Page 18 of Freed Wolfsbane

I did it. I actually shifted past the suppression field. Pride that I managed something no one else has before quickly turns to a sinking feeling. I have to hope that the havoc my magic wreaked messed with their instruments and I didn’t just give them the key to eradicate shifters.

Clark struggles to stand from where he’s slumped by the three machines. Adjusting his glasses, he presses a few buttons on his computer before pumping his fist in the air. “We got it!”

Ryker claps the younger man on the back. “Good work, son.”

I close my eyes and hang my head. I fucked up. Big-time.

As soon as all the fear and rage drain away, so too does my wolf. I’m left kneeling on the cold hard tile, feeling weaker than I’ve ever been. It’s a struggle to lift my head and look for Annabel. It takes me a moment to find her form huddled up under an overturned table behind a pile of debris.

At least she’s safe.

For now.

Ryker stalks over to the containment circle. Grasping the brown stone in his palm, a flair of brown magic I hadn’t noticed before lights up his hand. He passes into the circle without a problem right as another deafening boom rattles the room.

“Sir, they’ve made it through the first barrier. It won’t be long before they get here. We need to leave before that happens,” a burly guard tells Ryker.

Ryker gives him a curt nod of acknowledgement before he fists my hair and hauls me to my feet. I have to bite my cheek to keep from crying out at what feels like a thousand white-hot needles stabbing all over my scalp.

He gets in my face and gives me a chilling smile. “It seems our time has come to an end, mutt. You have been a pain in the ass from the moment you were born. I just need one last thing from you.”

I don’t have time to wonder what he’s referring to because I feel a sharp pain in my abdomen. I look down and see his serrated knife lodged in my stomach. As I watch in shock, he drags it across my stomach. The searing pain that follows the blade almost makes me black out. He then roughly yanks the knife out, crimson liquid gushing from the wound as he does so. Ryker makes sure to coat the blade fully in my blood before handing it off to another Knight who carefully places it in a lidded container.

I gasp as he lets me drop to the floor. Landing on my back, I bring my hands up to cover the giant, ragged hole, trying, probably unsuccessfully, to keep my intestines from spilling out. I pant as the pain that feels like I got punched by a UFC fighter, repeatedly, turns into a strangling sensation that makes it hard to breathe.

A third crashing noise rocks the room. Ryker grits his teeth before stalking out of the containment circle. Flashing me a taunting smile, he says, “Enjoy the last few minutes of your life, cur. You should bleed out before the ceiling caves in on you. If not, you’ll be trapped here by the spell and crushed to death by multiple tons of concrete or impaled by rebar. Either way, it doesn’t matter to me. All that matters is that you’re dead and can no longer interfere with our plans, now that we have what we need from you. I refuse to let a worthless mutt like you destroy my life’s work. While I would love to watch, I unfortunately have to leave before the whole facility is destroyed.” Without another glance in my direction, Ryker, the guards, and the scientists rush out of the room, leaving me injured and barely conscious on the floor.

CHAPTER10

BRIAR

Ryker made a mistake not finishing the job and making sure I’m dead because I’m damn well getting out of this circle if for no other reason than to murder him. If it’s the last thing I do, I’ll make him pay for killing Jake, and likely countless others, and hurting so many supernaturals.

“Annabel,” I call, my voice weak and thready. Her cautious gaze peers around the random lab equipment hiding her as what sounds like another explosion rocks through the facility. The force of the explosion causes ceiling tiles to rain down around us. Fortunately, the containment circle keeps any of them from landing on my wound.

After the explosion, I can feel a shift inside myself, almost like something was unlocked. Whereas I could barely feel my magic before, now I might even have enough to partially heal myself, if I don’t burn through it all getting out of this spell. Whatever is happening that has Ryker and his minions so spooked is apparently good news for us.

Annabel hesitantly crawls out of her hiding space and runs over to me. She stands right outside of the containment spell and looks at me for direction. “You think you can show me the way out of here if I can break the containment spell?” And that’s a huge if because my magic is steadily draining out of me as I lose more and more blood. She gives me a tiny nod while twisting her fingers nervously. “Great! You can go back to your hiding place or wait here, but I need just a minute to get out of this spell. Be careful not to touch the circle if you stay here, though.”

Her face lights up briefly at the mention of getting out of here before falling. “Will you be okay?” she whispers so quietly I can barely hear her.

Honestly, things don’t look too good for me. I’ve lost a lot of blood, and my intestines are currently not entirely in my body. So, that’s not great. Gut wounds generally won’t kill someone immediately, but the blood loss might if I can’t patch myself up. With how low I am on magic, I’m not optimistic that I can do anything.

I force a bright smile. “Of course. I just need my wolf to help me a little, and then I’ll be good to go.”

She gives me a hesitant nod and plops down in front of the circle, careful not to touch the magic she can probably feel buzzing over her skin.

Letting my eyes slip shut, I hunt for the weakly flickering flame of magic in my chest. When I find it, I picture the barrier spell shattering and collapsing inward. I wait for a few seconds but don’t feel my magic buzzing over my skin.

Cautiously opening my eyes, I deflate when I see the dome is still in place, shimmering at me tauntingly. Crushing feelings of defeat and hopelessness try their best to sap my resolve because it seems like I’ll never get out of here.

But I refuse to accept that and give Ryker what he wants. Gritting my teeth, I close my eyes once again. I roughly yank my magic toward me and envision throwing it as hard as I can at the shield around us. My magic flows out of me, and I hold my breath as I wait for something to happen. When nothing does, I sag against the floor.

Right as I’m trying to find the energy to make another attempt, a loud crack echoes through the room. I snap my eyes open and can’t help my grin when I see the spell crumbling. My smile drops when I try to push upright and can’t because of the sharp pain searing through my abdomen.

One problem down, one to go.

The spell breaking is great and all, but it doesn’t really help me if I still bleed out here. I need to heal myself, but I barely have any magic left after trying to tear down the barrier. While I don’t know if my power will even do anything, I have to at least try.

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