Page 86 of Wicked Fate

My breath caught. So many people had died because of the vampires, and these witches had come here to protect us when they hadn’t wanted to. And now one of their own had died in the process.

“We have to keep moving,” the little girl whispered, and Ryker tugged on the hand he held once again, urging me forward.

The braided-hair witch’s hand slackened as death crept in. Her throat had been clawed out.

My heart stuttered. That was why the vampires didn’t have guns and weren’t using knives, and why they still smelled like wolf shifters.The vampires still want to make it look as if wolves are fighting one another,I linked to everyone.

Fucking bloodsuckers,Gage replied.I’m embarrassed that I even liked them for a minute. They all deserve to die and walk around with no peace for eternity.

Sometimes I thought Gage was melodramatic, but not this time. I agreed full-heartedly.

They wanted to eliminate the packs that were threats to them and make it look as if we attacked each other,Ryker added. His disgust and anger slammed into me, mixing with mine.The bitch is still thinking she’s going to win.

In fairness, she might,Briar connected.We almost died back there. Did you already forget that?

I raised my eyebrows, and pride tightened my chest. I’d always known that Briar had spunk, but she’d also enjoyed being a pleaser. Even though I wished we hadn’t had to go through all this shit, I couldn’t deny that alittlebit of good had come from it. Each one of them had been pushed to grow and develop.

Another vampire with a military-style crewcut darted in from the left, targeting a slender witch near the rear. However, the witch who’d watched her braided-hair sister die swung her arms out, causing him to fly into a tree trunk with a sickeningthwack.

I shuddered as the vampire's body slid down the trunk, leaving a dark smear against the bark. Ryker and the little girl tugged me forward again. She was nearly as strong as Ryker, and both of them propelled me along the road, my feet kicking up gravel.

"Almost there," she whispered, scanning the tree line constantly.

The road curved ahead, revealing its end, where it met a wider paved street. My heart leapt with hope—we were almost out.

But the vampires weren't giving up. They circled, moving faster than before, their desperation making them reckless. Three more broke through the trees ahead of us, cutting off our path to the main road. Behind us, at least a dozen more closed in.

"Shit," Ryker growled, pulling me closer to his side.

The swollen-eyed witch staggered forward, her steps wavering. Blood trickled from her nose, and the dark tendrils of her magic slithered around her hands like dying flames.

"We're weakening," she rasped just loud enough for us to hear. She staggered, nearly falling before catching herself against a tree trunk. "We can't hold them off much longer."

My stomach dropped. The witches had seemed so powerful moments ago, but now I could see the toll their magic was taking on them. They’d been stuck in captivity for who knew how long. Several had bloody noses, others trembled visibly, and the chill of their magic was weakening.

"We need to get to the main road," Ryker said, scanning our surroundings. "If we can make it past those three—"

"They'll just follow us." Despair clawed at my chest. "Even if we make it to the main road, they'll still be there. I doubt they’ll even care if humans see them attack."

The swollen-eyed witch stumbled toward us, her face pale and drawn. "We can't—" She cut off, swaying dangerously. "Our magic is nearly depleted. Years of captivity... drained us. We thought we had more strength, but—"

Panic clawed my throat. The vampires must have realized the witches were sputtering as a few more attacked, testing them. Several witches worked together to fend them off, but it was a closer thing.

"We need a plan." I scanned our surroundings.

Engines purred in the distance, coming quickly in our direction.

"Do you hear that?" I whispered.

Ryker's head snapped up, his golden-flecked eyes narrowing as he scanned the darkness beyond the tree line. The little girl's grip on my hand tightened.

The distant rumble grew louder, and headlights cut through the darkness at the far end of the main road. Not one pair of lights but many—a convoy, approaching fast.

"Could that be…" Cassi trailed off.

I squinted against the glare, trying to see who was in the closest vehicle barreling towards us. Could it be the Blackwood pack?

"Get ready," Ryker growled, pushing me behind him while scanning for escape routes.

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