Page 104 of Never Tamed
Then why don’t I believe you?
Because the bond can’t lie and his worries are mine. We share them.
A twig snaps in the same direction I heard the thud. On high alert, I whip around, and catch a flash of hair.
They’re here! My heart leaps into my throat and I run.
Every breath burns like I’m inhaling ice. My boots pound the ground, slipping on half-frozen roots beneath the rising drifts, and beside me, Noble is a copper streak in the white, his wolf form braced against the wind.
He’s fast, and even as a human, I match his speed. It’s another gift from the goddess because I’m barely winded.
We’re supposed to be luring Andras and his people, and yet it feels like the storm itself is luring us instead,pulling us deeper into chaos while it strips away our sense of direction. I can barely see the next tree through the whiteout, only flashes of Noble’s fur as he darts ahead, then falls back again, always circling, always guarding.
Shit is right.
This isn’t how I thought it would go. It’s not like I figured the plan would unfold perfectly but seriously? A fucking blizzard?
My teeth chatter more from anxiety than actual cold.
The plan was simple. Too simple. Draw Andras and his wolves into the woods, toward the frozen river where Mathis, Torin, and Dax and the others are waiting. Make it look like we’re running for our lives, like we’re weak, desperate, and just careless prey, until our enemy is convinced that the kill is his.
But the snow doesn’t care about plans. The snow devours them and spits out bones.
Those kinds of thoughts aren’t going to help, baby, Noble warns in my head.
I pump my arms and a layer of ice cracks underfoot.Sorry?
If anything happens to my men, then it will be my fault and not theirs. I strongarmed them into going along with us.
Where the hell is Andras? Is he actually behind us, or is he circling around to the side to cut us off before we reach the stream?
A branch snaps behind me, close. My heart jackhammers and clogs my throat, cutting off my air. Noble’s growl rips through the storm before he launches himself out of nowhere, slamming into something I can’t even see until it’s too late. A wolf yelp is cut off sharp, and the Noble’s copper wolf shakes once, twice, until his opponent goes limp. Blood sprays dark across the pristine white snow, only to be gone a heartbeat when the blizzard swallows it whole.
No! The scream tears through me although I don’t make a sound out loud. I skitter to a stop and then stumble, knees hitting snow. Noble turns his head and his eyes catch mine, burning gold.
Run.
The word isn’t spoken, but I feel it in my chest all the same. He’s urging me to go and to leave him behind, to trust him tohandle this. My mate is hurt. His pain is right there in my head as well, but the command is too powerful to ignore.
So I run.
Snow crunches loud underfoot and my lungs scream. This would be so much easier if I shifted, but I can’t yet. My powers have to be a secret until the very end. I have to stay in this form when my wolf batters at me and urges me to change, to let her take control. She will have a much easier time navigating.
I glance over my shoulder and the world is nothing but white and shifting shadows. Shapes move in it—the Blood Moon wolves giving chase and Andras, somewhere. I know he’s back there. Ifeelhim now. Hunting us.
There’s no denying it anymore. How in the world did I miss it? He’s there in the blur of the world, not something I see or scent but a feeling. His laughter echoes in the howl of the wind and he moves in the sideways sheets of snow.
Is this blizzard his doing?
No, that’s ridiculous. I shake my head and keep going even with a part of me left behind with Noble.
Pain slices through my ankle and up my leg, taking me down into the snow. I fall flat on my stomach with a yelp of surprise.
Teeth sink into me, sharp, tearing. When I look down, there’s a smaller wolf snapping at my boot. It’s got its jaw hooked around my ankle with canines crunching down. I twist, kicking out with my free leg, but the animal shakes its head, pulling off the boot and taking some skin with it.
“Asshole!”
The curse rips through me as I pull myself forward on my side, my foot numb and pain lighting the rest of the area.
