Chapter 19 - Rhys
“Sadie, run—run now!” I roar, desperate for her to get away.
All four guys jump me at the same time, and I’m on the ground before I have time to think, let alone retaliate.
As I struggle under the rain of blows, I realize I remember the ringleader. Aaron, a member of Owen’s pack who likes to make trouble in lots of small, petty ways, often risking our cover to prove a point.
Gathering my muscles, I straighten up suddenly, throwing two of the guys off. One of them still has my arm, but I see Aaron in front of me and just charge. I don’t have the speed I need, dragging one of those goons with me, but I power forward and tackle Aaron around the waist.
Three of us go down in a messy pile. I catch a fist right across the face, but it doesn’t even slow me down as I start pummeling Aaron. He yelps under me as I punch him over and over again, and I don’t get many blows in before my arms are grabbed and his buddies pull me back.
I go limp in their arms, pretending to be dazed. The second I feel their grip loosen, I plant my feet and yank myself backwards, freeing my arms. All four of them are in front of me. Aaron is too far away, so I just tackle the nearest one.
I can’t let them get to Sadie!
I smash the guy’s face with punches as we roll across the ground. Every second that drags by terrifies me, knowing that they could be going after her.
I can still smell her scent, way too strong. Did she run? Oh, God, I hope she’s running.
The other guy rolls towards me, and someone starts kicking my back. Suddenly, it’s hands and heavy boots all over me, and I have to just take the pain as I find enough room to stand up.
As I rise, I throw myself backwards, slamming into one of the guys and knocking him over. I want to turn and run, get them chasing me so they’ll leave Sadie alone, but I know it probably won’t work.
They came here for her. I’m just in the way.
My vision clears, and two of the guys are advancing on me. One is in the dirt on his ass, and Aaron is walking towards Sadie with slow, purposeful steps.
A roar echoes out of me, and as I charge for Aaron, I try to shift. My wolf won’t come, even though I can feel him in my blood, simmering with pure rage. Nothing happens, and I end up stumbling against the other two guys, falling on my face, and grabbing Aaron’s ankle on the way down.
No, not now! On the night of the party, I shifted just fine! What the fuck is going on!
Over the last couple of days, I thought my strength was returning, but now I realize I was distracted by love and neglecting self-examination. I pushed away the knowledge of what was happening in my pack, and in doing so, denied my own reality as well.
Aaron tries to kick me, but I hang on to his ankle, growling as I try to drag him towards me. Two of his goons jump on me, and Sadie’s scream splits the air.
Why won’t she run? Goddammit, run!
In a pile on the ground, three of us punch and kick while Aaron stands over me. I can feel his attention still on Sadie, that he wants to go straight to her and break her neck, but he’s decided to neutralize me first.
Roaring, I throw them off me again, feeling power flooding through my blood. I call on my birthright, the primal soul of the alpha wolf, passed down to me for generations.
I will not fail. I can’t.
With the rush of strength, I launch myself from the ground and smash my fist into the jaw of the nearest bully. He goes down and smashes against the ground. The next one is running towards me, and I slam my shoulder into his chest, knocking him down as I continue my charge towards Aaron.
The last guy actually moves out of my way, giving me a clear path to Aaron. As I clear the distance, I try as hard as I can to shift.
Shift, shift now! I have to!
Aaron smiles, putting up his fists, and I realize that he knows.
He knows I can’t shift!
I slam into Aaron, full force, and we hit the ground, rolling for some distance before I come out on top. I pound his face a few times before he grabs my fists and holds them, growling as he fights against my strength.
“What’s the matter, Alpha?” he sneers. “Can’t get it up?”
“Fuck you!” I roar, trying to free my hands. He holds me steady, even though I can see he’s having trouble doing it.
“Even the alphas can’t shift now,” he laughs. “I overheard Owen talking about it with Shane, and I figured you’d be limp, too, if they are.”
I try again to free my hands, but Aaron roars with effort, flipping us over so my back slams against the ground.
What is happening to me? Sadie, run. Please run.
Aaron punches me across the face, and I roll away, flipping to my feet. I can’t really feel any pain, and I know I’m not badly injured—the fight is far from over.
A quick look around tells me Sadie isn’t there, and the four goons are all accounted for, squaring up right in front of me.
Thank God, she ran away. Now I can take my time dealing with these guys.
They stalk forward in formation, trying to flank me. It’s a simple truth that if you outnumber your opponent, you and your pack can’t just jump him at once. It would be nothing but an awkward tangle of bodies.
That means they have to attack in a sequence if they want to knock me out or restrain me. All I have to do is predict who’s coming at me first.
I bend my knees a little, clenching my fists and keeping my eyes front as two of the guys flank me, and Aaron comes at me dead-on with the last one. Even at the peak of adrenaline, I can feel my senses are duller than they should be, and my reaction time is poor.
They can’t shift, either, but they seem stronger than me. I don’t understand how this is happening.
“We’re taking you out, Alpha,” Aaron says. “You’re weak. It’s this insane sympathy to humans that is killing us, and if we want to save our species, we have to take drastic action.”
I know he’s just trying to distract me, and I try to keep my attention on the fight, but his words get stuck in my brain.
