Page 46 of Chosen Destiny

I swung my hand, my knife cutting her cheek. Her gray eyes glowed as another shot rang out, and something hot sliced through the upper arm of the hand holding the knife. Blinding hot agony tore through me, adding to the throbbing pain of my nose.

She sneered, and my vision narrowed. All my senses focused on her. I’d never understood tunnel vision until now.

The sounds of battle surrounded me as my people stayed beside me despite my order to leave.

She touched the blood trickling down her face and caressed it like it was a gift I’d bestowed upon her. My hand shook hard, and I dropped the knife.

“Remember,thisis your fault and will make it oh so much easier to break you.”

That snapped me out of my haze, and I glanced around. My nose was barely bleeding, evidence that my shifter healing was kicking into gear. But that was the only good news.

Michael was crumpled on the ground to my left, and to the right, Carl’s and Phil’s shirts were covered in blood. Miles was a few feet past Michael, his body slumped in agony next to Samuel. They’d practically beaten us to bloody pulps. The only person I couldn’t see was Lucas, and I glanced behind me to find him and Lynerd still fighting. Lynerd was holding him off, and Lucas was still going strong. Kel didn’t seem eager to help Lynerd, even though he’d ratted us out.

I had to appeal to her. “Please, leave them alone. They don’t want to be a part of this. This is between you and me.”

We were losing, and there was no telling if Lynerd’s men were attacking Russell’s men, so we might not have the other twenty-five shifters heading to us.

“Too late.” Kel smiled, her gray eyes lightening in delight. “I gave you a chance.” She walked over to me and ran the finger, still wet with her blood, across my cheek, marking me. “But this is the perfect ending. Every threat eliminated, and all because one of your own betrayed you.” She scoffed. “I might keep you alive after it’s all done, just for you to suffer the rest of your days in prison.”

“If you harm them in any way—”

A howl interrupted me, and the sound of paws hitting water had us looking to the right.

Russell’s wolves ran around the curve of the spring. It wasn’t the direction I’d expected them to come from, but they’d known we were meeting near the water and had followed it here.

Kel’s backup hadn’t arrived, so I could only hope we could make a big enough dent in her defenses to get away before gods knew how many reinforcements appeared.

I was certain they’d heard the gunfire, but I didn’t want any of them to be taken by surprise. “Theyallhave guns!” I yelled, and Kel slapped me across the face.

The sting had me sucking in a breath. I gritted my teeth, refusing to break as Kel kept her focus on me.

She yelled, “Kill them. Kill themall. King Sutton needs to be sent a message.”

A lump formed in my throat. I hated that Lynerd had told her where they were from.

The guards pivoted their attention to the newcomers, raising their weapons, but I lifted my chin high, ready to fight to the death.

This is our last chance,Samuel linked with conviction.Attack now.

My brows furrowed, but I was the only one who missed a beat.

Samuel swiped his knife from the ground with his uninjured hand, and he and Miles charged the two guards closest to them. Samuel stabbed one enemy in the chest, and Miles slit the throat of the one closest to him. Kel gasped.

If I’d thought chaos had descended before, it was nothing compared to this.

Three of the enemy guards pivoted toward my brother and Miles, and my instincts kicked in. As the guards pointed their weapons at them, I tapped into my wolf, hoping to the gods she guided my knife and threw it at the one in the center.

The knife sailed across the opening and embedded into his arm. He flinched as he pulled the trigger, jerking the gun toward me.

I braced myself, but Kel was the one who groaned. She reached down, grasping her leg, and I realized he’d hit her.

The other two fired, hitting Miles and Samuel in their chests.

The other three fired at the incoming wolves. We had to find a way to end this. I could hear Kel’s wolves approaching, and it sounded like there were just as many as, if not more than, we had.

Kel limped toward the trees. She was abandoning her people while they fought on her behalf. Part of me wanted to go after her, my wolf desperate to taste her blood, but we didn’t have time for that. I cared more about getting my people and Russell’s out alive.

I turned toward a guard who was firing at the wolves and jumped on his back. The man lowered his gun and grabbed me by the hair, pulling hard and making my eyes water.

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