Page 57 of Winning the Wolf

No wait, that was the spell, draining my energy.

Chuckling, Jeremy opened his arms and threw his head back. "Well," he replied, looking at me again, "she might want to be when she finds out how weak her alpha is."

"What about the alpha of the Dusk Moon Pack?" I distracted him, drawing the attention away from my sister. "Has he just allowed you to take over?"

"Not exactly." He smirked and glanced at his witch.

Ah, so he had used magic to force the other man's hand also. Made sense.

"Anyway," Jeremy said, waving his hand in dismissal. "I'm not going to kill you. That would be all too easy."

Oh, crap. My stupid judgement had hindered the plan. Killick would... praise me for getting Jeremy right where he wanted him. If I could get him to trace me here, instead of the hut.

Closing my eyes briefly, I felt out for him, my energy stretching through an invisible cord pulling from my chest. When I opened my eyes, a shot of energy returned, shooting into me. Killick had physically replied. Good, they could aim their attack here and hopefully it would go to plan.

"Your alpha needs to watch you die." Jeremy glared at me, clearly willing me to protest pathetically. I wouldn't do that. Killick had told me that I had to be prepared to be used as the alpha's mate. I hadn't exactly learnt my lesson, considering how naive I'd been. I'd expected Jeremy to be so furious that he would kill Nyla on sight. I had never expected the guy to have feelings for her.

A strong rush of delicious energy made me bite my lip. Killick was close.

A commotion through the trees made Jeremy spin towards the sound. I backtracked, pausing when he looked over his shoulder at me.

"I knew you'd lead them to us," Jeremy called, "it's the oldest trick in the book."

Well... I hadn't planned to originally, but it had just played out that way.

My hands shook as I looked around, spying the witch, who advanced towards me.

The woods were silent, apart from the one area where a wolf howl rent the air. The attack had begun.

Jeremy pointed at the witch before his finger jabbed in my direction. He whistled and one of his men came out of the woods, his hair ruffled and his breathing heavy.

I reversed away from the witch, tripping as my knees grew weak. My butt slammed against the hard dirty ground, winding me instantly.

"What's going on?" Jeremy shouted, toing and froing near the edge of the woods.

I tried to concentrate on what was happening, but a strong hand wrapped around my ankle. Trying to surge from the witch, I coughed, too weak to get any momentum on the ground. My arms shook as I pushed up onto my wrists and glanced behind me, lashing out as hard as I could. My fist connected with her cheek and she grunted, her grip weakening from my blow.

"Keep hold of her!" Jeremy shouted from across the clearing. "I'm going to find out what's going on."

Jeremy thrust into the woods, his holler echoing around us. A huge gust of wind beat him back as the helicopter appeared in the sky above.

The witch started to crawl up my legs, pulling on me as I wriggled and twisted to get away.

"Larissa!" His voice reached me through the pounding in my ears and the thundering of the copter blades.

I looked up through the flying strands of my wig, searching for the man who made my whole being tingle. The witch distracted me with her nails, digging them into my hip. I cried out and flung my elbow back, smacking her straight in the nose. Her howl was as loud as the werewolf howls that were resounding around the woods.

My pack.

A warmth enveloped me as several wolves fell from the trees, fighting Jeremy's men. One was in wolf form, snapping and snarling at the man, who just about held him off his face.

"Killick?" I squeaked, unable to see him.

My breath shortened and my muscles turned to jelly. I couldn't fight the witch anymore.

She laughed in triumph when she managed to flip me onto my back. I laid still, almost enjoying the cold wind that battered my face. Until I saw him. My alpha.

He was standing on the edge of the helicopter, guiding Caleb closer. His gaze caught mine and time stood still.

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