Page 80 of Tangled Fates

Leaving the tower, I walked to the barrier with nerves fluttering in my stomach. The morning sun felt great on my skin, and I was desperate for summer and the possibility of seeing new places. The thought of being free brought tears to my eyes until I ran into a very hard chest.

“Whoa, Ria. You ok?”

Tay’s voice brought out a flight or fight response, skyrocketing my heart rate. He held me by my arms as I yanked away from him, remembering what Demitri had said. He and Mother had used me, played me so they could keep me in line.

I stepped away from him, seeing a lot of men coming in behind him.

His brows furrowed. “Ria, what’s going on?”

“Where’s Mother?”

“We need to talk, Ria,” he said, frowning. “Let’s go inside and talk.”

I shook my head, stepping back.

He took a deep breath.

My panic overwhelmed me. I didn’t know what to do.

“Ria, what the fuck is going on?” he snapped, reaching me. “Why do you smell?—”

A growl behind me alerted me to Ryder.

“Who the fuck are you?” Tay snarled, pushing me behind him.

“Tay, stop,” I said, trying to move away from him, but he didn’t let me.

“Get your hands off my mate.” Ryder's voice was lethal, giving me goosebumps as my heart soared that he called me his mate.

“Mate?!” Tay laughed.

I tried pushing Tay away when someone grabbed me from behind trying to hold me still.

“I said. Let. Her. Go.” Ryder's eyes glowed yellow.

“I doubt a wolf would be able to do anything against us, you’re outmatched,” Tay taunted. “Stand down and I’ll think about letting you live.”

“Ryder!” I yelled.

We locked eyes as I tried to plead with him not to do anything stupid.

“Please,” I whispered.

His eyes bore into me like he was trying to say something, but I couldn’t hear him.

“Last time. Let her fucking go or die,” Ryder growled.

I struggled out of their hold, desperate to go to Ryder.

Tay laughed. “Get her out of here while we deal with him.”

The man holding me dragged me away from Ryder as I kicked and screamed trying to get away, when a flash of something came at us.

One of the twins.

He snapped the man’s neck before moving on to the next man and pandemonium ensued. Several men tried to grab me, but my men were always there to intercept them. I ran away trying to keep my items close to me, worried I would break my potion. Gray and Soren were a blur within the chaos, but I could feel them, just like I could feel my wolf biting and ripping off limbs.

One of the twins grabbed me, running when we ran into a shield and when he turned us around, we were stuck inside.

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