Page 87 of Starting a New Life

“You want your dead back?” I shouted, gesturing at the bloody messes lying in the snow behind me.

Snow crunched. The wind whistled through the evergreens, sweeping snow off the branches.

Our ATV came to a gurgling stop, the motor impossibly loud in the silence of the woods.

Fabric rustled and whooshed.

I shuddered as I felt a pair of eyes trained on me, searing the back of my neck. Steps approached from behind, the snow crunching beneath Nix’s feet. The rope in my chest coiled tighter and tighter with every step he took. I swallowed, afraid to turn around.

I had just killed. For him, but I’d killed. The blood of my victim was still running down my neck.

Anticipation grew. My packmates stopped breathing as Nix walked closer, bringing with him the kind of warmth and peace no one else could, and I found myself smiling as Nix stepped up to me, sliding his hand into mine. And when I turned to look at him… my breath caught in my throat. Beautiful was the first word that came to my mind. Stunning. Ethereal. He was wearing his black cloak, the hood up on his head, his pale skin and silver hair a stark contrast, his pale blue eyes practically glowing. He looked out of this world. Magical.

Which, I guess, he was.

Nix smiled at me, all tender and soft, then looked ahead, staring out at the woods, scanning every tree before his eyes fixated on a particularly thick trunk. His smile fell from his face, the tender expression replaced by something else. Something harder.

“I can see you,” he taunted, voice firm, confident in a way it seldom was. “Don’t you want to come out and talk to us, Bear? Don’t you want your little brother back?” There was no fear in Nix’s voice. Only deadly confidence. He was taking control of the situation, and I wasn’t mad about it. Him being here might not have been the plan, but… maybe this was exactly what he needed.

Mate. Strong. My wolf preened, puffing out his chest as we looked at the way Nix held himself.

If it were any of my pack members taking over like that, I’d have been seething. But this was different. Nix had a right to finish this.

Finally, there was movement, and a man stepped out from behind the very tree Nix was staring at. He was imposing, his body marred with scars, anger pouring from his every pore, but interestingly enough, I couldn’t scent a thing.

“I can see Amanda supplied you with scent blockers,” Nix said conversationally as he pointed to a small bag dangling from the man’s neck that I’d have mistaken for a regular necklace.

“You,” the man seethed, eyes flashing, his wolf pushing to the surface. “You killed my brother!”

Nix scoffed, his eyes shifting to the grey wolf I’d killed minutes ago, hints of regret flashing through his eyes, but they were gone far too quickly for anyone else to see. “Technically, I didn’t kill anyone. But let’s not talk about pesky technicalities.”

I watched my mate, drinking in the way he held himself. The smirk, the carefully crafted, almost bored voice, his relaxed stance.

Who was this guy?

And why was he so fucking hot?

“What do you want to talk about?” Bear asked, voice a barely constrained growl.

“The terms of your surrender,” I shouted. He was still far away, too chickenshit to come closer to the barrier. Or maybe too smart.

He scoffed. “I’m not gonna surrender myself to be slaughtered.”

I rolled my eyes. “I don’t want to kill you.” Lie. “I want you to leave. Take your remaining wolves, collect your fallen, and never come back. You’re not getting Nix.”

“Nix?” Bear knitted his brows in confusion. “I don’t want no Nix. I’m here for him.” He nodded to Nix.

Nix grimaced, turning to me. “Technically, my name’s Alexander.”

Oh.

“You’re not getting Alexander.” I shuddered; the name felt all wrong rolling off my tongue. It sounded wrong too. “He’s mine.”

The wolf had the audacity to laugh, the sound cold and cruel as his eyes shifted to where Nix was standing by my side, fingers still laced with mine. “Exchanging one captor for another?”

Nix’s eyes blazed over. Static crackled around me, the air filling with electricity. He squeezed my hand, lips trembling.

“I’m not his captor,” I shouted. “He’s a person, you disgusting piece of shit. He’s here because he wants to be. We protect him because he’s part of our pack and we protect what’s ours.”