Chapter 22 - Kelsey
I storm out of the building, fighting a thousand emotions.
Confusion.
Hurt.
Anger.
Why in the world is Miles acting jealous?
Why is he acting like he cares about me at all when I’m just an experiment to him?
I’ve literally been giving him the freedom to not have to worry about faking it with me anymore.
Ever since I heard him describe our marriage as he did…
I’ve made it easy for him to step back and not worry about a damn thing.
So why is he showing up at my work and acting jealous when I’m just having a conversation with a work colleague!?
I keep walking, needing to disperse the emotions. I walk and walk and find myself heading towards the forest. The night crew is doing their rounds in there somewhere, and right now I wish I were one of them.
I can’t believe he said those things to me. Is that how he sees me, or was it anger speaking? But anger over what? Can someone who doesn't care about you be that possessive?
Yes, actually, they can. He might have been angry because it would look bad for his image if his wife talked to another guy. Could that be it?
It makes sense.
But that idea makes me even angrier and even more upset.
It brings it all back down to the fact that I am nothing but a tool for him.
I stand at the edge of the forest, taking deep breaths. I want to shift and let Kala run wild through the trees. But I shouldn’t go in there alone without any gear and without telling anyone where I am.
Staring into the dark trees, I talk to myself. I talk to Kala. I talk, and I try to soothe both of us. This whole thing with Miles is a very heavy burden to carry. Our own fated-mate isn’t drawn to us emotionally and is using us. It hurts.
I’m about to do the responsible thing and turn away to walk back home, but my eyes land on an odd set of footprints in the snow.
The boots our security team wears have a tread pattern I would recognize anywhere, and that is not it. And it’s not just one set of footprints. There are four. Maybe five.
Rogues have been right here at the edge of the forest. Panic spikes inside me, and I look over my shoulder at the compound. The warm lights glowing from cottages splashed over the meadow.
They were standing right here and looking at this. At my pack.
Determination and focus replace my pain in an instant.
Instead of walking away from the trees, I walk towards them, following the footsteps. I’ll follow them before they get snowed under, or if it melts, I’ll find out where they went and head back to report it to HQ.
Ahead of me, just inside the tree line, two dark shadows step out, and I yelp in fright. Completely exposed and with nowhere to run, I immediately remember what it felt like when those two rogues attacked me.
But the scent I catch in the air is familiar.
“Taylor?” I ask nervously.
He laughs coldly.
A flicker of relief washes through me, but then Kala’s hackles rise, and I realize that just because they aren’t rogues doesn’t mean I’m not in danger.
Taylor walks towards me with Luke at his side.
Taylor’s eyes are dark with menacing thoughts. Luke looks uncomfortable. “We should carry on with the scout, man,” Luke says.
“Shut up. This is such a perfect opportunity. Why would you want to waste it?” Taylor snarls.
“I just think we should…”
Taylor spins to face Luke and glares at him, shutting him up instantly.
“Taylor, I just saw rogue footprints,” I tell him, hoping he will snap out of whatever he’s thinking.
“Nice try, girl,” he mutters, standing over me.
The energy around him is dark and cold. The magic inside me lets me read it easily, and all I see is black in his aura. I’m about to turn and start sprinting when he lashes out and grabs me around the throat, lifting me clean off the ground.
A strangled yelp falls from my lips, and I kick out.
It’s useless, though.
I have no choice but to fight back with everything I have.
Reaching up, I grab his wrist in both hands and send a sharp, electrified current of magic into his body like a lightning bolt.
His first tightens as he tries to fight the pain.
Luke yells a warning that he’ll punch me in the ribs if I don’t stop.
But I can’t stop.
It’s this…or letting him kill me.
Taylor lifts me higher and then slams me down onto my back, climbing onto me and tearing at my clothes in a fit of blind rage.
I never wanted to do this. I never pictured the first person I’d use my magic against to be someone who was supposed to be on my side. Someone from my own pack.
I press my hands against his chest and send an even stronger explosion of magic into him.
He flies off me, and his back slams into a tree.
Luke runs at me, his steps nervous and unsure, but I shoot tendrils like vines into the ground that wrap around his feet and lock him in place.
He yelps as his momentum sends him toppling forward, and his face slams into the ground.
“Stop!” I tell Taylor as he runs at me again, even angrier than before.
He slams into me, but I put up a shield, and he ends up crashing into it instead.
I hear his shoulder pop as it jumps from its socket.
“Stop, Taylor!” I scream again.
He’s already getting up and getting ready to attack me again, so I run.
If I keep fighting, I’m going to end up killing him, and that is the last thing I want on my conscience.
So, I run.
I run into the forest. Into the dark trees.
I run at full speed, with all my heart.
Behind me, I hear thundering footsteps as they follow.
When I cross the threshold of our territory, Kala whines and begs me to let her out, but it’s too dangerous now. I don’t even know if my magic works when I’m in wolf form, and she can’t fight both of them alone.
But as I round the corner of a rocky outcrop, my heart sinks.
It’s not them I need to worry about anymore.
They surround us in a flash. Seven rogues. Massive men and massive wolves. Some of them shifted; some did not.
I hear Luke yelp behind me, horrified as he comes to a stop and sees what I see.
A wolf streaks past and slams into him, then another one slams into Taylor.
I duck as a third wolf leaps for me. I release magic from my outstretched arm and pluck the wolf from the air as it flies over my head, tossing it against a tree. I hear its bones break. In slow motion, it falls to the ground. Its neck, broken.
