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skates, and peered around at the disrespectful
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shifters. He returned their aggression with his
own, growling back. Richard stood at his side, his
head lowered, his ears pinned, and his teeth
bared.
As Abbott surveyed the three wolves before
him, he recognized Bernie, Walter, and Logan. The
third one surprised him. He knew the shifter was
gay, having spotted him dancing in a gay bar out
of town. Why was the shifter backing these other
homophobes?
When he d growled, these three should have
backed down, offering their submission. They
hadn t. For now, that information was enough for
Abbott. He d take these fuckers down and remind
them why he was alpha.
Knowing his mate an enforcer had his back,
Abbott lunged at the nearest wolf Bernie. Even
as Abbott landed on Bernie s back and sank his
teeth into the other wolf s neck, he heard Richard s
snarls and the thumps of bodies colliding.
Focusing on Bernie, Abbott used his larger mass to
flip his opponent to his back.
Just as he was about to sink his teeth deeper
and demand submission, a heavy weight slammed
into him, knocking him sideways. Abbott rolled
twice before splaying his legs and regaining his
feet.
Abbott snarled upon seeing Richard faced off
against three wolves, Walter and Logan having
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Charlie Richards
been joined by Nedrik. He realized it d been
Delorian who d attacked him, knocking him away
from Bernie.
Damn it! How could Delorian have slipped away
from Jimmy?
Realizing it didn t matter now what s done is
done Abbott swept his gaze over the attacking
wolves, searching for an advantage. He needed to
level the playing field. Two against five, even with
that pair being the alpha and enforcer, were not
good odds.
Slowly, growling in warning, Abbott circled the
two wolves he faced while trying to keep an eye
on the others. He watched carefully, trying to find
an opening& any opening. When Abbott crossed
between Nedrik and Walter, Delorian lunged.
It was the opening Abbott needed.
Abbott leaped away from both of them, directly
at Walter. He landed on the unsuspecting wolf s
back and sank his teeth into his neck. Driving the
wolf to the ground, he tightened his hold, tasting
blood.
Another wolf slammed into him again.
Except, this time, Abbott showed no mercy. He
refused to loosen his hold, tearing out Walter s
throat. He d feel bad later. Right then, he crashed
sideways into a tree, slamming the wolf latched
onto his back into the trunk.
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Unwrapping the Alpha s Mate
With a howl of pain, the brown wolf Abbott
recognized as Delorian released him and thudded
to the ground. Turning back toward his mate and
the others, he spotted Richard standing over
Bernie who appeared down permanently. To his
surprise, Nedrik snarled at Logan, who dropped
and showed his belly.
Pain sank into his flank, drawing a surprised
yip from his lungs.
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Charlie Richards
Chapter Eight
ichard s head snapped around upon hearing
R
Abbott s pained cry. He leaped toward the
pair. Before he could get there, his alpha had
turned on his haunches and swiped a clawed paw
at the wolf that had attacked him.
With one mighty swing, Abbott knocked
Delorian away from him. Richard s mate didn t
wait for Delorian s next attack. Instead, he
pounced on the enforcer. With a quick move and
powerful jaws, Abbott ripped out Delorian s
throat.
Abbott stepped away and spun around,
growling again as his gaze fell on Nedrik and
Logan. Nedrik immediately rolled and showed his
belly.
Stalking forward, Abbott clamped his jaws
around first Nedrik s neck, then Logan s. Both
wolves remained still, baring their throats,
waiting. Abbott backed away and sniffed. Seconds
later, a naked human Abbott knelt in the snow.
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Unwrapping the Alpha s Mate
 Shift, Abbott snarled, glaring at the
remaining pair of wolves. Once they d both begun
their changes, his alpha turned his stare toward
Richard, his expression softening just a bit.  You,
too.
Richard obeyed, pushing hard to shift as
quickly as possible. Even having started a good
ten seconds after the other pair, he still managed
to get done just as they were. He quickly stood
and crossed to stand beside his mate, showing a
united front.
 Son of a bitch!
Keeping one eye on the pair of men, Richard
spotted Jimmy appearing between the trees at a
dead run, skidding to a stop in the clearing. The
beta took in the three dead wolves and the four
naked men. His jaw sagged open.
 Son of a bitch! Jimmy hollered again.
Richard smirked at the beta.  You said that
already.
Jimmy s eyes widened. He opened his mouth,
then must have changed his mind, for he snapped
his jaw shut. Instead, he turned his attention to
Abbott and cocked his head.  I apologize, Alpha. I
allowed myself to become distracted. Jimmy
flushed red and explained,  The little kids asked
me to decorate the tree with them.
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Charlie Richards
Abbott nodded once.  It s fine, James, he
stated, the alpha remaining formal in front of the
two wolves who d attacked them.
Although, now that Richard thought about it,
Nedrik hadn t actually attacked them. He hoped
his mate realized that, because he d hate to have to
stand up for the dubious shifter, because he didn t
truly trust him.
Crossing his arms over his chest, unmindful of
his nudity and the freezing snow Abbott
glared at the pair of men. After a second, where he
peered at first one wolf, then the other, and
scented the wind, Abbott gave Logan a narrow-
eyed glare.
 Logan St. Clair, you sided with Delorian
Saverman, backing him when he led a coup
against his alpha. The coup failed. Your fellows
are dead. For a heartbeat, Abbott paused. His
eyes narrowed as he took in the tense lines of the
man.  Logan St. Clair, you are hereby banished. If
you ask for sanctuary from another pack and they
ask why you were banished, I will tell them you
mutinied.
The more Abbott spoke, the more Logan paled.
The wolf shifter s Adam s apple bobbed as his
entire body trembled.
 You have seventy-two hours to say your good-
byes, pack your things, and get off of my pack-
lands.
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Unwrapping the Alpha s Mate
Logan licked his lips and swallowed hard. His
eyes gleamed for a moment and he blinked
quickly. Finally, Logan sucked in a slow breath, [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]