Page 135 of The Alpha's Protective Mate

My hand moves of its own accord, and Terrence stumbles back, clutching his left cheek.

“Nothing is going to happen the way you think, Terrence,” I say coldly. “Did you think I would just sit here and let you do all this? Willingly ingest a poison so that your plans can come to fruition? But that’s exactly your problem, isn’t it? You live under the delusion that everyone will just fall in line with your scheme. That you are entitled to me. You will never make any decision for me. Ever. And I will not stand in front of anyone and feed into your lies.”

Terrence snarls. “You slapped me? I have put everything into you, and this, and us! You think you can raise your hand to me and I won’t punish you?”

“I’m not the scared seven-year-old you remember,” I sneer. “I’m not weak any longer. And you are dealing with not one but two adult vampires.” I grab Arabella by the arm, pulling her to her feet. “You think you can take on the both of us, Terrence?” I ask coolly.

I’m not a fool. I may not be able to hold Terrence off for much longer, but I know my mate is on his way. I can feel Robert’s fury and urgency vibrating within me. I won’t go down without a fight, and I will never let Terrence win. I haven’t forgotten the way Robert mourned his friend. I want revenge. I want Terrence to pay for the suffering he put my mate through.

“A vampire and a healer, you mean. And do you think I’m an idiot?” Terrence suddenly laughs. “I’ve known you’ve had a call connected to someone all this time. Is the wolf Alpha coming? Is he bringing his pack? Because I’ve made preparations for him, as well. As the clans arrive, they will witness a spectacular massacre. In fact,” he raises his head toward the front entrance, smirking, “it seems that it’s already begun!”

That’s when I hear the sounds of fighting coming from outside.

I begin to run toward the noise, only to be seized by Terrence. “I don’t think so.”

Without a moment’s hesitation, I elbow him in the stomach with all my might before crashing my fist into his nose. He stumbles back, gripping his face, and I flee. Throwing open the doors, I see something that is the stuff of nightmares. Wolf shifters fighting against hairy, deformed creatures that look like they ascended from hell. The creatures are vicious, and wolves are falling.

“Like my handiwork?” Terrence’s smug voice comes from behind me. “I used my own blood to create these drugs, so they obey me. They are invincible, and once they bring me your precious Alpha’s head, I’m going to display it in our bedroom. You’re going to look at his decaying face each night when you surrender your body to me.”

I give him a horrified look. There is something incredibly sick about this man.

“Behold!” Terrence suddenly shouts, his voice echoing over the fighting. “These are the wolves we once feared, Clan Leaders. And look at them now. They will be our slaves, nothing more. Roll it down!”

I hear the rustling of cloth from above and look up to see something being unfurled from the upper floor window.

“Jean Sanguinite has returned to us. I sent you the message with the prophecy. Our Queen has returned. She will lead us back into our golden era! It is because of her we have been able to subdue these animals! The Nelo Clan pledges its allegiance to her.”

His declaration spurs shouts from the men standing on the edges of the battlefield.

“The Risa Clan pledges its allegiance to the Queen!”

“The Azure Clan pledges its allegiance to the Queen!”

As the cries sound out, fury fills me. No wonder Terrence was so confident. He had lied. The clan leaders had already been told about the prophecy. And he’d planned to implicate me in front of Robert and his pack. He really did cover all his bases. Except, this man keeps trying to put me back in the box he created for me when I was a child.

I can see Arabella behind him. She is looking at me, her eyes helpless and distraught. My lips press into a thin line.

“You didn’t account for something, Terrence,” I sneer, finding him ridiculous.

He gives me an amused look. “I have always been two steps ahead of you. There is no way out. If, let’s say, your lover does survive, he will never accept you—”

“Not my lover, Terrence.” I blink twice at him. “My mate. He is mine, and I am his. And that’s the truth.”

The smug smile slips from Terrence’s lips. “You’re lying.”

“I’m not.” I take a step toward him. “Now, what are you going to do in front of all the clans who have just sworn allegiance to me? Will you kill me? And say what to them? If my mate dies, by logic, I’ll die too, right?”

From the frustration on his face, he clearly never thought of this.

His hand grabs my neck, and it’s my turn to look amused. “Go on. What’s your next step? Are you going to kill me?”

His claws dig into my neck.

Arabella creeps forward, a blade in her hand.

“You whore!” Terrence spits, his eyes mad with rage. “You mated that animal?! After everything I did for us—”

I knee him in the balls, and he goes down with a strangled sound. Arabella runs forward with a cry, stabbing the knife into his shoulder. However, Terrence plucks it out and shoves her backward. “This is your fault! I’ll kill you!”

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