The thought of what the other women before me must have suffered almost makes my moans falter. But I press on. There’s no choice for me but to make him think I enjoy this.
He’s not the first male to force something from me. But he’s the first that I’ve taken something back in return. His final thrust and groan are met by a loud cry of ecstasy from me. For once, it’s not entirely forced.
Staring down at me, he lets out a growl. I’m already scrambling away from him as he shifts back into his wolf form. The silver wolf stalks toward me, its powerful paws reaching out and knocking me back.
I hiss as pain erupts through my body. Glancing at my left arm, I note that he’s torn my flesh. The first true injury he’s managed to land on me.
The wolf continues to stalk toward me, its silver eyes flashing with the promise of my impending death.
I meet his eyes, even as my entire body shakes. This is not how I wanted my life to end but like when he took me, I won’t give him the pleasure of thinking he’s won over me.
I hope that my small defiance is enough to haunt him. That he will spend the rest of his days knowing that there was one human, one woman, that he had no control over.
His paw grabs my foot, dragging me toward him. I try to kick him off of me while desperately reaching for a branch or something to use to defend myself. I will not make this easy on him. A cry of pain escapes me as his sharp teeth bite into the skin of my ankle. Sitting up, I smack the wolf’s snout. He lets out a startled cry, releasing my foot.
I crawl away from him, hisses of pain escaping me. He pounces, landing just over me. With an effortless flick of his paw, he sends me toppling into a limp pile.
I swear his lips pull back into a smirk as he approaches. My hand still searches for a branch or rock, but all I come up with is dirt and leaves.
Nothing that’ll stop him from ending me.
He hesitates, his head cocking to the side as he stares down at me. It takes me a moment to realize that he’s toying with me. His large paw bats at the arm I’m searching the ground with, tearing through my skin as though it’s nothing.
Pain surges through me, blinding me for a moment as I pull my arm to my body. Cradling it, I stare up at him. He’s enjoying this.
My death won’t be quick, I realize in horror. He will drag this out until I plead with him to end me. Biting my tongue until I taste blood, I vow to myself that I won’t give him the satisfaction of hearing my pleas. I will leave this earth in silence if I have to.
Crouched over me, his hot breath tickles my nose as he runs a claw down my neck. I force my eyes open as I stare up at him. My body trembles, both from pain and exhaustion, and I do my best to ignore it. He leans in, his teeth grazing my neck. Keeping my eyes on the trees above, I wait. A strange sound reaches my ears, perhaps the pounding of my death coming for me through the trees. Or I am to have an audience to my death. Above me, the wolf has frozen.
A dark shape springs through the trees. I blink just as it collides with the Grey Prince, knocking him away from me. Staring up at the trees, I suck in fresh air as I listen to the sound of wolves fighting, of the Grey Prince being chased off. I know better than to believe that I’ve been saved. I’m not foolish enough to believe that the Grey Prince is the only one capable of horrible deeds or killing a human woman.
My vision begins to blur. I wonder if I’ve lost more blood than I realized. Vaguely, I’m aware of every bite and cut across my body. I fight the darkness as a dark wolf appears in my sight. Staring up at it, I’m sure that I’m slipping away when two more wolf heads join it. Three wolves. They shift before crouching next to me, their deep voices muffled by the roaring of blood in my ears.
Tilting my head, I meet the golden gaze of the guard from the castle. His mouth is moving, but I hear no words. Concern pulls at his eyes as he stares down at me. There’s a gentle hand on my brow, and I let out a sigh.
I close my eyes and finally give in to the darkness. There’s not enough fight left in me to take on these three wolves.
27
Rykker
Imove toward the redhead, crouching as I gently lift her into my arms. With a shaky sigh, she goes limp in my arms. I glance at Pierce and Heath, who watch with matching frowns.
“We were too late?” I ask.
Heath shakes his head, but Pierce looks less convinced as he crouches next to me. He lays a hand on her head and then presses two fingers to her neck.
“She lives.”
Heath nods before asking, “Was the prince aware of who stopped him from taking another human life?”
I shake my head.
He was too far gone in his bloodlust and anger over being stopped. I doubt he was even aware that it was another shifter that chased him off.
We may have stopped him from killing this woman, but I saw his eyes before he fled into the woods. Blood will still be spilled tonight.
“No,” I tell Heath.