49. Eff You Up

Sona opened her mouth to scream a split second before Conri mashed his to it. He trapped the scream in her throat—trapped all of her, her body and her sense of reason. She didn’t know if it was going to be a wordless scream or one that carried a name or a plea that would only echo and fade in an empty field.
The only thing that mattered, however, was that she was just strong enough to fight back—and possibly win. Adrenaline did wonders.
*You want to fuck me*, she thought with rising rage, *well, I’m going to fuck you up*.
The heat and pain of the Shift barely registered as Sona’s base form’s bones started to jostle and stretch. Conri started to snarl, sensing her change, and her chest vibrated with her own. She put him in a tough situation—if he changed too, he would lose his chance of keeping her pinned and violating her, and he’d have to either fend her off if she attacked or chase her if she fled. Either way, Sona refused to be the victim.
The Shift ripped through her body and she sent Conri flying with a powerful shove of all her limbs. She thrashed to her feet and stood her ground as Conri burst into his wolf form. They were in a stand-off now.
Fight or flight? Honestly, Sona wanted to do both. She didn’t have her fill of revenge, apparently, as the need to really fuck him up was like ice through her veins. But she also just wanted to be free of him as soon as possible.
Conri was her reflection: chops curled over thick teeth, ears flattened, hackles raised. Positioned to attack. His options were to fight or give up. And Sona knew he would never give up what he wanted. Everything he knew had been taken away from him; he refused to be helpless ever again.
But she was a godsdamned healer. Despite everything, Sona didn’t want to harm Conri again. But she was also a godsdamned werewolf, and instinct thirsted for blood and flesh.
*Moon goddess forgive me*, Sona thought as she tensed to launch herself forward.
Then a howl pierced the night air. Then something crashing through the grasses—something large and heavy enough to tremble the ground beneath her feet. She whipped her head to the side—there was the large and heavy thing—barreling straight toward them.
Toward Conri.
He whirled, but the shadow was too fast—it slammed its head into Conri’s torso so hard that the sound of shattered ribs came like a shock. He yelped in pain and went tumbling through the weeds. The shadow snarled savagely and charged again. Conri scrambled to his paws but had no time to gather his wits before he was rammed again—this time headbutted. In the light of the moon that appeared from behind the clouds, Sona saw a few teeth fly.
Conri’s yowl sent a shockwave through her. In an instant she Shifed back to her base form and shrieked, “No! Stop! *Stop it, Taos*!”
The shadow skidded to a halt a second before he pounced onto Conri. He whipped his head around, presumably to glare at her, his reflective eyes feral, fangs glinting in the moonlight.
But those eyes…it wasn’t Taos.
It was Edom.
His warning bark was carnal—*Don’t try to stop me! Get out of here*! it said.
“No!” she yelled again. “You’ll kill him!”
A responding snarl: *Give me one reason why I shouldn’t.*
“Plenty of reasons!” she snapped back. “Just…just incapacitate him.”
Edom growled in a tone that suggested an eye-roll. He turned back to Conri, who had dredged up the strength to get up and start into a limping run. Sona didn’t know if it was in the direction of Moonvalley or if he was simply trying to put distance between the Gamma who would rip out his throat in a heartbeat if Sona didn’t stop him from doing so.
Edom started to stalk forward. *Great, he’s going to make a game of it*.
She opened her mouth to tell Edom off, but a voice rang out, filled with terror,
“Sona!”
She spun so fast that it blurred her vision—spun right into a wall of bare, sweaty muscle. “Taos,” she gasped.
His arms encircled her shoulders tightly. “You godsdamned stupid female,” he cursed breathlessly. “I thought healers were supposed to be the least trouble-causing wolves. Yet here you are”—he flicked her shoulder blade—“causing me problem after problem.”
Behind her, Edom was wheezing with laughter over the sound of Conri’s whimpers of pain. Sona thrashed to free herself of Taos’ grip; he released her immediately but stopped her by tossing a piece of fabric over her head.
She roared, scrabbling to get it off to find that it was a large shirt. When she glared over her shoulder, the shameless Alpha had his back turned to her. Then it occurred to her that she was bare-ass naked. Suppressing her squeak of embarrassment—totally unsuitable for the situation—Sona yanked the shirt on, grateful that it was large enough that it fell midthigh.
Then she bolted to put herself between the bloodthirsty Edom and her injured enemy. Edom reared his head back and gnashed his teeth, the wolf equivalent of an indignant, *What the fuck?!*
“Wait,” she ordered.
Edom looked back at Taos, who said nonchalantly, “I’d listen to her.”
The Gamma huffed angrily right in Sona’s ear and walked away. Ignoring the tantrum, she knelt beside Conri. He was still in his wolf form, lying on his side, panting heavily, tongue lolling out, looking at her with pain-glazed eyes. Sona forgot to consider that he could make some kind of move and skimmed her hand over his torso to feel his ribs. He winced and whimpered when she touched one of the fractions.
“They’re not healing correctly,” she said, and he nodded once to confirm. “Let me see your teeth.” Conri peeled his lip back to reveal that he was missing a few. “They’ll grow back,” she told him flatly, “but you’ll look pathetic for a day or two.”
She heard Taos approach behind her. “Don’t tell me you’re going to help him, trinket.”
Sona bit the inside of her cheek. Conri whimpered in a plea. *Pathetic was right*, she thought, turning her look on him into a glare. His ears flattened. Her voice was harsh. “No. He can withstand a few broken bones. Punishment for his crime.”
“So you *don’t* want me to kill him?” asked Taos innocently. “Or Edom? We’re both more than eager—”
Sona got to her feet. “No. Let him limp home in shame. Let someone find him defeated and embarrassed.”
Taos’ hand touched the small of her back and murmured in her ear, “Trinket, this is giving him a stronger vendetta against the Redbone pack. He’s going to pit Moonvalley even more against us by telling him that he was savagely attacked.”
“I don’t care,” she said through gritted teeth even though she was well aware of the sticky situation. “We’ll deal with it as it comes.”
He hesitated before sighing. “She gets what she wants. Have fun finding your way back, Grayhide,” he purred, looping his arm around Sona’s waist and pulling her away gently.
Sona let Taos guide her, Edom trotting behind them, and tuned out Conri’s keening, *Come back*! it sounded like. Broken, hopeless. No trace of anger or resentment. But she was sure it was there, and she was sure it would return.