Page 72 of Witch's Wolf

My voice is low, shaking with fury as I take a step closer.

“Or what?” She tilts her head, smugness oozing from her expression. “You’ll hurt me?” A soft chuckle escapes her, cold and condescending. “My God, Erica… you have the poorest taste in men. That first one, Michael wasn’t it? He was so far beneath you. You could have had the richest, handsomest man in New York, and you choose the son of a plumber?” She scoffs, shaking her head like I’m some silly little girl. “He was easy. Disposing ofthis… thing… you’re dating now, not so much. He’s harder to kill than I expected.”

My breath catches. The floor tilts beneath me.

“You…” The word barely makes it past my lips. My throat tightens, my stomach twisting into a cold knot. “You killed Michael?”

“Not directly,” her smug smile twists my stomach. “I was in his head, just a touch, enough to make him barrel down that road.” Her lips curl into something almost ecstatic. “En Camino De La Muerte…” she laughs, it bursts from her throat as she tips her head back. “I absolutely adore that road.”

“You stupid, stupid bitch…” the words tear free of my throat, raw and burning. My fists clench at my sides as I tremble with fury. “I was in that car too. I could have been killed. Did that ever occur to you?”

“Yes, of course it did sweetheart,” her smirk deepens as she fixes me with her eyes. “You’re my child. Of course, I considered that possibility.” She lifts a hand, examining her nails with casual detachment. “Which is why I was in your head, too. I was the one who made you jump out of that car.”

My breath shudders. My heart pounds so hard it rattles my ribs.

“You killed him,” I whisper, voice sharp, cutting through the space between us. My chest rises and falls too fast, my vision narrowing on the monster wearing my mother’s face.

“I was in love with him, and you killed him.”

“As I will your beloved abomination,” she vows, her dead eyes flickering with something colder than hatred. “Rest assured, mydaughter. I will kill each and every one of your lovers until I’ve made sure you’ve selected someone worthy of you.”

“Like hell you will.” A growl rumbles deep in my chest. I thrust my arm forward. Power crackles beneath my skin, and with a twist of my wrist, she’s ripped backward. Her body slams into the wall, hard enough to make the floor tremble.

She gasps, her tongue darting between her teeth in shock. I step forward, my pulse roaring in my ears.

“You won’t touch him again. Ever.” My voice is low, steady, deadly. “Come back to Dawson, and I swear to God, I’ll kill you myself.”

A snarl rips from her throat, her wicked gaze flicking from my eyes to my outstretched hand. Understanding flashes in her expression, but this won’t be enough to stop her. She sucks in a sharp breath, and then?—

Boom.

A shockwave explodes from her body, slamming into me like a freight train. The world tilts. The air vanishes from my lungs. In the blink of an eye, I’m airborne for a moment then crashing down between the desk and my dresser, shoulders barely an inch from the wall.

“Well, well, well…” Roberta smiles with interest, gliding toward me with slow, deliberate steps. “At last, my daughter has awakened. Only she picked the wrong target.”

My breath is ragged, my muscles lock in place as she towers over me.

“You know what would have happened if I didn’t have total control over what I just did?”

“What?” I ask, gritting my teeth.

“Your bones would have been shattered,” she murmurs, stopping just two paces away. “Shoulders, ribs… maybe even your pelvis. Pulverized.” Her eyes gleam with something twisted. “This is our true power, Erica. You want to turn from me? From this? Refuse to embrace it? Fine. That’s your choice. But don’t expect me to accept that beast as your boyfriend. No daughter of mine will lie with a dog.”

My hands curl into fists against the cold floor.

“It may not be tomorrow. It may not be next week,” she says, her voice dark and venomous. “But know this, I will kill him and anyone else who gets in my way.”

The room crackles with tension, the air thick and suffocating.

“I’ll see you soon.”

Then she’s gone. The invisible grip on my limbs vanishes, and I collapse. Knees slam into marble, pain jolting up my legs. A strangled cry bursts from my throat, raw and broken. My chest heaves as I suck in air, as if I’ve been drowning this entire time.

She’s not going to stop. She’s not going to spare anyone.

The mighty shifters of Dawson, powerful as they are, are vulnerable to her. She already killed two of them and she has Sam in her sights. My Sam, and for all his strength he doesn’t stand a chance against her wrath.

If I am going to have any chance of protecting him, I have to act. Now.

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