Chapter 167

Yeah, I knew that a potent alpha stare could make weaker beings piss their pants, but I’d just learned that my inner bitch could be more dominant than an alpha’s when she was challenged.

Even Shade’s warrior body tensed beneath me. He probably knew what his brother and I had gotten into, and he was trying not to get in the middle.

Sideburns sniffed again, his eyes bright. He was definitely trying to get more of my scent. He was such a contradictory creature. He desired me and he acted like he didn’t want me. I had no time for hypocrites.

But my body still felt hot and heavy for him. Whenever he was close, my core tightened in need, and I grew wet.

I could tell that he wasn’t happy that his brother carried me. But if he snatched me into his arms, I wouldn’t fight him. Disappointment and bitterness brewed in my middle when he turned away.

For a moment, I sincerely thought there was something wrong with me, terribly wrong. The hunters had called me Death and abomination, and now, by some one-in-a-million chance, I had bumped into my fated mate, but he kept me at arm’s length.

Before I allowed myself to further wallow in my misfortune, a wolf from the very front howled an alarm. The rest of the pack followed, howling ferociously. We stopped moving.

 A war song vibrated in the air and resonated in my veins, as if I’d known that song since birth.

“Bloodsuckers!” Sideburns snarled, looking deep into the forest for the looming threat. “We’ve run right into their fucking ambush.”

“We tried to keep this mission top secret,” Shade hissed. “But with a pack of two dozen shifters, we’re bound to be noticed.”

Sideburns nodded my direction. “Your job is to protect her, brother.”

He couldn’t even bring himself to call me by my name most of the time, even though Pip might not be my name. However, he didn’t know that.

“I can protect myself just fine,” I said, sliding off Shade’s back. “And my name is Pip. P-I-P.”

The Alpha Heir ignored me.

I flexed my legs while doing a few stretches. After being on Shade’s shoulder, then his back, for so long, my legs were asleep.

“Battle ready!” Sideburns roared. “Alpha Team up front. Beta Team back up.”

He didn’t seem very creative.

The pack howled their battle cries.

The horrible feeling of being hunted swirled back into me. Cold sweat

gathered under my armpits. I prayed this bunch of vampires weren’t another group of hunters targeting me. But I knew that even if they weren’t coming for me, I still didn’t want to be caught in the crossfire.

##########################

I n the blink of an eye, shifter soldiers had formed a ring in the clearing with Shade and me at the center. They had dumped their tent equipment and bedding, among other supplies, in two

large piles near me. Without a word, I dove toward the bigger pile at high speed and wiggled myself inside to hide.