Chapter 9
Chapter 9
(Laly’s POV)
When I opened my eyes, everything was spinning. Trees surrounded me in a blur of shadow.
My arms ached. I tried to move, but the rope rubbed hard against my wrists, making them sting.
I was tied to a tree.
Panic spread through me.
Iyanked at the ropes, but my body was heavy and I could barely feel my legs…
The wolfsbane was still in my blood. It made my body weak and shaky. Ravena was silent, and Vaelith growled faintly, like an angry caged beast.
I tried to speak, but my breath came out in short, panicked huffs. I realized also that I was gagged.
The men’s voices echoed nearby.
“She’s still out, Let’s just get it done,” one of them said. His tone felt wrong, and too eager,
Another voice snapped, “No. We scare her, that’s it. That was the order.”
“Scare her?” the first man baughed. “Look at her. She’s barely breathing. She won’t fight Let’s have a little fun. She won’t remember a thing”
I closed my eyes tightly, praying I was still dreaming.
A third voice answered, lower and firm. “We were sent to teach her a lesson. Not to touch her. That wasn’t part of the deal”
There was something about that voice. I didn’t need to see his face to know something in my gut told me he was the one that stabbed me.
The leader.
“She just needs to know she crossed a line, he said. “That she doesn’t belong with certain people, and that some things belong only to the powerful.”
Even with the wolfsbane in my system, even through the pounding in my head, I understood what he meant.
He didn’t need
to say more.
Celeste had sent them.
The leader took a step toward me, boots crunching on the leaves. I stayed still, eyes half–lidded, pretending to be unconscious.
He stopped in front of me, and with one glance, muttered “She’s awake.”
Behind him, the two other men exchanged a silent look.
Then, without warning, one of them moved. He drew a silver blade from inside his coat and drove it into the leader’s back.
The man choked, stumbled forward, and dropped with a thud in front of me, blood soaking into the earth.
a muffled cry my body jerking against the ropes. Pain shot through my shoulders.
They killed their own leader.
They weren’t just dangerous.
They were evil
r’i what happens when you go soft,” the knife–holder muttered, shaking blood off the blade like it meant nothing
The other or laughed, stepping closer “Means more time for us, dorini ju
Icouldn’t move. I couldn’t scream. My body was too weak, too hravy. My wolf and demon were weak inside me. Tears ran silently down my
One of them reached forward and dragged his fingers across try jase
1/2
11:14 AM ·
Chapter 9
“So soft,” he said. “You’re even prettier up close.”
My entire body flinched.
“Don’t cry, sweetheart, the other said. “It won’t take long”
Their hands were in my hair, brushing it back like I was some doll. Their breaths reeked of blood and smoke. My skin crawled.
1 shut my eyes and begged for someone- anyone to come.
Then it came.
A low, thunderous growl.
They two men froze.
Another growl followed, closer and sharper.
Then crack.
A huge werewolf burst from the trees, knocking one man away
way from me and sending g him tumbling across the forest floor.
The other man turned, reaching for his weapon, but another werewolf slammed into him, and his scream was cut short.
Three wolves.
They were huge and fierce with glowing eyes.
One was silver–furred with sharp teeth. Another was reddish–brown with long limbs and powerful legs. The last had dark brown fur with striking
amler cych
They didn’t hesitate. The first man tried to fight back, but his blade fell to the ground as the silver wolf t the reddish one pounced, snapping his neck with a sickening twist
The third wolf; the dark brown one stood in front of me, growling low, guarding me like I was its own.
My head swam. I blinked to stay awake. Everything was spinning again.
When the last of the rogues fell, the forest fell eerily silent.
tore into him. The other screamed again, but
The three werewolves stood still for a moment, then one by one, their bodies shimmered and shifted. The silver wolf became a tall boy with dark, messy hair and a steady gaze. The reddish–brown wolf turned into a lean teen with sharp eyes and a scar on his brow. The dark brown one shifted into a girl, her hair in wild curls, amber eyes serious as she stood with confidence.
They approached slowly.
And then, without a word, all three knelt before me.
“We have come to serve you,” the one who was silver–furred said, his voice sure and reverent. “You are the one we’ve been looking for, Our lady
I blinked, my breath catching in my throat, unsure if I’d imagined it… and then everything went black.
AD
