Page 3 of The Piece You Stole

Pay. Fucking. Attention.

Breath labored, blood loss making me slow, I don’t dare fucking blink. I can’t afford to.

He springs at me.

I fight to control my ragged breaths as I dance out of the way.

A door creaks open somewhere behind me.

Dariel’s hind legs tense. I brace myself to meet his next attack.

An amber and licorice scent teases my nose. Aden.

He went after Saige, chased her right out of the door while I stayed to deal with Dariel.

Why the fuck is he back without her?

I dart a rapid glance Aden’s way.

Dariel plows into me with the force of a semi. I didn’t see him move, but boy do I fucking feel it. He bulldozes me into the remains of a table or chair. Doesn’t matter what. Gravity does the rest, driving me into a sharpened point that pierces through my thick fur and burrows deep into my side.

Agony explodes in my mind. My breath wheezes out of me in a bloody, ragged gasp. The stake missed my heart. Barely. But it doesn’t mean I’m not going to die.

I meet Dariel’s enraged emerald green stare. Pinned, there’s no way to evade his next lunge for my throat. This isn’t how I thought I’d go, but we all go one way or another, and it looks like my end is now.

Movement stirs the air behind me.What is…?Wood splinters, Dariel howls in pain and then slumps heavily on top of me.

What the actualfuck?

Over Dariel’s large head, my eyes connect with Aden’s half-panicked, hazel stare. His blond hair is windblown, his cheeks are red, and there’s a desperation in him I’ve never seen before. I lower my gaze to the remains of a chair he’s still holding. The back. That’s it. The rest of it must have been what damn near broke Dariel’s head in two.

But wolves have hard heads. Too hard for a tap on the head to keep us down for long.

Get the fuck out of here, Aden. Whatever you think you’re doing, don’t.

I warn Aden away with my eyes, but Dariel is already stirring, already rising. Shit.

Go, Aden. Go now.Why can’t I still fucking move?

I snarl another warning. Too late.

Dariel is off me and throwing himself at Aden.

Aden falls back, turning to me as he yells, “Kade!”

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

I fight to wrestle free from the wood spearing my side. The pain doesn’t matter. The blood pooling beneath me doesn’t mean jack. Ineedto know what the fuck is going on just out of view. Is Aden dead now? Has Dariel killed him?

“She’s gone.” Aden’s desperate yell makes me deflate in relief.

He’s alive. Thank fuck he’s still alive.

Aden’s gulp is so loud it seems to echo across the bar. “Saige is gone. I tried to follow but…” There’s no missing the anguish in his voice, or the rage. “We need to get her back. So, if you’re going to kill me, then just fucking kill me. But if not, let me go. We don’t have time for this.”

In the sudden hush, I twist and struggle. A fucking eternity later, I rip myself off the stake and stagger to my feet, coughing blood. I halt, absorb the inches separating Dariel’s teeth from Aden’s throat, and choke back the terror at how close I came to losing him.

Dariel’s chest rises and falls. And falls and rises as he stares down into Aden’s face.

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