Page 69 of Cursed Wolfsbane

Not that there is one. By his rattled features, the Knight knows this too.

The mage chants something and brown magic shoots out toward me. A shimmering ice-blue dome intercepts the magic, causing it to bounce back at the councilman. When it hits him, he slumps to the ground, unconscious but, unfortunately, not dead.

When the Knight turns wide eyes from his downed mage friend to me, I cross my arms and flash a triumphant smirk at him. He ignores me to glare at Saint instead. That’s right, he must think Saint protected me from the magical attack.

While I’m basking in my small victory, I hear a struggle behind me. Turning, I see Malachi and Xander trying to break free of their Knights to reach me. The surrounding Knights turn their rifles on my mates, and my heart jumps into my throat. “Stop resisting,” I alpha order them.

Malachi and Xander still at my command, but their eyes stare accusingly at me. I swallow past the lump in my throat at the hostility burning in their gazes. I don’t want them to be angry with me, but I will do anything and everything to keep them safe.

“We don’t need to make any rash decisions, girl.” The black-haired man puts his hands up in a “calm down” gesture. “I’m sure we can work something out that’s beneficial for both of us.”

I somehow contain my snort. There’s nothing about this that will end well for me, but I’m okay with that if it keeps my mates safe. I’ve known for the past seven years my life had an expiration date. Meeting my mates started to convince me that I had a future, but I guess it just wasn’t meant to be.

“I do hope we can.” I match his haughty tone, much to his displeasure if the disgruntled look on his face is any indicator. “First, how did you find us?”

The lead Knight rolls his eyes like I just asked the most moronic question he’s ever heard. “We followed Patrick. Whenhis sources said you were spotted at the premier mage hotel in Paris, we portaled him there immediately. I had my men follow him. When he met his gruesome end in the alley, we followed you to your hotel and to the train to Bayeux. We’ve been watching you, waiting for the perfect moment to capture you.”

Have I ever mentioned I fucking hate Patrick? Because I do. So much.

Of course this mess is his doing. If I could go back in time, I would kill him slower. Much, much slower.

Scrubbing my hand over my face, I process that information and turn to the problem at hand. “My condition for going with you is that you let my mates go.”

The Knight laughs. “No.”

“Then we don’t have a deal.” I shrug and shift my hand into a wolf paw, complete with daggerlike nails. I dig my razor-sharp claws into my chest, right over my heart, drawing blood. I really hope I don’t have to rip out my own heart. That would be a super uncomfortable way to die, but at least it’s a pretty badass way to go out.

Even though I really don’t want to do this, I will if I have to. I stare the Knight down as pain sears across my pectoral muscles and blood runs down my front, turning my off-white sweater a dark red. Before I get too far, the Knight shouts, “Stop!” I don’t remove my claws from my chest, but I do stop pushing forward. “I will let your mates go as long as you haven’t completed the mate bonds with any of them.”

“I haven’t,” I lie smoothly.

“Prove it.”

I retract my claws from my chest and shove down my right shirt collar to bare my unmarked neck. When the Knight gets a good look, I do the same for the other side. “Happy?”

“What about the mage?” He juts his chin in Saint’s direction.

“I’m surprised the councilman didn’t tell you. Interspecies groups can’t mate.”

The Knight looks at me intently for a moment, trying to tell if I’m lying. While I suck at lying to my mates, I have learned to bend the truth extremely well, thanks to Patrick. That’s the one good thing he ever did for me.

Without the mage councilman awake to contest my half-truth, the Knight eventually believes me. After a minute of tense silence, the Knight sighs. “Fine, your mates can go one at a time through the portal. We’ll start with the black-haired wolf.”

Before the Knights have a chance to release him, I issue an alpha command to Malachi. “Walk through the portal and don’t come back through.” When the order slams into him, his navy eyes shine with betrayal, devastation, and heartache so intense it’s physically painful to witness.

“Don’t do this,” he rasps. “Please.”

I close my eyes at his broken plea. Someone as strong as Malachi shouldn’t ever sound like that or beg for anything. “I have to,” I choke out.

Fuck, do I wish there were another way, but I can’t think of anything else to keep them all safe. I know I’ll probably never see them again. I know we’ll never build the life together we should’ve had. I know they’ll blame themselves.

But I hope one day they’ll be able to be happy again. I hope they’ll find something like what Vale and Abbie have. I hope they’ll live their lives to the fullest, because all I want is for them to be happy and safe and whole.

Because I love them.

Somewhere along the way, I’ve fallen in love with the four of them.

I’ve fallen for Malachi’s bossy brand of overprotectiveness that comes from how deeply he cares about his family. I’ve fallen for Xander’s calm steadiness and the grief and pain he keepslocked inside, only ever showing it to me. I’ve fallen for Bastian’s sweet, thoughtful, and slightly damaged inner self under his jokester persona. I’ve fallen for my best friend who my heart never truly forgot even when my mind did.

---