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The guy was about six feet tall, and even though he was a shifter too, his lean, sinewy muscles were no match for the demon shifter’s powerful body. “Fane would break every one of your bones in seconds.”
His cocky smirk dropped, and he bared his teeth. “And what about you? You haven’t even shifted yet. I could rip you to pieces before you landed a hit on me.”
“Nah, Jake, she’s got a little more spunk than that.” Dominic sauntered out of the woods with Dorian. “Tate would at least give you a black eye before she submitted.”
My hackles rose as the three wolves circled me, and my fingers twitched toward the transformative hilt in my jacket pocket. “Nice to see you again, Dominic. Did your balls ever drop again after your run-in with Fane a few months ago?”
Dorian stepped forward before his friend could respond. “We haven’t officially met, but I’m Alpha Camus’s beta, and you should show my friends and me some respect.”
His pristine jeans, expensive button-down shirt, and perfectly coifed pale blond hair made him look more like a fashion model than a shifter. Did he prance around and toss his fur in his wolf form too?
I couldn’t stop the snort from slipping out at the mental picture that painted.
Dorian sneered. “You’ll learn your place soon enough—in the gutter with that hybrid beast.” Power throbbed from him, and he shoved it at me, trying to force me to my knees.
My head tilted back, and a loud laugh burst out. “Is that all you got?”
His cheeks reddened as he strained to gather more power, doing nothing more than prickling my flesh.
Jake moved, and I spun just as he stood an inch away. “Submit or we’ll force you to.”
Dominic chuckled. “I would love to smear my scent all over you for Fane to find.”
“Try it, and you’ll discover how dangerous I am.” My muscles tensed, and adrenaline pumped through my veins. “Fane doesn’t fight my battles, and I sure as hell don’t need him to protect me.”
Dorian stepped forward, his skin twitching and a gold sheen spilling across his irises as his wolf rose to the surface. “Submit and you won’t be harmed.”
Rage swelled through me, prodding at the Infernal Sol as the three wolves converged on me. “I don’t submit to anyone. Not your alpha, not Barric Hartwell, and certainly not you.”
The beta’s designer boots stopped in their tracks, and his head cocked to the side. “What do you mean by that? Everyone submits to Head Alpha Barric.”
My fingers curled and then flexed as tingles pulsated from the tips. Were talons about to sprout from them again? “I meant exactly what I said. I. Don’t. Submit.” I closed the gap between Dorian and me and craned my neck to stare into his face, his high cheekbones even sharper as the moonlight spilled through the shifting branches. “I don’t bend to arrogant, cocky pricks like you. I don’t give a damn what title comes before your name.”
His nostrils flared, and the tendons in his neck strained. “You and that mutt Fane deserve each other. You both belong in a trash pile far away from my pack.”
A threatening growl slinked up my throat, and Dorian flinched. “Keep Fane’s name out of your mouth.” My gums pulsed like my fingertips as if sharp canines wanted to burst through. “He’s a far better man than you, and the only reason you’re still the beta is because he allows it.”
His lips thinned, but he remained silent because he knew I spoke the truth. Fane could easily fight him or anyone for their position in the pack and win.
“Dorian is beta because he earned it.” Jake approached on my left, trying to catch me off guard, but his steps crunched the leaves too loudly. “He almost died taking out a gang of newbie vamps who attacked a bunch of shifter kids.”
My brow arched, and I scrutinized the blond wolf who stood in the middle of the forest in fancy designer clothes. “Really?” Dorian didn’t look like the type to get his hands dirty or risk his life to save others.
“Yeah, really.” Foregoing his attempt to strike out at me, Jake sidled up to the beta. “The kids were camping on the far left of our territory when a gang of young, bloodthirsty vampires attacked. Dorian was out on a run and took the bloodsuckers out.”
One trained wolf against several new vampires could do some damage, but I’d never seen Dorian in action, so I had no idea how plausible that story really was. “The kids must have been terrified.”
“They were.” Dorian crossed his arms against his chest and glowered. “They already watched their two adult chaperones get slaughtered, so I had them run and hide while I killed the enemy.”
Kids shouldn’t have to see death like that, nightworlders or not. When did this happen? Had Dylan been with them?
“Dorian is the beta because he deserves it. All those kids came out unharmed because of him.” Dominic moved to his friend’s other side, standing shoulder to shoulder. “He was willing to sacrifice himself to save pack members, so show some respect.”
My lips pursed as I studied the revered beta. He took the vampires out on his own while the possible witnesses, who were kids, hid until it was over. Had anyone actually seen Dorian’s amazing feat of strength and sacrifice? What if it was all bullshit?
The tension in the air grew tenfold, and I could practically taste Dorian’s outrage. He knew I was debating the truth of his story. Was it a setup or a lucky coincidence that turned him into a hero?
A gust of wind rushed through the forest, kicking up piles of leaves on the ground. Light beamed through gaps in the canopies and glinted on something in the underbrush that had been uncovered.