What if he’s right? I could be killing my people… and the worst thing is, I still want Sadie. What can I do?
Growling low in my throat, I clench my muscles, ready to spring. I manage to fake out the two guys flanking me by jumping back instead of forward, and they crash into each other as I dodge around them, leaping towards Aaron.
He meets my charge head-on, and we trade blows, punching each other as hard as we can, over and over. He barely reacts to my punches, and I can feel my knuckles splitting open further every time I smash his jaw.
Suddenly, my shoulders are grabbed, and I’m dragged backwards.
I struggle as hard as I can, but two of the guys are holding my arms, and I can’t break free.
The smaller one comes in and smashes punches into my guts, forcing the air out of my lungs until I’m hanging limp in the arms of the other guys, my head hanging down as blood drips from my nose.
Aaron advances towards me, cracking his knuckles.
This is it. It’s over.
“You’ll never get away with this,” I hiss at him. “The other alphas won’t stand for it, or the council.”
“Well, truth be told, we didn’t want to hurt you,” Aaron says. “I didn’t expect you to fight this hard. But don’t worry, we’ll get rid of the human and think up a cover story. It won’t be too hard.”
“You’re a fool!” I yell, struggling against the grip on my arms.
Their hands just clamp down even tighter, and Aaron pulls his arm back, ready to smash straight into my face.
For a few seconds, nothing happens. It’s as if Aaron has frozen in place, his eyes wide with confusion as he looks at me, then his fist.
What the hell?
Aaron tries to move, an incoherent mumble struggling from his throat.
He manages to stagger forward, but before he can punch me, something grabs him and hurls him back against a tree trunk, his whole body slamming against it.
I hear his skull strike the wood, and he collapses at the base of the tree, blood pouring from his mouth.
What the fuck was that?
The smaller guy, who seemed to be staying out of the fight as much as possible, watches with fear, and the same force lifts him up and flicks him into the woods as if he weighs nothing more than a feather.
I’m staring in shock at the path he made, hurtling through the forest, when the realization hits me.
This is magic… we’re under attack!
“How are you doing this!” one of the guys yells, shaking my arm.
“I’m not—”
The guy howls as his hand is torn from my arm, and he staggers back, blood pouring from his nose. A hard shove from the invisible hand pins him to the ground, and I swing my head back around to see the other guy letting go of me.
“Please!” he gasps, looking at me.
I shake my head and look around, trying to find the source of the strange power.
That’s when I see Sadie, standing next to the hut. At first, I’m afraid—the other guys could still get up and hurt her, or this vicious new power could come after her—but then I see that she isn’t scared.
Her arms are up above her head as she stares at the sky. Power ripples around her, a shimmering force field that looks like heat rising from the road on a hot day. She lowers her hands and looks at the last man, tilting her head and lowering her hands.
The grass and trees nearest to her toss around, as if a strong wind is thrashing around her. Even though her hair and gown get caught in it, she keeps her calm expression, and a whole new kind of fear slams into my guts.
Sadie. No.
She flicks her hand at the remaining man, almost casually. He screams as he flies through the air, and I hear his body crash somewhere behind us in the woods. I can still detect signs of life from them, so they might not be dead, but they sure as hell aren’t getting up any time soon.
I draw my eyes back to Sadie, and the look of guilt on her face is unmistakable.
She knew about this! Has she been lying to me this whole time?
Without meaning to, I take a step back, fear and betrayal raging inside me. I shake my head slightly, not taking my eyes off hers.
The strange feeling in the air begins to settle down, and I know she’s calling her magic. There is a weird taste in the air, as if lightning struck nearby, and I recognize it.
I felt this when we did the ritual. She used magic in the ritual—and lied to me about it.
“Rhys,” she whispers, her face crumpling with sorrow and regret.
I shake my head again, shock keeping me frozen in place.
Just as I’m about to gather my wits and demand answers from her, she turns and runs into the woods. I try to chase her down, but I can’t shift, and in my human shape, I can’t keep up with her or track her.
She has magic on her side now. Even if I had my wolf, I might not be able to find her.
I keep running a few more miles, hoping to pick up some sign, but eventually I have to admit all I’m doing is exhausting myself. It’s already going to take me hours to get back to the car.
Besides, even if I find her, I don’t know if I want to kiss her… or kill her.
***
The long walk back does nothing to clarify my thoughts. I stop by the hut to collect my keys and phone, jogging the short distance back to the Viper.
Might not be shifter-strong, but I’m still fit at least.
My phone is dead, so I plug it into the car charger and sit for a few minutes with the engine running with no clue what to do next.
I don’t have to worry about Cassie. Jean will have her, and that’s the best place for her to be. It would be easy to find Sadie with the help of the pack, but I can’t tell them any of this.
Suddenly, my phone goes crazy as it reconnects. All the texts come in at once. I snatch it up, and I don’t even need to open it—the preview bar tells me everything I need to know.
Boys from my pack reported Sadie as a witch—this is serious, Rhys. Call me. From Owen.
Sadie has been taken to the council for trial, from Shane. You'd better get over there quick.
I throw the car into gear and burn rubber out of the lot, heading for the manor.