Page 17 of Freed Wolfsbane

Uh, okay.

That’s a very strange way to ask someone to do something for you. I tend to be more inclined to help people who don’t want to kill me, but maybe I’m the weird one.

“I can’t shift,” I remind him. “The suppression field is up.”

“Oh, you can’t?” Ryker lets out a bitter laugh before turning on his heel. He stomps to the door to the hallway before throwing it open. It hits the wall with a loud bang as he calls over his shoulder, “We’ll see about that.”

I stare wide-eyed after him, wondering what he means. I’m also curious who is here and what the urgency is. A tiny flame of hope flickers in my chest that maybe, just maybe, it’s my mates coming for me. I dismiss that pipe dream quickly because that’s all it is. Just a farfetched fantasy.

Ryker stomping through the doorway yanks me out of my thoughts. My stomach sinks when I see him dragging a teenage boy behind him. From the mop of curly dirty blond hair, I can already guess who it is. The terrified boyish face and light blue eyes when Ryker pushes him in front of him confirm that it’s Jake, the boy who was helping Annabel the first day. He’s always so patient with the little kids, and he’s one of their favorites.

Unlike his usual preference for knives, Ryker yanks a black gun out of the waistband of his tactical pants. He pulls the slide back and presses the pistol into Jake’s forehead hard enough to make the boy cry out in pain.

“We’re out of time, mutt. Your little games end today. You will fully shift. Each time you fail to shift, I’ll kill one of the whelps you seem so fond of.” Jake struggles against Ryker, trying in vain to get away. Rolling his eyes, Ryker slams the butt of his gun into Jake’s head. Jake’s eyes roll back, and he crumples to the ground, unconscious but still breathing. For now.

This is so bad. I’m so low on magic, I don’t know if I can even pretend to partially shift, much less make it seem like I’ve fully transformed.

I tear my panicked gaze from Jake on the floor to stare at Ryker pleadingly. His lips tip up in a mocking smirk. “Ah, I have your attention now, don’t I? You get sixty seconds to shift. At the end of the sixty seconds, I’ll kill the pup and bring in another one. Understand?” He waits for my small nod. “Your time starts now.”

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

How the hell am I supposed to do what he wants?

I don’t know, but I have to figure out some way to shift because I refuse to let Jake die. Pinching my eyes shut, I beg and plead with my magic to make me look like a wolf. It sluggishly tries to flow through my veins, but there’s just not enough of it. No amount of coaxing my power makes it buzz over my skin in the telltale sign it’s doing anything.

I’m still desperately trying to get my magic to work when Ryker’s taunting voice yanks me back to reality. “Time’s up.”

I open my eyes in time to see him aim his gun at Jake’s chest and fire three times. Jake’s body jerks from the force of the impact. As blood oozes out of the gunshot wounds and soaks his scrubs, Jake’s chest stills, the steady rise and fall of his breath ceasing.

“No!” I scream. It feels like my heart is the one that was shredded from Ryker’s bullets, the ache taking up residence behind my breastbone until it’s all I can feel. All my fear and devastation and soul-deep regret bleed into my voice as tears trail down my face. “No,” I whimper as I collapse to my knees, unable to tear my gaze from the boy I killed. While Ryker may have been the one to pull the trigger, I’m just as responsible. My failure is the reason he’s lying lifeless on the ground.

Smug satisfaction shines in Ryker’s gaze as he nudges Jake away from him with the tip of his boot. “Will someone remove this mutt and bring in the next one?” Ryker snaps impatiently. One of the guards standing next to the two-way mirror rushes forward to comply with Ryker’s orders.

“Don’t touch him,” I growl as the guard bends down to pick up Jake. I’m not letting them take his body to do who knows what with. I surge up and rush to the edge of the containment circle, baring my teeth at the henchman who looks up at me in alarm. “Touch him and I will personally rip out your heart and shove it down your throat until you choke on it.”

The goon stops his movements to stare at me in shock. Ryker hauls him up by his shirt collar and gets in his face. “Don’t listen to her, you moron. The cur is making empty threats. Now get rid of him beforeIdecide to rip out your heart and shove it down your worthless throat.”

When Ryker releases him, the guard rushes to pick up Jake’s limp form and carelessly swings him over his back. Helplessness tries its best to squeeze my lungs and suffocate me as I watch the Knight take Jake away while not being able to do a damn thing about it.

As much as I want to curl up into a ball and give up, my failure trying its best to swallow me whole, I can’t because another guard drags in Annabel. The little girl is silently sobbing as the Knight throws her to her knees. Ryker stands behind her and aims his gun at the back of her head. “Maybe this one will provide a better incentive. Your time starts now.”

“I can’t shift!” I shout at him, the panic making my voice shake. “What the fuck don’t you understand?” I’m past the point of caring if he punishes me for my disrespect. In fact, I would rather him take out his frustration on me instead of Annabel or another kid.

“Not my problem.” Ryker drops his hand holding his weapon and lifts his wrist, tapping on his watch face. “Time’s a ticking, cur.”

Staring into Annabel’s terrified brown eyes, I silently plead with my magic and my wolf to do something. I can’t let her die. I can’t be the reason she never grows up or gets to go home to her family or ever has her mom’s French toast again.

Despite my begging, my magic doesn’t do anything. Ryker tsks at me. “Time’s up. I would’ve thought you’d care about the whelp more than this. Oh well, we’ll try another one.”

As Ryker raises his gun and his finger brushes the trigger, I scream, “No!” All my heartbreak and rage and crushing sense of failure bubble in my chest until pure magic bursts out of me. It swirls around me and the room like a tornado. It tosses Ryker, Annabel, the guards, and scientists around like rag dolls before slamming back into me.

My muscles pull taut and my back arches from the force of the magic. I close my eyes as I feel like I’m falling endlessly. Time seems to stand still before I eventually stop feeling like I’m in free fall and can feel the solid ground underneath my feet again.

In a daze, I open my eyes to see Ryker staring at me with unbridled excitement from his spot on the floor. He scrambles to his feet and rushes over to the scientists. “Tell me you got that.”

Wondering what has Ryker so excited, I stare down at myself and see pitch-black fur-covered paws where my feet should be.

Holy shit.

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