Page 125 of Mortal Shift
And for just a moment, that second option sounded plenty appealing to me. But the tension eased from Cole’s spine and he twisted to look at me over one shoulder.
“Go. And be careful.”
Like I hadn’t already worked that one out for myself.
Chapter Forty-One
“You still wasting everyone’s time showing up to my lessons?” Ryker grunted as he glanced over at me.
I straightened and lifted my chin.
“Yes, alpha.”
He grunted again and turned his scowl back to the rest of the gathered students. It had been a whole month since the enforcers had dragged Cole away, and two weeks since he’d recanted his confession, and he was no closer to being freed. It was hard to focus on anything else, but I still made a point of going to all of my lessons—even if, in some cases, it meant standing around doing literally nothing.
“There’s month left until you miserable excuses for wolves have your end-of-year assessments, and most of you are going to fail.” He sneered as he stalked amongst the students. “You’re as useless as that damn human. Weak. Defenseless.”
He stopped in front of Tristan. “But at leastsheshows up to every lesson.”
I jolted in surprise, and Tristan stared down at his feet guiltily.
“But perhaps you think you’re too good to show up to my lessons. Too skilled. Maybe you think I have nothing left to teach you?”
“N—No, alpha,” Tristan said, without raising his gaze.
“No? I should fucking think not, you jumped up excuse of a mewling pup. Now get your ass on four legs. Kallan, Eva, and Harvey, rip a chunk out of him for me.”
Tristan paled and Ryker’s sneer hardened. “Whoever impresses me most with their ferocity gets a place on the last moon hunt before your assessments. And trust me, you want that place.”
The three of them shed their clothes with hard eyes and dangerous expressions that proved just how much they wanted it, and I didn’t envy Tristan. They weren’t going to hold back, and he’d be pressed to be a match for even one of them—on a good day. Today was not shaping up to be a good day for him.
Ryker’s cut them a nod and then his expression turned predatory as he cut back to Tristan.
“Make it to five minutes without needing a healer and we’ll consider the slate wiped clean.”
He didn’t make it to five minutes. He didn’t make it to three. Two and a half minutes in, the trio had him cornered and bleeding. His right hind leg wasn’t supporting his weight, but it wasn’t until Kallan smashed into his shoulder that his lupine scream tore through the air, and he hit the ground, panting and twitching, and totally unable to get up.
Kallan’s lips peeled back in a feral smile, and I saw his intentions flash through his eyes, and my own widened in alarm. Tristan was down. Out of the fight. But Kallan was going to finish it.
I threw myself forward, almost before I knew what I was doing, skidding into a half-crouch in front of the downed wolf.
“Stop!” I shouted at Kallan, and the pair on his flanks. Kallan lunged and landed right in front of me, snapping his yellowed fangs a half inch from my face. I bared my own distinctly human teeth in response, and held his eye, unflinching.
“Enough,” I ground out. “He’s done. It’s over.”
Kallan’s answering snarl rattled in his chest as he glared at me, and I glared right back. Sure, he could probably snap my neck with a single bite, but I’d damn well claw his eyes out before he did.
“Stand down,” Ryker said, striding over to us. The two wolves on Kallan’s flanks fell back immediately, crouching and shifting back to their human forms. Kallan continued to glare at me, his eyes promising bloodshed, then he peeled his lips back in contempt, and shifted back.
“This isn’t over, blood whore,” he murmured.
“I’d be disappointed if it was.”
Ryker planted a hand on his chest and shoved him back, then rounded on me.
“Who the fuck do you think you are to interrupt a sanctioned trial?”
“A member of this pack,” I replied evenly. “Pack doesn’t destroy pack.”
