Page 78 of Wolf Heart

Someone is screaming, the sound of it is so loud in my head. I know it's me.

Thick, dark smoke surrounds me and I can't see anything as I run forward. Smoke suffocates me.

The witches cackle at me and I feel a hot blast of air from above.

Flames.

Fire has me in its jaws, consuming me.

My skin feels like it's melting, my eyes burn and I know I can't breathe anymore. But I have to find a way to save my mate.

I keep running, the air in my lungs burning like fire. I run out of air and stumble.

I cough and try to inhale, but I can't breathe.

Warm, sticky liquid spills down my forehead and stings my eyelids.The burningbecomesunbearablelikea firehas started onmyskin.The witches' laughter becomes distantandIfeellikeI'mbeingcooked alive. Ihearmyselfscream— it isn't a human scream, but more of a high-pitched wail that rings in my skull.

Searing flames melt my flesh. Tears of blood coat my face.

Mylegsgiveoutundermeand I flop to the ground.

Can't do anything as my muscles convulse.

A small voice cuts through the darkness in my mind. I shake my head, unable to make out the words at first. The torture eases a fraction and I gasped out a breath.

"I can make the pain vanish," Marian singsongs. “Yield to the magic."

I grit my teeth, holding back a yell as a burst of fire rushes over me. I howl as the heat, the burning, the pain crash into me. My lungs feel like there's no air, only fire. I'm going to die and Juniper will be without my help.

"I can make all of this easier," Marian whispers into my ear. "Just give up."

When I don't answer her because I can't do anything except try to force each scorching breath in, she laughs. Then a frigid cold settles over my body.

"Why not just let go?" she coos.

"I'll kill you," I spit.

A laugh, then a new sensation replaces the fire. Like worms burrowing into my flesh, my skull.

I ground my teeth so hard they feel like they're going to break.

My body shifts into my wolf and I can't stop it. I'm not in control any longer.

"Always easier to bend an animal," Marian says in a mocking tone.

The fire around me seeps into my pores, choking my soul, eating at my insides.

Juniper's face flashes in my mind. The wide green eyes and the pain she hides there makes me want to help her.

I urge my wolf to attack. I need to kill this witch... all of these witches.

But my wolf doesn't budge. Marian and her witches have sealed me inside my wolf with their magic.

My claws sink into the wet earth. I swing my head, trying to get a grip.

I need to move.

I shove myself forward, but I can't move. It's like the fire has me in its jaws and keeps biting down.

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