Total pages in book: 126
Estimated words: 120031 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 600(@200wpm)___ 480(@250wpm)___ 400(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 120031 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 600(@200wpm)___ 480(@250wpm)___ 400(@300wpm)
“I see.” Adrian looked at his Beta, who’d been eavesdropping. “Clare.”
Whatever the Beta female saw on his face made her nod and melt away.
Adrian turned back to Eli. “Until Casey moves to your pack later today, she’s one of mine. And I don’t take kindly to anyone targeting her mate. Clare will see to it that your brother has plenty of backup from my pack.”
“What kind of backup?” asked Eli, hope flickering to life in his belly. He’d take any aid at this point. The assistance of a mink pack was no small thing.
“Oh, approximately one hundred minks. Trust me, Eli—Ignacio won’t get out of this attack alive, and nor will any of his cats. Now wipe that worried look off your face and enjoy what’s left of this duel. Casey’s mink is just about done with Sherryl’s.”
Scrubbing at his jaw, Eli turned back to the fight just in time to see his mate tear a strip off the fawn-colored mink’s scalp. He winced. Fuck, that had to hurt. But he felt no sympathy for his mate’s opponent.
Panting heavily, the fawn mink looked tired and disoriented. It was no surprise, considering she was bleeding from too many injuries to count.
His mate had a lot of wounds of her own, and Eli could feel that she was in real pain. But, apparently, she was much like Casey and had an impressive tolerance for pain, because she was still fighting hard and dirty.
Claws unsheathed, his mate latched onto the neck of the other mink, who twisted and slashed at her with sharp claws. And then … honestly, they moved at such a dizzying speed that it was truly hard to follow exactly what was happening.
The whole time they fought, they shrieked and hissed and snarled so loud that he was surprised his ears didn’t bleed.
They had seriously fast reflexes, which was good, or his mate’s skull would have been punctured long ago by her opponent’s sharp teeth. The fawn mink was a vicious little shit, always trying to bite his mate’s head or claw at her eyes and throat.
The alarm on his phone chimed, alerting him that the border of his territory had been breached. Fuck. Despite knowing that his pack mates would soon have plenty of backup, panic rode him so hard that his heart was racing. “End it, Casey!” Because they needed to fucking leave yesterday.
Just then, the two minks backed away a moment, glaring at each other. They growled, scraping at the ground, preparing to lunge.
It was his mate who moved first. Back arched, tail whipping from side to side, she pitched forward and slashed at the fawn mink’s face. Then they were at it again—pouncing, rolling, and biting.
His mate finally got a firm grip on the fawn mink, who frantically spun and writhed as she tried to wriggle free. But his mate spun and writhed along with her, holding her tight. Then his mate sank her sharp teeth into the base of the other mink’s skull. She didn’t let her go. Just held her in that bone-crushing bite.
“Yield or she’ll kill you!” a Seal shouted. Her teammates echoed her, their eyes gleaming with horror.
The Seals’ coach leaned forward and shouted, “Yield, Sherryl!”
But the critter didn’t. It twisted again, pointlessly trying to claw at his mate, who then bit harder into her opponent’s skull.
Everyone sucked in a breath.
Eli watched as the fawn mink’s struggles slowed until, finally, it went limp. Dead. He let out a long breath, and his wolf almost sagged with relief.
Eli expected his mink to try playing with the corpse—she did that often at his territory. Instead, she backed away from the body and shifted.
Muscles quivering, Casey rose to her feet and stared down at the dead mink. Eli rushed to his mate and curled his arms around her, careful not to press on her injuries—she was covered in vicious bites and rake marks.
Knowing she needed a moment to gather her composure and have her injuries healed, he fought back his eagerness to leave and palmed the back of her neck. “You did good.”
She rested her forehead on his chest. And then Dennis was there, placing his hand on her shoulder. Eli felt the male’s warm healing energy flood her body. Unlike Ally’s healing energy, however, it didn’t soothe her pain. But her injuries were healed—that was what mattered.
She looked up at Eli. “I can feel anxiety and panic racing through you. I’m fine, the duel’s over.”
He grabbed her upper arms. “We need to leave now. I’m sorry, baby, but I can’t wait for you to wash away the blood—we have to go.”
She stiffened. “What’s going on? And where are the rest of your pack mates?”
Adrian appeared at her side. “Here are your clothes, Casey.”
“Eli, tell me what’s wrong,” she insisted, even as she pulled on her clothes.