Page 119 of The Ember that Tethers

Hunger.

Emmery reached for Destonne, praying he would wake, and that the fever would release its hold. She grabbed his forearm and shook. Hard.

Still asleep, he only mumbled into her hair.

“Wake up,” Emmery hissed. Her gaze never strayed from Brennen’s. She wouldn’t chance it, but fear held her there anyway.

The wolf's lips pulled back over strong white teeth that could rip her to pieces with ease. A viscous string of drool slid from his mouth and landed between her eyebrows. Emmery’s stomach dropped.

Even if she managed to slither free from his paws on either side of her, she couldn’t possibly outrun him. There was only one way out of this.

Emmery jammed her elbow into Destonne’s ribs.

“Ouch,” he groaned, the word slurred like he still battled sleep. He rubbed his torso. “What was—” His eyes peeled open and locked on Brennen. The situation knocked sleep’s hold loose, and the world seemed to freeze in this fresh, frigid nightmare.

The wolf’s gaze remained on Emmery, his focus solely on his prey, ready to sink his teeth into her.

“Brennen,” Destonne coaxed, his groggy voice laced with a tremble. His head swayed as he attempted to sit up. “Step back.”

But Brennen’s consciousness remained tucked away somewhere.

And the wolf lunged.

Even for his ill state, Destonne moved impressively fast. He snagged Brennen around the neck and hauled the enormous wolf back. Brennen snapped and howled, his teeth merely a hair’s breadth from Emmery’s face. She scrambled away.

Brennen’s attention shifted from her and centered on Destonne. As the wolf wriggled like a wily serpent, his mouth clamped around Destonne’s forearm. Through his shirt, the wolf’s teeth sank into flesh, ripped muscle, severed tendons down to the bone with a terrifying wet squelch. Blood squirted and drenched both of them.

Destonne roared between clenched teeth. Thorns burst through his skin, but it didn’t distract him from his task. He wasted no time in his adrenaline-laced fury and tackled Brennen to the ground.

The wolf kicked and flailed and bit, writhing like a ravenous monster, but Destonne managed to keep Brennen pinned on his back, even as the wolf reared, ready to strike again.

Emmery lunged forward and wrapped her hands around Brennen’s impossibly strong jaws before he could sink his teeth into Destonne once more.

“Go,” Destonne croaked, nodding into the shadows. “Go,now.”

“No!” she spat back. “I’m not leaving you again.”

“Emmery—”

But Brennen thrashed and Destonne’s attention snapped back to him.

“Bren,” the King snapped, authority sharpening his words. “Listen to me. You’re not yourself.” His strong tone seemed toneedle calm into the wolf’s rage as Brennen’s thrashing slowed. Blood soaked Destonne’s sleeve, trickled down his arm, and dripped off his fingertips onto the wolf’s face.

“Let go, Bren.” His voice stiffened to a steady, even tone. “You have to remember.Come on.”

As time dragged by like yarn stretched in a wheel, Emmery feared the beast had permanently taken hold of Brennen and refused to let go.

But eventually Brennen’s growl died, his gnashing teeth stilled beneath Emmery’s hold, and his rigid muscles relaxed as the deepest regret soaked both their gazes. She slowly released the wolf’s muzzle, rose to her feet, and stepped back to give them space.

The moment Destonne freed him of the chokehold, Brennen crawled away, his eyes wide and glossy as he undoubtedly spoke into his friend’s mind.

“I’m fine,” Destonne ground out, his voice hoarse. With a groan, he sat up and cradled his arm. “It’s only a scratch.”

Emmery ignored his dismissal of his wound and kneeled beside him. In one hand she lit a tiny flame and with the other she lifted his sleeve to survey the damage.

Destonne wasnotfine.

The exposed thorns in his arm twisted, writhed, and likely explained why blood continued to stream from Brennen’s mouth. Destonne sucked air between his teeth, but the thorns wouldn’t retract. Panic had a hold of him and his chest shook with each disjointed gasp for air. Until he calmed, healing him would be pointless.