Free Her Alpha Protector by Gwen Knight Page A

softly as he could, clearly trying to keep her calm even though his wolf was peeking out at her. “Do not leave this room unless I tell you otherwise.”
    Far too slowly, her thoughts lined up and she caught the sound of a wolf howling in the distance. Oh, she knew that howl, and her body tightened against Hunter. It was like having freezing-cold water dumped on her head, and the icy realization sank in that Seth had come, now of all moments.
    She swallowed the lump in her throat. No , no, she wouldn’t just leave him to deal with Seth himself. It was her fault he had come, and it was time she stood up to him—
    “Angel,” he interrupted her silent tirade. “Do this for me, please. Wait for me here.”
    Her face crumpled. But before she could argue, he pushed to his feet, the sight of his hard cock snuffing her words.
    He’d only taken two steps before the air shimmered and a dark-as-night wolf leaped out his bedroom window, vanishing from sight.
    Terror overtook her and without a thought, her wolf rose to the surface. Hardly pausing, Angel leaped out the same window, her paws barely touching upon the earth before she chased after him, refusing to stay hidden away in his bedroom while he fought Seth.
    Branches snagged her fur and rocks cut into her paws, but it didn’t stop her. Not even the furred side of another wolf brushing against her gave her pause. Instead, they raced together, chasing after the faint howls that rose within the morning light. The wolf next to her pulled ahead, his snowy coloring standing out as he darted through the evergreen pines.
    For a moment he paused and glanced over his shoulder to huff at her, his black nose lifting in the air to scent out the direction. Angel yipped under her breath, trusting her instincts—and her own nose—to tell her that this was one of Hunter’s. When he turned and started toward the east, she followed suit, hoping she hadn’t made the wrong decision. As strong as her mate was, she still feared for him. That thought nearly brought her to her knees. Her mate. She knew as much as he that something had happened in that bus station last night, something powerful. But the talk of mates was all nonsense—just mystical gibberish wolves spoke about when discussing the old days. No one in her former pack had been truly mated—why would she think it was even possible?
    But it had happened. She’d felt it when the moon awoke within her, the moment the song left her lips, in the deep thrumming beat that had come from him. It had called her name, whispered into her soul. She’d felt it deep inside, and it was right. She was his, but more than that, he was hers, and the realization spurred her legs faster until they burned with the effort.
    Clearing the brush, she stopped herself, rocking to a standstill at the sight of Hunter and Seth standing within a small semicircle, staring one another down. The moment she entered the pack circle, Seth’s eyes fell to hers. Still in his human form, he stared down his nose at Hunter, a wry twist of his lips doing little to soften his indignation.
    “You have stolen my mate,” Seth proclaimed to the circle.
    Hunter’s wolves howled their enraged responses, some even casting angered looks her way. She knew nothing of his pack, nothing of the numbers he wielded, but there had to be at least thirty wolves present, and only a handful belonged to Seth—she would know those wolves anywhere.
    Magic curled around her and in the span of a breath, Hunter shifted back to human and stood, gloriously naked before all. How someone could stand nude before an enemy and still maintain an intimidating stance was beyond her, yet Hunter did just that.
    “Your mate left you eight years ago,” Hunter argued. “I gave you a pass in the bus station, for Angel’s sake. I won’t make that same mistake again.”
    Fury rippled across Seth’s face and he shot another dark look toward her. “We all do things for Angel’s sake,” he growled. His