Page 37 of Wolf's Endgame

“Cass,” he answered, throwing shirts at me. “This is weird by the way. I mean, I know why, but I don’t like undressing unconscious people.”

“Would you prefer them dead?”

“Shut up.”

Kris was on his feet again, and between the weak shoves with his head moving his mate across the dirt floor, I managed to snag a hold of her leg. Gently I pulled the young wolf towards me.

“She won’t fit,” Nikan murmured.

“I know.” With great difficulty and extreme care, I managed to maneuver Cass into a position where my hands would fit around the collar at her neck. “Keep an eye on that tunnel.” Wrapping a shirt around each hand, making sure they were as thick as possible but still allowing me to move, I reached out for the collar.

Even with the protection of the shirt, I felt the burning on my skin. Painful but not enough to stop me. There was no way to tell where the catch was; the clothing didn’t allow for such intricacies. Instead, I hooked one hand under each side of the collar and pulled.

The she whined pitifully at the pressure on her neck. I knew it would be hurting her, and I tried to soothe her with soft words. Kris was hovering protectively, and I knew that had he had the strength, he would have been pacing to and fro in this cell.

“Is it working?” Nikan asked from behind me.

“I think I loosened it.” Grunting, I pulled again. “Goddess, I thought it would be easier using these shirts.” Gently I rotated the collar and pulled again. The warped silver wasn’t loose but was definitely not as snug around the wolf’s neck. Sweat gathered on my brow as I tried to stretch the metal again. The little wolf opened her eyes and met my stare. “Hey there,” I murmured. “You’re feeling better already, aren’t you?”

Pulling my hands free of her collar, I drew my hands away, discarding the shirts I’d been wearing for protection. Scorch marks marked the clothing. Nikan and I exchanged a wordless look while I rewrapped my hands.

Four shirts later, and I had enough room made for Cass to almost get her head free. She was on her feet, her eyes a lot brighter, her concern for her mate getting stronger, which was making her careless. Gripping her snout, I pulled her head down to meet my eyes.

I was not her alpha, but I was an alpha. “Cass, look at me, I need you to focus. I almost have it, but this last bit will hurt, okay?” A low whimper in her throat, and I was reassuring her even more. “I’m going to hold it as steady as I can, and I need you to back up. Do it slowly and steadily.” A huge ask when she had been almost dead a short while ago. “When I say now, I need you to jerk your head back with everything you have.”

“If it hits her eyes, you’ll blind her,” Nikan murmured behind me.

“You must keep your eyes closed, Cass.” I saw her wariness as she looked at me. “Trust me, okay? It’s a big ask, I know, but Kris trusts me. Trust him if you can’t trust me.”

As she dipped her head slightly, I inhaled deeply. Carefully, slowly, I maneuvered the distorted collar over the wolf’s neck. Cass held perfectly still, muscles taut from tension. During my time in the army, I’d watched children on the base engaging in a game involving a buzzer. Participants used tweezers to extract items from simulated human cavities, and touching the sides meant triggering the buzzer, and you lost your turn.

This was very much like that game. Only a red-nosed buzzer didn’t sound. Instead, the wolf in front of me either flinched or whimpered when the collar touched her. Firming my grip on the collar, I braced myself.

“You ready?”

She looked back at me, apprehension clear in her gaze.

“Close your eyes, keep them closed. On my count, Cass.” Nikan was practically on top of me, ready to offer support should I need it. “One, two…three!”

She jerked back as I pulled forward. Stunned, I looked at the empty collar in my hands, then immediately flung it away from me.

The wolf shifted to human immediately and then back to her wolfskin. Three times, she did it before turning to us and accepting a shirt from Nikan. It had scorch marks, but Cass donned it quickly. Dropping to her knees, she pressed her forehead against Kris.

“You’re next, my love,” she whispered. Looking up at me, she glanced between us both before getting to her feet. “Help him.”

“That’s the plan.”

Nikan handed me a pair of pants. “You used all the shirts.”

Kris stumbled closer, his ears pricking upward as he looked past me.

“Shit, they decided to come and investigate.” The pants were thicker, so I didn’t need as much protection against the silver, but they were harder to grip.

“Sounds like a few,” Nikan muttered.

Kris held his head up, and I saw the collar and the lock on it. “Thanks.” The running was getting closer. More than my brother could handle. They weren’t coming closer, and I prayed they took the other tunnel away from us, but I knew our luck wouldn’t hold much longer.

“Fuck.” Ripping the leg of the pants off my hands, I tossed them aside. “Come here!”

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