Page 72 of Cage Me

“Such a stunning creature,” I whisper and lean my head down closer to hers. “Thank you for keeping her safe.”

The wolf rumbles in response, then nudges my hand away, making me laugh. “I hear you. You don’t want me, you want him.”

Her tongue rolls out the side of her mouth, and I have my confirmation.

Shifting comes easily, and as soon as my dark wolf appears, Spencer’s leaps at him. They nip and growl playfully at each other, but not for long.

None of us have forgotten we’re not out for fun. Kel could be anywhere, and the heaviness in my heart only grows as more time passes. I don’t know if that’s just my dread or a sign that we’re getting closer, but either way, we can’t let our guard down.

The two wolves begin to run, staying side by side as we move through the ravaged remnants of the town. Our paws kick up dust as we traverse the forsaken road until we leave the destruction behind and reach a main road.

The world around us is eerily quiet as we continue north, scanning the area for any new scents. Miles pass without any signs of life, but as the sun creeps higher into the sky, I have a feeling that won’t last long.

Just as I’m about to nip at Spencer, suggesting we stop, she comes to an abrupt halt, her wolf’s ears pitch forward, and a growl rumbles deep in her chest.

I don’t sense what she does, but I move to stand by her side. When I’m only a few feet from her, the air in front of her tears open, creating a dark void. Six shadows burst from the gaping hole, their snarls echoing around us as they leap to attack without hesitation, their snapping jaws aimed to kill.

My instincts scream to protect Spencer, but one of them barrels into me, its claws sinking into my flesh as we crash to the ground. With a grunt, I push the beast off, feeling the warmth of my blood staining my coat. Still, I’m on my feet in a heartbeat, facing down three menacing adversaries.

A fleeting glance toward Spencer shows me that she’s already a force of nature with one enemy down beneath her. I can’t help but feel a surge of pride as I launch myself at the nearest wolf, aiming for its throat. He moves swiftly out of my way, but that doesn’t stop me from changing focus and aiming for the shifter behind him.

With my teeth bared and claws out, I latch on to the next wolf and rip into his throat. His body thrashes against mine, leaving gouges from his claws in his wake, but I don’t relent.

Not until another one jumps on my back.

An ambush from behind nearly brings us down, but we roll out from under our attackers just in time to see the first wolf we struck staggering to the ground, unlikely to rise again.

The other two come after me at the same time. I could run to the side, try to split them up, but I want to be done with this. They’re literally bleeding dark magic, which makes me believe this isn’t a random attack.

Kel sent them here.

You’ve always been such a smart man, her voice sounds through my mind, distracting me just long enough for the two wolves to attack without me being prepared.

How the fuck am I hearing her? I assumed when it happened before that it was because the curse had just been broken and she was reaching out one last time before the hold on my wolf was officially broken. This, though? This changes things, and my mate isn’t going to like it.

As one wolf lunges for my throat, the other slashes at my belly. My wolf lets out a loud roar and rolls away from them, but we don’t get far.

Did you think you could beat me so easily? Kel taunts. I’ve been alive since the beginning of time. There is no stopping me.

Fuck you, I snarl and start to fight back even as I’m losing blood.

The two wolves above mine are relentless in their attempts at killing me, but my wolf shakes our head back and forth, barely avoiding a deathly blow.

A roar tears from me, a sound of determination as I evade another strike to my neck. My wolf kicks our back legs out and takes one of our attackers by surprise. There’s a brief reprieve, and we use that to finally stand back up, but our limbs are shaking, and each step sends shooting pains across our spine.

A deep growl catches the attention of the two wolves stalking closer to me, but they barely get the chance to glance left before Spencer’s wolf is on them. She’s covered in blood, but the scent isn’t hers. The ferocity in which her wolf fights the remaining two beasts is awing.

Her teeth rip into the first one as if he’s being served to my mate on a platter for lunch, and the second one goes down with a few swipes of her front paw. When she’s done and looks at me, the fury pulsing off her is the only thing that keeps me standing.

Spencer’s white wolf approaches mine, licking some of his wounds as they slowly begin to heal. I don’t believe I’ve lost enough blood to fear for my life, but I’m definitely going to need rest.

Only I have no clue if rest is coming.

I search for the presence of Kel in my mind, but she’s nowhere to be found. I can’t seem to communicate with her like she’s just done to me.

Spencer shifts first and her rage is no less palpable when she’s standing before me on two feet. “I’d kill them again if I could.”

She pulls the witch’s pocket from her jeans and opens it. A second later, she has a jar of salve in her hand. “This should help you.”

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