Page 106 of Corbin
With Elianna’s next step back, her heel bumped a metal drum.
“No shifter king protects a whore,” Varga scoffed. “If he did, he would mark territory.”
She was running out of anything to say, but had one more critical question, one that required arrogance to get an answer.
“Where is other wolf? Is he coward, afraid to fight female?” That came out sounding like she had a sick stomach instead of ringing with confidence.
She had no play left. She smiled in the face of death.
Stupid, maybe, but it made her feel better to not show the bone-cold fear inside her.
One of Varga’s pack members answered her. “That one? He has best nose of pack. Someone had to find brat we saw in picture with you.”
Nico! “You all die!” she yelled.
One on the far left attacked first.
The wild-eyed wolf shifter dove at Elianna.
She made a fast move to one side, bringing her fisted hands down on the back of his neck while he was airborne.
He landed beside the steel drum stack. Bone cracked loud enough to ensure he was out of commission until he healed. Pity she hadn’t killed him.
Had that missing fifth wolf found Nico?
Every second she’d wasted talking to these shifters might be costing Nico. Whipping around with her hands up, she ordered, “Move or die.”
They must have sacrificed the first shifter to test her.
This time, all three came at her, snarling.
She had those two inches in height on all of them and used her extra arm length to slam her fist at the first head. As he was on his way down, she kicked, connecting with his hard skull.
But one ducked the fists she continued to whack at anything that moved. He came up behind her, landing a blow on her back. That drove her forward and off balance. Still, she kept jabbing her elbows and using head butts to fend the others off.
It didn’t matter.
In less than a minute, they wrestled her to the ground and booted her in the side. She coughed and spat blood. Her bear growled and bumped, still wanting out. She was tempted, but she and her bear had never fought together. If her bear turned and ran, the wolves would gut it.
Then they would both die without even attempting to fight. Her bear had no idea what it was up against.
It was Elianna’s job to protect the both of them.
One of the wolf shifters had his arm across her throat. He was wheezing too much to be a shifter.
Had that drug made this pack so mentally and physically unfit?
Varga sat on her middle and the last wolf pinned her legs.
Varga’s slick head had a few new gashes, and his eyes were bright with crazy.
She didn’t need him to tell her that she would die more brutally than her mother, but ... Nico. Her heart cramped. She’d failed him.
Varga leaned so close to her face she couldn’t avoid his disgusting breath or body odor. Shifters normally prided themselves on being clean.
To be told they smelled bad was an insult.
She couldn’t insult someone who didn’t care.
