Free Half Wolf (Alpha Underground Book 1) by Aimee Easterling

be ground down beneath their mechanical attacks until I was forced to mimic the enemy youngster’s show of submission.
    And then a huge, brindled wolf leapt out of the fog with a smaller animal at his heels. Hunter and Lia . The latter rubbed her cheek against the former’s shoulder in a display of pack solidarity and Hunter spared one quick swipe of his tongue across Lia’s left eye before getting down to business.
    I caught my breath in surprise as Lia darted in alone. The teenager drew the attention of one of the males then danced away on light feet, leaving the enemy torn between turning back around to face me and lunging at the younger half-blood. And Hunter took advantage of the moment of hesitation, sliding in front of the outpack male and freezing him with a single glance.
    Now my only remaining attacker turned to face the larger threat, leaving me unencumbered for the first time since the skirmish had begun. I spared a quick glance across the larger battlefield, realizing that the sounds of fighting had ceased everywhere except in my immediate vicinity. Ginger and Cinnamon were standing over a cowering, now-human teenager while Glen guarded six frozen shifters scattered across the campsite. The enemy was entirely present and accounted for.
    Except for one last shifter who had been intent upon taking me down only seconds earlier. But even as I turned back around to face him, Lia was leaping astride the stranger’s back, drawing his eyes unconsciously to those of Hunter, who had positioned himself just behind his opponent’s left shoulder.
    The final enemy went still and Lia pranced triumphantly atop his back for a long moment, her joy at pulling her own weight in a successful battle nearly palpable in the air. The half-blood was so pleased, in fact, that she raised her muzzle to the sky in preparation for an exuberant howl.
    I hated to be the one throwing cold water on the youngster’s elation, but there was still the cookie lady to consider. So I did my pack leader job and slapped the teenager down.
    “ Lia ,” I said quietly but sternly. In her enthusiasm, the kid struggled against my compulsion for a moment. But then she leapt down and slunk toward me on her belly in a simple but effective werewolf apology.
    “I understand,” I soothed. And I did. It was invigorating to discover your strengths when you were a sixteen-year-old girl who had always in the past been the weakest wolf at the party. Lia’s unlikely partnership with Hunter had not only saved our pack, it seemed to have given the timid teenager a new lease on life.
    I, on the other hand, was exhausted both physically and mentally. Sure, we’d conquered the invaders without loss of life on either side. And I had a good feeling about our ability to wrest information out of the teenager now pinned beneath the trouble twins’ paws.
    But, unlike Lia, I’d only barely managed to hold my own even with the help of the heavy hunk of steel clenched between my intertwined fists.
    As if the thought had released the last iota of control I possessed over my tired muscles, the tip of said sword fell to the ground with a thunk. This battle had made one thing clear at least. As a pack leader, I was worse than worthless. An alpha I was not.
     
     

Chapter 8
    But an alpha I was determined to become. So I squashed my own angst and headed over to deal with the trouble twins and their captured prey.
    In human form, the teenage boy looked even younger than Lia and I couldn’t help feeling sorry for him as I took in his scratched skin and submissive posture. Still, it wouldn’t do for me to appear soft, not when the prisoner’s compatriots might pop back to life at any moment. We needed to extract any information we could and then hit the road without allowing the morning battle to resume. So I firmed up my resolve to act like a traditional pack leader, folding the gifted mantle back around me like a protective cloak.
    Before I could do more than nudge Glen and