Page 41 of Shifters' Fated Summer
A wave of dizziness swept through me as I straightened to face her.
“You’re the worst thing that could have happened to him,” Rae said. There was no anger, just cold, brutal resolution.
“I’m not doing anything,” I said, shaking my head.
“You’re weak. You’ll drag him down. You’re a risk we can’t afford.” Harper looked me over, her lip curling.
“What do you want?” I asked, voice shaking.
Harper crossed her arms. “We want you gone.”
“I’ll leave,” I said. It seemed like the best solution anyway.
“No.” Harper shook her head, red hair falling over her shoulder. “That’s not good enough.”
“Well what the hell do you want me to do?” I demanded, growing bolder as my anger simmered, burning away my fear.
Harper cocked her head, watching me silently.
An arm looped around my neck, cutting off my air. Rae clung to my back, thighs squeezing my hips. I couldn’t support her weight. My palms hit the dirt as I fell forward,gasping for air.
My thoughts slurred, full of disbelief they would do this. The mate bond appeared only hours ago, and Cade had yet to say a word about it. But they deemed it a problem and they were eliminating me. The injustice of it burned.
“That’s a good little bitch,” Harper crooned, the words sounding muffled as my pulse pounded in my ears. My chest hit the dirt, leaves pressing into my tear-streaked face as I clawed at Rae’s arm. Her grip was steel. I couldn’t get my fingers underneath and my nails were too blunt to dig in.
I was going to die naked in the woods, and only Luca and Elowen would care. And they’d forget about me soon enough with their mates to comfort them. I’d be the pathetic vampire slave they rescued and couldn’t actually save in the end.
My thoughts were slow and heavy, my vision prickling white and gray. It only took moments for one tiny werewolf to kill me, while her mate watched gleefully.
A roaring noise filled my ears and everything faded to black. Just as I lost consciousness, something threw me aside. The impact wracked my body, dull pain filling my neck and shoulders.
What did it matter?
Darkness took me.
Chapter 15
Mates
Everything hurt when I woke up. I was sprawled in bed with a blanket tucked around me. Every breath felt like sandpaper, and I gingerly prodded my bruised throat.
“Hey, careful,” Elowen said. Her sweet voice was not what I expected, and I frowned at her, not understanding. I was back in my room in the pack house.
“It’s okay. You’re safe. Luca and Cade are throwing those two bitches out of the territory. Archer is outside guarding you. Here, let’s get some ice on that swelling.”
She handed over a towel wrapped around something cold. I winced as I laid it across my neck.
“What happened?” My memories were fuzzy at best. Waking up, walking in the woods alone.
Harper. Rae.
Elowen perched on the end of the bed, resting her chin on her fist. White-blonde hair fell around her like a curtain.
“Well, we all saw you and Cade.” Shame heated my cheeks. “That wassomething.” She blew out her breath with a puff of her cheeks. “And I guess Harper and Rae had aproblem with it so they tried to hurt you.”
Tried tokillme.
I didn’t feel like correcting her. Softening the blow wasn’t the worst thing she could do.
