Read Online Brand of the Pack by Tera Shanley - Free Book Online Page A

the raging scene below was brutal and breathtaking. The big man was still a smaller wolf than Grey, but he was thick, probably outweighing Grey by ten pounds. His coloring was like Wade’s, dark brown, with lighter brown points.
    One of the wolves had already drawn blood. Dark flecks stained the grass beneath them. Her heart pounded as she tried desperately to decipher whose it was. Little crimson droplets flung away from them every time they made a quick movement. The eyelash moon was a selfish creature, stealing much of the light and leaving little for the spectacle below. Even with her extensive night vision, she couldn’t make out where Grey ended and the other wolf began. This fight was jerky and so fast, they seemed to blur into one another until one would break away to circle the other before they attacked again. The fight lasted a hundred years.
    Grey was visibly limping but unrelenting in his attack. She twitched her fingers to rid herself of the tingling that had started to spread through her body. So immersed was she in watching the fight in the yard below, she had no time to worry about the wolf inside of her howling to be let out. The men observing the fight were perfectly still and silent as Grey finally stood over the other wolf, jaw working over his neck. This was the first time the other wolf was still long enough for Morgan to assess his wounds. One of his ears had been completely ripped off, his front right leg was bent at an odd angle, and a wound on his neck was bleeding profusely. Grey waited for him to yield for only a second. When the other wolf only looked defiantly into his furious eyes, without hesitation, Wolf ripped his throat out and sat back to watch him bleed to death.
    Grey focused a dead glare on the shocked witnesses the challenger had brought. They held their distance. Smart wolves. Long minutes dragged as the dead wolf Turned back into a man, and the witnesses dragged his body to the trunk of their car. Grey’s head swiveled slowly as he watched them leave. She stood, giving action to her need to touch him and assure herself he was safe. Grey collapsed, and the strands of white lights, so romantic half an hour before, illuminated his dark, wet, matted fur.
    “Grey!” The Change came before she could stop it. All she could do was focus on not making pained noises that Mom would hear from downstairs. The last thing she needed was for her to walk in on her like that. How would she even explain it ? Hey Mom, sorry you saw me while I looked like this creepy creature on the floor, but it’s okay. Grey just killed a man so now I’m safe. Also, don’t get too close. I bite. Her mother would run screaming from her house and her life.
    When at last she could move, she scrabbled forward, nails scratching and clicking across the wooden floors.
    “Aw man! Who let the dog in?” Marissa complained as Morgan bolted down the stairs. Marissa jogged to open the door for her, and as her hand rested on the doorknob, Mom exclaimed, “Oh, what a beautiful dog! Is she yours?”
    Marissa paused. “Uh, yeah. Morgan gave her to me for my birthday last week. She is still potty training so we try to keep her outside.”
    When she opened the door, Morgan rushed out and rocketed off the porch steps to find Grey. Hopefully, they could keep her mother distracted inside. There was no way to explain away the aftermath of a werewolf fight.
    Wade carried Grey’s limp body toward the woodshed. She paced behind him with her tail lowered.
    “Jason,” Wade clipped out. “Go get Marissa and be subtle about it.”
    Logan hauled the huge plastic bin of medical supplies Wade always carried in his truck from the back, then bumped the tailgate closed with his hip. Dean leaned heavily against the doorframe of the woodshop as Wade lowered Grey onto a long workbench. Dean’s eyes were fever bright as his gaze stayed anchored on Grey’s limp form. Friends or no, his wolf wanted to fight Grey for dominance when he was