Page 97 of Bound By Roses

If I could stop, I would, but there’s no time. ‘Now!’I tell her as I slow my pace just enough that she won’t fly backwards the second she lets go. She collides with the beach beside me, but the sand breaks her fall. There’s no telltale snapping of bone, but I have to be sure.‘Are you alright?’

‘I’m fine. Worry about yourself.’

Point taken.

My paws dig into the sand as I propel myself forward. I’m not going to let anyone else die because of me. Because of what that witch made me. I let the anger fill me until I feel it all the way down to the marrow in my bones, but instead of losing myself to it, I harness it.

A siren raises their spear to Seamus, but I lunge between them, knocking the spear off target. It cuts into my left shoulder, but it’s barely deep enough to leave a scar.

The sirens jump back, surprised by my sudden appearance. They didn’t hear me coming. No one ever does.

Their attention is on me now, but I only need seconds. The fur on my back rises with the knowledge of six spears aimed at me, but I aim my attack for Ty. I collide into him, knocking him down and sending him sliding in the sand.

‘Get back!’I tell all the wolves and they scatter, leaving only Ty and I within range of the weapons. I chance a glance at the sirens and see Erwyn among them. Of course, he’d be part of this. What’s surprising is that he’s not trying to drive his blade into my side, even though he’s close enough to get a clean shot.

“Back up!” He tells the men and women with him. They hesitate, but obey. Erwyn doesn’t move, but as long as he’s not trying to kill anyone, he can stand where he wants.

Ty clambers to his feet and shakes off the impact. He circles me and I let him because as long as he’s focused on me, no one is going to die today. Except perhaps whoever he injured before it came to this.

‘This is my fight,’I say. It’s as much for Abby as it is for the wolves. I hear their growls and the snapping of anxious jaws as sharply as I hear Abby’s frantic breaths as she races up the beach towards us.

‘Don’t you dare!’Abby forces the words into my mind just before I shut them all out and give myself over to the wolf.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

ABBY

‘Quinn!’Only silence answers, and I know he’s blocked me out. My lungs burn and I can barely bring in enough air to keep me going, but I have to keep going. Through the blur of exertion, I see two wolves engaged in a vicious scuffle.

And I don’t need to feel it to know one of them is Quinn.

‘Why aren’t you helping?!’I shout to the other wolves through my connections to them.

Ellis’s answer is the only one that comes. ‘You know why.’

And I do. Because even though that looks like Quinn, that’s not him. Not entirely.

This is the version of himself he keeps buried. The one he’s terrified to show because he’s convinced he’ll lose himself to it again. This is what he calls the monster. The creature that killed half a kingdom and cursed whoever remained. The creature that devoured countless others since and would have kept killing had I not reached him.

A siren raises a blade, and I force my legs to move faster. “Don’t!” Six heads turn my way and Erwyn’s eyes widen. “You have to get away from them!”

I don’t hear what Erwyn says to the others, but the group retreats to the water. Only he remains on the sand, though he’s far enough away that I’m not worried one of the wolves will suddenly decide he’s part of this.

No one else can be a part of this. Quinn said this was his fight, and now that I’m close enough to see flashes of crimson eyes rather than the molten amber I love so much, I understand. He’s truly given himself over and he’ll kill indiscriminately if given the chance.

“The silver wolf is Quinn?” Erwyn asks when I reach him.

“Yes. And the other is—”

“The Guardian we should have killed.”

There’s no time to argue about that now. We have to stop this. Quinn told me to trust him and I do, but I don’t know how long I can watch them try to kill each other. The sand around them is already speckled with blood as fangs and claws slice deep into fur and flesh.

A wolf yelps, and I can’t tell which made the sound as there isn’t so much as a heartbeat of hesitation from either of them as they take turns charging and biting, lunging and tearing.

I feel for the bond and it’s there. Even now, when the man I love is almost entirely gone, I feel him.‘I trust you,’I tell him again, even though I know he can’t hear me.

Quinn lunges for Ty again, but this time is different. Ty slips, and when they connect, Quinn pins him on his side. His gaping mouth drips with blood-reddened saliva as he leans in to make the kill.

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