Page 16 of Wolf Tamer

Dry hot wind whips past me, and I close my eyes, ready for the end. There’s no escaping it this time because the luck I’d always made for myself has finally run out.

Except the end doesn’t come. Well, not the end I expect, anyway.

At once, I’m flat on my back, with the breath knocked out of me and black spots dancing in front of my eyes. Everything hurts and my skin feels ready to peel right off. I work my jaw, tasting blood. Have I bitten my lip? No, the inside of my cheek.

I scan my body quickly for broken bones, but nothing seems to be out of place. The ropes dangle from my wrists and ankles. Both legs and both arms are mobile, at least, the clean slices freeing me from the pole at the center of the now fully lit pyre.

A second later and I would’ve been done for. Extra crispy.

But it’s too soon for gratitude.

A howl grabs my attention, and when I push up onto my elbows, I see I’ve somehow gotten clear enough of it to still be in one piece. And there’s Reid and Mae now circling each other. One with magic crackling around her in a halo, and the other with his hackles raised, teeth bared—both prepared for battle.

He managed to free me somehow.

Mae keeps her attention focused entirely on the wolf, who stands as tall at the shoulder as she does. Reid foams at the mouth, the color tainted by blood, and a desire for death in his eyes.

Death and retribution, if the similar sensations inside me are anything to go by. His eyes dart to me for a quick second before he yips in a clear indication for me to get out of here. Only I know something he doesn’t: Mae isn’t going to go down as easily as the others, which means he’ll need my help, of course.

Men.

Some help I’ll be, though.

I struggle to my feet and immediately lose my balance, reaching behind me to the sore spot on the back of my head. My fingers come away dotted with blood. I hit my head harder than I thought.

Oh well, if that was the price I had to pay.

Woozy, I tighten my core to straighten, holding the position for a hair longer than is logical to try and get my feet back under me.

Reid loosened my binds enough with his claws for me to work the ropes mostly off my legs with a couple of kicks while the ones around my arms fall useless to the ground. With numb fingers, I rotate my wrists and drop down to work the last bits of rope from my ankles, narrowly avoiding a wave of stones whipping across the clearing straight for my head.

Earth magic. One of Mae’s latest attacks.

She has no problem dividing her attention and magic between the two of us. To be that strong…

I should have tried harder.I duck and roll to the side. Her wave of dirt knocks me in the shoulder and sends me skittering back a few steps before I manage to get to my knees once again.

“Whatever happened to your oath to harmnone?” I ask her, thinking to call on my invisibility power like it will somehow, miraculously, obey me this time around.

Mae cackles ala Wicked Witch of the West, and suddenly she’s directly in front of me, slamming a fist against the side of my head hard enough to see stars.

Well, I suppose that’s an answer, of sorts.

How had she moved so quickly?

Moaning, I shake my head, an immediate mistake since the stars are now determined not to go away. One of my teeth feels loose, and I probe it with my tongue, the coppery taste of blood still coloring each swallow.

Reid bounds over and inserts his body between the two of us like a furry shield. The brief pause gives me a moment to compose myself, and I push the limp hair away from my face.

Mae blinks, and with her eyes closed, she’s almost the calm and self-possessed woman I’d met in my motel room. The one who begged me to help her because the Redcliff Pack had used their witches for their magic—to death.

Looks are way too deceiving for my liking.

“Oh, come on, Tasha. What are you going to do?” she asks me. “Do you think you have enough strength to try and take me on by yourself? Even your little furry boyfriend doesn’t have any power left.” She narrows her eyes on Reid. “He’s still trying to recover from his attack. What’s the matter, Mr. Holden? Is your pack turning against you?”

She says it with a wink and enough sass to have bile rising to burn the back of my throat.

Wait a minute. Reid was attacked? What the hell is going on?

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