Mate of the Alpha Read Online Free

civilized discussion was what he wanted. He wanted to tear the shifter limb from limb, permanently ending any threat to his mate. One of the wolves tensed his haunches, preparing to attack.
    Ethan and his wolf flowed together and a howl echoed eerily throughout the concrete structure of the underground parking garage. It was loud and filled with the power of an enraged alpha. He launched himself at the wolves, putting himself between them and his mate.
    Ethan caught the attacking wolf mid-flight and twisted the creature’s neck. As the sound of crunching bone melded with the grunts and growls of the other wolves, he snarled. He grabbed Lily, sitting her on top of her car, all the while keeping the wolves in full view. They had chosen not to obey the rules of the pack and live under the authority of an alpha. They were about to die at the hands of an alpha.
    He shifted quickly. As an alpha he didn’t have to worry about being attacked while he shifted, it was too swift. One minute he was a man, the next a great, hulking, black wolf, ready to take on the shifters foolish enough to mess with his mate.
    They would die tonight.
    Even in animal form, he was aware of Lily. Her rapid heartbeat told him she was still upset, but the scent of fear had vanished. It gave him an infusion of power and strength to know she trusted him to protect her. As the leader of the rouge paced back and forth before him, he thanked the powers-that-be he had found his mate before he had suffered this wolf’s fate. A mate kept a wolf grounded.
    The grey wolf launc hed himself at Ethan but was no match for his alpha strength. Even with the help of the others, the wolf never stood a chance. Ethan used swift, killing blows. He refused to let any animal suffer.
    He quickly sh ifted back turning his attention once again to his mate. “Did they hurt you?”
    She shook her head, still kneeling on the hood of her car, positioned as if rooting for her favorite sports team. Or poised to join in if she’d felt the need. Any other woman would have been curled up, huddled as far away as possible from the fight. Or would have run away screaming. But not Lily, not his mate. She had been determined to take on a pack of rouge wolves on her own.
    He wondered if she was prepared to take on her alpha mate.
     
    “Come h ere.”
    Warm hands reached for Lily , pulling her from the hood of her car, to hold her against a hard, muscled  body. She could feel the heavy beat of Ethan’s heart as he lifted her into his arms. She wanted to say something, but she knew better than to poke at the angry wolf. Instead, she concentrated on the feeling of being in his arms. The sensation of being carried in a strong man’s arms was an unfamiliar one. She couldn’t recall a single instance when a man had carried her.
    She wanted to bury her face against the starched linen of his shirt. He always sme lled of freshly ironed cotton, the forest, and a masculine scent she couldn’t even begin to describe. All she knew was it made her weak in the knees and achy in places she only touched in the dark of the night.
    Ethan had almost reached the elevators when three burly security guards burst through the stairwell doors.
    “Sir,” they shouted .
    Ethan stopped in front of the elevator doors. The guards joined him and one reached around to hit the call button.
    “Is she hurt , Alpha?” the oldest of the three asked.
    “No.”
    His arms tightened around her painfully and she could hear the emotion in his voice. It gave her hope that he felt more for her than just lust. When the elevator arrived, the guards didn’t follow them inside. Ethan turned around and Lily buried her face in his shoulder, hiding her eyes from the carnage that reminded on the garage floor.
    Seeing her reaction, the guard spoke again. “We’ll take care of it, sir.”
    Ethan gave his men one short nod before the doors closed. He savored the feeling of Lily in his arms, her face buried against his shoulder. But he