Chapter 29
MY POUND OF FLESH
LUKE
I blink and pandemonium takes hold.
Nia leaps forward and her hand whips through the air so fast that its ivory skin becomes a blur. Her claws slash across the werewolf’s throat and my view turns scarlet as blood sprays from his neck, painting the world a deeper shade of crimson.
My mouth opens as I grab air and prepare to shift, watching as Nia ducks right and the Elite stumbles left. His body collapses as she moves past him and I focus on the werewolf as he falls to the ground, staring in disbelief at the man who’s had his throat ripped out.
I flick my eyes back to Nia and see her toss the windpipe behind her, following its arch as it flies through the air.
Fucking hell, Nia’s something.
She’s just taken out an Elite Guard without a second’s hesitation and I blink again, staring at the mangled piece of flesh that landed in the middle of a pool of blood.
“NIA.”
My scream is a roar that ought to make her stop. My voice is a command that any other wolf would obey. But Lyall isn’t listening and by the time I regain my faculties and my eyes find her I’m left watching in horror as Nia leaps into the air and shifts.
It’s impressive.
Few Alphas can change midair and I’ve never heard of a Luna pulling it off. But Nia’s body morphs as its bones break and her limbs and torso alter so damn fast it’s impossible to keep up with the shift. I blink again and she’s hit the ground and she’s running.
And Lyall is stunning.
Maybe more stunning than Nia.
She’s covered in a white coat as pure as snow but tinged with silver.
It isn’t silver, at least in the sense of the metal.
Lyall’s fur fucking glows. It shimmers. It’s got a light and life of its own, and its iridescent hues ripple as she strides across the ground, evoking only one thought in my mind: she’s the moon itself.
“Are you just going to stand there,” Cole screams as he sprints past me, “or are you going to help your mate?”
I shake my head and Lawson urges me to get a move on, enraged that another wolf is already ahead of us. He’s fuming and not just because our mate is threatened, and we’ll be discussing my slow and startled response later.
“She’s beautiful, Lawson.”
“She won’t be if you don’t protect her, Luke. We can’t shift if we’re still going to try and talk those assholes down.”
Fuck, he’s right.
Nia’s gone and Lyall won’t be able to communicate with the Elites. Cole’s already transforming into Elias, knowing they wouldn’t have listened to him anyway. His brown fur is taking hold and he slows, letting his body transform before breaking into an even faster run.
I glance up and Lyall’s still pulling away.
She’s covering the ground so fast that I doubt even Lawson could keep pace.
Nia’s wolf is small but terrifying, magnificent and awesome—and she’s heading up the hillside and straight for the Elite who’s dangling the boy like he’s a toy that’s about to be discarded.
“I thought she couldn’t shift,” Cole hisses as his wolf pushes harder, struggling to come close to matching Lyall’s pace.
“She didn’t earlier,” I reply, sprinting as fast as I damn well can. “Maybe Lyall needed the right motivation…”
“Now’s not the time to debate why she didn’t shift earlier. It’s time for you to stop her, Luke. She’s seconds away from biting off more than even she can chew.”
Elias growls and Lawson roars, both agreeing that Lyall’s heading for a fight she can’t win. Her fur catches the light as she bounds up the hill and Lyall’s power lets her clear every obstacle as though it wasn’t there, even though she’s small for a she-wolf.
“Stop her,” my wolf growls. At me. Instead of at his mate who he could easily reach for instead of barking at me like I’m a fucking imbecile.
“And how do you suggest I stop her now?”
“Call to her.”
I scramble up the incline, screaming at Nia and Lyall through our bond while wondering why Lawson isn’t calling.
He hunches back and the subtle shift in his body language tells me all I need to know: my wolf called to his mate and she didn’t heed him, and that’s why he’s resorted to asking me to talk to Nia.
My head tips back and I stare wide-eyed as Lyall launches forward, heading straight toward an ambush.
The Elite’s not going to stand there and let her attack him and he’ll either move out the way and she’ll hurtle to the ground, or he’s got another plan.
One that’s worse for Lyall and Nia. One that I’m damn sure is what he has in mind.
I catch the silver of the snare as one of the men moves it and I doubt Lyall’s seen it. The Elites are cunning cunts and they’re skilled enough to keep it hidden from the wolf who’s about to throw herself into it.
“LYALL.”
It’s too fucking late.
It’s far too fucking late.
