Page 49 of Wolf Trapped
“I’m a prisoner here anyway. Archer is a brutal beast that would rather lock me up than actually talk to me.” It’s not a complete lie, but it gets Carter thinking.
“No. I don’t think so. Archer will just go after Kyle, and it will start a war we don’t need.” Carter shakes his head. Fuck. I need to get outside.
“You risk starting a war either way. This way, you don’t have any more blood on your hands. I can tell you don’t want to kill me.” I hedge, staring up at him, and he looks away. Interesting. I’m stronger than him. It’s why he needs the knife.
“Get up. I’m going to take you to Alpha Kyle instead.” He tugs roughly on my hair, moving the knife from my neck to my back and dragging me through the small cabin.
Carter tosses me to the rocky ground outside the cabin and grips his hair roughly, scanning the forest around us. The rocks bite into my hands and knees as I land in a heap on the ground. Carter runs his hands through his hair, gripping the ends, insanity shining in his eyes.
“I changed my mind. I don’t believe you. You are just trying to find a way out of this, but unluckily for you, there is no way out that doesn’t end in death.”
“You have met Archer,” I shout at him. “He is overbearing and a brute who has no emotions whatsoever. He doesn’t want a mate. He wants a prisoner he can keep locked in a pretty cage only to visit when he wants something.”
A shadow moves between the trees, but I keep my features smooth. “He’s a beast that’s incapable of love. I may as well be kidnapped and taken to Kyle. Either way, my life is miserable.”
“Fine. Get up.” He kicks me in the ribs, and I grunt, wincing at the pain he causes.
I really need to find a way out of this. I can’t go to Kyle’s pack lands. It’s a death sentence either way. I chew my lip, brushing my hands off on my pants dirt and blood smear across the material.
My legs shake as he uses the knife in his hand to nudge me toward the forest. Fuck. Think Jara. You need to fucking think. Archer is a lot of things, but he keeps me safe, and even if he is a possessive, overbearing ass, he takes care of me. Even if he won’t show me any kind of emotion, he is mine, and I am his.
I fear for anyone that comes into contact with the man if they kill me. Archer will lose his mind. They will get exactly what they want. The bastard’s plan is actually quite brilliant. Make Archer look weak because he lost another mate.
“Why are you working for Kyle?” I ask loudly, hoping Archer is close.
I clutch my ribs. They are killing me, and I think one might be broken.
“Shut up and move faster.” He growls, poking me in the back with the knife.
“If you hadn’t broken my rib and thrown me around, I might be able to move faster.” I snarl back at him, stepping gingerly over a bush in front of me.
“I told you to shut up.” He stabs at me again, breaking the skin and ripping my shirt. The smell of my blood fills the air, and a roar sounds behind us. Archer is fucking here. Thank fuck for that.
Carter’s hand wraps around my ponytail, pushing me to make me go faster, but I trip over a vine falling on my hands and knees again. Fuck, that’s going to hurt later. “Get the fuck up, you stupid bitch.” He yanks at my hair, and I groan as I move slowly. The pain in my back and ribs causes me to move slower than normal.
It’s a shallow cut and will heal quickly, but it stings with every movement. Carter’s hand in my hair tightens as he hauls me against him and puts the knife to my neck again. Well shit. His hand leaves my hair and wraps around my middle, clamping my arms down at my sides as he spins toward Archer.
The man is there utterly naked with rage-filled eyes. I shouldn’t be admiring the man’s cut muscular body and defined thighs when my life is in danger, but he’s my mate, and he is both terrifying and sexy as hell. “Carter. Let my mate go.”
“No. She doesn’t want you anyway, Archer. She told me to take her to Kyle instead of just killing her.” Carter is fucking taunting him. Archer scans my face, and something like hurt passes over him before it's gone just as quickly.
“Do you want to die, Carter?” Archer growls, taking a threatening step forward. My back slams into Carter’s front as he pulls me tighter against him. The blade digs into my skin deeper, and a small line of blood beads against my skin.
“I’m dead either way.” He laughs. “You caught up with me, so I might as well kill her and be done with it. At least they will be safe.”
“Who will be safe?” I ask, and Archer shoots me a stony glare. Right, let’s not remind the idiot that I’m still alive.
“Let her go, and we can help them.” Archer puts his hands up in surrender. “You have to answer for Jacob’s murder, but you don’t have to add the death of my mate to your long list of crimes, Carter.”
“You can’t help them. Only Kyle can.” His arm twitches around me, and I chew my lip. Can I get away from him fast enough without getting my throat slit? “He wants her dead. All I have to do to keep them safe is push a little harder on her throat.
Archer’s body tenses and a shudder rolls through him. His eyes glow with fury and his wolf. He is seconds from shifting. I don’t know if that is a good or a bad thing.
“I suggest you release my mate.” He snarls, and his hands shift into claws.
Carter gasps, and his head swivels, knocking into my own. Fuck. That hurt, but it’s given me an idea. Archer will scream at me for it later, but it is the only chance I can see to get out of this alive.
I shift my hands into claws. My arms are still pinned at my sides, but I can bend my elbows enough I may be able to get his arm around me to move. Archer glances down at my shifted hands and shakes his head so minutely that I almost don’t catch it.
