Sold to a Wolf Pack

SBAWP | Chapter 18

Older Brother growls, prepared to strike, and pushes off the ground with his hind paws. As he launches himself at me, his drooling muzzle opens wide, putting his sharp teeth on full display. I watch them move closer and closer to my throat and count down the seconds I have left. Ten, nine... my pulse starts to race wildly in my chest... eight, seven... Older Brother's white canines come closer and closer, until they're only inches from my flesh... six, five... I've never so near death and I know this could be it... four, three... I hold my breath... two, one... then, at the last possible second, I throw myself to the side.

I regret it the moment I crash to the ground. The impact rattles the contents of my skull and reverberates through my entire body. For a split second, the dizziness gets so bad that I think I might actually throw up. I really don't want to regurgitate the remnants of Joe's pizza. If I do, there's no way I'm ever eating there again. Which means I can kiss my 50 dates with Logan goodbye. Well, assuming I get out of here alive and he doesn't change his mind.

I whine pitifully from the pain, but I know no matter how much I hurt, it can't even begin to compare with Older Brother. As I land on the ground with a thud, he continues on a direct trajectory with the tree. He tries to stop himself, desperately, but momentum keeps him going. There's no way for him to prevent what's about to happen, and I see a momentary look of 'oh, shit' on his wolf face before he slams head-first into the tree. There's a loud crack and then he slides down and falls limp on the grass.

I don't have time to check if he's still alive; I have to help my friends, which means taking down Beta. Now that he and I are about to fight one on one, the odds are a thousand times better. His shoulder injury has stopped bleeding, but but it probably hurts like a female dog. My own head is still throbbing and the dizziness doesn't quite dissipate, but at least my nausea ebbs and my aversion to Joe's Pizza dissipates. Hurray for more days.

I get to my feet and glance at Zara. Her coat is covered in even more blood now. The multiple, heavily bleeding wounds and missing chunks of flesh on her left side don't look good, but at least she's still standing. Her opponent is covered in blood too, though it's hard to tell if it's his or Zara's. I watch him briefly, and it's a relief to see him moving slowly, like he's tired, injured, or both.

I dread checking on the kids, fearing Nisha's already dead, and maybe little Joshie too. I swivel my head and then gape in surprise, tongue lolling. Nisha is panting next to the Rogue kid, who's lying on his side, unconscious. Nisha's throat glistens in the sun, which means she's bleeding, but she seems fine otherwise. Meanwhile, Joshie—the hero—is holding a large rock over the unconscious wolf's head. The Rogue kid starts to regain consciousness, and Joshie smashes the rock against his scalp, rendering him unconscious again. Brutal.

I turn to Jess next, and of course she's still circling the white wolf like she's got all day. She's made literally no progress—her opponent's coat is a pristine white, and Jess doesn't have a single wound on her beautiful red coat. It's like she's not even trying—like she's at some lame school dance and she plans to shift her weight back and forth while the rest of us die.

I feel a wave of disgust and I'm about to look away when I see her send Zara a panicked look. She tries to rush to help her, but the white wolf cuts her off, head-butting her in the side and sending her sprawling. Jess gets to her feet and tries to rush past him again, but he keeps her contained. She tries to switch strategies, attacking him, but he just dances out of the way and keeps circling.

I frown as she attacks again and again, and he moves out of her way every single time time. He doesn't try to harm her, even though she's wide open to attack. It's like he doesn't want to hurt her—or he's just toying with her like she's a pup. What's going on?

I'm so busy trying to figure it out, I almost don't notice when Beta lunges at me, his snapping jaw aimed straight for my throat. 

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Um, guys... 

I'm a little freaked out because... 

in the next chapter... 

*swallows nervously* 

Well...

You'll see....

On Friday.

Also, what did you think of this chapter? Be honest. I'm strong, I can take it! 

♥ Vote to save Saffron. Comment  to save Zara. Go to the Sold to a Wolf Pack Facebook group and participate in the poll to save everyone else* ♥

*Voting, commenting and participating on FB does not ensure they'll live. It will make it more likely though... you know, peer pressure.

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