Page 31 of Betrayed Wolf Mate

“Leave? I’m not leaving without my prize.”

The shadows snaked toward me along the ground. I kept an eye on them, tracking their movement. But even as I did,I met Akron’s gaze, and said coolly, “She’s not your prize. She never was. Get the fuck out of this town.”

Akron sneered, and as he did, the shadows lashed out, racing toward me. I shifted, dodging the coils of darkness as my wolf charged, fangs bared as he prepared to sink his teeth into this asshole’s throat.

As if I were moving at the speed of molasses, Akron stepped aside, and my wolf barreled past him. He kicked out, his foot slamming into me as we passed.

“Keep trying, wolf,” Akron mocked. “It’s not going to do you any good.”

I lunged for him again, but this time, a searing pain lanced down my front leg as a shadow carved into it. I kept trying, attempting to get as close to him as possible, but the shadows kept blocking us, protecting him and lashing out at me. At some point, I and my wolf realized that we were going to lose the battle. The demon was too strong, and we didn’t have a way of crippling him. We were beginning to tire, and we didn’t have much time left.

However, there was at least one more chance to do something stupid that might at least hurt him, if not kill him.

We jumped forward, leaping high into the air, barely dodging the shadows as we lunged for Akron, our mouth open wide as it aimed directly at his throat.

The demon caught me by the throat in midair, considering me as if I was nothing more than an uninteresting bug. Then he threw me like a rag doll, and I slammed into the side of a building.

I collapsed onto the ground, snarling and rounding on Akron even as my body screamed at me in pain. I was done, andwe both knew it. He looked down at me, flashing a sinister smile as he strolled lazily toward me.

“Are you the one Farrow told me about?” he asked, his tone almost mocking.

I snarled, fur bristling.

“The one my betrothed used to be enamored with? You are, aren’t you?” He sounded delighted about it.

I shifted back to my human form, glaring at him. Blood poured down my arm, and blood from a cut on my forehead trickled into my eye.

“Leave her alone,” I growled.

“Leave her alone?” He laughed. “She’s mine. Don’t you understand?”

Shadows wrapped around my throat, constricting it slowly, choking me and crushing my throat. I clawed desperately, trying to tear them away from my neck, but there was nothing to grab hold of. I could feel my fingers raking across my neck as if nothing was there, even as the shadows continued slowly killing me. My vision started going blurry as Akron looked down at me, smiling triumphantly.

There were loud cheering noises and panicked screams. Akron stiffened, standing straight and looking around, his entire body tense as he tried to find the source of the chaos. The cords of darkness around my neck vanished, and I finally took a deep, relieved lungful of fresh air.

Underlings raced overhead away from the town, and several unfamiliar shifters raced past us. Akron snarled, his lips curling in disgust and anger.

“Looks like your crew’s already running,” I said, getting to my feet though I kept clutching my throat. “My guess is that youhave about a minute to leave before the rest of the Silver Wolves get here. And I don’t think even a demon can stand up against over half a dozen angry shifters all holding iron. But if you want to test your luck, you can go ahead and kill me and find out. Because you don’t have time to kill me and get away.”

As if on cue, Jameson’s howl echoed through the air, and several responding howls and snarls followed, getting progressively closer. Akron’s eyes flashed with alarm and hatred as he realized I was right.

“You’re going to pay for this,” Akron snarled, backing up and not taking his eyes off me. “And mark my words, we’ll be back. And if you try to hide her from me again, I will burn this entire place to the ground, leaving no one alive.”

With a flick of his wrists, the shadows enveloped him, swirling as angrily as a tempest. Then they vanished, and Akron along with them, leaving me standing in the middle of the street surrounded by burning buildings.

Chapter 15 - Stella

I paced back and forth in the safehouse, waiting for the door to open. I wasn’t sure who would be the one opening it: one of the Silver Wolves, or Akron. The thought that it might be the demon or one of his underlings instead of Sam or one of the shifters was enough to drive me insane.

What if Sam was hurt? What if he’d died? It would all be my fault, and I wasn’t sure I could handle that.

This is what you get for staying, a horrible voice whispered in my head. There was an element of truth to it that I didn’t want to admit. If I’d just left instead of accepting their help, they wouldn’t be in this mess.

Why had I stayed, exactly? That was a stupid question—I knew exactly why I’d stayed. Because of Sam. And now he was in danger because of my stupid decision.

I couldn’t hear anything from here. The safehouse was small, with a handful of rations and a bed. It was clearly not meant for long-term stays. The silence was the absolute worst part of the whole thing. I just wanted to know what was happening. I was completely in the dark.

I also wanted to scream at Sam for forcing me to stay here. I didn’t think I could take not knowing for much longer. I wanted to be out there helping, even if I knew he was right in some respects. If I’d gone out there and tried to fight, the odds that Akron and his goons would have just ambushed me and taken me was better than I wanted to admit. Staying here was the right move, but that didn’t mean I had to like it.

---