I’ve never killed anyone before. I’ve never hurt anyone like this, and for a second, I go numb.
But there’s no time to be numb. Behind me, Luke screams.
I spin and use my magic to restrain the wolf. In a panic, the guy shifts back into human form and claws at the pink-and-gold mist swirling around him. He screams in agony as I fling him away from my pack members.
Taylor is fighting a massive black-and-brown wolf. He’s shifted, but the rogue has him by the throat.
A new wolf leaps at Luke.
I try to shoot magic out in both directions, but someone grabs me from behind. While I fight them, pushing them away with a force field, I see two more wolves join the fight against Taylor.
He doesn’t stand a chance.
I scream when one of them rips a chunk of flesh from his throat.
His wolf goes limp, blood pumping from the jagged wound.
I want to throw up, but there is still someone else here I can save.
“Luke!” I scream. Emotions surge, and my power triples. I send a shockwave out, push people and wolves away from me, then run towards Luke to help him.
I dive in front of him, plucking the wolf off him.
Another tries to leap forward, but a sharp whistle calls it off.
I spin to face our attackers. Luke is injured, but ok.
I stand with my back to him, and my arms spread wide, ready to fight.
But the rogues are just standing there, watching me.
The biggest guy steps forward, his face etched with amusement.
Everything about him makes my skin crawl.
“Hello, sweetheart,” he muses, his eyes drifting over me in slow, disturbing ways.
“Who are you?” I demand.
“My name is Ace. I am the leader of the rogues. It is my absolute pleasure to meet you,” he says. His voice is like dark caramel. His monotoned charm is deep and dangerous.
His words vibrate through the air and agitate my skin.
“Stay off our land, Ace, leader of the rogues,” I demand, letting pink glow in the palm of my hands as a warning.
He laughs warmly, but the shards of how cold his heart is cannot be hidden behind his laughter.
“This isn’t your land, beautiful…little…. wolf,” he says, close enough that I can hear his heartbeat and smell the sweat on his skin.
His eyes are dark as he looks down at me. When he reaches up to touch my face with his broad hands, I wince and turn my cheek away.
“Oh, baby girl, don’t be scared of me. You and I could have a lot of fun together,” he says.
“There isn’t any chance in hell that you and I will ever have fun together,” I snarl.
He laughs again.
“I want you to come with me. I honestly think we’ll make a good team. Your magic is… fascinating.”
I look around at the rogue wolves now fully surrounding me. I don’t think this is an invite. I think this is a command. There is nothing optional about his request.
“No, thank you,” I say sharply.
“I strongly suggest you reconsider, baby girl. You see…”
“She’s not worth as much as you think she is,” Miles says, stepping from the trees.
My heart leaps and spins inside me.
“Is that so?” Ace snarls at him, turning to face him.
“You want her because she’s a witch, right? Well, she isn’t really worth the trouble. She’s not that powerful. I mean, don’t get me wrong. She gives a good light show. Very pretty. But that’s about it.”
I’m furious. I want to shout at him that I just saved Luke’s life. That I am strong and I can fight.
But I glance down at Taylor’s lifeless body and realize that Miles might be right.
“Who are you?” Ace snarls dangerously.
“I’m the Beta of the pack you’ve been stalking. My name is Miles, and if you want to negotiate with our Alpha, then you should take something that is actually valuable to him.”
“Like you?” Ace asks, glancing at me again as he mulls over what Miles is telling him.
Suddenly, I realize what’s happening.
Miles is sacrificing himself for me. He’s playing down my powers to keep me safe.
There is no way in hell he would do that if he didn’t care about me! He has to know that they will kill him or use him as bait to lure Jace out. He has to know that there is no way they will negotiate an honorable or fair deal. They are rogues. It’s not possible to trust them!
And he’s still going ahead with this for me.
I don’t care what he said in the past; there is absolutely no way someone sacrifices their own safety for a person they don’t care about!
“I’ll go with you willingly,” Miles says, causing my insides to churn with panic. They will kill him. And he might be ridiculously strong, but he can’t take on an entire pack of rogues by himself.
“Now, why would you do that?” Ace muses. “It seems too good a deal to get the packs Beta to come with us willingly. Are you trying to trick me into stopping me from taking the girl? Your real weapon…I haven’t seen a witch in a century.”
“You haven’t seen a witch because the only ones left now are weak with diluted bloodlines.
No. You are misunderstanding my offer. I am willing because I want to negotiate for the safety of my pack.
If I thought that girl was worth the trade and I knew it would be enough of an offering to stop you from coming back, then yes, I would say you should take her.
"One life in exchange for the lives of everyone in my pack…I wouldn’t hesitate. But I know you’ll take her and quickly discover she wasn’t worth your time…then you’ll be back.”
“Mm.”
Ace paces up and down, and he keeps looking at me with a lingering stare that makes my skin crawl in disgust. A man like him, one so savage and raw, one who operates outside of the natural law of things… he would do things to me that I couldn’t dream of in my worst nightmares.
It’s written all over his face.
One of his men steps forward and whispers something in his ear.
He turns to Miles.
“Miles Nelson?” He asks.
“Correct,” Miles says, standing tall and holding his ground with calm confidence.
Ace lets his eyes drift dangerously over my husband, and my stomach churns with fear.
I can’t bear to let them take him. I would never forgive myself. There is nothing in this world that will stand between me and the man I care about.
I will do whatever it takes to protect him, especially after he’s just proved he would do the same for me.
“Alright,” Ace says after a long while. “We accept your terms.”