Page 15 of Wolf Tamer

The graceful way he attacks.

The lean lines of his wolf form and the straightness of his teeth.

No time.These witches have set fire to my pyre, and no matter how hard I struggle against the ropes, it seems like they’ve put a spell on me. A little wiggle here or there, and suddenly I’m tied up tighter than before.

Mae’s doing, I’m sure.

Suddenly I’m unable to move, and the fire is growing by the second, as though the wind has decided to turn against me too.

That woman. She really seems to have it out for me and, since I’ve had a lot of time to think about this, I believe it’s more than just business. Sure, she’s pissed about me failing to kill Reid when I’d been contracted to do so, but there’s more to the story than that.

Certainly she can’t hate the idea of love to the point where she wants to kill me. Right?

Although…

“Get them!” I scream encouragement to Reid, shrinking as far away from the hungry flames as I can and trying not to panic at the sensation of blisters forming on my feet.

Too hot. It’s way too damn hot, and any second now the flames are going to catch on my pants. I curl my toes as tightly as I can get them inside my boots.

I might not be able to do a thing about these witches, but he can. And he is.

“Rip them to shreds!” I continue.

The old familiar bloodlust rises up inside of me as I watch him. Which might be a little fucked up, considering my parents had been a part of the Buson Coven and my sister and I are both witches.

But we see how well that’s worked for me.

I struggle against the binds while watching Reid with his limitless energy.

He bounds across the clearing, knocking one woman off her feet, then another.

He came for me. And he’s not letting the minute third-degree burns on his tail and shoulder stop him. He plows across the clearing on four speedy legs, with a howl of delight that echoes through my bones.

I hadn’t expected his intervention, but now that he is here, gratitude swamps me along with fear in equal measure. Those emotions blot out the former resignation at my fate.

“Ah, so your prince is here to rescue you, huh?”

Mae’s voice sounds directly next to my ear, and when I glance down, her smile is gleeful enough to curdle milk. It does the same thing to my blood.

“Do you think he’ll be fast enough? The fire is rising. It’s only a matter of minutes before it consumes you entirely.”

She has surely kept herself out of harm’s direct way, I note.

“What do you want?” I ask, having to raise my voice to be overheard among the din of flames and wolf barks.

“To let you know that it doesn’t matter what you do. Or what he does.” Mae gestures toward Reid in a sweeping gesture. “Because you aren’t getting out of here.”

Mae lifts her hand, and magic sparks to life above her palm, coalescing into a flame glowing bright blue. Hot. Hot enough to burn me down to my bones, and she’s pointing it directly at my heart.

“You wouldn’t,” I seethe.

Sweat drips in rivulets now and turns to steam the closer it gets to the fire. Like this is some kind of movie where everything is dramatized. Only, it isn’t. It’s my life and it’s about to end.

Panic has me struggling to get those ropes to loosen even an inch. I’ll dislocate anything I have to if it means saving myself from becoming bacon.

“Wouldn’t I?” Mae laughs and lets the spark fly until it lands on the wood planks only inches away from my feet. They alight anew in a whoosh of sound, and the instant heat is enough to have me groaning.

Shit, I severely underestimated her.

---