Page 79 of To Keep A Wolf
Behind him, I see a guard—Lenny—pointing a gun. My mother screams again, this time a battle cry. She launches herself at Lenny, knocking him to the ground. His gun slips away as she rolls on top of him and wraps her hands around his throat. He thrashes, but she doesn’t let up, taking her vengeance on him.
My father falls to his side and looks over at me. “Finish it,” he says in a strained voice, blood leaking heavily from the bullet wound in his chest.
Pain guts me then. Terror for what I’m about to lose just as I finally found it.
I open my mouth and close it again as words fail me. The shock of what’s happened is overshadowed by movement. People are running this way through the garden from the direction of the house. I tense and then realize with a start that they’re all Jades.
Hope rises swiftly—but then just as quickly is dashed again as I see the guards and other Black Moon pack members close at their heels. They don’t make it much farther before they’re forced to turn and fight again.
I hold tight to the gun still in my hand, and Grey and I share a look.
“Go,” I tell him.
My shoulder is already beginning to heal at least enough for the bleeding to have slowed. And maybe even enough to aim this gun properly.
I lift it as Grey takes off for the Jades.
“Jadick, stop,” I scream, pointing the gun at Jadick’s wolf.
He looms over an injured Levi, clearly ready to deliver the killing blow now that Frankie and my father have been dealt with. My heart thunders with terror as I note the blood and deep gashes torn into Levi’s fur. Levi’s eyes are open, but he doesn’t move when he sees me with the gun.
Jadick stalks away from Levi, headed my way. He shifts as he walks, coming toward me with the dark, lethal gaze of someone who’s won.
I curl my finger around the trigger, waiting to make sure I have the clear shot. But his mouth only curves upward as he steps directly into my line of fire, each step bringing him closer to his end.
“It’s over. You’ll never hurt anyone ever again,” I say just before an arm snakes around my throat from behind and I’m yanked hard enough to send the gun flying from my hands.
CHAPTER23
“Neither will you,” a masculine voice whispers, the animosity so familiar it sends a shiver down my spine.
My racing heartbeat pounds in my ears. Burnett’s scent burns in my nostrils, and I struggle against his hold, to no avail.
Tripp appears from the direction of the fighting, his clothes stained with blood. “Let her go,” he growls, advancing on Burnett.
But I nod at where Levi lies alone and helpless in the dirt. Tripp curses and rushes to his friend, crouching to assess his injuries. My gaze darts to Jadick as I try to come up with some plan that will allow Levi to escape with his life. And my father, too, if it’s not too late.
My eyes land on Frankie’s wolf, and my wolf nearly loses it. She would have done anything to keep Jadick from ruling this pack. Including killing someone she cared about. The knowledge of that leaves me bereft.
Soldiers emerge from the chaos of the fighting near the house. They carry a body between them, and my heart lurches. My mother—bound and gagged. Blood leaks from multiple wounds, none of which look lethal, but the fury in her eyes says she didn’t make it easy for them to take her. Hopefully, she took Lenny out first, the bastard.
She’s dropped unceremoniously in a heap at Jadick’s feet. Her grunt is muffled and bitten back like she’d rather die than make a sound against what’s happening to her.
“Tie her to the left post,” Jadick orders.
She’s yanked up again and dragged to the left side of the archway then tied to it.
“What are you doing to her?” I demand.
“Only what is required for the future of our people,” Jadick says. His voice is flippant, easy. He’s enjoying this—even my shock is entertaining.
“It’s me you want,” I say.
“You’re not wrong.” His lips twitch. “Alas, the ritual requires three generations to sacrifice their blood, which means you, your mother, and—” He motions to the archway where movement catches my eye.
I go still, shocked to see a woman walking toward us. Her gray hair is long and full, caught in a braid that hangs down to her waist. Bracelets jangle at her wrist, and a flowy skirt swishes along the ground as she emerges from the shadows. She looks right at me with a gaze so piercing the air between us ripples.
Magic.
