Page 12 of Betrayed Mate

The river gushed ahead of us, indicating a strong current and muffled some of the sounds of our attacker, making them sound farther away. However, I knew better than to lower my guard.

My paws hit smooth rocks, and the water came into view. The river was flowing rougher than normal from all the rain earlier in the week. We were in the homestretch.

Somewhere behind us, a branch cracked, and Briar whimpered. Paws skittered and slid on the rocks, and her body crashed into mine—hard. We tumbled down the embankment, the rocks cutting into our skin and the steep drop stopping us from getting our paws underneath us. Briar hit her head on a rock…and then we dropped.

I took a large breath and crashed into the cold water. My instincts kicked in, and I started dog-paddling. The current washed me downstream quickly and made staying above the water a struggle. Frantically, I searched for Briar, and when I found her, I nearly stopped breathing.

She’d sunk under the water, eyes closed and pack link cool.No. We hadn’t come this far for her to drown. I refused to lose anyone else I cared about.

I tugged my wolf back. It would be way easier to save Briar in human form. My wolf tried to fight me, not wanting to retreat when I needed her most, but I yelled the wordspack matein my mind.

She begrudgingly withdrew, and I shifted back into human form. My wounds ached and throbbed as my skin stretched and changed, but I worked through it, using my arms and legs, even as they changed, to swim closer to Briar.

I dove under the surface, my lungs already screaming for oxygen. If I risked taking a breath before retrieving her, then she could pass by me, and I might never find her again. My hand touched wet fur, and I wrapped one arm around her wolfish body and kicked with all the strength I had left to get to the surface.

Even more pack links extinguished. My chest panged for more than just air. Our pack was being ripped apart, and now Briar was injured.

The edges of my vision turned black as unconsciousness threatened. I gritted my teeth, ignoring my burning muscles and supported her added weight. Even as I moved forward, more spots cooled off.

Almost half our pack was gone.

We broke the surface, and I gasped just as water splashed into my face and down my throat, causing me to choke. What the hell had I done to Fate to piss her off this much? No matter where I turned, things got worse instead of better.

I searched for something—anything—to grab onto as darkness continued to curtain my vision.There. My gaze landed on a huge limb to the left of us. I swam, coughing and choking, dragging Briar with me. My arms grew weak, but I held her fast.

Strength nearly gone, I reached the log and hoisted Briar onto it. Her head flopped against the side of the sizable branch, but her chest moved up and down as water trickled out of her mouth.

Thank Fate, she was still alive.

The edge of the log caught on something, and my light hold slipped. I dropped back into the water and thrashed, barelymanaging to keep my head raised. I reached out, desperate for something to cling to, but came up with nothing.

Something hit my back. I turned, hoisted myself on it…and my vision went black.

Wetness hit my face.

My eyes fluttered open. The world was dim, like it wasn’t quite day or night, and a tall presence loomed over me.

My body felt sluggish, like I’d just fallen asleep. This had to be a dream.

“You need to wake up,” a raspy, sexy voice muttered. “I don’t understand why you’d do something so reckless.”

I identified that voice instantaneously, despite having heard it only once.

I forced my eyes wide open, expecting to be in my bed in my room. Then everything crashed over me.

My chest wasn’t cold because I was out of range of the pack. They’d all died…including my parents.

My breaths turned erratic until the faint pulse of Briar’s link centered me.

She was alive but asleep or unconscious. I had to find her and get away from the person standing over me and speaking with such disdain. A person who could kill me at any second.

Ryker Grimstone.

CHAPTER FIVE

Itried clenching my hands, but it took a moment for my body to respond to the command. My muscles burned and ached like I’d worked out harder than ever before. How the hell was I supposed to fight him when I couldn’t even make a solid fist?

“Is your pack searching for you?” Ryker’s nose wrinkled, and he spoke slowly, like I might not understand.

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