Page 94 of Wolf's Bane
Alek turned to Luis,grabbing the young man by the arm. “Did Miles drink the wine?”
“What? Of course. We’ve all had some wine,” Luis said.
Everyone spoke at once. Alek closed his eyes, trying to think. Chambers knew about Alek’s condition, and he knew about Miles having been bitten. “Get him somewhere safe. He’s not in control of himself,” Alek said.
“Don’t touch him!” Miles rushed toward Alek, snarling.
He sidestepped the man, moving more sluggish than he liked. Miles crashed into a table. Gasps echoed through the room.
“What are you doing?” Charlotte stood at the table, her wedding finery sparkling in the candlelight.
“I say!” Jase lurched up on his one good leg.
Alek snarled at the man. Distracted, he failed to notice Miles as he moved for Charlotte. Apparently, his irritation with Alek was forgotten.
In a quick motion, Miles had the bride by the throat and pulled her forward, across the table. Dishes crashed. Glasses spilled and rolled to the floor before breaking. She screamed, weak and thin as the blacksmith crushed the air from her throat. Her face turned red. People shouted, rushing for the door. Furniture overturned.
All the while, her husband watched with folded arms and a bored air.
Alek stumbled forward, his legs not responding correctly. He just couldn’t move fast enough. It felt like lead weights held down his feet.
Damn Chambers. He’d tear the man’s throat out with his bare teeth for this, and he didn’t care who watched. His claws came out, and he felt his fangs descend.
Yes, ripping out throats seemed like a wonderful idea.
Godwin’s cane appeared behind Miles, pressing against the man’s throat. The man leveraged his weight, forcing Miles to release his grip on Charlotte or be choked.
Miles threw his head back, bashing it into Godwin’s face. Blood poured from a likely broken nose.
Sweet blood. Godwin’s injury pleased the beast inside him. The older man deserved to bleed for all the misery he inflicted.
Alek finally reached the grappling man. Miles twisted, slashing out with claws. He missed Alek, but Alek had not been his target.
He raked Godwin’s stomach. Scarlet red blood bloomed across his evening clothes. He looked at Alek in surprise, as if trying to blame this on him, and then collapsed to the floor.
Miles was back to Charlotte. He swiped, she ducked, but he grazed her scalp.
Alek tackled the out-of-control man. “Calm. Do not make me hurt you,” he said, growling behind his words.
For a moment, the man stilled, as if responding to Alek’s command.
“Good. I will help you. You wanted me to help,” Alek said.
Something in Miles’ eyes snapped. He foamed at the mouth, all teeth and snarling. With surprising strength—it shouldn’t have been a surprise, since the blacksmith was all wiry muscle—he flipped Alek onto his back. Claws dug into his gut. Alek twisted, trying to dislodge the man, but that made the claws dig in deeper.
“Not him! Her!” Chambers finally moved, grabbing his wife and shaking her by the arm like a rag doll. “What is wrong with you? Why don’t I care if you die? Where is our bond?”
Solenne
Solenne knocked Chambers’ hand away. It wasn’t hard. The man wasn’t expecting a woman to fight back. She placed herself in front of Charlotte, holding out her arms to create a barricade.
A self-satisfied smile crept across Chambers’ face.
“This is your handiwork,” she said.
His gaze slid over to her. In the confusion and the chaos, there was no mistaking the violet gleam in his eyes.
“You,” she said.
