Blind Wolf (A Werewolf BBW Shifter Romance #1)(20)

Damien sniffed. No other wolves were around. He might be able to take on one wolf, even if it was a large one. And from the deep sound of his voice, this wolf was a large one.

"You have no business with either of us," Damien said. His fur bristled.

"I'm here for the girl," the wolf said. "You should leave her alone."

"Why do you care?" Damien asked.

"Why do you want her?"

"She's my mate," Damien said, and at that moment, he knew that it was perfectly true.

The wolf snarled and snapped his jaws forward.

"You don't know what you're dealing with."

"I know I won't let you hurt her."

"Leave now, or die."

Claws scraped the sand, and Damien could visualize the wolf crouching down on his haunches. The soft intake of breath as the wolf readied himself to leap forward.

Damien crouched as well, readying himself in case the wolf lunged for Julia instead of for him. He had no chance of taking on the wolf head on, and no chance at running, never mind that he wouldn't leave Julia to be by herself. He stood perfectly still, every muscle in his body tensed. Already overpowered because of his blindness, his nose and ears were on high alert, and the adrenaline coursing through the veins of his body only heightened his awareness. He could hear each grain of sand compacted beneath the wolf's paws, each breath, and could tell that the wolf favored his right side. That was how he would attack.

"I don't want to kill you, blind man," the wolf said. Damien could sense the indecision in his growl, but also his overconfident sincerity. The wolf was telling the truth: he didn't want to kill Damien.

"Then turn and run," Damien said.

The wolf snarled and shifted his weight back, the last motion before a lunge. Damien braced himself and prepared to roll. Once they were grappling, he would have less disadvantage, but the first hit was crucial. He had to force the wolf into contact without being too severely injured in the process. The last real fight he had—well, he had lost his eyes.

The wolf crashed into Damien with a force of impact so great that at first Damien thought his ribs had cracked. But no, it was just the breath being knocked out of him. They rolled across the ground. Julia shrieked as they tumbled into a bush but Damien finally got a hold onto the other wolf's neck. The wolf twisted and kicked, and Damien felt the claws rip through his skin. He clenched his teeth hard, but the bite was not lethal, and he could not get a better hold without the other wolf getting loose. It was a precarious position to be in, and Damien felt himself start to lose his grip.

The other wolf shuffled backwards out of the bush, shaking hard. Damien's body whipped from side to side until he realized that there was no way to gain the upper hand with such a hold. On the next downward shake he let go and hit the ground, yelping as he rolled out. The other wolf lunged and bit him in the leg, and Damien howled in pain.

Fear. An overwhelming sense of fear rippled through Damien's being, and he froze on the ground. Then he realized that it was Julia, Julia watching him fight, watching him hurt. He opened himself up to her and felt the fear, but also love shining through. Then a sharp tearing pain brought his attention back to the wolf whose teeth were still firmly clamped into his leg. The wolf shook, and Damien went limp, bringing his leg up underneath him. He tensed his leg, getting ready to spring when the time was ready. There would be just a second's chance to get him, and Damien's strength was running out. He waited until he heard the other wolf inhale slightly harder, and knew that he was getting ready to release. He could not kill Damien by biting his leg, after all.

As the wolf let go to adjust his bite, Damien pushed off of his tensed leg and sprang upwards, feeling as if in slow motion the fur of the other wolf bristling against his own coat. He bit into the wolf's throat and knew from the bite that he had him. The other wolf screamed, a horrifying sound, and his legs kicked upwards. Damien could feel the claws scratching him through his fur but he did not care. Blood filled his mouth and he bit down harder, harder, until the wolf went limp. He could have killed him then, ripped out his throat. All of his brutal instinct urged him towards finishing the job.

A cry from Julia, though, stopped him. He released the unconscious wolf. Blood dripped from his jaws, and he resisted the urge to lick, adrenaline pumping through his system. He was ready to fight, ready to mate. The smell of blood filled his nostrils, and the sun was hot, too hot. He was dizzy, faint. He had to shift back now, or else—

The snaps of his body shifting back to human form were familiar, but as he wiped the blood out of his eyes he could hear someone crying. He was nak*d, his pants on the ground where he had left them when he shifted, and he was covered in blood. The wolf on the ground breathed shallowly, whimpering.

"Julia—"

He held out his hands toward here and heard her choke back sobs. Her footsteps retreated from him slowly, her crying muffled by her hands.

"Julia, please don't go—"

"What just happened?" Her voice snapped shut on the words, and he felt a wave of terror and confusion sweep through the air toward him. Her terror. He wanted to put his arms around her and comfort her, but no. How could he assuage her fears when the thing she was afraid of was him? Julia was scared of him; he was a monster.

The blood was sticky on his hands, and though he heard the other wolf still breathing, the thought of another's blood on him made him shudder.