Free Ties (Running With Alphas Book 6) by Viola Rivard Page A

immediately remove his hand from Lark’s neck, but Taylor could feel the tension in his muscles ease as he loosened his grip. To her relief, Hale came up behind his brother, placing a hand on his shoulder.
     
    “Come on,” Hale said. “Why don’t you take a walk? We can handle this.”
     
    Alder shrugged his hand away, but released Lark. Appearing to take his brother’s advice, Alder turned towards the mouth of the cavern. But before he took his leave, he glanced back at Taylor.
     
    “I doubt you’ll be feeling as diplomatic once you see your face.”
     
    Taylor watched him walk away, not knowing whether to feel angry or upset. She lost the option altogether as the courage she’d built up over the past few moments fled her body, leaving her feeling faint.
     
    Lark’s voice seemed to fade in and out as she began to speak, recounting the events of yesterday in one prolonged breath.
     
    “Tulip came to me and said she was stuck in Halcyon territory and all she wanted was to go home and to do that she just needed a clear path through the guards and I only sent Glenn away because I thought it would give her a chance to get home and I had no idea that—”
     
    “You were trying to help? After what she did to me?” Taylor recognized Holly’s angry voice, but her vision had begun to blur, making the leather-clad fox shifter look like a black and orange watercolor.
     
    “I-I’m sorry,” Lark stammered. “You’re always so mean to me and I guess I just liked her a little more.”
     
    Taylor thought she heard the sound of someone being slapped, but sound faded out again and suddenly she was falling.
     
    Losing consciousness was almost pleasant by that point. The day had been so overwhelming that she just wanted it to be over. Even in her state of quasi-awareness, she wasn’t so delusional to think that when she woke, everything would have just been a bad dream. But who knew? Maybe she’d wake up to find that they had rescued Snow, that Alder was back to his normal, warm and affectionate self, and then she and Alder and Hale would all make love and everything would be right with the world.
     
    Okay, now you’re being delusional . 
     
    It was her final thought before surrendering to darkness.
     
    ***
     
    Hale had been watching Taylor as she had begun to sway. Quietly positioning himself behind her, he let her fall back into his arms. He resisted the impulsive urge to wake her, but couldn’t stop himself from growling as the others tried to come near her.
     
    While he had done his best to stay calm through the whole affair, his wolf was bristling with pent-up rage. Perhaps just as much as Alder, he needed to separate himself from the situation, and quickly.
     
    He motioned towards Lark. “Take her to one of the lower chambers and don’t let her out of your sight.”
     
    His pack mates nodded their understanding.
     
    “And new rule,” Hale said as he positioned Taylor in his arms. “No one in this pack does shit unless it comes directly from me or Alder.”
     
    Laurel and Glenn exchanged glances. Scratching the back of his neck, Glenn asked, “Do you, um, want us to tell the others?”
     
    Hale sighed. “Fuck, I don’t know. Tell them there’s a pack meeting before the hunt. Now go.”
     
    Hale stalked away towards a tunnel, not thinking of where he was going, just that he needed to get away from all of the noise.
     
    It had been a long, shitty day.
     
    The night that Taylor had gone missing, he had experienced a new type of fear. All his life, his reaction to fear had been that of a cornered beast. He had lashed out against the source of his fear with his teeth and his claws, fighting anything in his way.
     
    But this fear had been paralytic in nature. As Alder and Fenix had taken off in a frenzy, following the trail of blood that Taylor had left behind, Hale had remained frozen to the spot. His muscles had locked up and all he could perceive was the blood-soaked dirt and the