Page 34 of The Fate of Eternity

“Good, because I’m not scared of you either.” Disregarding her, I look over her shoulder to where Kenner stands. “So, to clarify, this duel is in wolf form and until death. Is there anything else I should know?”

I don’t trust him, not one bit, but it’s worth asking.

“No,” Kenner confirms, nodding victoriously as Trinity tilts her head to come into view again.

“Do you always talk such a big game?” she asks, trying to provoke me as I shrug again.

“No, I feel like actions speak louder than words.”

Without another word, I step back and channel deep down into magic, past every ounce of my fae magic until I connect with my wolf. She dances over my skin, sending ripples of fire through my veins before I feel the first bone break.

The pain is intense, but nothing in comparison to the first time. It happens in the blink of an eye, and I quickly find myself on all fours, paws scratching against the hard ground as I look across the short space to find a cream-furred wolf staring back at me.

Under different circumstances, I’d say she was beautiful, but my wolf quickly bats the thought away as I let her take over. It’s the strangest sensation I’ve ever felt. We’re one, but we’re still so different.

Before I can overthink anything, my wolf kicks into full force, leaping toward our target. Trinity does the same, charging toward me with purpose until we barrel into one another.

Spiraling through the air, we land with a thud, and she has the advantage. Pinned beneath her, I scratch and claw at her fur, trying to free myself, but it’s not easy.

“Get up, Addi,” Cassian growls, cutting through my panic, and it’s like his words set me alight. With my next kick, my back paw meets her side just right, and she grunts as her hold weakens. I slip from beneath her as quickly as I can until we’re both back on all fours, circling each other.

My chest heaves with every pant as Trinity bares her teeth at me. She races toward me in the next breath, and I marginally miss her approach, whirling around only to find her coming back at me with purpose.

This time, she leaps through the air, landing on my back with her teeth on full display, and we both stagger to the ground again. Rolling, the battle for control leaves me dizzy until we come to a stop. I snarl, fury burning through me at the fact that she’s on top of me again.

I need to act now. I need to act fast. I need to act like a wolf.

Her front paws press into the ground on either side of my head as she growls in my face, covering me with far too much saliva for my liking, but it only serves to spur me on. Thrusting my claws into her side, she whimpers, but it doesn’t stop her onslaught of trying to sink her teeth into my throat.

One nick of an artery, and I’m gone. But now just isn’t my time.

Snapping my teeth back at her, I dig my claws even deeper into her flesh, earning a howl of pain this time. I manage to use it to my advantage, twisting us, but instead of trying to lunge for her once I’m on top, I do it in the process.

My wolf takes over, rage, vengeance, and determination flooding me as my teeth sink into her exposed throat.

The howl turns into a gargled cry as I bite, tear, and relish in the copper taste on my tongue.

Any fight from Trinity quickly dwindles to nothing as I let my feral side take over. I have to prove myself. Not to Kenner, not to my mother, not even to Cassian, but to myself.

I see nothing, I hear nothing, I feel nothing but the lifeless wolf in my grasp. Only when hands pin my waist do I remember I’m not alone. My instinct is to fight them off me, but the sound of Cassian’s whispers in my ear makes me pause just in time not to rip his throat out, too.

Blinking, I slowly take in his features as he looks down at me with a softness in his pretty stare like I’ve never seen before. He’s given me a lot of firsts these past twenty-four hours, all soft andsweet, while all I’m offering him in return is a crimson trail of blood and chaos in my wake.

“It’s okay, Addi. I’m here. I’ve got you,” he murmurs, the comfort slowly allowing me to loosen my grip on Trinity.

Exhaustion clings to my wolf enough to acknowledge I need to shift back. My chest heaves with every breath as I groan through the pain once again. I know I’m back to myself when my fingers curl into Cassian’s t-shirt and my body sags with a mixture of relief and disbelief.

An almighty roar echoes in the distance, making me frown as I peer up at Cassian.

“What’s going on?” I breathe as he places me on my feet. I keep my eyes locked on his as I get steady, and once I’m stable, I glance over my shoulder to see we’re nowhere near the group anymore. “What the fuck?”

“We need to go, Alpha,” he states, linking his fingers with mine. “But you’ll run faster like this now,” he explains, but I’m not following.

“How are we…where’s…”

He must sense that I’m going nowhere without answers because he sighs, scrubbing at the back of his neck as he looks deep into my eyes. “You wouldn’t stop, and Kenner was mad.” I search his eyes for more, making his lips purse as he sighs again. “He was trying to fucking take you, and I needed to get you out of there. She offered a distraction and I took it.”

“Who?” My heart races like I already know the answer, and when he stands tall, eyes wide with surprise, I know my thought is confirmed.

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