Adrian clutched his silver knife as he jumped over the fence surrounding a run-down compound. The place was a perfect cover for a revenge-bent maniac. He'd tracked Sierra for several miles before her scent and tracks disappeared. Thankfully, his heightened alpha power helped him follow a second, very faint scent to this place. His best warriors had split off to stage a distraction attack.
With the guards distracted, he ran from one building to the next. He'd lost touch with Sierra's wolf awhile ago, leaving him completely blind to her location. His only lead was that faint scent that someone had clearly tried to cover.
"Well now!"
He froze as a male voice filled the air. As the ice lined his veins, he slowly turned to face the speaker. Just shorter than himself, sandy brown hair, blue eyes, bulky form from years of training, no tattoos, and a tiny crescent-shaped birthmark at the corner of one eye.
What the...
"Let me guess..." the punk sneered. "You're here for the girl. Hate to disappoint you, but she's a bit tied up at the moment."
Adrian dug his fingernails into his palms and sucked in a deep breath. "Where is she?"
"Sorry. We still have some family business to finish." The young man looked over Adrian with a very skeptical eye. "I wish we could stand around and chat about our girl, but I'm afraid you've gotten too close."
"Too close?" Adrian echoed. "What's Sierra to you?"
"What's she to you?" The jerk stormed towards him, reaching for something under his jacket.
Adrian whipped out his silver knife and crouched into a fighting stance. The motion and weapon snagged his attacker's attention long enough to make him pause. When they made eye contact again, he saw his opponent flinch.
"What the hell? How do you have green eyes too?"
"Doesn't matter," Adrian snapped. "Who are you?"" He shivered at the smirk he received.
"I'm Zeke...Sierra's brother."
Adrian stared at the man claiming to be his mate's brother. The crescent birthmark made sense now, as did the comment about family business. If this really was Sierra's brother, he no doubt felt that he should have received the alpha power. Revenge alone was enough to drive someone to kidnapping. And if he wanted the alpha power, he'd have to kill Sierra.
The only shred of comfort was that Adrian's eyes were clearly still green and he didn't feel the heart-wrenching loss of his mate. She was still alive somewhere.
"Where is she?" he growled.
Zeke snarled and pulled out his own silver knife. "Not happening."
A surge of heat flared through his chest as Zeke lunged forward. He dodged the blow faster than he'd ever moved. In a heartbeat, he and Zeke were locked in a hand-to-hand fight to the death. Zeke blocked every punch and dodged every knife slash. He was strong, skilled, and tactful. His only flaw was that he was half a second slower. Even without alpha power, he put up one hell of a fight.
They tumbled to the ground, Zeke on top with his knife diving toward Adrian's throat. A flash of heat sparked lightning-fast reflex. Adrian grabbed Zeke's wrist and jerked to the side. Zeke barely flinched as his body hit dirt. In a second, Adrian was on top holding his knife to Zeke's throat. The pup snarled and thrashed as the silver left a burn mark on his skin.
"Stay down!" Adrian barked. "You're done!"
Zeke snarled before his body began to tremble. In a heartbeat, he shifted under the knife. Adrian jumped backwards, shifting midair. As Zeke shook himself, Adrian tried a desperate mind link.
Sierra? Baby, can you hear me?
The silence terrified him, but the lack of pain in his chest gave him hope that she was still alive. He mind linked Jaxon to find Sierra while he handled the threat.
Zeke's gray wolf bared its teeth and growled, initiating a challenge. This was far more than becoming alpha. This was the ultimate power play, removing everyone remotely close to the top. This was a fight to the death.
He jumped sideways as Zeke launched forward. With a quick turn of his head, he latched onto Zeke's tail. The pain that exploded from his back leg made him growl and lose his grip. Zeke pounced and sank his teeth into Adrian's shoulder.
Something sparked deep in his chest and sent a flare of strength, courage, and power through his body. In his mind's eye, he saw Sierra crouched in front of him. She stared at him with the smallest smile pulling at her mouth.
You have to get up. You are the alpha, so fight. Fight back!
