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I could smell the last two wolves closing in, that delicious scent of rich blood drawing near.
Jasper’s breath shuddered, whispering across my face before he reached a hand within his vest. He removed the favour I gifted him on my eighteenth birthday. A red handkerchief I had sewn myself. We re-pledged our loyalty with that gift, and it was a sign he would return for me.
He pushed it into my hand. My fingers tightening around it and I nodded to him as he rose. Jasper clenched a fist, beating it twice upon his heart.
“My queen.” Jasper bowed quickly before he glanced down the road to the battle we escaped from, and turned, running off into the night.
He was my only hope now.
Knowing Jasper was safe allowed my mind to clear. Focused, I tucked the favour into my leather vest before I dragged my knees beneath me to stand, gritting my teeth to silence my scream. The pain was almost unbearable. But I had to stand strong. The wolves were here.
The horse whined, its panic growing more intense. The high ringing in my ears was subsiding, enough for me to hear their hearts again as they approached. I could not see them, but low thuds echoed in my body along with the flood of pain that ripped through me from the smallest movement of my leg.
Once unlocked, my mother’s necklace would destroy anything within ten metres of it, apart from myself. As long as I was ready, as long as I could work the mechanism that opened it and whisper the words to bring forward its powers, I could follow Jasper to safety.
The growls of the two wolves rattled through me as they appeared. The sound ricocheted around the dark trees, flying out into the night. My heart would not calm. I could barely grasp my sword.
The russet wolf stayed back as the black one closed in on me. His ears twitched, his glowing yellow eyes calling me. Stepping forward, his huge paws sunk into the soft mud that had caught me. Claws sharp, teeth bared, he stalked around me, never breaking our gaze.
I needed the russet wolf closer.
I could feel them in my body. The men inside the wolves, the furious hunger that surged from them. The black wolf was only metres from me now. But craving replaced fear. My desire to see his true face pulsing through me, a need to know what he would look like under a full moon in his human form.
I watched him closely, fangs bared as I desperately worked the lock. I would not let go of my sword, not when there was no guarantee they would both die.
My fear did not matter here. Only life, and the death that would follow.
My eyes dance over him as my lips spread into a smile. “My, my,” I purred, keeping my gaze fixed on him. “What big teeth you have.”
A chuckle that came from the black wolf, rumbling deep in his chest, and I used it as a chance to edge closer towards the russet. Only one more metre, three more steps. But with my leg, even a single step was a mile.
The black wolf opened his mouth, his sharp fangs as white as mine, promising me death. Either way, he was distracted enough for me to shoot forward.
Agony screeched through my body as I moved, forcing myself on, the russet wolf in my sights.
All I heard was a snarl from the black wolf behind me. I made the mistake of turning my back on him in my desperation to reach the russet.
I swear I caught a look of surprise in the russet wolf’s glowing eyes before I quickly turned.
The moment the lock clicked open, I whispered the incantation two times. It was the third that would make the difference, and that second was all the black wolf needed. It didn’t matter how my sword was raised or how fast I said the words.
He was already on me. Claws sharp, fury etched deep into his growl, I hardened my muscles, throwing all my weight into the sword, thrusting it into his heavy shoulder as his giant body hit me. I sailed through the air, carried by him. The back of my head slammed into a rock as we landed, and my only thought was of the softness of his fur and the raw smell of wolf before darkness consumed me.
TWO
Valko
Ileapt towards Lucien before he tore the princess’s throat out. His rage was palpable. Our friends were dead, and the blame rested solely on her shoulders. But it was not just that. Ten years of running, and we had finally come face-to-face with one of the vampires that triggered the massacre of our people.
But it was not the time for emotion.
Lucien reared over her unconscious form, so small compared to him, his jaws seconds from snapping at her face. We needed her alive if our plan was to work, but Lucien was easily swayed by his desires.
I slammed into him, knocking him from her. He yelped as I hit his shoulder, the silver blade she had driven into him skidding away. We tumbled into the earth and he quickly rose, snarling at me. I stared him down, bodies tense, a growl rumbling through me.
We were not here for a quick revenge, no matter our loses, and he knew this. We had planned this for months, and it was a risk each of us had been willing to make. But I didn’t expect the other wolves to fall.
There was no room for mistakes. We had to move.
