Alpha Eyes (Alpha Eyes: Book 1)

Chapter 24

Within a matter of minutes, all eight rogues had entered the clearing. They formed a big circle around me and Jaxon, probably thinking that they had trapped us. My blood roared in my ears and through my veins. Each racing heartbeat pushed a tidal wave of heat through my body, fueling me for the fight. Not that I needed any kind of pep talk. My wolf's rage alone was enough of an adrenalin spike to stay alive.

These idiots think they can take us, she sneered. They have no formation, no plan, no skills worth mentioning. They're nothing more than puppets for their leader who's too afraid to show himself.

I shook off her mightier-than-thou attitude and crouched a little lower. The nearest rogue also crouched, clearly winding up to spring at me and attack. This was going to get messy fast.

"Long live the alpha."

I barely heard Jaxon's hail before the first man jumped, shifting midair into the ugliest wolf I'd ever seen. His dirty gray fur stuck out in all directions, clumping together in places like he hadn't taken a bath in ages. His nasty yellow teeth snapped at my shoulder as I spun to the side. Then all hell broke loose.

My wolf had been right. These rogues had no plan. They had two action modes: behave and attack. They didn't work together, everyone jumping at once and crashing into each other instead of me or Jaxon. It was a wild tangle of limbs and fangs.

Something sharp raked through the skin on my thigh as I slashed at a brown wolf on my left. I choked on the scream in my throat before slamming my elbow into someone's forehead right between the eyes. The whimper told me I'd hit my mark.

Let me fight! My wolf snarled for the hundredth time. She clawed her way forward, about five seconds away from taking control without permission.

"Fine!" I snapped back. Having half a second of space, I jumped into the air and shifted faster than ever before. My paws hit the ground, and the dirt rumbled beneath me. The rogues froze mid-fight, all turning to look at me. Even Jaxon, who'd shifted a long time ago, stared at my wolf in shock.

Finally... My wolf threw back our head and released a howl that sent shivers under my fur. Somewhere in the distance, an identical howl joined in. Adrian...

You shifted, I heard over our mind link. I can feel your alpha power from here. And that howl? Babe...

Focus, please! I shot back. This is why I didn't want to keep the mind link open.

I love you, Sia.

I love you, Adrian.

I lunged at the nearest rogue, sinking my teeth into his exposed throat for a death shot. He snapped out of his alpha-induced shock right as my fangs punctured his veins. With a whimper, he collapsed under me. I spat his blood out of my mouth and turned on the next rogue. Jaxon threw one of them to the edge of the clearing, the blood on its neck signaling defeat.

Three rogues slowly circled me, ears back and lips quivering. One dared to snarl at me. Something sparked in the back of my head, and the world flashed gold for a second. A thousand thoughts flooded my mind and injected memories into my muscles. My bones thickened, giving me more power with each movement. Every muscle, nerve, and fiber of my being—human and wolf—sizzled with electricity and energy.

My body sprang into action, forcing me to sit back and watch as I attacked the rogues with precision and skill. A deep slash here, a deeply penetrating bite there, snap here, and a flash of claw there. The rogues clumsily darted around me for a short time before the first one fell. My wolf fairly purred at her success as we faced the next one. I gawked at the fluidity and efficiency of my movements. Where did this skill come from?

The rogue jumped at my throat, hoping for the kill shot. I dropped to my belly and raked my claws through his belly as he flew over me. He crashed to the ground a few feet away. Before he could get to his feet and regroup, I pounced on his back and clamped my jaw around the side of his neck. With a jerk far more vicious than anything I'd done, I snapped his neck.

Sierra!

I jerked around at Jaxon's panicked warning. My chest tightened at the sight of him pinned under two rogues. How had they bested him!?! He was our best fighter!

I snarled at the idiots holding him down. They'd messed with the wrong alpha.

Sierra, behind—

Something jabbed into my neck right next to my spine. My wolf howled as all the extra strength and power drained from my body, and darkness lined the edges of my vision. My body refused to respond, so I collapsed to the dirt in a pathetic heap. A shadow fell across my face. I looked up as a man with chocolate brown eyes crouched next to me.

"Not so strong now, are you, alpha?"

I fought to open a mind link as the darkness closed in. The thickening fog in my head muddled everything, and I lost all connection with my mate. It took everything in me to form a thought before I slipped into the blackness.

Adrian, I love you.

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Adrian shifted back to human form and heaved a breath. Eight rogues lay dead around he and Ada, all far more bloody than he would have liked. They left no room for surrender or negation. It was kill or be killed, end of story.

Ada chucked a pair of sweatpants at him and turned away. She'd fought well. Jaxon would be proud of her. Hopefully their mates were nearly finished handling the rogues on their side.

"Do you think Jaxon's okay?"

He slipped into the pants and ran a hand through his hair. "Did you feel something during the fight? Do you think something happened to him?"

Ada twisted her hands together and shrugged. "No; I didn't feel anything."

"Then I'm sure he's fine. He might still be fighting at the moment."

"Did you feel anything from Sierra?"

That made him pause for a moment. Ever since Sierra had told him to focus on the fight, she hadn't said anything but her emotions were all over the place. Shortly after she shifted, an incredible wave of power surged through his body. The strength of generations of alphas energized his muscles and sharpened his focus. This crazy alpha power from his mate was truly something else.

"I haven't heard from her yet," he confessed. "I hope that we hear from them soon. If we don't, I—"

His head spun, sending him to his knees. The world around him pitched, the very sight twisting his stomach into painful knots. His thoughts blurred, some unknown fog clouding his mind and blocking his link to Sierra. His wolf whimpered and squirmed, as if under the influence of some anti-wolf drug.

"Adrian?" Ada squeaked from somewhere nearby.

"Something's wrong," he groaned. "Something's wrong with Sierra."

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