Another flare of power surged through him. He thrashed to one side, throwing Zeke to the ground. He jumped onto Zeke's back, forcing the gray wolf onto his belly. When the downed wolf turned its head to growl, the neck was exposed.
He blinked as the wave of alpha power nearly blinded him. Without a second thought, he clamped onto Zeke's neck. Warm blood filled his mouth, which empowered his wolf more. Zeke thrashed against his grip. He closed his jaw on Zeke's neck, snapping the windpipe and vocal chords. Zeke's body jerked twice before dropping limp. Adrian let go and backed away, heaving for breath. Even his wolf quivered from the effect of what they'd done.
His delta Derek jogged around the corner and stopped when he saw Adrian's wolf. He slowly lowered to a crouch. "Alpha... It's over. We got 'em."
Adrian collapsed on the ground and shifted just as Zeke's dead body did the same. He struggled into the basketball shorts Derek threw at him, his shoulder healing before his eyes with the help of the alpha power.
"Sierra?" he croaked.
"Jaxon has her. Looks like she was knocked out by some silver nitrate, but that's the worst. Nothing deadly."
He ran a hand over his face and nodded. "Let's get out of here. The threat is gone."
Derek pulled him to his feet and steadied him. The alpha strength helped with any dizziness or momentary weakness. With a shake of his head, he stood a bit taller and followed Derek back to the car.
"Where—"
"Jaxon rushed Sierra back to the pack house," Derek answered. "He thought you'd want her far away from the danger. Ada and the pack doctor were waiting at the border."
The drive to the pack house was fast and quiet. He jumped out of the passenger seat before the car fully stopped and ran up the stairs. Jaxon stood up from the couch when he burst through the door.
"Adrian. Thank the moon, you're alive."
Adrian hugged his friend for a moment. "Thanks. Where's my girl?"
Jaxon nodded toward the stairs. "I put her in your room. Ada is up there with her. The doc left a minute ago. Said she was fine."
"Thanks, friend. I owe you big time." He ran up the stairs as Jaxon laughed.
"Give me and Ada a week for a honeymoon!"
He made a mental note of the request and sprinted down the hall. His bedroom door was open, so he ran in. Ada jumped up from the chair beside the bed, but his focus was on his mate.
Sierra lay slightly curled on her side, probably the exact position Jaxon had placed her in. A small part of him was glad Jaxon hadn't manhandled her too much. The doctor hadn't even moved her, a sign of respect.
He sank onto the bed and ran his fingers through her hair. The familiar spark of the mate bond flickered across his skin. "Sierra? Sweetheart, can you hear me?"
She drew a deeper breath and stirred a bit. On instinct, he hovered over her and kissed her temple. Her eyes fluttered open, a few seconds passing before she recognized her whereabouts.
"Adrian!" She shot upright, clearly not seeing him.
"I'm here, Sia." He gripped her shoulders to turn her to face him. "I'm right here, Sia. You're safe."
Her gaze locked on his face, relief flooding her emerald eyes. Her body trembled with a sob.
"Adrian..." She leaned into his shoulder and cried. "I was so scared!"
"I know, baby. I know." He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and held tight. Their bond gave him a window into her thoughts. The high emotions muddled everything, so he let it go and just held her. After a second, he pulled her into his lap and tucked her head under his chin.
She calmed herself to hiccups and wound her fingers into his shirt. "I was scared for us. The silver he used to keep my wolf down... I was terrified it would..." She shuddered and used one arm to hug herself.
"Hey..." He pulled his head back to look her in the eyes. "The doctor said you were okay. The silver dosage wasn't deadly. He clearly knew what he was doing. You're okay."
"I'm okay," she echoed. "It's... My alpha power protected me. If I didn't have that extra strength..." She closed her eyes as a tear slid down her cheek.
"Sierra, the dosage wasn't deadly." He cupped her cheek with one hand. "It wouldn't have killed you."
She hiccupped a sob. "It's not me that I was scared for, Adrian."
He smiled and leaned his forehead against hers. "Thanks for your worry, babe. He never would have gotten close enough to inject me."
"I know that," she whispered. "I wasn't... This isn't how I wanted this conversation to go."
He blinked. "What are you talking about, Sia?"