I took a shaky step back.

And then another shortly after.

"Hurry!" Lia impatiently called, rapidly motioning for me to get in with one of her hands. Her blonde hair glinted in shiny abundance down her shoulders, glaringly bright in my eyes as she waved.

With a sharp inhale of breath, I defensively squared my shoulders and tightened my grip on the scalpel in my right hand.

Although I am taking the offensive, there's really not much I can do.

Because, if you think about it, wounded human against feral she-wolf never really end well.

"I'm not here to hurt you," she said with a stern and incredulous expression on her pretty face. "It's either you trust me or die here when those hunters find you."

At her harsh words, my lips pursed into a deep frown.

I knew what she said was true.

In fact, choosing Lia or the hunters could possibly lead to a terrible death.

If I try to evade her, she would easily catch me without much trying on her part. And as of this moment, I don't even think I can run. My wounds were too severe and my organs might fall out of my abdomen if I make one wrong move.

And if the hunters manage to find me, there would be no guarantee of survival after that point.

So I decided to make a bet, using my life as the gambling money.

I was going to trust her this time.

Because, what other options do I have?

Heaving a deep sigh, I opened the car door and slowly crawled into the passenger seat, wincing ever so lightly at the vicious pain in my abdomen and face.

I really hope that I am making a good decision. And I can only pray that I don't end up dead in a ditch somewhere.

Lia gave me a once over.

I was far too out of it to really care what she thought about me. Not that I would have cared anyway.

Her blue eyes strayed onto my wounded left cheek and lingered there for several seconds longer before she stepped on the gas. Then, she proceeded to drive maniacally down the dirt road like the devil was on our tail.

Which is a pretty accurate description of the situation.

"I have some painkillers in the glove compartment," Lia said without removing her gaze from the road, her nose crinkling as the car started to fill up with the metallic scent of my blood.

At her words, I was quick to open the compartment because God knows how much I needed this. If I don't get some help soon, I think I might just pass out before Eros can even find me.

And, although a hospital would be a better option, there was nothing to do other than pop a couple of pain pills into my mouth and wait it out.

I'm a pill-popping animal.

Just kidding.

"I don't have any water," Lia stated after I put the pills in my mouth, noting my rapidly reddening face with a frown.

At her words, I pathetically choked and tried to swallow down the pills much to my chagrin. The bitter taste made me gag several times but I had to power through it and make the best of the situation.

After that grueling task was completed, I turned my head to her and asked, "How far are we from the pack?"

"We're almost 4 hours away," she replied. "We won't make it there with your condition like that. We'll have to stop at one of the closer packs and ask for help."

I nodded my head and asked the next question that I have been wondering ever since I got into the car, "Why are you helping me?"

If I remember correctly, Lia and I are love rivals. Why was she help me knowing that everything would be better without me?

I mean, wouldn't that be the smart thing to do?

She scowled and said, "You're my Alpha Female. Even if I loved Alpha Eros, I'm not about to go and destroy something as sacred as a mating bond."

I coughed out in an embarrassed matter and said, "Well...either way. Thank you."

The car ride was rather silent after that, neither of us wanting to speak to the other. There was really nothing that love rivals could talk about without being too fake or bitter.

I tried to keep myself conscious in the meantime, but it was starting to get harder and harder by the minute. Although the painkillers have already kicked in, the blood loss was making my head swim with dizziness.

Lia continued to drive past 100 miles an hour while I gripped the car seat like my life depended on it.

I thought that we would make it, but that was just wishful thinking.

From the corner of my vision, my eyes caught sight of a gigantic were-beast headed straight for us.

At first, I thought I was hallucinating because of the blood loss, but the creature was coming closer and closer towards our car at a rather astonishing speed.

"Lia!" I screeched out when she stepped heavily onto the brake right before we could run into the beast. A gurgled and pained protest left my lips.

I pressed my hand against my abdomen when the seatbelt jerked around my body and pulled me back to keep me from flying out of the windshield.

The pain was almost instant.

My entire body curled at the mind-wrenching pain, and my vision spun for 10 seconds before I could catch my breath.

"Fuck!" she cursed, swerving the car out of the way of the beast that was currently obstructing our path. Dirt and rubble started to fly like crazy into the air, masking the were-beast in a tornado of dust when the wind picked up.

My heart was pounding crazily in my chest, almost like it was going to fall out of my open abdomen.

And just when my vision zooms in on the black tufts of fur, a calmness suddenly washes over my form like relief and something else that I couldn't name.

The werewolf's familiar red eyes stared straight back into my own while fur as black and sleek as night coated it all over.

Even if I have never seen Eros in full beast mode, I knew that this was him.

It was Eros.

Though Eros and I were yards apart, our mate bond was sweltering with heat, pulling me towards his enraged form like a tightly wounded coil.

To be honest, I'm kind of scared because I've never seen him this crazed and furious before.

And I don't know why, but I feel as if this had something to do with me.

