Page 69 of Wolf's Redemption

In the filtered moonlight beneath the canopy of the forest, she could barely make out their features. Good. Their vision was no better than hers. If she could get her hands on the amulet, if she could remember the spell and if she could cut herself somehow, she could get back to Ulrik. There were a lot of ifs, but what other option did she have?

Careful to make her movements slow and subtle, Bek inched the hem of her dress higher. Already bunched up around her knees, she needed only to raise it another foot to reach into her pocket. Watching the guard in front of them, she moved her hand only when he had his back to them.

The conversation paused and Bek stilled, her breath catching in her throat. Then the other guard chuckled, and the talk resumed. She eased out her breath and continued to edge up her dress until she could slip her hand in her pocket. Her fingers closed around the amulet.Yes.Careful not to make any sudden moves, she drew it out. Now to make herself bleed.

The guard had his sword sheathed. No chance of getting hold of that without him noticing. The knife strapped to his calf was out of her reach, and in the dim light, nothing sharp on the saddle caught her eye. She could bite her tongue, but she’d have to bite it damn hard to make it bleed. There had to be something.

A piercing?

She had one in her nose, and four in each ear. Three through the lobe and one through the cartilage at the top. She winced at the thought of ripping one out. It would hurt like a bitch, but itwouldmake her bleed. She reached up, pretending to scratch her ear, and finding the silver loop in the first hole. Perfect. She could hook her finger in it and pull.

The men talked on around her. The horse kept its plodding pace. Bek slipped her pinky finger through the small loop, gritted her teeth and pulled.

Ah, fuck!

It took everything she had not to make a sound, to not cradle her ear in her palm. She breathed in deep breaths, struggling to hold her body still. Itburned. Worse than when she’d had it pierced, but the sudden wetness made it worth it. Had the guards noticed? She glanced up. He was watching her. Bekgripped her fist tight around the amulet and dropped her hand from her ear.

The other guard edged his horse closer. Bek tried her best not to react, letting her gaze wander away, but she kept them in the periphery of her vision. The horses walked on and she waited, not daring to make another move. Not until their attention shifted away from her.

Come on, come on.

Her captor relaxed, and the guards’ banter resumed.Finally.Slow and steady, she raised her hand and gingerly touched her ear. Her fingers slick with her blood, she rubbed the amulet, smearing her blood into the grooves of the script.

God, I hope this works.

In her head, she recited the words of the spell and waited.

Nothing. No sudden darkness. No sensation of falling. She remained confined in a keep guard’s arms on the back of a horse, riding inexorably away from Ulrik, Gaharet and Erin.

Did I get the words wrong?She didn’t think so.

Her mind raced back to that night in her flat—the taste of cheap red wine on her tongue, the pounding beat of Black Sabbath seeping through the thin walls. Maybe she needed to say the words out loud.

Bollocks.

The guards were already wary of her. She’d have to whisper.

Bek clenched her fist around the amulet and drew in a shaky breath. “Vanish from all human sight, those who favor moonlit—”

The guard’s arm tightened around her ribs.

“—night. To bloodstone shall they return—”

He reined the horse in. A shaft of moonlight settled on them, like the beam of a spaceship spotlighting them, her bloodied hand clenched around the amulet clearly visible. The other guard edged in, his horse bumping against her knees, and hegrabbed her wrist. Bek struggled. He unclenched her fingers and snatched the amulet from her grasp.

“No!”

Bek reached for it as he held it up, the gold glinting in the pale light. Should she keep reciting? He held the amulet in one hand and her wrist in the other. Would it,couldit, transport the three of them, horses and all, to Ulrik? It was worth a shot.

“—so no man—”

The guard laughed. He held it up, grinning and released his grip on her wrist.

Bek stopped reciting.Fuck.

She slumped against the guard and raised her fingers to her throbbing earlobe. She’d been so close. With the amulet in the guard’s possession, she had no other option than to wait and hope another opportunity presented itself.Beforethey locked her in that dungeon. Once there, on her own, the chances of her escaping were almost nonexistent.

Chapter Thirty-Two

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