Page 67 of Dark Mate

I could see the split skin where Azazel’s claws had buried into Rebecca’s chest, and it made my wolf viscerally angry. He hadn’t clawed deep enough to disembowel her, but the scarring would be permanent. She’d remember what he'd done each time she looked at herself.

And, if I survived this, I would be consumed with guilt whenever I thought of her or looked at her. My selfishness had caused my sister, the one person who’d always been on my side, to hurt.

I prowled towards him, and for a second, I could swear I smelled a hint of fear before he scrambled to his feet. His sudden movement had me launching myself at him again.

I aimed at his throat, letting my full weight slam him into his desk. It went skidding across the floor, and Azazel collapsed again.

“Fuck,” someone shouted as they tried to get out of our way. I briefly smelled Johnny and heard Rebecca whimper.

A wolf tried to get between Azazel and me, and I latched onto his hand. The sensation of my teeth sinking into flesh should have bothered me, the vile taste of fallen-blood should havegiven me pause, but I whipped my head hard to the side, ripping his arm from its socket and spraying Azazel in blood.

My jaws snapped around the air when Azazel jerked away, his arms coming up to block my next advance. I could distantly make out Bastille trying to bark orders to his wolves.

“I’ll get her cleaned up,” Johnny said to Tyler.

“Whatever,” Tyler answered. “Just make sure she stays alive. Take her to Doc.”

“Is he an actual—”

“Yes,” Tyler interrupted him. “He’ll stitch her up and give her something for the pain.”

Rebecca whimpered, and my head snapped toward her in time to see Johnny carrying her bridal style out of the room.

I didn't trust Johnny at all, but I appreciated that he’d looked out for her while I’d let myself be consumed and distracted. I just hoped he would watch over her until I could think of a way to get us out of there.

My distraction was what the others needed. Someone tackled me from the side, and I yelped as they threw me off Azazel.

My world slowed for a moment as I locked eyes with Sariel.

A short pulse of energy sliced through me. All of a sudden, Sariel was standing over me, a wolf in one hand as he kicked the other in the gut, sending him flying into one of the bookshelves, where he collapsed with a thud. The other wolf dangling from Sariel’s hands gasped, clawed hands scratching along the length of Sariel’s arms to break free.

Sariel tossed him in the direction of the desk, and I finally got a good view of him.

He’d started to heal. Some of his cuts and bruises were closing right before my eyes and some of the swelling in his face had gone down, but only one eye was still usable. Despite that, his hands were shaking, and his pupils were contracting and expanding rapidly.

They’d drugged him, I realized, dismayed.

They’d shot him up with something that made it so he couldn’t shift. My growl rattled the windows.

Tyler had slipped out of the room, the fucking coward. I wanted a piece of him. I had no doubt he’d helped whoever had attacked my mate, and the sick fuck had probably enjoyed it.

Another pulse of energy zinged through me, and Sariel moved so fast he was blurred, intercepting Azazel’s desk chair. My wolf huffed; Sariel was siphoning energy from us.

Azazel stood now. He was partially shifted, and my wolf froze when we got our first glimpse of the fallen angel, Azazel.

Midnight, feathered wings lined with spikes spanned the length of the room, so dark they were blue. Azazel had grown, his body morphing into a large, semi-grotesque humanoid anomaly. His torso had elongated and widened, but it was a mass of twisting scar tissue that didn’t quite fit the rest of his unblemished skin. Both eyes had turned black, their pupils having expanded until they swallowed everything else.

He bared his teeth at me, and Sariel bristled, moving to step between us with a snarl of his own. I didn’t know how much of this I could take, considering that he was taking energy from me just to remain standing, but I’d find a way to make it work.

I’d let what he’d done to Sariel and Rebecca fuel me until it couldn’t anymore. And I’d pray that Rebecca was returned to her family, because she would serve no purpose to them if she was dead. I would pray hard.

Azazel’s wings flexed. He laughed; around the mouthful of razor-sharp teeth, his voice was deep and gravelly. “I’ll kill you both,” he promised, and then his wings flapped once.

Sariel scrambled to cover me from the sudden hail of sharp feathers that had begun to rain on us.

I didn’t know how, but the feathers felt like knives against my fur and flesh.

I shoved Sariel with my snout hard, covering him with my body. While it was heroic and extraordinary of him for wanting to protect me, he wasn’t fully healed yet, and I wouldn’t let him reverse the progress he’d already made.

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