Mine for Eternity [Council Enforcers] (Siren Publishing Classic)

or some type of dog shifter the way he was looking at her. She could picture his tail practically wagging and his tongue hanging out at the thought of finally catching his prey. Too bad she wasn’t going to make it easy on him. She leaped the last few feet from the tree and hit the ground running before he even realized what she was doing. Being mated to Mitch had made her a lot faster than she used to be, but she was nowhere near as fast as the rogue. She hadn’t made it a few feet before she could feel his hot rancid breath on the back of her neck.
    “Mitch!” Tessa screamed at the top of her lungs just as she felt claws slice her back as they gripped the back of her shirt.
    One second she was running, and the next Tessa was flying through the air as a blur of gold came barreling into them. She landed in a heap gasping desperately to get the air back in her lungs that had been knocked out. Shards of pain shot up her arm when Tessa rolled to her hands and knees, but she ignored it and tried to focus on the fight between Mitch and the rogue, who had shifted to full wolf. She could hear snapping and growling behind her and turned to see Mitch and the rogue tearing into each other. Both had blood dripping from various tears and bite marks.
    Tessa stood on shaky legs and was shocked at the vicious way Mitch attacked the rogue wolf. While Mitch had size, the wolf had speed. It was clear that the rogue was no match for Mitch, but that didn’t stop him from dashing in, time and time again, trying to find an opening to take the lion down. Several times the wolf went for Mitch’s throat, but he couldn’t get a grip through the lion’s mane. Mitch just shook him off each time and batted him away.
    Tessa held in her screams each time the rogue got a bite or a scratch in on Mitch. She couldn’t stand the fact that he was getting hurt while she was standing there doing nothing, but there wasn’t anything she could do. She felt helpless just watching from the sidelines.
    One of Mitch’s massive paws came down on the wolf’s back at that moment, and Tessa heard a sickening crack as he hit the ground. She held her breath and waited to see if the wolf would get up. Instead, he whimpered and laid his head down. She didn’t wait any longer to run to Mitch’s side.
    “Mitch!” she yelled as she ran toward him.
    Unfortunately, the rogue used her distraction to attack Mitch from behind. He leaped onto the lion’s back and sunk his teeth into his shoulder. Tessa could feel Mitch’s roar vibrate through her body because it was so loud. It was a sound of anger and pain all mixed together. Mitch rolled and swatted at the wolf, doing everything he could to get the rogue off him, but nothing he did worked. The wolf just sunk his teeth in further and added his claws to hold on tight.
    Tessa was only thinking of Mitch’s safety when she reacted. She reached down and picked up a fallen branch, ignoring the pain in her wrist. Using all the strength she possessed, she lifted the branch over her head and brought it down on the back of the wolf’s head. That seemed to get the wolf’s attention as he lifted his head to growl at Tessa. She could see Mitch’s blood coating his mouth as he lifted his muzzle and flashed his fangs.
    Tessa never saw the wolf move as she felt claws rake across her cheek carving deep grooves. She gasped at the searing pain. Her cheek felt like it was on fire, but she had to ignore it when the rogue suddenly leaped off Mitch’s back, coming directly at her. Not thinking and going purely on instinct, Tessa lifted the branch she still had in her grip and held it in front of her. She felt the impact of the wolf landing on the branch as he took them both to the ground and a wet squishing sound as it impaled his stomach. For a moment, the wolf seemed to hover in midair above her before Tessa let go of the stick and he fell to the side, taking it with him. Feeling sick, Tessa rolled over and lost the contents of her stomach. She didn’t know if it was from the pain or the fact that she had just killed someone, but it didn’t matter.
    Hot breath on the back of her neck had Tessa screaming at the top of her lungs as she rolled over and scrambled to get up. It took a few screams before she realized it was Mitch and not the rogue. The feral look in his eyes told her that she was dealing with the lion and not the man. Mitch had let his animal completely take over probably for the fight. Remembering what he had