Scarlet - Alpha Marked, Book I (6 page)

“
Always.” He strode toward
the waiting Captain.

Then it was Keller’s turn, her mate
drawing her forward and giving her a gentle kiss. He gifted her
with a soft caress of his tongue against hers that left her equally
panting when he pulled away.

“
They’re going to
underestimate you. They’re not going to be prepared for the
ass-whipping you’re about to lay down. But you’re an Alpha, Keller.
Show them.”

He nodded, brushed one last chaste
kiss over her lips and then he was following Madden to the center
of the ring.

Whitney wrapped an arm around her
waist, resting her head on her shoulder. “They’ll be
fine.”

Gabby twined her fingers with
Scarlet’s. “They haven’t fought their way to the top for nothing.
They’ll kick ass, and then they’ll boink you all night. It’s all
good.”

Silence descended, both pairs of
Alphas standing before the Captain. “This is a challenge to the
death for position and mate. Each Alpha pair shall fight. One on
two legs, the other on four.” A soft murmur went through the crowd,
but the Captain ignored the sounds. “Alphas, please prepare. The
challenge shall begin once the first wolf has completed his
shift.”

With that, he stepped back, and the
scariest moments of Scarlet’s life began.

*

Keller didn’t hesitate. He tore at his
shirt, and ripped his slacks, cloth parting beneath his shifting
claws. Fur pushed through his pores in a gentle wave. His bones
reshaped and muscles shortened, body taking on the form of his
beast. No pain assaulted him. No, it was pure pleasure at the wolf
being released to defend their position, their mate.

He kept his gaze on the other shifting
wolf, noting with satisfaction that it was the larger of the two
mirroring him. Scarlet had been correct: the Colson Alphas were
sloppy and quick to anger, and Keller would use that to his
benefit. The other wolf might be larger and stronger, but Keller
was faster. He’d dart in and out, scratch and claw the other beast
until it lost control. Then he’d win.

Madden stood tense at his side, hands
fisted and knuckles white with restrained rage. Keller felt the
anger, the controlled fury bubbling beneath the skin and pumping
through veins.

He prided himself on the swiftness of
his change, and in less than five seconds he was on four feet. The
other wolf, Garron, was still engaged in his shift, legs reshaping
to his beast’s form. Tanned skin had given way to gray fur, and the
man outweighed him by at least fifty pounds.

Now.
Keller roared to his partner as he leapt across the space
separating them.

Madden’s bellow echoed through his
mind and rang through the room. From his periphery, he watched the
massive man keep pace with him.

A beefy fist collided with Quentin,
and that was the last sight of his two-legged partner that reached
him. His world became narrowed to a view of fur and
flesh.

Garron attacked quickly, a flash of
fangs that snapped at him upon his approach. Keller was faster,
ducking and retaliating with a bite of his own. His teeth tightened
on the wolf’s foreleg and blood flowed over his tongue.

Keller the man was disgusted by the
raw taste. Keller the wolf gloried in the strike and savored the
other man’s honeyed, copper fluid.

First blood.

Except Garron reacted in kind, sinking
his wicked teeth into his back and biting into his flesh, the wound
much too close to Keller’s spine for comfort.

He released the other wolf, and it
danced back only to dart forward once again. Keller jumped aside,
digging his teeth into his opponent’s hindquarter as he passed.
More blood. More of that goodness. His wolf salivated, aching to
taste the interloper once again.

But Garron’s attack hadn’t failed
completely. A throbbing pain erupted along his side, the ache
pulsing with every beat of his heart. Wetness coated his ribs, and
he knew his enemy had injured him.

But he couldn’t dwell on the wound.
Not when Garron spun on him, rising to his hind legs. He countered,
balancing and meeting the attack. The Colson Alpha snapped his
teeth, fighting to bite Keller’s vulnerable throat, but only
managing to gouge his muzzle.

Garron’s nails dug into his shoulders,
sinking past fur and skin deep into him. More of his blood crept
forth. Keller pushed back the blossoming hurt.

The enemy wouldn’t win, no matter how
hard he tried.

Keller remained upright and dug his
claws into the other wolf’s fur, searching for skin and flesh that
lurked out of sight.

His competitor broke off from their
clench, stumbling, but he didn’t let the wolf wander far. Keller
pounced, mouth opening wide and then it was filled with the wolf’s
protective fur. He fought to breathe, drawing in air past the blood
that filled his nostrils. Fuck. Had the bastard broken his
nose?

Increasing the pressure of his bite,
he was rewarded with a rush Garron’s of blood filling his mouth.
Applying further force gave him the crack of bone.

Garron pulled and yanked against his
hold, snarling barks interspersed with whimpers. Keller had managed
to slow the larger wolf, his attack breaking a leg.

He released and danced back, moving
out of reach and he watched the other wolf limp back and forth.
Garron’s gaze absorbed everything, and Keller did the same. His
enemy’s hobble was easily noticeable. Blood flowed freely from the
wound, and a bone poked through the skin. The other wolf’s muzzle
bled sluggishly, but the hindquarter released more and more viscous
fluid with each beat of his heart.

The enemy wolf was close to the end.
Its chest heaved with every breath, expanding and contracting in an
ever-increasing rhythm.

He distantly heard grunts and groans
from Madden’s fight, the collision of flesh against flesh coming
with regularity. But few of the sounds came from his
partner.

Keller flashed his fangs, curling his
upper lip until the gleaming lengths were visible.

A bellow of rage reached
him, and he stretched his mind to Madden.
Easy. Don’t fall into his trap, Madden.

He didn’t have time to say much more.
Not when Garron rushed forward and pounced on him, shoving him
until he lay beneath the larger wolf.

A shout reached him, the single word
from Scarlet’s mouth working to bolster his strength.
“No!”

