Page 38 of Resisting Fate

When I turn back towards my mom, I see that Ryker has taken the wolf down. He then shifts and uses his alpha voice to force the other wolf to shift. Ashley is standing there with an evil grin on her face and blood dripping from her mouth.

“My parents had it right. This pack doesn’t deserve to live. You are all nothing but a bunch of weaklings,” she says with a cackle.

I don’t think. Instead, I just charge at her and throw my fist back to hit her repeatedly, over and over again.

I hear a roar, and I check to see Ashley knocked out before turning around to see a lion coming after me, heading for a killing hit.

I shift before I can blink and run at him.

We both hit each other and tumble around as we attack. I don’t want to hurt him because I know there is a person who his hurting underneath his feral, glazed eyes; but I can’t let them kill me either.

There’s a moment where I hesitate a second too long and his teeth are at my throat. The fear is real that my life is about to be over.

Isaac will never know how I feel.

“Hailey!!” is shouted in a roar before the lion is knocked off me. I look over to see Isaac’s wolf now fighting with the lion.

I see another feral shifter runs towards them but, before I can make my way over there, I’m being attacked again. This time, I know who it is. Ashley is grinning down at me.

“If I can’t have him, you can’t either,” she bellows. I try to kick her off me, but she somehow has my head in a lock and turns me around to see two feral shifters attack my mate.

One swipes at his underbelly and a roar of pain fills the air as he stumbles to the ground.

Tears fall from my eyes as I am given the real possibility that I could lose him for good.

Anguish fills me as I see one of them go for his throat and the other brings his jaws down to his belly.

A scream erupts from me as I let the pain take over.

“ISAAC!!!” I cry as everything turns to white noise. The whole place stills.

I feel Ashley’s arms around me loosen. I get out of her hold and look down at her, but her face and body are frozen, though her eyes are moving in a panic.

I ignore her and run to Isaac. I notice that everyone else seems to be frozen too. I use all the strength I have to push the feral shifters off Isaac, and they all fall to the ground like statues.

Isaac is looking up at me, frozen in time, and I let out a sob at all the blood surrounding him while I cry into his chest.

“Please don’t die. I can’t live without you,” I cry, letting the tears fall.

A wave of pain leaves me as I sob uncontrollably, trying to will Isaac into be okay. I am flooded with the feeling of anguish. I feel like I’m being ripped apart before the air changes again. There is some sort of power in the air, and I close my eyes as I feel it leave me.

I open my eyes to look down at Isaac who takes in a deep breath at the same time everyone seems to unfreeze.

I anxiously look over his chest, throat, and stomach to see that he’s completely healed.

“Isaac?” I cry.

His arms wrap around me, pulling me down to him.

“Hailey,” he says into my neck.

“I’m sorry I was too scared to claim you back, but I can’t live without you,” I cry.

“You won’t have to,” he says, kissing me hard.

When we pull away, I finally look around and notice my mom setting the barrier back up. Jet is holding down Ashley, and the feral shifters are walking back to the call of the barrier. The two that were attacking Isaac are human now and looking down at me in disbelief.

“What just happened?” one asks, looking down at his arms, surprised that they aren’t paws.