Page 28 of Runt of the Pack
Vlad must feel me sway on my feet. He whirls, questions in his eyes, but Boris is faster. With viper speed, he slashes a silver dagger from his belt and plunges it into Vlad’s broad chest.
“NOOO!” My agonized scream shreds the air. Vlad’s face contorts in shock and pain before he drops heavily to his knees.
Boris wrenches back his bloodied blade, sneering at my horror. “You shouldn’t have run, little wolf,” he growls. “But now, you’re coming home.”
He lunges for me, fetid exhale hot on my skin. Then Koen, our omega guard is there, form rippling as snapping jaws close on Boris’ arm in a spray of crimson. His shriek mingles with my own as I fall to Vlad’s side, pressing my hands desperately against the blood-red stain spreading on his shirt.
“Vlad, look at me!” I plead over the sounds of the scuffle behind us. Hazy grey eyes meet mine, face deathly pale beneath the blood.
“Run...” he rasps, “...safe...”
Then his eyes roll back and his body convulses. My wrenching sobs fill the entryway now painted with gore. I scarcely register the ominous silence until a heavy hand clamps down on my shoulder.
“Time to go home now, bitch,” Boris’ mocking voice croons in my ear.
I don’t fight as he hauls me upright, Vlad’s blood slick on my palms. All will burn to ash in the face of my failure. I couldn’t protect Yulia from my past, and now Vlad lies dying because of my silence. Perhaps this is simply the fate I deserve.
Numbness engulfs me, Boris’ taunting voice fading to meaningless noise as he drags me forcibly into the silver forest and whatever fresh horrors await. I left a trail of pain in my futile bid for freedom. Now there will be a reckoning at Roan’s hands. And I no longer have any will left to resist or flee the vengeance coming for me.
Heartbroken and shocked, I go limply without protest, leaving behind my slain love and the ruins of all we worked to build together. The cold bitterness of the coming night feels fitting. I’m ready to surrender to the darkness once more...
23
ANYA
Consciousness returns reluctantly through the pounding ache in my skull. I peel open my gritty eyes to total darkness. The hard-packed earth under my cheek reeks of dampness and mold, fetid water trickling somewhere nearby. I seem to be lying on the floor of some lightless cellar or cave. Clammy air clings to my skin, chilled and stale from lack of circulation.
Shifting my protesting limbs, I feel jarring metal bite into my wrists—shackles chained to the unforgiving wall behind me. Another clamping vise of iron encircles my throat, chained to the floor to restrain the rabid she-wolf within. Panic grips my chest, breaths sawing harshly in the oppressive blackness. Where am I? What fresh hell have my demons dragged me into now?
Memory comes creeping back as my vision adjusts by agonizing degrees to the lightless space. The attack at our haven, Vlad’s body stabbed by Boris’ cruel blade before they ripped me from his side… A broken cry of grief escapes my raw throat as the scene replays in gruesome detail.
Oh, Moon Goddess. My beloved Vlad. Please let his end have come swiftly, without needless suffering. The likelihood he survived such viciousness is vanishingly small. My soul ruptures anew imagining his final moments believing I fled willingly, leaving him to die alone.
The force of inconsolable heartache over losing my mate, my entire world, nearly doubles me over. I grit my teeth against the building scream, choking it back through sheer stubbornness. I must believe that wherever Vlad is, he knows I would have given my last breath to save him. That wild hope is all that keeps my shattered heart beating now.
A sudden flare of harsh light makes me flinch as the small cellar is illuminated. Boris leans casually against the far earthen wall, puffing languidly on a cigarette. His mangled face splits in a revolting grin when he notices I’m conscious.
“There she is. The traitorous little whore,” he rasps, pushing off the wall to approach my crumpled form. I shrink back instinctively from his menacing bulk. Boris’ grin widens at my fear.
“Finally decided to join us… eh, princess?” He takes a long, exaggerated drag on the cigarette, then blows the acrid smoke directly into my face. I recoil, coughing as the noxious cloud envelops me.
Boris crouches down, forcing me to meet his malignant stare. “Was starting to think I hit you too hard during our little trip. Would be a shame if you never got to enjoy your long overdue homecoming.”
It all comes crashing back at his mocking words—we must be somewhere on the expansive territory still claimed by the Alpha Krov pack, my prison long ago. A different cell, but the same sadistic warden.
I force my features to stillness, refusing to gratify this beast by showing any reaction. But maintaining a disaffected facade takes every ounce of my will when Vlad’s beloved, rugged face fills my mind once more. The very air feels lodged solidly in my lungs, refusing to move.
“What’s this now? No tears or pleas for your lost sweetheart?” Boris scoffs. “Don’t you care at all that he died bloody and alone?”
His cruel goading hits its mark. The thought of Vlad drawing his last agonized breaths believing I abandoned him is unendurable. He was everything to me—my heart, my redemption. And he perished thinking I had callously forsaken him when he needed me most.
Something in me snaps at last. “Vlad was worth a hundred of a vile coward like you,” I spit venomously. “He was loyal, brave and true. And you cut him down like a rabid dog!”
Chest heaving, I bare my teeth at Boris in lupine fury, uncaring of the consequences. “So, kill me too if you want. Because I will never stop trying to avenge him, you foul beast. Not if I have to chase you straight to the depths of hell!”
My venomous words seem to rock Boris back a step. But quickly, the cruel smirk returns to his ruined face. “Still plenty of fire left in you after all,” he chuckles darkly. “Good. Our Alpha will so enjoy beating it out...”
I can’t help but wince, feeling hot tears forming in my eyes. I must cling to the frail hope that perhaps Vlad’s grievous wound was not fatal. With his advanced shifter healing, maybe his new followers found and aided Vlad before his spirit fled this world. Surely he realized in those final moments that I would never willingly leave his side, no matter the consequences.
