Page 57 of Mortal Blood
“Don’t think I’ve forgotten you, dhampir,” he spat, and then his mouth curled sadistically. “I’m looking forward to comparing how you and your mother taste.”
I wasn’t sure if Cole was holding me back or I was holding him back, and before I could work it out, Jax pushed through the crowd.
“That’s my luna-in-waiting, pup.”
“She’s my bitch-in-waiting, so stay out of things that don’t concern you,pup.And when my pack wins the war, I’ll make a pet of you so you can watch.”
Jax threw himself at Kallan with a roar of anger.
“Down!” Ryker bellowed, and Jax crumpled into a crouch mid-stride, head bowed under the weight of Ryker’s dominance.
“That is the last anyone will say about any war that may or may not be coming,” Ryker snapped in his usual voice. “Save that crap for outside my lesson. Do I make myself clear?”
“The Iron Shadows shouldn’t have trespassed,” someone shouted, but I was too slow to catch who it was—and I doubted they’d be dumb enough to say it twice.
“There won’t be any Iron Shadows left soon,” Harvey sneered. “We’ll wipe them out.”
“Over my dead body,” Jax spat from his crouch.
“Oh, that can be arranged. Just as soon as we’ve finished playing with the dhampir bitch.”
Cole surged forward and I was almost too slow to pull him back this time.
“Enough of this shit,” Ryker growled, alpha compulsion layering his every word. “I want the fucking lot of you in forms without mouths. Shift.Now.”
I felt the power slam into me and saw the tension roll through Cole. He gritted his teeth, fighting hard and buying himself long enough to yank his shirt over his head before his bones started to crack and crunch.
The breath rushed out of my lungs in a sharp burst as I watched and my stomach churned, tying itself in knots as I triedto get a breath and couldn’t. Why couldn’t I breathe? My legs felt weak watching my mate forced to obey, and—
My throat clenched around a cry of pain that had no air to carry it. My eyes widened, feeling like they were going to pop out of my skull, and my legs, weak from air loss and the sudden pain, gave way under me. What…what was happening? Pain wracked my body from head to toe and I doubled over, bracing myself on one arm.
Cole, fully wolf, was at my side in a heartbeat, worry unmistakable his lupine face, though it seemed blurred around the edges. No, it wasn’t him,everythingwas blurry.
My arm snapped in a haze of fiery agony, and this time the scream burst from me, layering over the anxious whines of my mate.
“Back up,” Ryker snapped at him. “Now.”
I wanted to protest that Cole was my mate, Cole wasn’t the one doing this to me. Cole was the one trying to protect me. I didn’t want him to leave. But my mouth felt strange, and my lips weren’t moving properly to form the words.
And then a new agony erupted across my shoulders and words were driven from my mind. I hit the ground hard, laying prone and kicking in the dirt as the pain spread through my whole body like it was trying to rip me apart. My back arched and I screamed…but the sound that burst from my lips was a howl.
I froze, listening to the dying echoes as the pain faded like it had never been there. I looked around in confusion, twisting to take in Cole’s face, and relieved that it—that everything—was no longer blurred. But something was off. Wrong. The colors were all muted, somehow.
“Well, would you look at that?” Ryker said, staring down at me. “Seems like you’ve been holding out on us, Ellis.”
I…what? Dazed, I blinked hard, trying to get my eyes to see right again. Yeah, that wasn’t working. I lifted one hand to rub my eyes…and saw a paw lift from the ground. Yelping in surprise, I scrambled back, or tried to, but somehow I had four legs and zero fucking control.
What the…Why the…
Was I a fuckingwolf?
“Everyone get the fuck out of here,” Ryker said. “Lesson’s over.”
Movement flashed around me, some people shifting back, others turning and loping away still in wolf form. One lingered, the large, sullen beast glaring at me in silence, and even if I hadn’t seen his form before, or been able to taste his scent in the air, there’d have been no mistaking that it was Kallan.
Kallan. The asshole who’d dared set foot inmypacklands and threatenmypack. A snarl ripped from my throat and I lurched to my feet.
Ryker’s laugh cracked through the air.
