“I’m going to pay you back for that humiliation tenfold, Brook Michaels.” I feel the bone crack. My cry is muffled by the misaligned jaw.
“This should help you learn your place. You should be seen, not heard.” He shoves me back against the cave.
“Did you let them sample what’s mine?”
I shake my head as his eyes flood with black. With our superior vision, I can see him clearly. Despite his polished appearance, there’s strain around his eyes and mouth. Not everything is going according to his plan.
He inhales and gags. “You smell like them.” His hand strikes my cheek, knocking me to my knees. “You would’ve been my wife. Cherished and a part of prominent society. Now you’re ruined.” He kicks my side. A rib cracks under his onslaught. I curl into a ball, breathing through the pain.
“Get up, whore.” Gripping my hair, he yanks me to my feet. Scalp screaming, I stumble beside him as my mate's rage fills our connection. He can’t know how much I’ve changed. I have to play this role.
“You’re going to be my dirty little secret.” His arousal is bitter and nauseating. “Maybe this will be better. I’ll have a wife and a toy to do with as I please.”
I turn away from his excited gaze. He tightens his grip on my hair. I turn back to look at him. “Tonight, you’ll learn to listen.”
“Isn’t that, right?” He drawls, forcing my head down and back up. “Looks like you remember your roots after all.” Reaching the end of the long path, we begin our descent downhill. I can hear the chanting from her. A large fire crackles and roars ahead. The temperature drops the further we go underground, and the sense of magic heightens. I feel like I’m walking through oil as the slimy sensation settles over my skin like a film. I fight to keep my breathing even and deep.
I don’t want to go any closer to the flickering fire we can now see in the distance. I drag my feet, and Richmond forces me to continue forward.
“The Goddess always gets what she’s promised.”
Bugs walk over my brain, blurring my thoughts and vision.This isn’t how things were supposed to happen.The chanting grows louder.
“We offer you this sacrifice to increase your strength.”
“No.”
A heavyweight comes down on the back of my head. I lurch forward, and the world spins. In a stupor, I lay face down in the dirt. Fabric rustles, and something wet and warm drips on my back. The chorus of voices rises. I’m rolled over, and my right arm is wrenched to the side. The tip of a sharp item digs into my flesh. I choke on my skin, unable to scream with my jaw dislocated.
Omega. Focus.Lev’s command is sharp.
“The ward, omega. Break it.” Ori insists.
Their command overrides the pain. I lengthen my nails, drawing blood, and place my trembling hand on the ground. Digging my fingers into the ground, I chase the rune and feel the slight opening in the boundary. Moments later, the crack is ripped wide, and my bond is flooded with strength and light to combat the cloying darkness that has me surrounded. The She-wolf surges forward, and I let her take control.
This time, I feel my bones snap and reform in the passenger seat of my body. Fur bursts forward, and my vision sharpens as cries of dismay and the acidic fragrance of fear rise up around me. On all fours, I scan the circle around the fire. Richmond stands fifteen feet away with a twisted blade raised above his head.
“Protect us, Goddess,” Richmond screams. He brings the knife down toward Canyon, and I spring into action. Pushing off with my hind legs, I knock him to the ground. My teeth sink into his neck, and I bite down, tasting the metallic geyser that begins to flow. The pulse in his neck slows to nothing. I bound over to stand guard in front of Canyon. He protected me, and now I’m returning the favor.
Elders flee further into the caverns. The ground beneath our feet rumbles. I shift on my paws uneasily. Dust belches and stones fall, blocking our pursuit. I rest my head on Canyon’s, monitoring his shallow breathing as my mates appear from the chaos.
“We have to go. The cave isn’t stable.” Lev hefts Canyon over his shoulder, and Orion and I follow close on his heels, dodging fallen rocks.
We spring out of the cave and continue to run the way we came as a storm breaks above us. Lighting flashes, illuminating the trees where dark creatures peer back. This isn’t over. Lighting strikes the ground, splitting a tree in half and causing a chain reaction. The sparks create a blaze that races down toward the cave.
The darkness shrinks back, and we continue our retreat. Regrouping on the other side of the wards in our teams, we wait for our Alpha Danner to speak.
“Our rescue mission may have succeeded, but the war is just beginning. Today we saw our enemy in action. We witnessed what they were capable of. We won’t underestimate them, nor will we continue to ignore them as long as they stay on their side of the state. Tonight, we’ll take care of our wounded. Tomorrow, we’ll be reconvening.”
We pile into a black SUV, and Lev places Canyon onto my lap. I cling to him, marveling at how my life took a three-sixty.
“Our healers will take care of this,” Orion reaches between the seat to place his hand over my own, resting on my brother’s chest. The compassion in his dark green eyes sets a low pulse off in my belly, reminding me of other things we’ve left unfished. His eyes dilate, and Lev groans.
“After we see to your brother, we have unfinished business to handle, Cub.”
* * *
Scrubbed clean andhealed by my body's new metabolism, I pad on bare feet down the hall. My thoughts drift to Canyon, who’s under surveillance in a special room in their infirmary. Unlike me, he’s still got the drugs they use flowing through his veins. In his shape, giving him anything to purge right now would be reckless. His body and spirit have both been weakened by what he’d endured, and they’re not sure what his reactions will be.