Constantin and Natalya shifted into their wolves for the first time to face the threat on the pack. Natalya was scolding herself for not running border patrol this morning. She was locked up inside an office. She let her defenses down and this was the results. Her beautiful dark gray fur brushed up against Constantin's light gray fur.
In that brief moment, they both risked a glance at each other. The bond was like static electricity that seemed to flare to life even more in their wolf forms. Natalya blinked to break the eye contact before launching her wolf at the nearest opponent—taking it down easily. Two others raced towards Constantin and tried to weigh him down by the odds.
Natalya wanted to run after him but was caught up when the last one snapped his jaw on her shoulders. She growled and whipped her head towards the wolf that attacked her. She latched onto his shoulders and swiped her paw on his side. He whimpered as she dug into his skin with her claws.
She needed to keep one alive.
She knew she had the upper hand as the one before her was lowering his body to the ground. She refuse to let go of his neck. He was losing blood quickly to lose consciousness but not enough to kill him. She had to make sure she was doing this correctly. He whimpered louder and before Natalya knew it a wolf body slammed into her side. She flew a few yards and hit a tree.
Her body crumpled on impact. She let out a whine of pain which caught the attention of Constantin. He snarled and worked harder in ridding of the overly large wolf that was fighting him. The wolf trotted up to Natalya and bit into her shoulder this time to kill. She whined even more in pain and tried to push off the ground but pain shot through her side. She must have broken a rib. She fell back onto the ground.
She could feel the wolf's canine digging into her neck, deep and excruciating pain shot through her body.
She was going to die to an idiot wolf. If she was in her human form she would be laughing her ass off to her own dilemma. She prided herself in fighting. Goddess, what will Maksim and her father think of her now? And she had only just met Constantin.
Constantin...
No.
No, this will not happen.
Something snapped inside of her. It was like a wall that came falling down and something dark that she had kept hidden away came out. She snarled furiously and pushed off from the ground. Her teeth aimed straight at wolf that was trying to kill her.
In a fleeting move, she latched her jaw on her target just where she wanted. She clamped her teeth down hard on his skin, breaking it before pulling as hard as she can. Tearing his throat completely. He fell down onto the ground limp.
She ran towards Constantin and other wolf where she launched herself at the unknown wolf. She snarled and ripped through that wolf like he was a meal. She took pleasure in the blood that splattered all over the ground. Her wolf purred with victory. She was still ripping through his body even when he was dead until she felt a hand on her back.
Instantly, warmth spread through her body. Her wolf and her recognized that touch. They knew who it was even without looking. Her gaze dropped down to the now ripped apart wolf underneath her paws. She felt terror seeped through her veins. She killed this wolf savagely even when he was dead she tore through his body.
She felt like vomiting. Her stomach churned and immediately she shifted. She cried out in pain the minute she was in her human form. Her ribs were broken. Her side was throbbing with agonizing pain. She doubled over and gagged.
Immediately, Constantin fell beside her. He wrapped her up in his arms uncaring that they were both naked. He pulled her close to his body and examined her. When his hand ran over her ribs she cried out again.
His eyes filled with concern and his forehead wrinkled with worry. He was so beautiful. Her mate. A tear slipped from her eye.
"I'm sorry." She whispered hoarsely. She was sorry for killing that wolf like a monster. She was sorry that her mate had a broken past.
You're hurt. Where are the spare clothes? He asked.
She weakly looked in the direction of where they normally place their clothes. He laid her gently down on the ground before walking over to the bush. A few minutes later he came back with a shirt that he helped her in. She winced in pain as he helped her.
He carried her quickly back to the pack. They found Yulian running towards him. He looked frantic and worried.
"What the hell happened?" He growled.
"I don't know. Wolves. Not rogues. One is alive." Natalya was mumbling incomplete sentences because she was slowly losing consciousness from the loss of blood.
Yulian seemed to understand what she was talking about. He nodded and waved for Constantin to take her inside before taking a few warriors and heading out to the area that Natalya and Constantin were fighting.
Constantin walked her inside to the medical wing where everyone worked frantically in saving their Alpha's life. He laid her down gently on the hospital bed. They tried pushing him out but he refused to. He shook his head and remained rooted to the spot.
The bite on her neck was deep and it seemed to be an endless river of blood that seeped from the wound. His heart felt like it was shriveling in his chest with each passing second that she didn't open her eyes. The doctors worked frantically. He knew he should step out of the way but he couldn't.
He couldn't risk leaving her side. He needed to know she will be okay. It seemed like hours that they worked in trying to control the bleeding before it finally stopped. Her breathing was shallow and her lips were parched white. He maintained a calm composure on the outside but on the inside he was in so much pain seeing her like this.
Frustration rolled around in the pit of his stomach and his heart wept at the sight of Natalya unconscious form. He blamed himself for not being able to protect her. This was another reason why she was better off without him.
By now, most doctors and nurses left; only the immediate emergency doctors were there to do their last check on Natalya. The door to the hospital room opened and Constantin tore his gaze finally from Natalya to look.
Many people stood before him. All of them tried to squeeze through the door at once; fighting their way in. Yulian mumbled a few things before ordering them to all come in one at a time or no one will be able to enter.
Constantin caught sight of a woman who was older but had the same violet colored eyes at Natalya. Behind him stood a man whom Constantin could only guess was her mate because he stood protectively over her. Two other couples stood next to them. They looked older but the facial features of the man told Constantin that he was someone close to Natalya. Lastly, behind them stood two more couples who had the aura of a beta; they looked friendly.
"Who is this?" The woman asked.
"That is Alpha Constantin. He is Natalya's mate." Yulian announced.
"What?" They all sputtered at once.
"How can this be?"
"Why wasn't I informed of this?"
"I thought something happened to-ow!" The woman to who Constantin was sure was Natalya's mother slapped the beta over the head.
"I'm so sorry. We do not mean to be rude. It just came as a shock to see you here." She smiled softly at Constantin. "My name is Roza. The man behind me is my mate, Nikolai."
She pointed to the one who had similar facial features at Natalya. "This is Alpha Maksim, Natalya's only brother. Beside him is his mate Octavia and in her arms is their pup, Leon."
"These two here are our former Betas." She introduced them all. Constantin couldn't believe it. Natalya had a huge family. He nodded his greeting and Roza smile slipped a little.
"Alpha Constantin is mute." Yulian hurried to explain.
Understanding dawned on Roza's face and many of them wore sympathetic looks. "That is perfectly fine and good to know."
They glanced at the bed then. Soon, everyone surrounded Natalya's sleeping form. Alpha Maksim and her father grilled the doctors with questions; barking at them when they didn't receive an answer they didn't like.
"How did this happen?" Roza asked.
"We aren't exactly sure. The ones that were able to find their way through the pack borders were not rogues. Their scent told us they are from a pack." Yulian explained.
And so it went with the family catching up on all that had happened. It didn't take long before Constantin felt comfortable around them. Turns out that Roza also learned signing.
His gaze eventually found his way back to his mate where he moved to hold her hand in his. The sparks were still there. It was enough to reassure him everything will be alright.