Page 45 of Sold Wolf Slave

I trailed off, snarling as I ran my fingers through my hair, eyes darting everywhere, searching for something,anything, that could help. There had to be something I could do. Because if there wasn’t, that meant I had failed my sister again, and it was all my fault.

“We can try to break one of the bars,” I said. “Then you can sneak out. There are witches who can help us. They can lift the enchantment before Cain finds you.”

A fire I wasn’t used to seeing flickered across my sister’s face, her expression grim but determined.

“Kendra, for once, just listen to reason and get out of here before you get caught,” Morgan pleaded. When I stayed put, she looked at Chris. “Please get her out of here,” she said.

I turned to Chris, desperate. The pained, almost guilty expression on his face told me that he hated this almost as much as I did. For a moment, I hoped that meant he was on my side, that we would find a way to get Morgan out of there.

He glanced between Morgan and me for a long moment. I could sense his reluctance to leave. But then his eyes stopped on my sister, and he gave her a long nod.

“Don’t worry,” he told her. “We’ll figure something out and come back for you.”

“Just get her out of here and keep her safe,” Morgan pleaded with him. “That’s all I care about.”

Before I could move or even react, Chris had taken me by the arm and was pulling me away. “We’ve got to go,” he said.

I shook my head, trying to tug out of his grip, refusing to let Cain get his way. “No,” I said, my voice strained. “I’m not leaving.”

“We have to,” he said. When I continued to fight and struggle, he tightened his grip, pulling me against him.

“No,” I said, struggling to wrench myself out of his grip. “This isn’t right. It’s not fair.”

“We’ll come back,” Chris said, refusing to let go. “We’re not going to let anything happen to her. But we can’t do anything right now. Your sister is right.”

“I’m not going without her.” My voice broke, and I didn’t bother hiding my desperation now. My breath had gone ragged. I couldn’t,couldn’tleave Morgan to this fate. She didn’t deserve it. She was too sweet, too innocent. She wouldn’t last, especially not as Cain’s mate.

“I’m sorry,” Morgan said as if she had anything to be sorry about. She hadn’t asked for any of this. She had just been swept up in the nightmare that I had started and kept making worse.

Your fault, a voice echoed in my head, taking that knife of guilt in my stomach and twisting it.It’s all your fault.

I wanted to crumble to the ground and collapse in a heap. I probably would have, had a sound from the room beyond not sent a jolt of icy panic through me: the sound of a door opening.

All three of us froze. I barely breathed, hoping that the footsteps coming nearer would walk past.

Instead, they stopped in front of the door. The handle rattled. I had only enough time to grab Chris and cast another spell of invisibility. I pulled Chris against the far wall just as the door swung open.

Morgan shrank back, arms wrapped around her stomach as she watched the figure saunter into the room. Her eyes never once darted to the corner where we were hiding. Then I realizedwho had just ambled into the room, and all my attention locked on him.

It was Lucas, followed by two other guards who marched in after him.

I had to bite back the angry growl threatening to escape my throat. Just seeing him was enough to make my wolf bristle with rage. She wanted nothing more than to tear out his throat.

“Hello, Morgan,” Lucas said, his voice casual and pleasant as if he weren’t talking to someone in a cage. I bristled. “Cain—”

He paused. His head tilted as if he had noticed something interesting. He turned and scanned the area. That oily smile spread across his face.

“Someone’s been casting magic lately, haven’t they?” he said in that same pleasantly casual tone.

“I was bored,” Morgan said quickly. “It’s nothing.”

He ignored her. Instead, he wandered deeper into the room, studying every corner, every inch of the room.

“If there is someone in here,” he said after a long moment, “then they should probably show themselves before I bathe this entire room in fire and burn you to a crisp.”

Flames licked around his feet and began spreading out. I could feel the heat licking my face from here, and I realized that if I didn’t do anything, Chris and I would burn to death. And Morgan might as well.

With a hiss of irritation, I dropped the spell. The flames vanished the instant we emerged. Lucas’s eyes found mine, and he let out a cackle that made my wolf bristle with rage.

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