Page 22 of Broken-Hearted

“I’ve got this,” he replies coolly.

“How?” I hiss back. “You can’t shift.”

He won’t have time before those shifters attack and neither do I. All because we were too busy arguing to notice they were ambushing us.

Thunk.

I squeal as something rams the tree directly behind me, shaking leaves over my head. A snarl erupts, and I whip my head to the side as one of the big brown wolves lunges.

Nathan growls, an echo of pain in the sound coming from his throat.

Blood drips from his arm as the wolf flies back.

“Nathan?” I hiss.

“Just a scratch,” he says calmly.

Tension radiates up his back as the slow drip of blood hitting leaves on the ground makes him a liar.

Some scratch, I mentally snort. But this is no time to argue.

I prepare to shove him aside so we can fight side by side. It won’t be enough, but I’m not about to lay down and die without giving it everything I have.

6

Alarge brown wolf comes out of nowhere.

I’d have seen where it came from if I hadn’t been busy trying to shove Nathan aside so he wouldn’t die protecting me.

I assume the brown wolf must be another enforcer that Adrian sent until this mystery wolf leaps on one of Nathan’s attackers and buries his teeth in his throat.

Blood sprays as an anguished growl rips through the quiet forest.

Sensing danger, the other wolves whip around. Which is when a small blond wolf—definitely female—darts in for a surprise claw attack.

Another attacking wolf howls in pain and stumbles away as the two remaining wolves back up, their stances wary.

The big new wolf isn’t wary.

He charges.

Our four attacking wolves scatter, darting into the forest, back toward the road.

My mouth is gaping open when our two new arrivals shift.

A blonde woman and a dark-haired man rise to their feet. Both are in their twenties, young and friendly looking.

“Are you okay?” the woman asks.

Nathan nudges my gaping mouth closed. Which is when I spot the blood sliding down his arm. That it hasn’t begun to heal yet means it's deep. “Your arm.”

He glances at it and shrugs. “It’ll heal.”

Rolling my eyes, I shove him against the nearest tree.

“Uh, Clara?” He blinks in surprise, but he doesn’t look like he has a problem with it. If anything, he seems a little interested in where things are headed.

“Don’t get excited,” I grumble. “This isn’t what you think.”

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