Page 56 of Winning the Wolf

“No.” His confident tone made me glance at him. “We’ve pulled operations like this many times. It’ll work out just fine, you’ll see.”

Oh, boy. Had I underestimated the power and foresight of our council members?

A sliver of ice travelled down my spine and I clenched my hands into fists. I just had to trust that I could get to Jeremy first. Once I was out of the equation, Killick would have the strength to take him down.

"When we get there," I said, trying not to show the quiver in my voice, "we can't dally."

Brian chuckled and raised his eyebrows. "You might be the alpha's future sister-in-law, but I've done a lot more of these than you."

Laughing nervously, I sat back and looked out of the window again. The trees were so beautiful in the setting sun. The orange of their leaves spoke to my soul as I bid a silent farewell to them. It was dramatic, but it had to be done. My wolf spirit would hunt through the trees once I was gone, that much I was grateful for.

The van turned a corner and pulled onto the side of a road. This was it.

We'd arranged to approach the hut from a different area, just in case Jeremy had set his own trap. I wasn't too worried if he had, his intention had been clear and I wanted him to carry out his plan. Shit, everyone else would think I'd had a funny turn. I suppose I had in a way, although the prospect of saving Killick and Nyla had me tugging on the door of the van.

"You have a ten minute head start." Brian grasped my shoulder and squeezed. "Good luck."

Nodding, I jumped out and almost stumbled through the open gate. The field was pretty firm, the ground not too wet considering the weather was turning.

My heart thundered as I kept my gaze forward, fixed on the slight gap between the trees. If Jeremy had anyone watching out for me, they'd probably hear my heartbeat and smell my perspiration before they saw me.

I was actually walking straight towards my execution. Bloody hell. Shoving the thought away, I concentrated on my breathing. If I hadn't been about to die, I would've signed up to Killick's training class. I would've needed to be fitter if I'd have been the alpha's mate. A sob burst from me as I entered the woods and sped up my footsteps. I would never know what it was like to fully bond with Killick, but at least I'd had a taste.

As the leaves and twigs crunched under my feet, I remembered one October when Killick and Chris had tricked us into clearing the driveway. We had been fourteen and Killick had persuaded us to play a game with them. We had to collect the most leaves off the driveway and the biggest pile won. Whoever did the most got to go for a drive in his sports car. Alas, we were foolish enough to play the game, which was actually a ploy to help him with his leaf clearing chores. Needless to say, we'd both forced him to take us in his sports car to say thank you. Those had been the good days, before Chris had taken his life and everything had changed.

The landscape changed suddenly, opening up into a bigger clearing. The scent of Jeremy smacked me in the face at the same time as he appeared right in front of me. His witch must have been keeping him hidden from me with a cloaking spell.

"Nyla?" He sneered in my face. "Or not."

His lips twisted in confusion as he came close and sniffed me, his dark eyes flaring.

My hands shook as I clenched them, waiting for him to deliver the final blow. He would be furious that I'd tricked him and hopefully end it quickly. That had been my stupidly simple plan.

"The twin." Tilting his head to the side, Jeremy glanced over his shoulder. "I see."

Waving a hand in the direction of the trees, he coughed as several of his men materialised and circled the area. I wasn't shocked to see them there, both parties would be bringing members of their pack. There was something that had been playing on my mind, though.

"Why are they loyal to you?" I crossed my arms over my chest and stared at him.

He narrowed his gaze on me. "Because they understand my plight. I also promised to bring the two packs together to strengthen our position."

It was just him and I, in a small bubble of our own. The others were close by, waiting for their order from Jeremy. If they were happy for him to unite the packs, they would have something to gain, hence why they were helping him. There was often a misconception that the more members there were to a pack, the stronger the pack would be. It wasn't true. A good leader had to use the members well, co-ordinating them in order of hierarchy to forge a tight-knit community.

Jeremy was not the man to do the job, especially as he was forcing his own alpha-ship without the proper challenge. A fight to the death.

"It must have been hard to be abandoned by your mother," I goaded, wincing when my energy suddenly dropped.

Killick must have just realised I was gone. Good, it had given me a decent head start.

"You would know," Jeremy taunted back. "Nyla told me about your parents and brother abandoning you. Where is your father, anyway? He was the one who would've made me question my plan. Lucky for me, he's nowhere to be found."

Rolling my eyes, I sighed. "Look, we all know why we're here. Let's just get on with it."

Pacing away, Jeremy glanced around the clearing. His witch stood by a tree, chewing gum and looking bored. The other pack members were deathly still, ready for his command.

"I think we should wait a little moment." Turning back to me, Jeremy smiled. "Your plan was almost fool proof. Except, I don't want Nyla dead anymore. I want her to rule by my side, as my mate."

"She's not your mate!" I snapped, sucking in a breath as the air grew thin.

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