He wavered, moving unsteadily to the side. I’d rung his bell good.

I took a second to catch my breath, wiping more blood off my forehead before it dripped into my eyes. I felt it then—Lou reaching back out to me, to my wolf. Mine. Her voice rang through my head, sweet and true. Pure music.

Yours. Even in my head I sounded smug. Why wouldn’t I? Lou was mine and she was glorious.

Ours, my wolf growled, and he sounded pretty fucking smug, too. The magic snapped between us, a new bond forming in the place of the old. Heat chased away the cold, everything inside me reforming in an instant.

Mate. My wolf howled, triumph ringing through his voice. We were safe, now. Eva couldn’t touch us. Across from me, Angus gave his head a final shake. I may have rung his bell, but he was back online now.

I’ll handle Eva, Lou assured me. Go kick your dad’s ass.

I tuned everything out then, concentrating only on Angus. My pack was strong. They would give everything to this fight, not because they feared me, like Angus’s pack, but because they loved me. And I refused to let them down. They were mine to take care of. That was my privilege and I would honor it.

I threw myself at my father, going on the offensive. Letting my rage power me but not cloud my mind. Because I had to win.

We collided again, hammering at each other with fists, elbows, knees. It wasn’t tidy—the kind of fight with a ref and timed rounds. This was a no-holds-barred out-and-out brawl.

My father attempted to put me in a headlock, but I dipped my chin, blocking him from my neck. Before he could try again, I bit down on his arm, tasting blood. He pinched my nose with his free hand, trying to block my airway to make me let go, but I stubbornly held on. It was then that I felt the brush of Eva’s mind as she tried to take me, make me hers. Her magic slid right over it, like she was struggling to hold on to a bar of soap in the shower. I felt her wrath and it was sweet.

I spit out Angus’s arm, flinging my elbow back until it connected with his face. I heard the crunch of bone. He stumbled, his grip on me loosening. I shoved myself backward, slamming him into one of the wooden support pillars.

I spun, keeping my body low and ready to rush. My father’s face and chest were smeared with blood. I didn’t think I looked any better. I could still taste the tang of iron from his blood in my mouth.

“We could call this done,” I said, my voice a low rumble. “You don’t have to die today.”

Angus growled, his eyes burning bright with fury. “Pathetic.”

At least I’d tried. We tore back into each other. My vision tunneled to the fight. We hit the ground again, and for a second, I had him pinned. I slammed my fist into his face. Again. And again. He was dazed, body limp. My fist was raised for the killing blow. It would be so easy to tear out his throat. Snap his neck. He’d killed, I knew he had. He’d made my life hell.