Mated to the Berserkers: A Menage Shifter Romance by Lee Savino Read Free Book Online

“Trussed on a frame for her to fuck, then eat. We told her no.”
    Siebold snorted.
    “You jest, Beta,” he said in the sour tone I’d heard Yseult use. Maybe I could convince Samuel to hand the belligerent wolf over to the witch for her dark purposes.
    “Don’t pout, Viking,” I called him by his nickname. “She’ll be back midsummer for her pound of flesh, and her pounding.” I winked at him. “Now trot up to yer post. I’ll send relief at sundown.”
    Provoked, he snarled, human lips peeling back from teeth slightly sharper than a regular man’s. Dropping the teasing act, I answered in kind. Teeth bared, I held his eyes, letting the wolf show a little until he dropped his gaze in respect for my dominance. Gripping his weapon, he rose and stalked up the mountain path to an overlook we used to keep watch.
    Crouching by the fire, I used a dagger to poke at the roasting meat, alternately eating and setting aside slices for Brenna’s meal.
    I was about to leave when a shout stopped me.
    “Beta,” Wulfgar prowled across the clearing towards me, worry crossing his blunt expression. “A word. We had a visitor.”
    “Hunters?” We were half a day’s run from the nearest village, but travelers sometimes strayed onto what we considered our lands.
    “No. One of us.”
    Anger flooded through me. “Werewolf?” I snarled. There was another pack close by, the Red Moon pack. We’d fought them years ago, establishing our right to the mountain. Perhaps it was time to revisit them, remind them of our claim.
    “Yes, the scent belonged to a werewolf,” Wulfgar continued cautiously. “But he did not smell natural born.”
    Hackles raised, I snapped. “Not Red Moon pack. Not unless they’ve decided to taint their ranks.” My lip curled at the expression. According to the Reds, Berserker wolves such as Samuel and I, and our whole pack, were abominations, born of evil. They’d sooner allow a human in their pack than a magic born werewolf.
    I knew this because my father had been one of them, until they cast him out because his true mate, a witch, bore him a child. Me.
    One thing the Red pack and I agreed on: Berserker wolves were dangerous. The magic that flowed in our blood inspired killing rage.
    Like the rage I felt now. “On the mountain?”
    “No. I scented him when I was on patrol, at the stream. Fergus tracked him to the edge of our land.”
    That settled me a little, but my lips curled away from my teeth, and I felt energy church through me, priming me to run, to hunt, to attack.
    To kill.
    In the past, if a werewolf trespassed, I’d have the pack run him down and teach him a lesson. Things were different. I had a woman to protect. Neither part of me, man or beast, would allow a threat to her to live.
    “I want him found and thrown in the pit. Alert me when it’s done.”
    “As you wish, Beta.” Wulfgar hefted his axe onto his shoulder, and barked across the clearing at three other warriors lounging in wolf form. “Patrol. Now.”
    Trouble? I caught the echo of Samuel’s voice coming to me through our shared bond. The magic that made us wolves linked our minds, and during times of strong emotion we could hear each other as clearly as if we were standing side by side.
    No.
    Silence reigned on Samuel’s side of the bond, but he did not assert his Alpha power, which could force any wolf to bow to his will.
    A possible trespasser. I sent wolves to deal with him. I pushed the words towards Samuel’s mind, sending a brief impression of my worry.
    I held back any feeling of anger. As Alpha, Samuel bore the brunt of the Berserker rage. When the beast took hold, he was fearsome, the most powerful of all of us. All well and good on the battlefield, but in times of peace, when the taint of magic took hold of our minds, he was the most vulnerable to losing control.
    Pacing around the campfire, I waited for my swirling emotions to calm.
    Daegan of Alba, Samuel spoke my name, and sent an impression of how he saw