Page 119 of Cursed to Be Mine
Wolf or not. Trying to kill me or not. The sound of that much agony should never be experienced. My stomach retching up my throat, I shakily uncork another vial and pour it through the hole in the door, hoping to kill it quicker.
A human hand grabs me, and I scream as it twists my arm, forcing me to drop the potion. I yank my arm back through the door just in time for Micha to shove it open.
Covered in blood and heaving, she lunges for me, her hands going for my throat. I stumble back as Ithrow the whole handful of potions at her face.
A shimmer of light-blue magic shoots up between us, a force field that protects her and damns me.
As I fall onto my back, the potions shatter on the floor, droplets hitting my legs. I scream in utter agony as acidic fire burns through skin, muscle, and bone. My stomach twisting, I jerk on the floor, my body going into shock as Micha stands glaring over me.
We all pile into two separate vehicles. Varius, Maddox, Talon, and I in one. The twins, Rudy, Leno, and Leno’s eye-seeing dog Krypto in another. It’ll take us only twenty minutes to drive back, but it feels like twenty minutes too long as I pull out my phone and check again for messages.
Nothing.
Mother will undoubtedly be keeping her occupied in the kitchen. I asked her to teach Scarlett how to make potions to help settle my girl’s anxiety. I also warned Mother about Micha in case she suddenly returned.
No word has been passed to Varius saying she has, but there’s an uneasiness in my stomach that won’t go away.
Deciding to call her, I type in Scarlett’s number, not having any contacts pre-programed, and raise my phone to my ear.
With every ring that goes unanswered, my pulse beats accelerando until a macabre symphony fills my skull.
Ring...thump-thump…ring...thump-thump-thump…. ring!
My fingers tensing, I tell myself she can’t be indanger. I would have sensed it through our –
My phone drops.
My pulse skips a beat.
Realization hits me in the solar plexus, caving in my chest.I can’t feel the bond at all.
Catching Talon’s eyes on me in the rearview mirror, I freeze. A flicker of unease is reflected back at me. “What’s wrong?” he asks.
Varius turns to face me, his eyes narrowing as one word flows out of his lips. “Go.”
It is an order I do not hesitate to obey.
Shifting into my shadow, I exit through the bottom of the car and race across the city in a straight line, my speed a burst of magic that will have me home in only a few minutes. Anyone who sees me will just assume I was a trick of the light, gone too fast before they can get a good look.
Only two other shadows join me, the others staying back to protect Varius should the wolves attack. Although the Death Hunt won’t risk turning in full daylight with a packed city of witnesses, they’re more than willing to do a drive-by. Guns will kill us just as quickly as a slash of their claws.
As the first tree on our thirty acres appears in front of me, my heart jerks on a silent scream. The protection spell has been broken, the shield down, my girl and Mother left to defend against an army, which means Micha is back and she’s somehow blocked my bond to Scarlett.
Rage for Varius burns through me, fueling my magic as I sprint towards home. I wasn’t allowed to kill Micha until he had solid evidence, and now it is too late. She has betrayed us and left us weak.
Corpses of werewolves lie under crawling plantswhose stalks and limbs sprout through flesh, rooting them to the ground. But there are more on the roof and porch of the house, slashing their claws through the wood, terrorizing those inside rather than hunting.
They’re playing with my girl as if she’s theirs.
My magic bursts free, seeking vengeance outside of my control as I shift into human, and a large wave of heat boils the werewolves on the roof. I drop to my knees, spitting up blood, my left lung burning away as my rage traded perfection for power, leaving me open to the dark payment of magic.
Growls wring the air as the other wolves jerk towards us, leaving their posts to attack. Maddox and Talon appear beside me. The twins would have controlled Varius’ car until one of them shifted into the driver’s seat.
A black wolf with a white patch on her left eye growls low and dangerous as she approaches cautiously behind three others that run in gung ho. Maddox dances with one, two-stepping its swipes as he keeps his hands behind his back, pleasure in his eyes. He isn’t toying with it; he’s studying it. Every hair, every bead of sweat, every freckle beneath its fur, his magic seeking to copy its exact form.
It’ll take him time I can’t buy him as I wheeze for air through one working lung. Digging my nails into the dirt, I bite off one of the red-and-black flowers Leno created with his magic. As soon as I swallow, the pain recedes under a numbness, and I struggle to my feet just as a wolf lunges for me, arms leading. A bolt of electricity, thrown by Talon, slams into it before its claws can sink into my skin and arcs into the wolf beside it.
The wolf rolls to its feet with a growl, the only markon its smoldering fur. They’re strong fuckers, much more so than the ones who attacked the WALL a few nights ago.
