Trapped Between Two Alphas by Sam Crescent

never a whole pack, let alone two. They knew too fucking
much, and I want to know why.”
    Kris
waited for Matt to put the call to speaker-phone. He wanted to hear the
conversation.
    “Hello.”
Daniel answered. His pack was over a hundred miles north of them.
    “Daniel,
the man that was taken from you by the hunters, have you found his body?”
    When
Matt had been making calls about Cynthia he’d remembered that Daniel had been
missing a pack member for some time. Kris also recalled the other man
mentioning it to him. If they hurt Cynthia all of the hunters were going to die,
and he’d be the one to see to it. She was too damn fragile. What would they
accomplish with her? She wasn’t worth hunting.
    “What?
What’s this about?” Daniel asked.
    “We
were attacked on our own land. They took out several of our men, Daniel, and
they’ve taken my mate. She was in the middle of the change. I need answers.
Every other pack has found one of their men they’ve lost. All except you.”
    He
heard the other man moving around over the line.
    “The
man who was attacked had a mate. We haven’t found the mate or him, Matt.”
    Glancing
over at Matt, Kris saw he had his answer.
    Slamming
the phone down Matt ruffled his hair.
    “What
are you thinking?” Kris asked. He felt anger pool inside his gut. Humans had
Cynthia, and he didn’t even know if she’d survived the transition.
    “Someone
knew about us. Daniel knew where to find us, and every wolf knows where to find
a pack. We’re safer together than roaming alone. The man who was taken has a
mate. I’m thinking these humans are using them to find us.”
    It
couldn’t be true. No wolf would give up the location of a pack. Kris spoke his
doubts aloud.
    “If
they were torturing Cynthia wouldn’t you give away everything you knew to keep
her safe?” Matt asked.
    Kris
wouldn’t even hesitate. “We need to find her.”
    They
walked out together. Their fallen men lay on the ground lifeless. Kris saw
their bodies, and they brought tears to his eyes.
    His
men had died trying to protect him and his mate. Glancing at the forest he
inhaled. The distant scents invaded him. He hadn’t lost his sense of smell.
    It
was time these hunters knew who they were dealing with.
    ****
    Cynthia
moaned as her eyes opened. Her body hurt all over.
    “It
hurts,” she said. Cynthia rolled over on the small bed. Her head felt like
someone had taken a hammer to it. She opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling
before her. The light was too bright. Closing her eyes she heard the buzzing of
the light.
    Frowning,
Cynthia became alerted to a hell of a lot more. She heard the sound of a cat
meowing in the distance, followed by a man filing a knife. Turning her head she
saw a mouse in the corner padding its way back to its nest.
    “The
she-beast is awake,” a man said.
    She
jumped back as she became aware of the cage she’d been locked in. Her body was
naked, and then she remembered everything that had happened to her.
    “She
looks frightened, Frank. Are you sure she’s a wolf?” the man asked.
    “You
saw what those men did to her. I’d step away from the cage if I was you. She
would like to kill you given the chance.”
    Cynthia
glanced down at her hands and then at her naked body. She was different. This
wasn’t her body. Her hair had grown down to her waist. The blonde length looked
vibrant. Her hair had never looked vibrant. Pressing a palm to her neck she
felt the pulse beating hard and strong against her palm.
    She
hadn’t felt this healthy and strong since she was a child.
    “What
has happened to me?” she asked.
    The
man by the cage moved aside, showing her another man sitting at a table filing
his knife.
    “You’re
a beast. A rare beast, but you’ll do for what I have planned. You see, some
people pay a lot of money to hunt your kind. You’re the first female wolf I’ve
found, and you’re going up for a lot of money,” Frank said.
    She
pressed her back against the wall.