She leaps and her course is committed. Her choice is made. Her body moves through the air and the snare is moved forward, snapped open as it waits for her head to move into its loop.
Time slows down and my heart pounds against my chest as I roar and the seconds pass with the opening and closing of the valves that keep my blood flowing. I’m dying, distraught that Nia’s about to be taken from me and my rage soars as the world shatters, broken before she’s ripped away.
And Lyall moves again.
Her body drops, sinking as her trajectory changes and her legs fold under her. She’s seen the snare. She’s sensed the danger. More than that, she knew it was there and her belly slides across the ground as she slips beneath the metal loop.
I exhale and Lyall’s hind legs push down as her front legs lift and she rises like a demon hellbent on revenge.
She’s beyond magnificent and I was wrong to underestimate her and wrong to describe her as anything other than startling.
Her mouth opens as she rises and the Elite’s eyes open wide, his reaction too sluggish to stop the inevitability of my mate.
Lyall’s fangs descend on his arm and she drags him down with her, all three bodies crashing to the ground. Nia’s wolf growls and by the time I clamber over the next rock she’s ripped the Elite’s arm clean from his body, shaking it like a prize before she casts it aside.
Shouts go up as the Elites move and Lyall growls from the pit of her stomach and the ground beneath us shakes, trembling as the white wolf threatens to unleash all she is on the world.
She grabs the crying boy by the scruff of his neck, dragging him with her as she races away, putting distance between her and the Elites.
She and the wolves she’s going to take down.
Lyall stops and plants herself between the crying five-year-old and the werewolves rounding on her, and the child falls silent, soothed as Lyall’s posture changes.
Her weight drops and her teeth catch the light as she bares them, threatening more violence. Her fur stands on end and its moonlight isn’t soft, not anymore. It’s harsh and unrelenting, a glimmer of pure, unbridled resolve that refuses to move.
“Lyall,” I whisper. “Wait for me.”
“Hurry the fuck up then, pretty boy.”
Elias prowls as I draw myself upright, taking a breath before I try to get the Elites to see reason.
And I’m too slow as one of them launches forward, changing into a powerful wolf as he strides toward Lyall. Lawson roars and summons the pack, demanding they move faster and I step forward, yelling that this needs to stop.
Lyall’s jaw lowers and her bark isn’t as bad as her bite. She propels herself forward, growling like a mother protecting her pup, and her fury knows no limits. It ripples through my bones and its vibrations shake my core as I watch my mate collide with a wolf who ought to take her out.
But he doesn’t and he’s forced back, stopped in an instant by a wolf small enough to look adorable but vicious enough to annihilate an Elite. Lyall’s going for it, ripping at his flesh and showing him absolutely no mercy.
The Elite whimpers as his brown fur stains dark brown and matts as blood clumps it together.
Lyall’s teeth keep tearing through his body, shredding his muscles despite his weakening state and she doesn’t stop or slow down, not even when his posture changes.
He’s offering her submission and she isn’t interested, making a fucking point as she rips the wolf to pieces, finally clamping her mouth over his throat and suffocating him.
It's almost a mercy.
A second wolf rushes forward and the atmosphere darkens as the remaining Elite Guards prepare to bear witness to another act of abomination.
Lyall doesn’t hesitate and she rises onto her back legs, meeting the other wolf with more power than he can withstand.
They grapple against each other but he succumbs quickly and Lyall’s claws tear through his flesh and her teeth cut through his throat.
Lyall drags him over the ground with none of the care she showed the child she’s protecting.
It’s an act of ruthless depravity and Lyall’s fur turns red and she mauls the lifeless bodies, growling as her aggression takes on a life of its own.
The heat of her anger ripples through the world and she spits flesh out as she delights in the gore, painting the ground with the guts and blood she’s ripping out of the carcasses.
The Elites stand horrified, their eyes wide as the beautiful white wolf brings a hideous threat of death and destruction closer.
The contrast between Lyall’s appearance and her attitude is stark and I’ve never wanted anything more.
I want to play with her darkness and dance in her light.
I want to slip in between the shadows and the highlights that make her and Nia whole, and I don’t want a single thing to change.
Lyall isn’t any wolf. She’s a fucking force of nature.
No wonder her father was threatened.
No wonder mine didn’t stand a chance.
She’s perfect and I stand in awe, admiring the wolf who’s indescribably perfect for me. I’m still in her thrall when the pack catches up with us, standing behind me as Cole moves to my side.