Page 45 of Claimed By the Sinful Dragon
“He trusts you?” I arched a brow. “He hasn’t even told you where we’re going, has he?”
“It’s not my place to question the alpha,” he said, his eyes flicking briefly to the sleeping form.
“That’s a no, then. He hasn’t even told you what I am, otherwise you wouldn’t be calling me afilthy omega.”
“Got ideas above your station, do you? I remember you begging for scraps in the pack.”
“Yeah, I remember, too,” I said, my voice icy. “And I won’t be forgetting. Luka, isn’t it? Yeah, I’ll remember that.”
He laughed. “Where you’re going, it won’t matter what you remember.”
I tensed. No. He didn’t know where Landon was taking me, he’d already admitted it. He was bluffing. He had to be. And either way, I didn’t plan on sticking around to find out.
“Sure,” I said, smiling sweetly at him. “You just keep telling yourself that. Landon’s already keeping you in the dark, you think he’d tell you the truth about why I’m so important? He doesn’t trust you not to steal me, but the moment we make the meet, you become expendable.”
His eyes narrowed, a faint flicker of doubt shadowing them before his scowl deepened.
“You think you’re clever?” he demanded, closing the distance between us. “You think I won’t put you in your place?”
I stared up at him as he loomed over me, hatred rolling off him in waves. My heart hammered almost painfully, but I didn’t freeze. Instead, something inside me stirred, low and hot, like a spark catching dry kindling. Let him come closer. Let him make the mistake.
“Go ahead,” I taunted. “Show me how strong you are. Oh wait, you can’t even think without someone telling you how. You wouldn’t know what to do.”
“You want to see what I know, omega?” he snarled, leaning down, his face inches from mine. “I’ll show you.”
I yawned. “That won’t take long.”
He snarled and lunged for me.
Time slowed. I didn’t think. I moved. My bound hands shot up, slamming into his chest with a force that surprised even me. He staggered back, his eyes wide with shock,and I lashed out with my foot, tripping him and sending him crashing back onto the ground.
“You little—” he snarled, but I was already twisting, leaping to my feet. I yanked hard on my rope as I bolted for the cave entrance. Heat flared in my chest in tandem with the pain in my wrists, but I refused to give in to it. The rope gave way with a snap, but I didn’t have time to worry about how or whyas I ducked through the vines and started running, my cramped legs burning with every step.
Shouts of alarm went up from within the cave, and then a snarl ripped through the air. Shit. Shit. Landon and the others were awake. I pushed myself harder, moving as fast as I could through the dark woods, ducking under branches that loomed in the darkness, and hurtling over fallen logs that my eyes picked out at the last possible moment. My foot slipped on some damp leaves and I jolted forward, just getting my hands up in time to protect my face but not much else as I smashed into a tree trunk. I bounced off it, just about keeping my feet under me, and darting onwards.
Another snarl, low and menacing, echoed through the trees around me, and panic squeezed my chest. I couldn’t let them catch me. I had to move faster. I had to find a way to lose them, I had to—
My foot caught in a root, sending me crashing to the ground. I bit back a yelp of panic and another of pain as I hit the ground hard, knocking the air from my lungs. I wheezed, fighting to get a breath of the cold night air, desperately willing my legs to move from under me, to get me back up before—
The shadow fell across me, and I stared up at bared fangs as a growl ripped from between them.
Before I could move a muscle, a second shadow joined it, this one in human form. Landon.Fuck.
I dropped my head back to the wet ground with a groan. While I’d been running for my life, Landon had time to shift andget dressedbefore chasing me down. I’d never stood a chance…and the smirk playing across his face told me he knew I knew it.
He squatted down next to me. “Try that again, and I’ll break both your legs and have the enforcers drag you. Clear?”
I nodded mutely, glowering up at him. Asshole.
“Good. It’d be a shame to damage your value, but I’ll do it.” He rose to his full height and turned to the other three; the enforcer I’d escaped from in his human form, and the other two still wolf. “Shift back, and get her tied up again. We’re making for the border. Now.”
Chapter 24
Rook
The wolves’ trailwas sloppy. Broken branches, churned mud, and the faint scent of bloodleft a roadmap visible to anyone who cared to look. They’d been careless, as though they thought no-one would follow them. As though they thought no-one wouldhuntthem.
The darkness was fading into a pre-dawn gray, and still I didn’t stop to rest. I didn’t need to rest. I needed to reclaim what was mine. I’d found the spot where he’d taken her, and I’d known his fetid scent at once. Landon. I’d found the abandoned bag my Tribute had taken with her, and I’d found the first traces of blood. Hers. He’d hurt her. And when I caught up to him, he would repay every drop of blood, every ounce of pain, with his own, ten times over.
