Page 10 of Broken Fate
A tingling built in my chest, and my wolf came alive in a frenzy as she sensed something else forming in my mind. The mate bond. It was happening.
Right now!
The tingling intensified, growing.
So did my panic.
I wasn’t ready. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t let it happen. I didn’t want to hurt anyone. I didn’t want tobehurt.
“I can’t,” I gasped.
“Quiet,” the Alpha growled as the Fate Stone burst into brilliance as it reached out for my mate.
“No!” I cried in defiance of everything, stunning myself, the Alpha, and the crowd.
Reaching forward, I grasped the stone in both hands, acting without thinking. Gasps of alarm shot through the crowd at the breach of protocol. Nobody touched the Fate Stone unless it was with one hand on your Fate Night.
What I was doing just wasn’t done.
But I couldn’t stop.
The gasps turned to cries and shouts of terror as I snatched the Fate Stone up.
“Stop her!” someone shouted.
Then, scarcely able to believeIwas the one doing it, I hurled the stone at the ground.
Chapter Six
There was a flicker of movement in my periphery as I whipped my arms downward, and suddenly,hewas there.
The Alpha’s hand cupped the stone from below, stopping it cold. One instant, it was moving at full force to the ground, and the next, it was absolutely motionless. The jarring shock of such a sudden stop nearly tore my shoulders from their sockets. I screamed in unexpected pain, stumbling backward as agony ripped through my protesting muscles. The Alpha still didn’t move other than to turn his gaze on me.
Tiny pinpricks of iridescent blue focused on me and me alone. A growl filled his chest, so low it set my skin crawling. Something ugly flashed within his gaze, a malice that looked deep into my soul and saw all my sins laid bare. Hatred for me filled his face, my death flashing across his features.
Fear coiled around my ribcage, constricting my lungs as I tried to breathe. It was a vise, squeezing every breath from my lungs. My heart pounded against its metal prison, threatening to break out and run away as terror held me rooted to the spot.
He was sostrong. And fast. The speed at which he’d come around the pedestal and the impossible strength he’d shown were unbelievable. He was the Alpha for a reason, and now, I was at his mercy because of what I’d done. Tried to do.
I had actuallytried to destroy the Fate Stone.
There was one last moment of peace in the shock that followed my actions. One last moment, during which I tried to understand the absolute rage that filled the Alpha. Enough that he wanted me dead, right there in front of everyone. Where hadthatcome from? It wasn’t shocked anger. It was long-standinghatred. But we had never met before …
A wave of guards slammed into me as the shock wore off, and people sprang into action. Armored fists hammered my sides and head, bruising flesh, splitting skin, and making my vision spin.
Very efficiently, they beat me thoroughly into submission, hauled me to my feet, clapped me in irons, and held me still, the tips of several blades pressed into my skin and ribs from behind, while another guard held a wickedly curved blade to my throat, pressing hard enough to draw blood.
“Enough,” the Alpha growled as more fists were driven into my back, keeping me frozen in agony. He stood tall and strong, holding the Fate Stone in both hands.
Glancing at it, he stared into it for several long moments before setting it back carefully on the stand.
I looked away in fear and shame as he neared, but his hand grabbed my jaw and casually turned my head. My muscles wrenched in protest. A shiver ran down my spine at his display of strength. Snapping my neck would be nothing but a simple flick of his wrist if he so chose.
“Who are you?” he demanded. “How did they get to you?”
“I don’t understand,” I said limply, the adrenaline fading, leaving me weak and paralyzed.
“Who sent you?” he hissed, keeping his voice low so that none but the guards would hear me. Our conversation was not meant for the gathered crowds.
