Page 43 of Veiled Fate
Kiel shook his head, jerking it toward the oncoming soldiers. “We have to go. Now!”
I snarled. We were so close! Nobody else was there to stop him.
“Jada, no!” Kiel bellowed.
I ignored him, turning to run after the vulnerable Arcadian leader.
I wasnotletting him get away. Not again.
Chapter Twenty-One
Iignored the irony of the moment as I charged at the noncombatants, hoping they would move aside but ready to move them bodily if necessary. After all my talk to Kiel about not running off to do something stupid in the name of killing Arcadus, there I was, running off to do something stupid in the name of killing Arcadus.
I never claimed to be smart.
“Move!” I cried, leaping over a fallen body.
The young shifters scattered. Whether it was the noise of my shouting or the wild, blood-stained look on my face, it didn’t matter. My path cleared just in time for me to glimpse Arcadus before he ducked around some bushes.
He was disrobing, which could only mean one thing.
I put my head down and ran even faster, determined to catch him.
That was how the Volk caught me by surprise. The elite soldier was waiting among the unarmed shifters, acting like one of them. As I passed by, he moved like the wind. Not to strike, he wasn’t that obvious. Instead, he stuck his foot out, and I fell for it. Literally.
Like a narrow-focused child, I hit his outstretched ankle and lost all control. Pinwheeling, I slammed into the ground, bounced off it, rolled, and came to a stop on my back, staring up at the sky, wheezing for air, mind and body stunned by the impact.
The light was blocked almost immediately as the Volk came at me, landing on me, both hands going for my throat. His fingers dug in tight, clamping down over my windpipe, a savage light in his eyes.
“Be glad that I’m only killing you,” he hissed. “If there were time, I would do so much more.”
I clawed at his face with one hand, trying to dislodge him, but he was bigger and stronger than I was. There was no way I was getting free. Not without help.
If you’re in there, I could really use a little jolt right about now.
My fingers pushed uselessly against his jaw, reaching for his eyes but coming up just short.
“Pathetic,” he sneered, turning to bite down on my finger as if to rip the offending digit away with his teeth.
Jade lightning flicked from my fingers in response to my plea, jumping from tooth to tooth, filling his mouth and charring his lips. The Volk recoiled in agony. I slipped from underneath him, pausing just long enough to knee him in the jaw, not only redoubling his pain but also rocking his brain hard enough to stun him.
Hopefully for long enough. I’d lost enough time.
My clothes came off in a rush, fabric tearing as I worked to free myself from its confines. There was no sense in preserving it. Not now.
Naked, covered in blood, and breathing hard, I called to my wolf.Now!
The she-bitch came, howling as she flooded my brain and changed into her preferred form. Sleek and powerful, we hit the ground in a crouch, leaping forward and into the bushes after Arcadus, intent on chasing him down.
Great clumps of dirt were flung up as my paws dug deep, scattering leaves and other twigs as I ran. My nose drank deep the terrified scent of the vulnerable Alpha, guiding me unerringly through the bushes and undergrowth in pursuit of my quarry.
The hunt was on.
Branches tugged at my pale ivory fur as I dove through a particularly dense thicket, but I ignored them. They were scratches, nothing more. After being stabbed through the stomach, such small irritations registered even less. Nothing would keep me from catching my prey. Not anymore.
Far behind, I could hear sounds of pursuit. There were other Volk, and they would be coming after me as well. But my legs were infused with the strength of Fate herself. Our great, bounding leaps were more than they could match. I pulled steadily ahead while also closing the gap.
Arcadus was almost within reach. My ears pricked as the sounds of branches snapping and dry leaves crinkling reached them. I was on the right track. My nose wasn’t all I had to guide me now. I honed in on him with extreme precision, moving like a wraith through the forest, making nearly no sound. Nothing that could be heard above the ragged breathing of my prey, at least.