Keller worked his back legs, clawing
the vulnerable underbelly of his attacker while he used his
forelegs to keep the man’s life-ending teeth from his neck. A
mixture of his and Garron’s blood surrounded him. His enemy didn’t
simply snapped at him with deadly teeth. No, claws scraped and
shredded him as he lay supine on the ground.

Enough.

He gathered his strength, dug into the
part of him he often suppressed, and let his true beast free. He
shed the mantle of calm knowledge and peace to reveal a
monster.

With a great heave, he shoved Garron
from his prone body, rolling them until he stood over the larger
wolf.

Part of him, the portion that always
worked toward a diplomatic end to any conflict, detested what he
was about to do. His other half reveled in the bloodshed. It
rejoiced in securing their place at Scarlet’s side. They couldn’t
care less about ruling the North American packs. But nothing would
keep them from their mate. Nothing.

That single thought in mind, he
lowered his head, opened his mouth wide and then tightened his
jaws. He relished the resounding snap of bone as he killed the wolf
beneath him.

Fresh, tasty blood flowed freely, and
he only allowed the wolf to swallow one mouthful. It fought against
his control, aching to finish its meal, but he wrestled the beast
into submission. The encounter wasn’t about the hunt, but the kill.
They’d search out dinner. Later. After they’d secured Scarlet as
theirs.

He released the dead wolf and moved
away from the body until he was able to sit and catch his breath.
Wounds made themselves known, other cuts and bites he’d not
noticed, now throbbed in time with his heart. They’d heal soon
enough. For now, his attention remained riveted on Quentin and
Madden.

Both men were covered in their fair
share of blood, the battle made more difficult when fighting
without the benefit of sharp teeth and claws.

Madden struck again and again, fists
colliding with Quentin’s cheek, chin then stomach. It was a
constantly shifting dance of pain, the two men hunting for the
opportunity to end the fight. Permanently.

Quentin noticed his dead partner and
darted away from Madden, heading straight for Keller. The man’s
eyes had changed to a glowing yellow, showing the wolf was in
charge of the human body.

“
Nooo…” Quentin’s scream
was barely recognizable.

The enemy wolf ran toward him, gaze on
the dead body at his side. Keller danced away from the corpse,
moving with growing stiffness, not wanting to be caught up in the
man’s madness. It happened sometimes, one partner going insane when
they lost half of their pair.

Only…only he’d thought the man was
heading for the dead wolf, fighting to get to his deceased
partner.

He was wrong.

Quentin shifted with each step, face
reforming, fur bursting through skin and hands transforming into
claws. Shifting broke the rules and technically ended the fight,
but he doubted that’d mean much to the approaching
madman.

Keller backed away, working to put
distance between him and the looming man. Five feet… Then three…
Then…

Madden caught the shifting Alpha
mid-pounce, snatched the back of his shirt and yanked the wolf
against his chest. In a lightning-fast move, his arms encircled
Quentin’s neck.

Crack.

Another death complete.

Keller stared at his partner, his
brother Alpha, and would have smiled in triumph if he hadn’t been
in so much pain. Silence surrounded them, and he heard nothing more
than their breathing. Adrenaline slipped away, sliding from his
blood and leaving him simply a battered, yet victorious,
wolf.

Scarlet sensed her mates’ need
vibrating through her, strumming her body like the cords of a
guitar, and she was drawn to answer their call.

Unfortunately, due to the dead
assholes, she wasn’t able to give in. Not when her mates had to
clean up and heal from their wounds.

Walking between them through the
expansive hallways of the hotel, she kept to their sedate pace.
Madden’s face was peppered with bruises, and one eye was swollen
shut. His lower lip was puffed to twice its normal size with a
split on the left side. He didn’t make a sound as they traveled,
but he did clutch his ribs, a single arm wrapped tight around his
chest.

Keller wasn’t faring much better. The
wound near his hip still bled, albeit much slower than before, and
the tear in his side worried her. His fur was matted, blood soaking
his gray body. He favored his fore-leg, and the wolf half-hopped
alongside her. His muzzle boasted scratches and scrapes, including
a bone-deep furrow she imagined had been caused by Garron’s fang.
More than anything, Scarlet was worried about his blood
loss.

Bastard. She wanted to resurrect the
dead wolf so she could kick his ass. True, they’d have to hold him
down so she could get him good, but she wasn’t against breaking the
rules.

Two guards led the way, the Captain
being one of them, while three followed, including her personal
gun-slinger and the Lieutenant. From what she could tell, they were
being protected by the best of the Ruling Alpha’s
soldiers.

Gah. Ruling Alphas. She still hadn't
quite gotten over their position. She was a freaking administrative
assistant and totally not “ruling anything” material. She’d been
expecting a minor set of wolves. Guys that led a pack in Podunk and
didn’t need a badass woman at their side.

Scarlet took a deep breath. That
didn’t matter. Fate, or whatever, decided she was supposed to mate
the men at her sides, and she would do just that.

Their entourage paused at the
elevators, all of them stilling as they waited for the car to
arrive. They didn’t have to wait long, and the low ding announced
its arrival. Fitting into the metal box took a bit of finagling,
but eventually the eight of them packed into the small space. This
time, the five wolves encircled them while Scarlet, Keller, and
Madden had the wall at their backs. Her men repositioned themselves
with ease, telling her without words that this was a regular
occurrence.

Great. Something fun to look forward
to for the rest of her life.

They arrived at the top floor and one
of the guards used a special key and card to gain
entrance.

Lord, there she found even more
guards.

“
Seriously?” She’d
whispered the words, but every wolf turned their attention to her.
Damn furry hearing.

Madden chuckled and then let out a
pained groan. It pulled her focus from the surrounding men and back
to her mates.