Free First Beginnings by Clare Atling, Steve Armario

his jaws. However, before Colt
could turn, Seth swiped his claws across his muzzle and pulled on his leg,
sinking his teeth further into the broken bone. Colt let out a howl of pain and
moved out of Seth’s grip as he dodged another swipe to his face. Marcus had
Brandon pinned to the floor, ready to rip his throat out. Seth jumped over the
coffee table and knocked Marcus off his brother.
    ‘Shit, we need to get out of
here, Seth. The fucker is strong.’ Seth nodded his head in agreement as he
heard his brother speak to his wolf.
    Seth circled Marcus, who was now
standing over Brandon, snapping his teeth; he seemed more feral than alpha of a
pack. Seth growled back and made to move forward. Just as he was about to jump
into the air, he heard a car pull up at the front of the house. He
instinctively knew it was his bother and knew that he and Brandon would get out
ok. Marcus’s head snapped up as he heard the car and he changed back into his
human form.
    ‘Get the fuck up,’ he snarled at
Colt. ‘You will pay for the damage you have caused my son,’ he added, looking
at Seth. ‘I will find your mates and slit their throats whilst you watch!’
    As Colt changed back into his
human form, Seth could see the damage he had inflicted. His right leg was
broken and he had three large gashes across his face, just missing his left
eye. Seth knew that, for an old wolf, his wounds would not heal and he may be
left with a permanent scar. Good, he thought, I wish I could have
done more .
    Marcus and Colt ran from the room
and made their escape through the back door of the house, seconds before Logan
walked into the room. Seth and Brandon changed back into their human forms and
inspected their bodies for any damage. They each had a few scratch and teeth
marks, but they would be gone by tomorrow. Seth knew they had been lucky.
    ‘Leave them, Logan,’ said Seth,
as Logan was about to go after the two men. ‘We will get them next time. We
need to form a better plan and find out what they are up to before we go after
them. I will not put my mate, or yours, at risk. Ever!’ Seth pushed Logan back,
watching his eyes simmer back to their natural pale blue.
    ‘Callie’s in the car,’ said Logan coldly. ‘Let’s go.’ He
then walked out of the room, leaving Seth and Brandon wondering what was wrong
with him.
    Once they were safely on the
ferry heading towards Penn Lake Island, Logan got out of the car and walked
away from them toward the front of the ferry. Callie sat looking sadly out the
window. Seth wondered what had got into his brother; here was his mate, sitting
on her own, and he had his head up his arse. Well, once he had claimed his own
mate he was going to kick his brother into submission.
    When they were back on the
island, he walked Callie to Hope’s house. He checked she was ok before Hope
pulled her into a hug and walked her back inside, shutting the two brothers
out. Logan had gone to the marina bar again, so all Seth could do was say
goodnight to Brandon and go find his mate. He smiled to himself, wondering if
Sarah had actually missed him or whether it was going to be a long battle to
convince her how much she meant to him.
    As he crossed the road and headed
for his parents’ house, he couldn’t help but feel the excitement bubble up inside
him at the thought of seeing Sarah again, knowing soon they would be mated and
he could then spend the rest of his life mated to the most beautiful woman he
had ever met. He walked up to the front door and opened it, as he had done many
times before, and sniffed the air to catch a scent of his mate. Home. That what
she smelt like.
    He walked through to the kitchen
to see his mother sitting at the breakfast island reading a magazine. His dad
was on the computer doing what looked like accounts, but he couldn’t see Sarah.
    ‘If you’re looking for your
mate,’ said Mary, ‘she was tired, so I made up the bed in your old room for
her. Tread carefully with her, Seth, she’s a