Page 82 of Pack Captive

"I swear, I had no idea what he was planning," I gasped, gripping her forearm and trying to pry it away from my throat. Her muscles were like iron bars. "I don’t even know him!"

Sorana just huffed out a disbelieving laugh. "Mm-hmm. We all saw how you treated Ryden after he brought you back. He gave you everything you could've wanted, and hestillneeded to tie you down to keep you from running off to Fenris."

I just stared at her, still struggling, amazed and horrified by what she'd said.

Did they really believe I was being held captive to keep me fromFenris?From the wolf who'd destroyed almost my entire pack?

They were insane.

"And now they're letting you take care of Darius's body and funeral rites?" Sorana growled for real this time, the sound ripping out of her throat. "It's an insult to his memory! You released his killer, and you're in on it with him. We tried to warn Ryden, but he wouldn't listen to us—you're nothing but a snake, and you'll destroy Lykos from the inside."

I realized I was shaking, not from fear, but from anger.

I'd suffered every bit as much as they had, had felt the same losses, and I would never willingly ally with someone who I knew was on my enemy's side.

You could've turned Merikh in.

I could've, but I hadn't because my gut told me there was something more to him. That he wasn't responsible for Darius’s death.

So I was furious, even though I could understand why Sorana and her kind would be suspicious of me.

"You've got it all wrong," I told her coldly. "But you're so determined to hate me, you probably wouldn't bother to listen to reason."

"Why would I listen to you?" she asked. "Darius is dead because of you, and you don't deserve to become the Alpha female."

"You're delusional." I could've laughed if I was able to take more than shallow sips of air.

Me, the Alpha female?

But then I remembered Ryden cornering me in my room, and how much I'd wanted him to do it again.

Sorana seemed to read the change on my face.

"Maybe you've put a spell on Ryden." Sorana looked me over, sneering in disgust. "You Callers and your magic, who knows what fuckery you do up in that temple of yours?"

She leaned in a little more, putting a tiny bit more pressure on my windpipe. I was going to black out soon if I didn't get out of this; dark flowers were beginning to bloom at the edges of my vision.

"Leave Ryden out of it." I had to choke the words out. "I wouldn't do anything to him, either."

Sorana raised an eyebrow. "I'm going to make sure he doesn't look at you again. You're not meant to be his mate."

She raised her hand, extending a sharp claw towards my face. I struggled hard, but with the other two Warriors boxing me in, there was nowhere to go.

Sorana drew her claw down my cheek. Bright, hot pain sizzled through my skin, and I felt the warmth of welling blood.

Then she spat on me.

Disgust welled up when I felt her warm saliva spatter across my wounded cheek and drip down my neck, but then Sorana's eyes went wide as something huge and dark crashed into us.

Calian, as always, moved so quickly he seemed barely visible. One of the women stumbled back towards the edge of the pool as he blew past her and dug his claws into Sorana's arm, tearing her away from me.

Blood splattered to the stone floor, both mine and hers, and I gasped for breath now that Sorana's grip on me was gone. I pressed a hand to my cheek, and it came away wet and red.

I wasn't sure which hurt more, my face or my pride.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Calian snarled. His handsome face was completely contorted.

He looked almost like more of a devil than Merikh, those dark eyes glittering with fury.

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