Of course, it would.

"Don't get out of the car!" Lia shouted after noticing me reach for the car door.

"It's Eros!" I tell her, turning my head to look at her in confusion.

"His blood beast is in control. He won't recognize you right now. He might even end up hurting you," she explained with blonde brows furrowed together into a tight knot.

Although I believe her, a part of me also believed that Eros would never hurt me.

Never.

"I'm going to try to distract him. You need to get into the driver side and get out of here," she quickly instructed.

I stare at her for nearly 10 seconds with this bewildered expression on my pale face.

Her idea was beyond ludicrous.

I knew that she was trying to help me but I don't think that Lia putting herself into harm's way was going to be very helpful.

Either way, Eros was going to come for me, even if I wanted him to or not.

"Lia, that's not a good idea," I slowly state with a frown on my lips. "Like you said, his blood beast is in control. He could hurt you!"

Who in their right mind would go up against an Alpha wolf in bloodlust, especially someone as young and inexperienced as Lia?

I reached my hand out to catch the fabric of her blue cotton shirt, but she easily shrugged me off with this determined look on her face.

"Just do as I say," she hastily chided as if she was talking to a child and not an adult.

I felt as if she was looking down on me because I look younger than her.

Which was probably going to be the worst mistake of her life.

With an irritated sigh of frustration, I tried to reason with her, but her stubborn facial expression made me want to throttle her instead.

What in the hell is Lia thinking?

"He's going to kill you, Lia! Don't do it!" I exclaim louder this time, exasperation starting to tint my voice. She ignored my warning, jumped out of the car and suddenly shifted into her wolf.

From there, I could only watch with my eyes wide open in horror, quite dumbfounded at the bizarre situation.

Lia's brown wolf made a straight line for Eros much bigger and stronger form. Her claws and canines were bared as if she was doing this to get back at him for never noticing her.

This was terrible timing if that was the case.

Eros growled loudly at her awfully daring challenge, causing all the birds and wildlife to flee at hearing such a feral and predator like noise. Even the hairs on my body stood on end in response, and I had to stop the urge to cower back.

Eros didn't take too lightly to her trying to stop him from coming to me.

And it was pretty obvious that his logical human side was gone, replaced by feral instincts in the form of his blood beast.

I knew that werewolves were very territorial of their family, especially wounded ones. Anyone or anything that got in the way would be eradicated without a warning.

In this case, Lia happened to be the current roadblock.

Eros was going to eradicate her really quickly if I don't intervene.

With that last thought, I spurred into action.

I opened the car door and shakily stepped out, hoping I don't fall over into a dead faint.

Before I could say or do anything, he charged at Lia and she was sent flying across the road until her gigantic wolf body slammed into a nearby tree.

There was an awfully horrendous thud that echoed in the aftermath.

"Stop Eros! Stop it!" I scream loudly as if my words would have any effect.

It was like he didn't hear anything I said or chose to ignore it.

He picked her up by the scruff of her neck and I could see strings of blood start dripping down her fur in rivulets. His sharp canines ripped through the fur and I was terrified that he would bite off her head.

He was playing with her like she was a chew toy, ready to kill her at any given moment.

"Stop Eros!" I scream again, tears starting to burn my eyes.

He paused for a brief second from my outburst before he tossed her wounded body down like a broken rag doll.

I sighed out in relief only to stop breathing the next.

Regardless of my words, Eros stepped onto her face with his clawed foot and dug his heel into her maw with terrifying force.

Lia's wolf form immediately faded until she was forced back into her humanoid one, crumbled to the ground completely naked.

I saw more blood than I did skin. It covered her entire face, neck and back in expansive red spots that looked horrendously gruesome.

Albeit the wound on her neck and face looked pretty severe, it didn't kill her.

At that realization, a relieved exhale of air left my burning lungs again.

"Don't get close to him," Lia weakly cautioned. She coughed out a handful of blood and I grimaced when I saw her broken nose.

Eros seemed mad at her words because he proceeded to kick her out of the way. And by the time her body stopped against a tall tree, Lia was unconscious.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and sighed.

I admit that I felt rather hesitant in approaching him in the beginning, but that was only because his raging anger and uncontrolled fury had startled me. That wasn't the case now that I can see all of the insecurities, worry, and love shining in the red depths of his beautiful eyes.

How could I be scared of the man who chose to love me so unconditionally and doted on me with everything he had?

Regardless of what form he took, he was still Eros.

He was still the man I love wholeheartedly.

Why would I choose to run from him?

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A/N : There are only around 2-3 chapters left of The Alpha's Breeder. Please make sure to follow me to be notified when the sequel comes up! The name of the sequel is The Sentinels' Mother so keep your eyes peeled! :)

Sorry for the late late late update. I've been job hunting and going to interviews while working hard to finish the ebook for everyone who has donated on Ko-fi, so don't worry. It is getting close to completion!

Thank you to everyone who waited for this!