Page 84 of Mated to the Enemy
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Klaue rounded one of the larger tombs he’d come across, and nearly lost his balance as he tried to stop. Dirt flew up in huge clumps as he dug in deep, turning as tight as a creature his size could.
“Wait,” Lorran said, back in his human form, raising his hand from where he lay slumped against the side of the tomb.
His right leg was a horrific mess of torn flesh, blood seeping out into the grass, turning it an ugly black shade.
“Please, Klaue, I’m assuming that’s you. We can work this out.”
Reluctantly, Klaue shifted to his human form, wondering why he was giving the man the time of day when he should just kill him and be done with it.
“Thank you,” Lorran wheezed, breathing hard, his face white from the pain. He would begin going into shock shortly.
The two men stood facing one another, both stark naked, covered in wounds. Klaue’s were far more numerous, but Lorran’s was serious, though not fatal. Just disabling.
“Your little plan dies today,” Klaue snarled, advancing. “No more death. No more killing of your own kind, you pathetic miscreant. It’s over.”
Lorran chuckled. “Myplan? You fool. It was never my plan. Me, Adrian, we were just tools, you dumb bear. You don’t know what’s going on. None of you does. This is bigger than Ursa, bigger than Canis.” He started to shiver.
“The third man,” Klaue said, remembering what Jessica had told him, assuming that Adrian was the mage. “It was his plan? Is that what you’re saying?”
It had to be another Title Holder within Canis. Not that Klaue or his House were in any position to stop their civil war from erupting. The young bloods of Canis would have to deal with that themselves, but he didn’t like being laughed at, or kept in the dark.
“His,” Lorran whispered, his voice calming. “His and…”
Klaue frowned. The injury wasn’tthatbad. What was going on here? Was this some sort of trick by Lorran, to fool Klaue into thinking he was dying?
“His and someone else? Another member of Canis?” Klaue asked.
Lorran just smiled at him.
“Tell me!” he bellowed.
It was another few seconds before he realized Lorran wasn’t moving, the hideous smile now fixed on his face in death.
“How the hell are you dead?” he muttered, moving forward cautiously.
There was no doubt though, Lorran was finished. Picking up his leg, Klaue saw the giant puddle of blood that had spilled into the grass. Upon closer inspection, he saw that his bear claw hadn’t just severed the man’s tendons near the knee and ripped his flesh apart, he’d actually sliced clean through the femoral artery.
Klaue sat back in surprise, newfound respect for the wolf shifter arising. He’d somehow been able to remain on his feet and run this far away before becoming too weak to continue. That was…impressive.
Most wounds a shifter could heal from, but a clean slice of an artery, without a tourniquet around Lorran’s leg, there was no stopping that. A freak injury, but one that worked just the same. Just to be sure though, he reached forward and snapped Lorran’s neck. Klaue wasn’t in the business of taking chances.
Standing, he hurried back to the scene of the main battle. It was all over now except for the mopping up. His men had corralled the surviving wolves into a circle, watched over by half a dozen angry-looking grizzlies.
Kvoss emerged from the Canis tomb, wiping blood off his blade with a rag that, upon closer inspection, was actually part of the dead mage’s outfit.
“You look ridiculous,” Kvoss muttered.
“What, never seen a naked man before?” he fired back. Kvoss just chuckled but stayed silent. “I’m assuming that’s from Adrian?”
The Assassin arched an eyebrow. “Who?”
“The mage. His name is Adrian.”
Kvoss shrugged coldly, uncaring. “Itwashis name.” Then he walked away, still fully clothed.
“Ass,” he muttered under his breath. It was never any fun to be naked in a situation like this post battle, but it was not like he could avoid it. So instead, he walked around talking to his men with his cock flapping about like a helicopter rotor trying to start up. So what of it?
