Page 43 of The Wolf's Appetite
It should have been trapped, imprisoned in itsworld, but here it was, standing tall, lanky, its sinewy body like something out of a nightmare.
No creature should have been able to break through the protection spells and wards the witches had put in place. But this thing hadn’tbrokenthrough the magic. An impossibility.
“That is one ugly motherfucker,” Kayla said under her breath.
I could see why she was Adryan’s mate.
“This asshole,” Ada said, and I heard rustling behind me.
I glanced at Sebastian’s fae mate to see her grabbing a crossbow off the wall.
Larkin, Odhran’s mate, drew the silver dagger from her thigh sheath. Luna had two daggers in her hands. What the fuck, I thought, then looked at my empty hands. Someone put two knives in my palms, and I glanced up to see Luna stared at me. Her expression was serious.
“I always keep extra,” she breathed. “Don’t let that fucker get close. You go for the eyes if nothing else.”
I nodded because I didn’t know what else to do. I’d never been in a fight in my life, and the thought of going against that big fucker who looked like he crawled out of hell itself almost immobilized me. But I felt my wolf rise, stronger than she ever had before, and I faced the Leandrean and bared my teeth.
This fire burned within me at the thought of Lennox and the other males out there fighting to protect us. I thought about the women who were here because we were all scared. I opened myself up and let my inner animal rise. Everything in me intensified. My senses were ultra-sensitive, and the need to shift rippled through me.
I moved without thinking, stepping in front of the females, knowing if it came down to it, I’d shift and use my big she-wolf to protect the others.
The creature laughed, its serrated teeth dripping dark fluid. “I’m hungry,” it rasped, the words scraping the air like the tip of a sharpened blade.
“Fuck you,” Kayla said.
“There’s nothing for ye here,” I said, voice steady despite the thundering of my pulse. “And unless ye want a horde of Lycans and vampires tearing ye apart, ye need tae leave.”
It tilted its head, studying me like a predator before it pounced and took down its prey. It didn’t have to wonder about what it wanted for long. It lunged, and because I’d positioned myself in front of everyone, it barreled into me.
The impact had me flying across the room and crashing into the wall hard enough that I heard something crack—wood or bone; I didn’t know as the painwas instant.
The women were screaming and shouting things, but my vision was blurry. I struggled to take a full breath in. The air left my lungs in a rush, pain bursting across my ribs. I forced myself to push up even as my vision swam and my belly cramped. I shook my head and saw my daggers on the ground beside me. I picked them up and tightened my hold around the hilts until my knuckles ached.
I stared in horror as the Leandrean tossed away the females that charged forward, swatting them away like annoying gnats. Luna bared her fangs and hissed, and when the Leandrean turned its focus on her, I attacked.
I stayed quiet as I held the knives up, and at the last minute, I plunged the blades into the soft space between its shoulder blades. It shrieked, and I didn’t waste a second. I let my wolf break free. She tore through, breaking bone, flaying flesh, and then I was on all fours facing off with the fucker.
Ainslee had shifted into her white wolf and mixed amongst the fierce females. Even the human women held weapons as they were prepared to attack.
The creature roared out and spun, snarling at me. It was so damn fast that I didn’t have time to block the attack before it was raking its claws across my side. Fire tore through me—white-hot pain chased by something colder than death, as if its claws were tipped with venom and pushing its poison into my veins.
My wolf howled and growled, and I snapped, pushing the pain away as I launched my body at it again. The other women did the same thing, all of us attacking it. But it was no use. The bastard was strong. Too strong.
I scented copper coat the air, knew I was bleeding, but didn’t know who else had been hurt. They needed to get out of here. I didn’t know why I wanted to be heroic because I was scared as hell. But something in me screamed to protect these women. Their children were safe hundreds of feet below the ground, but they needed their mothers.
I was thrown against the wall again, and I looked at Ainslee. I communicated with her in a way our wolves could. I demanded, screamed, and roared that she take the women out of here. She fought me, argued, but we didn’t have time. We couldn’t all die here.
I wasn’t strong enough to kill it, but I could give them time. “Go!” I shouted in my head to Ainslee. I could feel the anguish, but we both knew this was what had to be done. I knew the males were on their way and would be here any second. That’s what I told her. That’s what I hoped she believed.
So, I staggered between the women and the creature, ready to do whatever it took. And then I heard it. The roars. It split and vibrated the air,and the low and primal sound resonated in my chest and down my spine.
I felt him even though I didn’t see him. My mate. Lennox. The doors splintered open, and we all spun around to see the males. They came through the doorway as if they’d been shot from a gun. I searched for my mate through the thick crush of Lycans and vampires swamping in.
Males grabbed their mates and got them out of there, and then I saw him. But for a heartbeat, I thought my mind had broken from the pain. Because he wasn’tjustLennox anymore.
Something was different. He was bigger, fiercer-looking, and as he stared at my she-wolf, his eyes scanning my body and stopping on my side where I knew my grave wounds were, his eyes flashed with light.
He roared so loud the walls shook, and he shifted right before my eyes. His wolf was back.
