Page 74 of Wolf Marked

But she knew her brother. He wouldn’t have wanted her to know how serious the situation was and risk keeping her from Erec and the Blue Moon. He was always protecting her. Always.

She should have seen it; she should have known. Astrid cursed herself for being so stupid.

Maybe I didn’t want to see it…

Lightning flashed again, charging the air with electricity. Thunder boomed.

Something snapped inside her. The sadness that had whipped through her so fast and so sudden became a tornado of pure, untamable fury as powerful as the storm raging around her.

Wiping away her damp cheeks with a swipe of her hand, she pushed herself off the tree. Her wolf rose up, wanting more blood to be spilled. Wanting revenge. The need was so great, her body shook from the force of it.

No longer feeling the pain in her leg or shredded right arm, she clasped her spear with both hands and scanned the war scene before her.

It was time for her to find Jerrick.

She was going to make him pay.

Back in his human form, Erec withdrew his sword from the man’s chest he’d been sparring with and tried to make sense of the odd sensation stretching across the pack bond. He couldn’t describe it as anything other than death—the cold, dark touch of death.

Filip. He didn’t know how he knew, but he did. And as he glanced at the many confused and distressed faces of the other west-side pack warriors, he was certain they had sensed it, too. They had lost their alpha.

They were a pack without a leader.

Erec’s next thought was Astrid. He needed to find her. With one last glance at the man bleeding to death by his feet, he trudged forward, searching the crowd for her red hair. He felt her first—her hot-blooded rage—before spotting her across the camp.

Her sweater had been torn at the elbow and blood flowed from the jagged lacerations down her arm. His chest squeezed with worry, but she seemed oblivious to any pain. Her anger was driving her forward. Even limping, there was a fierce determination in her step.

When lightning struck again and the forest lit up, he realized who it was she had set her sights on.

Jerrick. And Boden. The two massive men were locked in a heated battle, the old warrior’s two axes clashing with Jerrick’s broadsword. From the maniacal laughter tumbling from Jerrick’s lips and Boden’s more sluggish blocks, Boden was losing the fight.

Erec’s stomach knotted with terror. Astrid had no idea what she was getting herself into.

He was off and running with his next breath, but the route to her was blocked by the swarm of battle. He was too far away. Pushing through the throng, he was careful to sidestep any swinging blows and keep away any encroaching enemies. Images of Jerrick snapping Mikel’s neck as if it were a mere twig flooded his mind. He knew the extent of Jerrick’s madness, his strength, his brutality; he’d seen it for himself. Right before his eyes. There was no way Astrid would be able to take him out on her own. He would kill her without even flinching.

“Come on, old man!” Jerrick mocked, his voice as loud and booming as the thunder. “I asked for Boden the Warrior. And who did I get?” His laughter rumbled, the same callous and terrifying sound from Erec’s memory. “Is this some kind of joke? There is no warrior here!”

Exhaustion weighed on Boden’s brow, and his breathing was labored. He blocked another of Jerrick’s blows, but when Jerrick put all his weight forward, pushing the sword’s blade dangerously close to Boden’s face, the old alpha’s arms shook as he struggled.

Jerrick grinned.

Erec ducked as someone chucked a dagger his way. When its owner rushed at him, he swiped out his legs and sliced his throat as he fell.

Breathing hard, he looked up again, searching for Astrid. His temples pounded. He had to get to her before—

The sight of her spear soaring through the air made his heart skip a beat. Its trajectory was on target to hit Jerrick square in between the shoulder blades, but in one swift motion, he jerked his sword upward, disarming Boden of his axes, and spun just in time for her weapon to miss. It landed in the mud feet away.

She froze.

“Astrid, no!” Boden yelled, his eyes wide with horror.

Slowly and as gracefully as a feline, Jerrick turned. When his gaze rested on her, his eyes blazed with a deadly mixture of amusement and irritation. Then, he whirled around and kicked Boden in the gut hard enough to send him spiraling backward. He crashed into the charred remains of a firepit, groaning.

“Father!” Astrid charged toward the murderous alpha, and for a moment, Erec stopped breathing. As Jerrick’s blade cut through the air, she crouched low, sliding across the mud and slush, before popping up on the other side of him with her father behind her back and her spear back in her hand again. Before Jerrick could even register what had happened, she whacked him hard on the side of the face with the blunt end of the staff. Blood spouted from the new gash across his cheek.

He stepped back, stunned, and touched a finger to the wound. When he saw the blood, his delight quickly transformed into utter disgust.

“Bitch!” Jerrick spat, lifting his broadsword high. He closed the distance between them in two giant steps. Astrid shifted back closer to her father and held out her spear to block the coming hit.

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