Page 92 of The Alpha's Fallen Spell
It’s Michael. The man who revealed his knowledge of what I am.
But he looks different now. Wild. His hair is disheveled, his movements erratic and strange. When he turns slightly, I catch a glimpse of his face, and his eyes are too bright, his expression twisted with something that might be madness.
“I know you’re here,” he calls out, his voice a singsong and just plain wrong. “Come out, come out, little wolf. We have so much to discuss.”
I press myself against the wall, gripping the gun with trembling hands. Every instinct screams at me to run, to go grab Alex and flee through the front of the building. But I don’t think I can get back to the stairs without him seeing me. I’ll have to go out the front door instead, I decide, so I slip silently into the main room of the café.
“The suppressant isn’t working anymore, is it?” Michael continues, his voice moving closer. “I can smell it on you—the wolf trying to claw its way back to the surface. They’re going to be so pleased when I bring you in.”
He pushes through the door into the café, and I get my first clear look at him. Definitely the same man, but transformed. His clothes are wrinkled and stained, his face gaunt. Most disturbing are his eyes—fever-bright and utterly unhinged.
“There you are,” he says when he spots me. He is smiling with too many teeth. “Pretty, little, broken thing. Do you know how long we’ve been watching you? How patient we’ve been?”
“Get out,” I say, proud that my voice doesn’t shake. “Get out now, or I’ll call the police.”
Michael laughs, a sound like breaking glass. “The cops can’t help you where you’re going.”
He lunges forward with inhuman speed.
I dodge sideways, bringing the gun up, but he’s faster than he should be. His hand closes around my wrist, twisting cruelly until I cry out and nearly drop the weapon.
“Feisty,” he says approvingly. “Is that how you’ve managed to survive all this time?”
I drive my knee upward, connecting with his ribs. He grunts but doesn’t release me, instead spinning me around and slamming me against the counter. Stars explode across my vision.
“You should have made this easy,” he hisses in my ear. “Should have come along quietly, like a good girl.”
I thrash against his grip, desperation lending me strength. My elbow connects with his face, and he loosens his hold just enough for me to break free.
I scramble backward, raising the gun with both hands. “Stay back!”
Michael straightens up, wiping blood from his split lip. “You won’t shoot me. You’re too fragile, too broken. Just like all the others.”
The word “fragile” ignites all the rage I’ve been carrying inside myself, for all the times I’ve been underestimated, dismissed, treated like something that might shatter at the slightest touch.
“Try me,” I snarl.
That’s when the front door explodes inward.
Erik bursts through, moving with deadly grace, his eyes immediately finding mine before focusing on Michael. His expression transforms into something terrifying and primal.
“Get away from her,” he growls, the words barely human.
Michael spins to face this new threat, and I see his posture change, becoming more predatory. “The loyal protector arrives. How wonderfully dramatic.”
He moves faster than any human should be able to, launching himself at Erik with claws that definitely aren’t natural. Erik meets his charge head-on, and they collide with bone-jarring force.
The fight is vicious and brutal. Michael may be enhanced somehow, but Erik is a warrior with decades of experience. Still, Michael fights like a man with nothing to lose, his movements wild and unpredictable.
I watch, frozen, as they grapple. Erik gets the upper hand, pinning Michael against the wall, one hand around his throat.
“Who sent you?” Erik demands.
The laugh that comes from Michael is high and maniacal. “Does it matter? We know where she is. We know what she can do. They’ll send others.”
“Not if you’re dead,” Erik replies coldly.
I see Michael’s hand move and the flash of something metallic. “Erik, look out!”
