Page 60 of Her Wolf's Demands

Before my restraining spell reached her, she flung her dagger behind her, aiming it straight at Drake.

Slow motion kicked in, the world around me spinning at the same time as the blade as it headed towards my brother, whose eyes widened.

I aimed my arm at the blade, knocking it off course with a flick of my hand. The grunt of something made me swallow, but I had no time to think about it.

“Run, Drake!” I shouted, diving at Ertha as she turned towards me.

The ropes on my brother’s arms released, dropping to the ground. I collided with Ertha’s legs, wrenching her down. She kicked my face and jumped out of my grasp, heading away from me. Something inside me pulled, a sadness and pain throbbing in my chest. What the…? Malone.

“Della!” Drake didn’t need to tell me, I knew.

Opening my mouth, I screamed as loudly as I could, stretching my fingers towards a nearby metal pole that had come off one of the tanks. It lifted in the air as my face screwed up.

Swinging around and flinging my arm, I sent the weapon straight towards Ertha, who had reached the end of the aisle.

The pole flew forward, the sound of its whoosh making the leader of the coven turn back to see what was happening. The sharp end plummeted through her chest and into the wall, pinning her against the brick.

Tears dripped down my cheeks as the witch looked at me, scowling despite the blood spreading on her dress and the life leaving her eyes. No one hurt my brother, ever. And no one killed my alpha, either.

A gasping sob left me as the pain in my chest intensified. My spirit wolf paced my brain, begging me to check on my mate.

I turned slowly, unable to gather any speed, despite the urgency. The pain in my chest was too great, it wrenched my soul.

“Drake?” I breathed, stumbling around the corner.

Malone’s white fur was red from head to toe, his breathing shallow. No, I couldn’t do this again. How was he so hurt anyway?

Drake held up the dagger I’d diverted, pointing to where he’d just pulled it out of the alpha’s chest. Shit, I’d saved my brother by moving the blade, not realising that Malone had snuck around Ertha. So, if he died, it would be all my fault.

Sobs erupted from me, shaking my hands as I tried to cover his wound. There was silver in the dagger, it was easy to see as the clean part of it twinkled from the overhead lights.

“Malone,” I whispered, bending my head to his ear. “You can’t leave me. I need you.”

His eyes fluttered open, the brown and amber irises focusing on me for only a second before the black started to swallow up the white surrounding it.

“No!”

I shook Malone, about to scream, when Drake wrapped his arms around me. “Use the magic of the stones, sister,” he said. “Quickly. You can heal him. I’ll give you my remaining magic. We can do this together.”

Without thinking, I pressed my hands against Malone’s chest, right next to his heart and recited a spell that my mother had taught us when we had grazed our knees as children. It was a wound healing spell, one that would knit flesh back together.

Malone was on death’s door, the silver that penetrated his chest clearly having done damage to his organs, if not his heart.

“I won’t let you die.” Tears blinded my vision, so I closed my eyes and cried out the spell, willing my magic into the wolf.

Drake rocked me, copying the words and holding me together. If he hadn’t have held me, I would’ve broken apart.

Magic burned my insides as it spread from Drake and into me, travelling down my arms and into Malone. My weeping was loud as the last of the spell died away and my body heated up. My muscles cramped as I hunched over, channelling the magic that Drake had given me straight into Malone’s wounds.

Pain exploded in my brain as Drake went slack, falling off me and onto the floor. My head pounded as the darkness rushed into the corner of my eyes and dragged me under with it.

“Della?”

Someone shook my shoulder only seconds after I’d blacked out, waking me instantly. Fingers dug into my shoulder as a wet drop landed on my cheek, jolting me out of the darkness. My weak body refused to comply with my demand to move.

“You saved me…” His deep raspy voice stroked me alive.

My eyes popped open as his arms lifted me onto his lap. Malone’s eyes were bright, creasing at the sides in happiness. They were human again and very much alive.

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