Page 73 of Wolf Marked

As Astrid plunged her spear into an unsuspecting man’s side, teeth sank into her left calf. Pain erupted through every nerve ending. She yelped, crumbling to her knees. When she glanced over her shoulder, piercing yellow eyes stared back at her. She remembered those eyes. And the light gray shade of its coat.

It was the same wolf that had chased her away from Erec’s cave. The one who had bit into her leg. Just like this.

Red glistened on its muzzle and the tongue hanging from its mouth. Her blood.

Again.

Rage flared in her chest. “Back for more?” She spun the spear’s staff in her hand. “Didn’t learn last time, did you?”

It growled in answer, its upper lip curling over razor-sharp canines. Then, it came at her.

Astrid rushed to stand, but her wounded leg gave out. Powerful jaws clamped down on her arm, and instinctively, she dropped her spear. White-hot pain zigzagged from her elbow to her fingertips. Her vision blurred from the strength of it.

Reflexively, she punched at its massive head, but the wolf didn’t let go; it only lockedeyes with her, challenging her, mocking her, and bit down even harder.

Bones snapped, and she cried out, the shock of agony threatening to make her faint.

Her uninjured hand raked the ground for something close to help her. Anything. When her fingertips brushed something solid—wood—a handle, she praised her luck and clutched it. A small knife.

As she lifted it, ready to strike, the icy nails of absolute dread raked along her insides, forcing her to hesitate. Tremors slid across her skin, and the hair at the back of her neck rose in warning.

She felt the tight pull of fear in her stomach.

Something had happened.

Something was wrong. Terribly wrong.

With her brother.

The gray wolf’s foul-smelling breath filled her nose, snapping her back to the danger at hand. Not wasting another second, she rammed the knife into the wolf’s skull. It released an earsplitting wail and threw itself backward, dragging its teeth across the tender flesh along her arm before letting go fully.

Snatching her spear, she climbed to her feet. The pain in her calf was bad, but it was nothing compared to the mess the creature had made of her arm. Her muscles were shredded, the bones undoubtably broken, too. There was nothing she could do but let it hang awkwardly at her side. Even with her fast healing abilities, who knew if it would ever be the same again.

If only it hadn’t been her dominate arm. Using her weapon with her left hand was going to be a challenge. Not to mention her leg was going to be slowing her down, too.

The wind was knocked out of her in the next instant. Like someone had socked her full on in the stomach. She crouched over, her mind fogging. Then the tears came rushing forward. Along with the shuddering of uncontrollable sorrow.

Astrid stumbled forward, panting, gasping as she tried to suck air into her lungs. When her palm brushed against the roughness of bark, she threw her back against the tree before she lost her footing completely.

Then, as quickly as the sensations had hit, they left and there was only emptiness. Complete and utter emptiness.

No. No. No. No!

Filip is dead.

The words echoed in her head as clear and as loud as a drum.He’s dead.

But she knew it was true. Sheknewit. The tie that had bound them as siblings had been severed.

Unable to move, she peered up at the moon’s blue glow. The rain washed away the tears from her cheeks. She didn’t care if one of Jerrick’s men came by at that very moment to finish her off. All she could think about was how she hadn’t seen this coming. How could she let it happen?

Guilt slammed into her. Filip’s injury had been bad, but he had said himself he would be fine. She’d thought he was getting better. She had just seen him!

And Mila had been taking care of him. She knew how to treat any wound. She was the best.

But then Astrid remembered the grave look on Mila’s face when she had first entered their tent. She must have known something was off from the start. And Filip sending her out on those missions… Had he known his time alive was short? Had he known he wasn’t going to survive past tonight?

Her body trembled.Why didn’t you tell me?

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