Page 15 of Soul Fated

I hesitated, that floor cracking the tiniest bit. This wasn’t my usual target. She looked innocent. Vulnerable.

I clenched my jaw, forcing myself to focus. I shifted forward and pulled the dagger from my pocket. Heat radiated from the blade, and it nearly yanked from my hand.

I leaned forward, adjusting my weight on my knees, and froze as a jarring sound filled the tent. Bells clanged together, their harsh tones shattering the silence. I held perfectly still until I caught movement.

What the hell was happening? Move. I needed to?—

I spun, my eyes locking onto the bedroll in the corner. The other woman was already moving, her body springing up from her makeshift bed. Her dark hair whipped around her face as she lunged toward me, her eyes blazing with fury.

I threw myself backward, but the dagger refused to follow. My arm twisted painfully in my shoulder socket.

“Drop it!” the woman snarled, sending a kick to my midsection. I grunted as her hand shot out, her fingers wrapping around my wrist. She was strong but not strong enough. I rolled my shoulder into her, throwing her back as the dagger twisted in my grip, the blade slicing through the air.

And then I saw her.

The woman I needed to kill opened her eyes, jolting from her sleeping bag. My wolf scrambled back, howling in confusion, and the dam broke, my emotions surging through me like a tsunami. She was mine. I needed her. I?—

The dagger tore forward as the other woman in the tent slammed into my side. I rolled, and we flew through the open tent door.

“Who the hell are you!” The dark-haired woman fought her way from the ground and kicked toward my wrist.

I let her.

The dagger flew from my grip, skittering across the gravel.

The blade wanted her blood, but I couldn’t take it. My wolf thought the woman in the tent, the woman I was supposed to kill so I could fulfill my contract, was my mate.

Chapter

Eight

Callista

My vision wavered, the world around me blurring at the edges. I blinked, trying to focus, but the throbbing in my head made it impossible. My thoughts were sluggish, my senses dulled, as if I were moving through a dense fog.

The call of the dagger was physical, a gnawing ache that spread through my chest and into my limbs. I wanted to scream, to claw at my skin to make it stop, but I was trapped in my own body, a prisoner to its demands.

This was why I was here. The silver glint of the dagger replayed in my mind’s eye, and I tried to take a step forward, but my legs wouldn't obey. I was frozen, my muscles locked in place as if held by invisible chains.

What was happening outside the tent? Helplessness washed over me, a wave of despair that threatened to drown me. I was powerless against the dagger's call, a puppet dancing on its strings. The pain was relentless, an all-consuming fire that burned through me, and if I didn't do something soon, it would consume me completely.

Then suddenly I was moving. Flying forward. I dove through the side of the tent, landing on the dirt in front of Lana and the intruder scuffling.

I only had eyes for one thing.

I locked onto the dagger in the dirt ahead of them and launched to my feet. It was there. I needed to?—

A strong hand clamped around my ankle, dropping me to the ground. I spun, my eyes stinging from the scrape of gravel across my knees and the palms of my hands. “Let go of me!”

I clawed at the stranger’s arms, my nails digging into his skin, but his grip was unyielding, even as Lana worked to wrest his arm back to his side.

I blinked. Did he only have one arm? Or did Lana?—

“She’s going to hurt herself!” The man growled. “The dagger seeks her blood!”

Lana hesitated. “What are you talking about?”

“She’s marked, cursed.”

---