Page 76 of The Alpha's Fated Bond

“I see them!” she responds frantically. “Look out, Sophia!”

One of the wolves has jumped onto the back of my jeep. It tries to bite me but instead gets hold of the jacket on the little girl sitting on her mother’s lap to my left. The attacker yanks its head back, and both girl and wolf fall from the jeep.

The mother instantly tries to jump out to go after her daughter, but I hold her back, knowing she would only get herself killed. “I’ll get her!” I tell the woman as I climb onto the seat and leapdown onto the dirt road. The driver of the jeep slows down, but I shout, “Don’t stop! Keep going!”

Grabbing the little girl, who has landed a few feet from the wolf, I throw her in the direction of her mother. It’s a gamble, but the woman catches her daughter by the hands and swings her into her arms with a choked sob.

I begin running in the opposite direction of my jeep, shouting and gesturing wildly at the ones coming toward me. “I’ll distract them! Go!”

But the rest of the jeeps are also stopping.Idiots! Why don’t they understand?!

“It’s dark magic!” I scream at them. “Go! You can’t do anything here! I’ll meet you back at the cabin later!”

I feel one of the wolves snap at my heels, and I immediately turn around, creating a barrier and forcing it back.

Lily is calling out my name and struggling to get out of her jeep, but the soldiers are finally listening to me. They have children with them, after all. Lily’s jeep speeds off with her still in it.

I have to lead these wolves away from the rest of the jeeps. Shifting to my animal form, I begin running in the opposite direction, then into the woods. They chase after me, confirming my suspicions.

I’m the one they’re after.

I’m trying to stay calm, telling myself not to panic. But it’s a little hard when an entire pack of wolves that look to be undead are trying to hunt me down. I don’t know how to get rid of them.

As I go deeper and deeper into the forest, the unfamiliar terrain becomes even harder to navigate. Large, jagged rocks are everywhere, and unlike the zombie wolves behind me who don’t have to worry about getting hurt, I have to avoid them. I come to a screeching halt at the edge of a steep cliff. Turning around to face the wolves advancing on me, I know I have no choice now but to fight.

How do you fight something that is already dead?

Taking a deep breath, I strike them head on, my attacks ruthless, survival the only thing on my mind. However, they don’t feel pain. Even when I tear off their limbs, they don’t stop. My fur is stained with my own blood, my legs covered with bites and scratches. I was already weakened due to the magic I used back in the village and the two-day run through the tunnels. Now, my body is breaking down.

How do I get away from these zombie wolves?I think to myself desperately. Lily knew the spell to stop them. But in my panic and fear, I can’t even summon any basic magic.

They’re surrounding me now, and it’s beginning to occur to me that this is it. I can’t win against them. My legs are so badly wounded that I can barely hold my own weight. Sure enough, they collapse beneath me, and I fall to the ground. Not wanting to see my own fate, I squeeze my eyes shut as the wolves charge at me.

But they never reach me.

I hear a low growl, and when I open my eyes, there’s a brown wolf standing before me. Unsure of what is happening, I watch in confusion as the shifter takes on the undead wolves, tearing them apart one by one.

Of course, he is also outnumbered.

I don’t recognize him till he comes a little closer to prevent one of the wolves from getting to me. Through the smells of blood and dark magic, I catch his unique scent.

Drew!

How is that possible? What is Drew doing in the North?

The wolves are advancing on him as a group now. Although he’s been doing a good job holding his own, there are simply too many of them. I can’t let Drew do this alone.

I may not know the spell to get rid of these zombie wolves, but I do know how to interfere with a witch’s magic. Concentrating, I shift into my human form and search for the dark threads that should be tangled around these wolves. I can see the magic binding them together, and I start ripping it apart. I’m not being careful, as I was with the children. I yank the threads, breaking them mercilessly.

My body is already battered, and I’m reaching my limit. However, I know I have to keep going. Slumped on the ground now, I keep tearing the threads. My vision is fading, but I have to see this through. Otherwise, both Drew and I will die here.

The wolves are dropping one after another, and at some point, Drew seems to understand that I’m the one doing something. My body feels icy cold as I continue ripping the threads apart as quickly as I can. The dark magic makes my skin shudder in revulsion. I only hope I can get rid of all of it before my body completely shuts down. As I tear the last thread, darkness fills my field of vision, and I can no longer fight it off. I crash to the ground, completely unconscious.

***

It’s dark when I open my eyes. My body is aching and cold. I can hear the crackling of a fire, and while my skin feels warm, there is an icy chill permeating my bones. Groaning, I try to sit up, and I fail.

“Easy, there.” I hear Drew’s voice as he puts his arm around my shoulder and helps me into a sitting position.

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