Chapter 6 One reason

XIMENA

My entire body had gone rigid against the tree.

The white wolf stood between the remaining warriors and me, blood dripping steadily from its jaws onto the forest floor.

One second the warrior had been standing in front of me, and in the next he simply wasn't. What remained of him collapsed at my feet, and I couldn't take my eyes off it because my brain refused to process what my eyes were seeing.

My stomach lurched violently. I had seen wolves kill before; I mean, I lived in a werewolf pack. But this...

This was different; this wasn't a fight. It wasn't even an execution. It was slaughter.

The remaining warriors seemed to realize the same thing, as their faces had gone completely white.

"Supreme Alpha..." one of them stammered.

The wolf lunged. The warrior barely managed to scream before enormous jaws closed around his throat. Blood exploded across the forest floor, and I squeezed my eyes shut, but the sounds reached me anyway.

Then silence. When I finally forced my eyes open again, only one warrior remained.

He shifted instantly, his body cracking and reshaping as fur tore through skin. A dark wolf emerged, larger than most, and for one brief second I thought it might actually matter.

It didn't. The wolf lunged once again, and that was it for the third warrior. 

Blood, there was so much blood. My pulse hammered inside my ears as the wolf slowly turned toward me. My breath caught as golden eyes locked onto mine, and for one horrifying second, I couldn't breathe. The forest suddenly felt too small.

Oh no.

He took a step towards me, and without thinking, I spun around and bolted deeper into the forest. Branches tore at my clothes, roots snagged at my feet, and my lungs burned.

I didn't care. I wasn't stupid. The Supreme Alpha hadn't come here to save me. No. He had come to finish me himself. 

Behind me, I heard nothing, and that somehow made it worse. Tears blurred my vision as I ran. Then, I heard it: the sound of paws, heavy and powerful, closing the distance effortlessly.

My heart hammered against my ribs faster and faster as the sound grew closer. Until suddenly—

Something enormous flew over my head, causing me to scream. The white wolf landed directly in front of me. Leaves exploded around him as his paws dug into the earth, but his golden eyes never left mine.

I stumbled backwards so fast I nearly fell. "No." The word escaped before I could stop it. The wolf took one step forward, and I took two steps back. Then I turned and ran the other direction.

Three steps. That was all I managed before a hand suddenly wrapped around my throat. I never even saw him move. One second I was running; the next my feet left the ground. A terrified gasp escaped me. My hands immediately clawed at the fingers around my neck.

The grip wasn't crushing. Not yet. But it was strong enough that escape was impossible. He didn't need to squeeze. We both knew he could snap my neck before I even screamed.

Slowly, I looked up and found myself staring directly into the face of the Supreme Alpha. He had shifted back.

He was even more terrifying up close. There was nothing human about the way he looked at me. It was the gaze of a predator deciding whether the prey beneath its claws was worth killing.

Everything about him radiated danger. Moonlight caught against his dark hair while his golden eyes burned into mine. The same eyes as the wolf. There wasn't a trace of mercy anywhere on his face.

My stomach dropped. This was it. This was how it ended, at the end of the most powerful shifter. Tears filled my eyes. I couldn't stop them. His expression didn't change, not even slightly. If anything, he looked annoyed. Like my existence alone irritated him.

His fingers tightened slightly around my throat. Just enough to send a warning. "You have caused me a great deal of trouble tonight." The words were quiet somehow, which made them worse.

I tried to speak. Nothing came out. Fear had stolen my voice. "Please..." I finally managed. The plea sounded pathetic even to my own ears.

His gaze remained completely emotionless. Then he tilted his head slightly, studying me like he was trying to decide something. The Supreme Alpha's gaze flickered across my face, then lower to the bruises on my arms and the blood on my hands. 

Something dark flashed across his expression. It was gone so quickly I almost thought I imagined it. Whatever conclusion he reached, I knew I wouldn't like it. Because his eyes grew colder. Much colder.

"Give me one reason," he said quietly. My lips trembled. "One reason why I shouldn't kill you."

My mind went completely blank. Because there wasn't one.