Page 60 of Sold Wolf Slave

“I love you,” I said. “I’m going to find a way to get you out of there at some point, Morgan. I promise.”

She gave a tired smile. “I love you, too.”

I opened my mouth to say something else. Then the image flickered and vanished, leaving nothing but the wall. I barely breathed, my head swimming as I rocked back and forth.

“So he just gave up his entire operation?” Will demanded, not bothering to hide his skepticism. His hand went to the small of my back, comforting me. “That doesn’t seem like him.”

Shrugging, Lucas said, “He can always come back. He plans on it, once you three are dead. He’ll open a different portal, and things will go back to the way they were before you came traipsing in.” He gave a sickening grin that made my insides churn and bile rise in my throat. “In other words, you failed.”

“Not yet,” Will snarled, his fingers curling into claws as he stared Lucas down.

Lucas regarded Will with some interest, his head cocked. “You know, it’s really a pity,” he said. “You would have been a valuable asset if you hadn’t made all the stupid mistakes you had. I think Cain would have enjoyed working with you.”

“Funny. Because I sure as hell wouldn’t have enjoyed working with him.”

Lucas yawned. “This self-righteousness is boring,” he said. He snapped his fingers, and every door slammed open.Several guards strolled in, some already shifted into hulking wolves. Every entrance was now blocked.

Will stepped in front of me, one hand gently nudging me back toward the wall. Of course. Because I couldn’t actually hurt any of them, I was a massive liability.

That didn’t mean I was useless.

“Let’s get this over with,” Lucas said.

Then a bright orange, perfect sphere of flame appeared in his hand. He gave an amused grin and, without another word, hurled it directly at us.

Chapter 22 - Will

Kendra held up a barrier, but that didn’t stop the heat from licking our faces.

“Get back,” I ordered her. “Protect yourself.”

Kendra opened her mouth to argue, but I wouldn’t let her. I shifted and charged toward Lucas. Nearby, I could hear Chris shifting as well, growling and charging toward one of the guards.

I jumped, lunging toward Lucas. Laughing, he vanished just before my paws hit the ground. I rounded, catching sight of two guards going up against Chris. He fended off one just as another jumped into the fray. With no sign of Lucas, I charged forward to go help.

I staggered backward, snarling as a burning sting washed over me. Blood from my flank trickled down to the pristine floor. I looked up in time to see Lucas reappear, a knife dripping with blood in his hand. He gave a broad, lazy smirk as he sauntered forward.

“This is what I don’t get about shifters,” he drawled. “You guys all think you’re the strongest things on the planet, the biggest threats. None of you ever stops to consider that not all power comes from brute strength.” He shook his head. “I asked Cain about it once. He said that was part of the beauty of having a strong witch on hand. I told him I figured the beauty was that all we needed was a bit of fire to keep people in line. Like this.”

He hurled a fireball directly at my face. I dodged just in time, feeling a lick of flame singe my fur. The unpleasant stench of burning fur clogged my nostrils. I ran forward, jumping toward him. This time, I managed to hit him, pinning him down and biting his shoulder. His fist slammed into my jaw with surprising force, dislodging me. He scrambled up.

Lucas laughed and held up his hand. His eyes glittered with triumph and malice as my entire body froze, immobile. I tried desperately to move, but couldn’t do anything beyond breathe and glance from side to side.

“Your mate over there might be able to help you,” he said, jerking his head over at Kendra.

She had cast some sort of shimmering barrier around her, preventing the guards, both wolf and man, from getting any closer to her, but not doing any damage. It was the best she could do as long as she couldn’t hurt them. Her eyes stayed locked on me, barely paying attention to the immediate danger surrounding her.

“Or she would if she could cast a second spell without breaking concentration on the first, and I don’t think anyone has taught her how to do that.”

He stabbed down, and pain screamed through my shoulder.

“She’s actually pretty strong, based on what I’ve seen of her,” Lucas said, as if analyzing a child learning to paint. He gave me another of those amused, triumphant smirks. “But too bad we have those pesky enchantments on all our slaves.” He leered at me. “Do you want to know what’s going to happen to her after I’ve killed all three of you?” He gave a feral grin. “It’s not going to be nearly as pleasant as being sent to the fighting pits, I’ll tell you that. She’s going to be in for a world of trouble. But first, I might have some fun with her. I don’t think Cain would mind.”

Something hurled through the air. A large world collided with Lucas, and just like that, I could move again, his concentration broken. Nolan, apparently back from escorting the girls, barreled into Lucas, snarling and preparing to strikeagain. But already, fresh guards had stormed forward and taken his attention.

That was fine. Lucas was mine, anyway.

I snarled, lunging forward. My paws landed precisely where his shoulders should have been. A harsh, mocking laugh filled the air. A moment later, a sharp, stabbing pain burned on my side. I yelped, staggering back as I turned to see Lucas, a knife still dripping with blood in one hand. He gave a lazy, triumphant grin as he strutted forward, using that same spell as before to immobilize me.

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