Page 81 of Wolf's Keep

Erin recoiled. She whimpered, and the sound tore at him, his fear nearly driving him to his knees.

“Good girl. Show him how scared you are.” The mercenary pressed the knife in harder, and Erin let out a sob. “Convince him to come and save you.”

Ulrik placed a hand on his shoulder. “Gaharet, do not do it. Do not listen to him. There has to be another way. You are no good to us dead. Think of the pack.”

Gaharet snarled. “Since when have you ever followed that creed?”

“I know. But you were right back then, and I was wrong. You stopped me from doing something that would have destroyed us all.” Ulrik stepped in front of him, his chin raised, his face determined, blocking him from the mercenary. “And now I am going to stop you. I am sorry. I cannot let you do this.”

“I do not have all night!” The mercenary tilted his head, listening, then threw back his head and laughed. “And neither do you.”

A chill raced down Gaharet’s spine. He heard it, too. The pounding of hooves heading their way. Close. Too close. They were running out of time.

He shifted his gaze to Ulrik. “I have lost my mother, my father, my brother and my closest friend. I will not lose her too.”

“If you step into that circle, you will put yourself at Lothair’s mercy. You know what he wants.”

“I would never give Lothair what he wants.”

“Then he will kill you.”

Gaharet stared past Ulrik at Erin, her body trembling. How had he ever, even for a moment, thought he would not follow her? That he would put the pack before her? She was his mate and he would sacrificeeverythingfor her.

“She is my mate, Ulrik.” His gaze locked with Erin’s. “I would die for her.”

“No.” Ulrik placed a palm against his chest. “We will find another way.”

The mercenary sneered. “There is no other way. Not if you want to save her.” He drew his arm back and plunged the knife into Erin’s side.

Gaharet’s world went still. Erin gasped, a tortured moan slipping from her lips. He roared, launching himself toward his mate, white hot rage burning through him. Ulrik slammed into him, knocking him to the ground. He howled, his pain and fury consuming him as Erin collapsed, gasping for breath, clutching her bloodstained side.

“Nooooo!”

Chapter Thirty-One

Held to the ground by Ulrik, Gaharet could only watch on as the mercenary dragged his knife free, holding the bloodied blade aloft, grinning in triumph.

“I am going to kill you this time.” His voice cracked, and he fought against Ulrik’s hold. His Erin lay dying.

“Despite what you think, you never lost me, Gaharet. I was always your friend.”

The weight lifted from his body and Ulrik charged into the ring of wolfsbane, his sword raised. With a brutal overhand swing, he cleaved the man in two.

Ulrik dropped to his knees, his sword slipping from his fingers, coarse, sandy hair sprouting across his hands and his jaw extending. Shaking his head, his wolf disappeared, and he lifted Erin in his arms and attempted to rise. Stumbling, his head shifted to wolf, then back again. The wolfsbane had a hold of his body—his lack of control an unimaginable horror.

He struggled to his feet, then collapsed, dropping Erin. She moaned and Gaharet’s heart squeezed. Ulrik’s spine, hips and legs shifted to wolf, held for a moment then changed back again. He pushed up to his knees, sweat beading on his forehead.

“Ulrik, roll her to me.”

Ulrik’s face contorted, his hauberk hanging loose about his shifting shoulders. He crawled to Erin and gave her a mighty shove. Erin tumbled through the grass, her arms landing beyond the herbs. Gaharet reached for her hand, coarse, dark hairs sprouting on the back of his arm, and he wrenched her to him, stepping clear of the danger.

He stared down at his mate’s pale face, fear for her stealing all the breath from his lungs. He brushed the hair back from her brow with a gentle hand. “I am so sorry, Erin. There is no other choice. I cannot let you die.”

Hovering over her, Gaharet called forth his wolf, dark hair sprouting across his face, his snout forming and his canines extending. Opening his jaw, he latched onto her wound. Erin screamed as his teeth bit in. He wanted to howl, to roar his pain, and hers, to the night sky, but he held on and kept his teeth sunk deep into her flesh.

As his saliva mixed with her blood, her body shuddered, a violent, uncontrolled spasm rippling through her. Releasing her, he pushed his wolf away, shifting back to human. It had begun. She would turn or she would die turning. A dull ache settled in his chest, and he dropped his head in his hands. This was not how he would have wished it to be, turning her like this, but there was no other way to save her. Picking her up, he cradled her in his arms, holding her shuddering body tight against his chest.

“Hold on, Erin.”

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