Page 71 of Forsaken

Nathan’s wolf spins. He leaps for Sean again, but he misses his mark and gets hit by the black piece of steel. He rolls away, whimpering.

“You think you can have her?” Sean glares at him. “You can’t. How the fuck did you get away, anyway? I knew you would show your hand when I announced we accepted each other. You just couldn’t take it, could you?”

Nathan’s wolf growls, saliva dripping from his mouth as if he’s so hungry to get revenge on Sean that he can barely wait.

Distract.

My wolf starts moving. As predicted, Sean follows us, lips pulled back into a scowl. “Two against one? Doesn’t bother me.” He bounces the crowbar in his hands.

Now!

My wolf leaps away, spying Sean as he presses his lips together before swinging the crowbar forward. He catches my wolf again, but the painful cry that escapes his lips overpowers anything she’s feeling.

Nathan’s wolf has hold of his neck, yanking it from side to side. True fear widens Sean’s eyes. He grabs for Nathan’s wolf’s fur, but he can’t gain purchase. “Okay, shift. Shift,” he whispers to himself, a plea that goes unanswered.

Nathan’s wolf growls, and his eyes grow dark as he shakes his head again. Blood spurts all over his muzzle. His once white teeth now covered in it.

“Shift!” Sean screams, but he doesn’t. I wouldn’t be surprised if he jailed his wolf too long that he won’t come out. Or maybe his wolf is purposefully staying inside. An act of defiance, of letting Sean know where his loyalty truly stands.

Nathan’s wolf lets go and backs away into a crouch, ready to lunge forward again.

Wait! I call out. He stops, twisting his head to stare at me. His wolf. His wolf is good. It’s Sean who’s bad. His animal side never wanted any of this. He would’ve been happy accepting me as his mate.

A quick shake of the head tells me Nathan’s wolf doesn’t care. He leaps for Sean again as he sputters for breath on the ground.

The final clamp of his jaw does the job.

Sean’s eyes grow lifeless. All the breath from his lungs escapes in a final exhale that makes the air grow thick around us.

My wolf whimpers. We have no loss over Sean’s human side. None whatsoever. But knowing his wolf was trapped in there, suffering the same fate, is tragic.

For a brief moment, Nathan’s wolf and mine sit back in silence for our fallen pack member.

29

Nathan shifts first, and I follow after. Blood coats the area around his mouth, evidence of what just transpired. He wipes at it as he stands to face me. I stay on the ground, falling forward on all fours. My wolf abilities will help me heal faster than a normal person, but it still hurts like a bitch.

“Don’t hate me,” Nathan says. “I had to do it. If we left him alive, he would’ve run right back to Daybreak. He could’ve given them a place to start tracking us.”

He kneels next to me as I position myself on my side. I take shallow breaths for my bruised ribs, but also because it feels like if I let too much out, I’ll break the dam of emotion that’s building inside. “I know,” I tell him, giving him a small smile and avoiding Sean’s lifeless body only a few feet away. “It’s just…his wolf….”

Nathan wipes his hands over his face, then entwines his fingers with mine. “I know. He didn’t shift,” he states. “If he wanted to, he could’ve. He held back because he knew what we had to do.”

I clamp down on my jaw, still refusing to peer at the carnage left over. I don’t think I’d be able to handle it if Sean’s wolf was lying there dead.

Nathan squeezes my fingers, giving me a lifeline to hold onto. After a few more moments, he brings me back to the present danger. “We have to hurry, Mia. We’ve already lost too much time. Can you get up?”

I nod, and with his help, I get to my feet. We walk toward the car. “What about this?” I ask, looking at the shitshow we’re leaving behind.

An abandoned vehicle.

A dead body.

Blood.

Nathan opens the car door for me. “Jonah’s going to take care of it.” He gingerly helps me in, and when I’m settled, he finds the keys in the ignition and opens the trunk. There, he fishes out a blanket for me and pulls on some clothes. If anyone came upon us looking the way we do, they’d be highly suspicious.

He places the blanket over me and then jogs to the other side of the car. He wastes to time getting it started and pulls out onto the road, gunning it. “You should’ve left without me,” he admonishes, checking the rearview mirror.

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