after a mile or so, the base came into our view. Several groups of people were scattered about. Many practicing hand to hand combat, and some cleaning various weapons. Others just stood idly by, chatting leisurely. I held in a growl. If I was still in charge, I'd never allow such slacking.

"Flint." Mingan's voice sounded as Rider and I approached.

She stood on the porch surrounded by a few warriors. When we reached them, they bowed their heads respectfully.

"I'm glad your here." Mingan smiled. "I was just explaining about the border activity."

"Rogues?" I asked.

"Not this time." Her face turned serious.

"Then what? Another pack?" Rider interjected in alarm.

"There's evidence of mercenaries prowling." Mingan explained with a heavy frown. "We need to beef up security."

This time a growl really did escape my throat. "Damn it. They must be with the Genetics Laboratory." I spat.

"My thoughts exactly." Mingan agreed with a dark face. "We're increasing perimeter checks to three times daily."

I nodded. There was no way in hell I'd let my mate be taken from me, despite how much she hated and feared me. "I'll head to the river."

"Rider, why don't you start at the eastern base and…" I didn't stick around to hear the rest. I already knew the area I'd be patrolling. Because the river was so close to the border, plenty of rogues used it to try to hide their scent so it was a weak spot in our territory.

Stripping quickly, I bent down and let my wolf break free, then took off in a gallop in the direction on the river. In my wolf form, it took me barely half an hour to reach the river that marked the border of our territory.

If it weren't for my thick black fur, the chilly air might have bothered me. The leaves were quickly turning brilliant shades of red and yellow, signaling the swiftly approaching autumn.

As I picked my way through the brush, listening carefully for abnormalities, my mind couldn't help but wonder about my mate again. Did she have sufficient clothes for the winter. Even though she'd put on weight much more quickly than I expected, she was still basically skin and bones and such a little thing. If she'd have me, I'd gladly let her cuddle up to me for warmth, but would that actually ever happen?

I sighed. I never expected a mate like Dot. Small, helpless, her blunt clawless nails unable to protect her. I once felt bitter that my mate was such a pitiful little creature, and in a way I still did, but somehow… with barely any words spoken to one another, she'd wiggled her way into my heart, my soul. How was I supposed to live like this?

A rustle near by brought me out of my trance. I narrowed my eyes and lowered myself to the ground. Barely a second went by before I let out a snarl and pounced on the invader. However, just as I was about to bite down on the other wolf's neck, I recognized their scent and familiar red fur of Skadi.

Immediately, she rolled to her back as she transformed into her human form, completely naked and bared to me.

"Hey stranger," her lips curled into a flirty smile as her eyes glistened with amusement.

She brought her hand to caress my muzzle and arched her back until her breasts and muscular body pressed into mine.

I growled and instantly stepped away. While I was alpha, she'd never acted so obscene. However, after I'd stepped down, she somehow got it in her head that she could seduce me. But now I had a mate, did she think she still had a chance?

Instead of turning back human or responding in any way, I merely brushed past her with a low growl and continued my patrol.

"Don't be like that," she giggled as she hurried to catch up to me.

I paid her no mind. I just didn't have the energy to deal with her. No matter how many times I rejected her, she just kept coming back with even more vigor.

"You're not even gonna talk to me?" She pouted exaggeratedly as she slank sensually beside me.

I rolled my eyes. She acted so obviously it almost made me laugh.

My ears flattened when I heard a growl up ahead. I crouched lower and returned the growl with a snarl of my own.

Suddenly, a grey wolf emerged from behind a copse of trees. He was smaller than me, but his eyes looked wild. I noticed a belt that strapped a hunting knife and gun on his hind leg as worn by most mercenaries. In a blink of an eye, he lunged at me with more force than he looked able.

I let out a fierce roar as he barreled into my side, but I quickly rolled out of the way of his snapping jowls. Saliva spewed from his mouth as he righted himself and prepared for another tackle, but this mother fucker wasn't going to touch me again. I was much stronger and the best fighter of the pack. His one chance at a surprise attack to bring me down was gone, and it was my turn now.

I swiped at him with sharp claws and caught him on his muzzle. He yelped, but I didn't stop. We both reared up on our hind legs, but my much larger size gave me the advantage. I clawed into his chest and threw him onto the ground. He landed painfully on his side, and without a second thought, I bit into his neck and ripped out his throat. I repeated that until his head was barely attached and blood coated the forest floor. Within seconds, the fight was over.

I heard Skadi's cruel laughter from behind me, and only then did I stop. I finally looked at my handiwork and noticed the excessiveness of my violence.

"And here I thought your little Mate had made you soft." She smirked coldly. The fur on my back raised. If Skadi was patrolling, how had she allowed the intruder to sneak up on us to easily?

I inspected the lifeless body. He was much leaner with a body built for speed. Being a mercenary, he probably used that to his advantage to sneek rather than try to overpower his enemies.

I sighed. All I knew was that Mingan was going to be furious.