Page 47 of Auctioned Wolf Bride

I punched him in the face, elbowing the gun away with my wrists still bound. It flew across the room, hitting the floor and skittering across it.

He grunted, staggering backward, his hand releasing my throat. I darted around him, heading for the door. I didn’t care how Tannen felt. I wasn’t going to die until I got the chance to tell him the truth.

Something grasped my hair and jerked me backward, sending me stumbling. I cried out in alarm as my scalp burned. Damien threw me to the ground. My head slammed against the floor as all the breath rushed out of me. I tried to gasp for air, my head swimming from the pain.

Damien scrambled on top of me, pinning my hands against my stomach. He loomed over me, his eyes filled with hate as he bared his fangs.

“I’m going to enjoy this,” he snarled. “And when I’m done with you, I’m going after the Silver Wolves. All of them.”

I squirmed, trying to wriggle out from underneath him, but he sat on my stomach, making it nearly impossible to breathe. There was nothing I could do.

I watched as he withdrew a knife—my knife—and pressed it against my throat.

Chapter 18 - Tannen

I charged through the woods, far ahead of the rest of the Silver Wolves who had agreed to come with me. My wolf snarled with rage, the anger fueling his energy and propelling us forward.

I knew Damien was expecting me, and that automatically put me at a disadvantage. I kept an ear out for sentries as we got closer to the house, ready to attack anyone or anything that tried to stop me from getting to Thea.

As I ran, new and unfamiliar scents wafted through the trees. I slowed, spinning around to see who was coming.

A slender wolf, female, emerged from the woods. Another woman clung onto her back. They regarded us with unease. The wolf snarled at us, baring her fangs.

Something about the way they looked triggered a memory. They had the same panicked expression as the girls Thea and I had rescued. And they had the same stench of the house that I remembered the first time we were there. These were more women who’d been caged by Damien.

I shifted back to human, holding up my hands. “We’re not here to hurt you,” I said. “Did you come from a big house in the woods?”

The woman hesitated, then turned to look over her shoulder, where I saw more pairs of eyes peering out from the brush. Then she turned back to me and nodded.

“Was there a woman there?” I asked. “Blond hair, about this tall?” I gestured with my hand to show Thea’s approximate height.

“An absent?” the girl asked, and I nodded. “Yeah. She broke us out. She told us to go this way, and that we’d eventually get to a town that could help us.”

“That’s us,” Malcolm said, but I barely heard him. Leave it to Thea to break out all the other women instead of just running and saving herself. I didn’t know whether to be proud or call her an idiot. I’d figure it out when I saw her.

“Where is she?” I asked. “Is she with you?”

The girl hesitated, then shook her head. “She got caught,” she explained. “She made sure we all got out safely, but the guy caught her before she could get away.”

Fuck.

Malcolm looked at me, seeming to read my thoughts. “Oliver and I will escort the girls back to Brixton,” Malcolm said. “You guys keep going.”

I nodded. Not waiting another moment, I shifted back, charging through the trees, increasing my pace as I knew Thea was probably running out of time. The only reason to keep her alive was to get to me. If they realized the claiming bond hadn’t stuck, there was a chance they would count their losses. I couldn’t have that.

When we got to the clearing, I saw exactly what I’d expected: several shifters waiting for us. They bared their fangs the instant we came into view, forming a line between us and the front of the house.

Snarling, the Silver Wolves formed their own line. Mark’s wolf glanced over at me, giving a short jerk of his head in the direction of the house. I knew what he was saying.Get to Thea. We’ll take care of these guys.

We charged forward. Just before we reached the line, I jumped, soaring over the enemy wolves to land behind them. Before any of them could turn around, I bolted, racing for the front door. It splintered as I ran into it, then shattered into a shower of broken wood with the second shove. I burst in and immediately smelled Thea’s scent mixed with fear.

Not willing to wait a moment longer, I sped forward, following the scent until I came to a living room. I froze at the sight in front of me. Damien hovered above Thea, knife raised as he snarled down at her.

Growling, I charged forward, barreling into Damien and knocking him away. The knife sliced into my front leg with a searing pain, but I pushed the pain away, focusing on the shifter in front of me.

I pinned him down, slamming my front paws into his shoulder. Blood dripped from my shoulder onto him.

Damien snarled. The human body below me morphed, shifting into a large black wolf that shoved me off him. His claws raked across my stomach, sending new spasms of pain running through me.

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