Saved by Wolves (Shifters Meet Their Mate Book 1) by Elena Hunter Page B

Kirra yelled, surging to her feet. “Don’t kill him.”
    His head swung toward her, and she held out a hand, palm out. “You can’t kill him,” she pleaded in a low, ragged voice. “He might know something.”
    Behind her, a Cat yowled. Kirra angled her body so she could keep track of Marcus’s fight in her peripheral vision—keeping her back to a potential threat seemed wrong, and she didn’t dare take her eyes off Jackson. He held himself over the man, sharp teeth bared and gleaming in the light, vibrating with anger and anticipation. The unhinged look in his eyes made her take a deep, calming breath. Keeping her hand out, Kirra inched her way toward him, until she was only five feet away.
    “I need to ask him a few questions, Jackson. But beyond that, Marcus told me about the treaty—this would break it. You don’t want to start a war with the Cats.”
    His left ear twitched repeatedly, and his upper lip curled, exposing his gums.
    “Okay, maybe you don’t care about that right now. But you did yesterday. And you will tomorrow. And the alpha—your alpha will care, right?” The way they spoke about their alpha, she knew his word was law. And while part of her wanted nothing more than to let Jackson beat the crap out of her attacker—or better yet, do it herself—she knew it would be wrong. And not just morally. If the Wolves got tangled up in an all-out feud with the Cats, they wouldn’t have the time or manpower to focus on anything else. Her plea for help would be ignored or swept under the rug.
    Jackson tilted his head to the side and met her eyes. The panther-man scrambled to his left, trying to take advantage of the moment of inattention. Jackson slammed a paw down on his shoulder, stopping him in his tracks. He didn’t go for the man’s throat, though. That was a good sign. Maybe her words were getting through to him. But just in case they weren’t, she needed to ask her questions quickly.
    Going against every self-preservation fiber in her body, Kirra took another step toward the men and faced the Cat. Her throat throbbed where he’d held his claw to her neck, and it was all she could do not to rub it. The last thing she wanted to do was show that kind of vulnerability to such a monster, so she kept her hands loose at her sides. “Why does your alpha want me?” she asked.
    “Tell your dog to get off me,” he hissed. Objectively, he was good-looking—slabs of muscle and chiseled features—but his sneering expression and the fact that he’d kidnapped her turned him ugly.
    “Interesting insult coming from an overgrown house cat,” she said, cocking a hip and planting her hand on it, hoping she projected more confidence than she felt. “Answer my question.”
    He sealed his lips tight and glared.
    She heard a loud grunt, and darted a glance at Marcus and the cheetah. They were circling each other, snarling and hissing, moving in to swipe with a paw, then darting back again. They looked as if they’d be busy for a while. She refocused on her target.
    “Fine. Then tell me what kind of a deal you made with the military. With Blackstone.”
    “I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”
    “That’s not what Captain Avery said.”
    “Avery? That self-important peacock who trespassed with the soldiers? He didn’t know what the hell he was talking about either. We don’t have a deal with the humans. Especially not the military. It stays out of our way, and we’ll stay out of its.” He gave a harsh, bitter laugh. “Not that that’s going to happen anymore. They killed Huxley in cold blood. The alpha won’t forget that.”
    Huxley... he had to mean the dreadlocked Cat. A flash of the gun firing and blood blossoming on his chest filled her vision for a second, and she shook her head to clear it. Lash’s voice rang with truth. Either he believed what he was saying or he was a skilled liar. She thought the former—none of the shifters she’d encountered so far seemed big on