The Alpha's Guardian

Samuel shifts into his human form and glowers at me. His bleach blonde hair is slicked back like a greaser from the 1950s and his arm is dripping blood.

"You would choose that weak wolf to be your mate when you could have Liam." He laughs maniacally.

"What makes you say he is weak?"

"He has a bum leg that won't heal. He was limping after thirty seconds of battle."

"How..."

"Ah, I know I trained you better than that Ali." he tsks

I try to understand what he means. How could Wade's injuries have anything to do with my training? I freeze. Trudy. Holy shit. Older male with bleach blond hair and beautiful eyes. Trudy told this male about Wade's injury and the wolfsbane. That's the night that Trudy learned about pansy and poisoned the whole pack. Samuel had been planning all of this from the beginning. Samuel was the one providing her with pansy. "Ah-ha! There it is. I can see all the puzzle pieces coming together." He laughs.

"You are responsible for poisoning the whole pack. But I don't understand why." I say in awe, realization hitting me.

"Easy. The committee has been watching Wade since he turned 18. They think he is different, that he has some "real potential" in unifying the packs and keeping the peace." he says mockingly.

I take a moment to steal a glance around, and I see men fighting in the distance. Corbin fights alongside his men in wolf form, including a partially shifted Jacob. A groan behind me draws my attention as I look down at Wade, who is covered in his own blood. My heart constricts at the sight.

"Go on. I will give you a minute to say your goodbye." Samuel smirks evilly.

I can't stop my legs as they travel to Wade, giving out when I'm beside him. I pull him closer. The tingles radiate through me, down my arms, and settle in my chest where my heart vibrates with happiness at finally being able to hold him close. "Wade," I whisper "I'm here."

"Mmm, Ali," he says, sounding so far away.

I can see he is healing quickly, but he is severely injured. Looking up, I see an amused Samuel, who rocks on his heels. Taking a moment, I survey the surrounding bodies. I see Kane laying in the dirt to the right, his right arm dismembered and tossed away. I have to keep myself from sobbing and pray that he hasn't bled out completely. Francis is nowhere to be seen and the other wolves I don't recognize. "Wade, listen, I need you to focus on healing. I can't take on Samuel alone."

I pull him close, nuzzling my chin into his neck. And that's when it hits me. The mate bond. If we complete the bond, we both will be stronger and he will heal faster, hopefully. It's definitely not the most romantic setting, but I think we can mark each other before Samuel sees.

"Alright Ali. It's time we get this over with. My patience only goes so far. You know I really had hoped you would remain loyal..." Samuel drones on, but I block him out.

As if knowing exactly what to do, Wade's canines sink into the flesh of my neck, and I choke down a hiss of pain. Then I bite down on the crook of his neck until I break the skin and suddenly I am washed over in a wave of euphoria. All the aches and pains of my past explode into nothing as Wade throws his head back and howls happily.

"What did you do?!" Samuel booms, his voice getting louder as he storms over to me.

A tugging on my hair pulls me from my plush, warm place of contentment and I blink out of the fog. I see Wade reaching out for me in fear as Samuel drags me by my hair further away. He throws me to the ground roughly, my cheek casting off a protruding rock with a crunch.NôvelDrama.Org holds this content.

I pop up quickly and turn to face a furious Samuel.

"That was very sneaky of you, but it won't do you any good."

"I have nothing more to say to you," I say, readying myself for battle.

I would be lying if I said I wasn't worried about this fight. I could never best Samuel in sparring. He is virtually unbeatable. But I have never been full of rage or need for vengeance like this before. So maybe the odds will be in my favor today. Hopefully. "You don't want to know about your parents' death?" he asks, trying to bait me.

"I already know, Samuel. I know everything."

"Oh, do you?"

"Corbin has filled me in."

"Mmm yes, I'm sure he did."

I lunge forward at Samuel, reaching out to grab his injured arm. He sidesteps me with ease. I spin and regain my footing in time to dodge his kick. He lunges forward, delivering heavy blows to my forearms as I block hit after hit. Samuel is quicker than I remember. He tosses a bad punch and I fill the gap and punch with all my might into his chest. A crack sounds under my knuckles as air whooshes out of his mouth.

I pull my arm back, readying to deliver another blow, but he grabs my head and headbutts me with a thundering force. I groan in pain as I stumble back. He runs forward again, trying to punch as I weave to the right, grabbing hold of his arm and throwing it over my shoulder. Pulling his wrist down, I move to break his elbow. He spins out of my hold and steps into me.

Before I can step out, I feel a sharp pain in my side. Looking down, I see his clawed fingers sticking into the side of my stomach. I hiss in pain as he retracts his hands and pushes me back. Blood rolls down my side and onto my pants. Damn it. I reach back for my sword. He wants to get right into the bloody part, then fine. I can play this game too.

"Oh now, that's hardly fair, is it darling?" he taunts.

"I don't have a wolf, I'm just leveling the playing field."

"I have to admit I'm quite disappointed in how you are performing right now."

He lunges forward and I bring my blade down, barely missing his throat as he leans back at an inhuman angle to avoid the steel. I growl in annoyance. I want this to be over so I can aid the others as they fight.

I need to center myself, calm down my need to take him out, and focus on my movements, not my end game. You fight from moment to moment, not from start to finish. Each move brings you closer to or further from victory. So choosing the right move is more important than anger. I breathe deeply. Finally, feeling sure of myself. And I step forward again.

"Ah, there she is. The warrior I trained."

Samuel leaps forward as I drop, going low for his ankles. He shifts his weight and flips over me. Spinning up I swing the blade out and feel a slight moment of tension on the blade. I whirl around to face him as he smiles wickedly, looking down at his bleeding leg. He slowly claps his hands.

We lunge at each other again; him stopping my blade and elbowing me in the face. I spin low out of his grasp, but I'm too close to use my blade. I deliver a knee to his gut. He catches it, hammering his elbow into my instep painfully. Using my free foot, I jump up and kick him in the chest, freeing myself from his grasp as I flip backward, landing roughly on my knees. He is on me in an instant and my sword is ripped from my hands. Samuel straddles my stomach as he hammers into my face repeatedly with his fists.

I buck my hips wildly, dislodging him only enough to release my arms and provide my face some much-needed protection. Timing his punches, I slip under his arm and snake my way out of the old and stumble to standing. I wipe the blood from the gash above my eye so I can see and turn to see him stalking towards me.

Reaching down, I grab out my daggers at my thighs and hold them blade facing down in my hand. I run for him, ducking as he reaches out to grab me and slice him up and under his arm. He turns, grinning.

"Just missed the artery. But it was a good try. I'm impressed."

He barrels towards me, a sneer on his face, and I brace myself for impact. A pain erupts up my back as I gasp for air. Samuel doesn't slow his attack as he slams into me, pinning me to a hard surface behind me. I look up, gasping for air as I see Samuel smiling wickedly.

I turn my head slightly over my shoulder. The surface isn't actually a surface after all, but the hard body of Serge, the guard who had tortured me.