Page 59 of Wolf Betrayed

She let out a low breath, relaxing her body as much as she could. It would take almost every ounce of her strength to do what she needed to do next.

The woman passively placed the knife on Charlotte’s temple, and that’s when Charlotte moved. The blade dug in, and excruciating pain slammed into her. But instead of weakening her, she pushed through the pain, letting it help her. With all of her strength, she pushed up with all four limbs at the same time, using her claws to cut through what she could.

Once she got through the rubber that had been touching her skin, she screamed. They had coated the chains with the same substance they had the knife, but she pushed through it and got her arm out of the strap.

She was one of the fastest wolves out there, and right then, she knew she was faster than she’d ever been before.

Her hand shot out and took the knife from the other woman. Before the soldier could gasp, Charlotte had stabbed the other woman through the neck with the blade and rolled off the table. Her body was bloody, cut up, and she wasn’t healing yet thanks to the multiple shrapnel wounds and whatever had been on those chains.

She knew she’d bear these marks forever, as well as the one on her temple from where the knife had dug in, but it didn’t matter.

Charlotte would not be bound.

She would not be caged.

She would fight. And she would be free.

And she would kill anyone in her way.

****

Shane’s blood boiled, but he didn’t growl, didn’t scream, didn’t say a word. Instead, he focused deep inside on that tiny thread that connected him to the two people who had become the most important things in his world.

“Turn left here,” Bram growled out. “We’re getting closer.”

Kameron turned and let out a breath. “I wish I had the ability to use a GPS tracker like the two of you seem to have right now.”

Shane let out a breath. “I hope you mean in general, because I wouldn’t wish this feeling of being so out of your depths you can’t breathe on anyone if they’re trying to find their mate.”

Kameron met Shane’s eyes, a newfound respect shining in them. “Truer words…” the other man whispered. “We’re going to find your mate, damn it. We’re not going to let Charlotte be hurt.”

Bram, who was in the front seat, kept silent at the exchange as Walker shifted slightly next to Shane in the back seat.

“I still can’t believe you got Maddox and Ellie to stay behind and go back to their den,” the Healer said.

Shane focused on the frail bond again as Bram spoke. “We all know this is a trap of some kind. Everyone was needed back at their dens since we don’t know which one they could attack. And they trusted us to find their daughter and bring her home.”

He couldn’t formulate words as to how much that trust meant to him. They’d all agreed that it would be too much to have her parents and her mates there just in case emotions got the best of them and it hurt their escape plan or distracted their fighting. As the three of them were so newly mated, it made sense for Bram and Shane to go and her parents to stay behind. But if they didn’t find her within a certain time limit, Maddox and Ellie would be leading the charge to find their daughter.

“She’s close,” Bram breathed. “We should stop here and go the rest of the way on foot just in case.”

Kameron stopped the car and tilted his head. “There are humans around.” His voice was a low growl. “And since there isn’t a town on the map, I have a feeling we’re going to need to fight our way in.”

Shane cracked his knuckles. “Good.”

They formulated a plan and got out of the SUV quietly. Though he wasn’t as trained as the others when it came to using all of his new senses, he was still a former elite soldier and could carry his weight.

They crept through the forest, and he ignored the sound of the wind in the trees and the animals going deathly quiet around four large predators within their midst. It was only a two-minute hike. But with each step closer to Charlotte, Shane felt as if it took far longer.

When they got to the edge of a clearing, the four stopped and crouched down behind a large row of bushes to look at the structure up ahead.

She was in there. He could feel it.

He looked over to mouth something to the others, then shot his attention back to the doorway of the large grey building in front of them.

“Holy hell,” Kameron whispered. “Your mate is one fucking tough wolf.”

Shane let out a growl, and the four of them moved as one to make sure Charlotte would be able to make it out completely. Blood covered her from head to toe, and she gripped a crimson tipped knife in her hand. She was about a quarter of a mile away, but he could see her clearly.

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