“No, please, Sor. Tell me why you don’t want to believe my reasons.” Bal’s quick smirk held no more warmth than the Arctic.
“Let me go, Shane.” Her eyes met mine, determined and full of pleading.
“That’s right, fledgling, let her go. She doesn’t want you any more than I do,” Bal taunted.
My teeth creaked, I clenched my jaw so hard, but I had no choice. My fingers released Sor, and she walked right up to the bastard, who was about to irreparably break her heart and her trust. Perhaps it was best that she saw him for what he was…
But she didn’t show any fear. She stopped right in front of him, not cowed by how he dwarfed her, and raised a hand to his face. My breath caught when he didn’t stop her cupping his cheek with her hand. If I didn’t know better, I’d have sworn I saw his gaze soften.
“I know this isn’t who you really are, Balthazar. You care for us. I don’t believe this is your choice. And I forgive you.”
His hand gripped her wrist and yanked it from his skin. “Really? You forgive me?” His cruel smile had me surging towards him, but I was too late. He gripped her under her arms and threw her sideways.
“No!!” I roared.
Bal grinned. “Too late, Wolfie. I have no further use for her.”
31
Shane
My wolf’spower surged through my cells, merging with my vampire side. I pivoted and ran towards where a tall, brown-haired man in a well-fitting suit had caught Sor. I could move fast, faster than most ancient vampires, but so could Bal. I slammed into an open hand that made me stagger backwards and forced air from my lungs. “She’s not yours, hybrid. She belongs to Nicolai.”
“What? You’ve actually given her back to him?” Shock rippled through me, freezing my muscles and my mind. I couldn’t even summon my anger. I was numb, trying to comprehend his new level of cruelty. “Mother wolf, Bal. Do you truly feel nothing for us?”
For a moment, red flickered in his irises before it was washed away as if it hadn’t been there.
“Not a damn thing. You were an experiment, and my king wants you. That’s the only reason I helped you through bloodlust. He has plans for you. Me? I just enjoyed taking youapart. Who wouldn’t? A strong, powerful alpha on his knees for me, doing everything I asked? Of course, I used you. But, as with most of my playthings, you started to bore me.” He shrugged. “So I moved on.”
And there it was, the sum of my worth to him. Nothing. A tsunami of rage burst through me. My fist connected with Bal’s jaw before he or any of the guards could react. I didn’t give a fuck if he killed me. I despised him with ever cell in my body. Wrath tightened my muscles, and I hit him again before I kicked him right in the chest. I heard bones crack and felt a deep satisfaction that fuelled my anger. He flew backwards, landing on Dav, who had also sped forward. They both crashed to the ground.
“Shane! Stop! Don’t make me kill you!” yelled Elliott.
I didn’t spare him a glance. He wouldn’t shoot me—I didn’t think… But it didn’t matter. Bullets couldn’t hurt me. I turned to scoop Sor from the arms of that fucking bastard who’d used her so thoroughly. But she was gone. And so was he.
No! I spun on my heel, looking for any trace of them. My stomach sank. We’d drawn a crowd of scared-looking humans, all with their fucking phones out. I didn’t give a shit. I was a monster, and I couldn’t care less who knew. What I cared about was Sor. I inhaled deeply, and my wolf urged me to the right. I leapt a bench and sprinted down the pathway, the river on my left and office buildings on my right, chasing Sor’s scent. I couldn’t let Nicolai take her away. She’d suffered enough. Fuck, I’d lost my temper, and once again I’d fucked up. After that first punch, I should have gone for Nicolai.
Something stung the back of my neck, but I knocked away the annoyance. A tiny object fell from my skin, but I kept running. What I couldn’t ignore was the crossbow bolt that slammed into my back, making me stagger. Still, I kept my feet moving, ignoring the pain. Weapons would slow me down, but not stop me; they knew that.
Another hit, this time in my left buttock.
“Fuck!” My steps faltered, but I kept my legs pumping, chasing Sor’s scent. I reached around and pulled that bolt out. Another slight sting in my neck. I pulled at it as I ran and threw the small dart aside. Shit! They were poisoning me again. I snarled. I really needed to find out what the most dangerous substances were to me and carry the antidotes.
The path tilted, and I stumbled, but I righted myself and kept running. No one, except Bal, would be able to catch me. I was faster than any of the guards, Dav included. But my legs were failing, and pain filtered through my single-minded purpose to reach Sor. It saturated me, making every step agony. Another bolt, this one to my kidney, followed by one to my knee. Bone shattered.
I roared.
He couldn’t win. Not after all this! But that bolt was the one that took me down. As my knee gave way and I fell forward, I saw the sexy as sin Made watching me from the nearest bridge. He kept his gaze fixed on my face—and winked, right before my cheek scraped along the concrete. Shit, he’d been here the whole time? Why the fuck hadn’t he helped me?
By the time I lifted my blurry gaze to the bridge that spanned the Thames, he’d disappeared. My head thumped against the ground, too heavy to hold up, and Bal’s perfectly shiny shoes appeared. His hand threaded into my hair, and I could almost fool myself that his touch was a gentle stroke—until he wrapped it around his fist and yanked my head up.
“Running from my House without my permission is a crime, fledgling. Especially when you belong to the vampires. After all, you told the Shifter King you were no longer a part of his pack, that you are more vampire than wolf.” He gave a satisfied smirk. “That makes you mine, and by default King Korlov’s. You will regret running.”
He let my head go. I expected to slam into the hard ground, but he lowered me gently. I had no further time to contemplate that moment of kindness on his part. Consciousness was slipping too fast. Whatever they’d shot me full of did its job. Voices were muffled, and it was hard to know what was a hallucination or my imagination, and what was real.
“Shit, are you certain about this, Bal?”
“Do not question me. This is what has to happen.”
