Page 59 of Her Wolf's Demands

I found my feet and went with him, not daring to look up at the sharks above. Had the fish survived the magic? I didn’t want to know, I had to find Drake and stop Ertha.

Sniffing the air as we came into the next dark chamber, I followed Drake’s scent to a door marked Staff Only. Of course, Ertha would want to get out of the public eye and save herself in the process. The water was no longer a threat, but I was.

“They’ve gone through there,” I told Malone, who was already extending his leg to kick the door in.

His boot bashed the lock off and the wood burst open, rebounding off the wall. Yep, Drake’s scent was stronger as we dove inside and came to a stop.

“Err…”

Rows of fish tanks made up aisles in the warehouse ahead of us. They were piled, one on top of the other, forming walls that divided the room. Fish of all shapes and sizes swum around, distorting the water and making it hard to look through to the other side.

Ertha was in here somewhere. Would she use magic to disguise herself? Luckily, our wolf instincts would lead us to Drake no matter how hard she tried to hide him.

Half tempted to magic the fish tanks away, I trod around the first one, checking to see whether Ertha or Drake were down the first aisle. It was empty, stretching away before halting at the wall on the other side.

“They’re in here somewhere,” Malone whispered, his nose lifting into the air.

I copied him, smelling the air and skipping two of the aisles. There, the scent grew stronger down one of them. We moved slowly, trying to see through the water to spot anyone on the other side. A quick movement of dark material made me catch my breath.

We both broke into a run, spinning around the end of the passageway and into the next one along. Ertha’s black hair and floaty dress disappeared around the end. Drake wasn’t with her.

“Please,” I called, “don’t do this.”

Where was Drake? And why was the witch playing games with me? I just wanted to live a peaceful fucking life in my fucked up new world. Was that too much to ask?

Malone was gone, his instincts kicking in as he gave chase. I paused, re-smelling the air and listening to the space on the other side of the room, where Ertha had just come from. A tiny puff of air made me lift my head. Someone was breathing. Drake?

Ducking around several tanks, I followed and focused on the sound that had reached my ears. My nose sniffed, able to scent my brother.

Just as I rounded the last corner, a crash blasted the tank beside me and I threw myself to the ground, covering my head as water and glass scattered all over my body. The sharp bite of glass as it shot into my skin was washed away by the cool water that followed it.

“Della!” Drake’s shout forced me to my knees.

He was tied to a metal beam, his arms stretched behind him. My heart pounded in my head as I surged forward, ready to save him.

Fingers grabbed my hair, yanking me backwards. Ertha chuckled as I fell to the ground, bashing my head on one of the intact tanks. I gritted my teeth and thrust back up, diving for the elder, who held up her hands and pushed a gust of wind towards me.

I flew back, crashing into Malone who was getting up from under the debris of glass and metal. Oh, so it was the alpha who had caused the destruction. Ertha must have thrown him also.

“I admire your determination.” Ertha walked backwards, towards Drake. “I can see you won’t let me go without a fight.”

Fury fired my insides, burning my stomach and making it churn. If she wasn’t careful, I was going to breathe fire all over her. Would my magic give me such power? Maybe I should’ve given it a go.

About to open my mouth to try the spell, I froze, the fire inside me turning to ice. Ertha had drawn out a dagger, extending it towards Drake.

Maybe she would kill him in order to end the threat to her life. She might think that if she was to murder my brother, we would be so distracted, we would let her escape.

“Don’t do this to your own witches,” I said, frowning. “Just let us go.”

“I can’t.” Her sob echoed around us.

Inhaling loudly, she turned her head away to look at Drake. The next sob that erupted from her throat was strangled as Malone launched onto her in his wolf form. Snapping and snarling, he sank his teeth into her shoulder.

Throwing her arms to the side, Ertha screamed so loudly, the force of it threw Malone off her and into another set of tanks. The water and glass crashed loudly, scattering to the ground as the alpha landed in a slumped heap.

My legs wobbly, I stepped forward, ready to unleash all the pent up fear, anger and frustration on the one woman who was supposed to have looked out for us.

“You… didn’t deserve your daughter,” I said, rasping in a breath as she paused, her eyebrows pulled low over her watery eyes. “She would’ve been ashamed of you.” Flicking out my arm, I extended my fingers.

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