Rowan crashed against the bubble, his fist pounding on the outside. “Let her go. You can take me. Leave her out of this.” The panic in his eyes was clear to me, but he tried to hide it. I watched his emotions shutter, and then his face was cold, and calculating.
Garith laughed. “You are smart; I will give you that. But my granddaughter here, she is my insurance.” He grinned. “Now what are we going to do?”
Erubus faded from Rowan’s eyes. “Tell me what you want.”
“Well, you see…I kind of have all the cards here.” Garith twisted the knife a little deeper. “You see, my lovely granddaughter is stuck with me, in here.” Garith reached another hand around and grabbed my face, earning a growl from Rowan. “She is impaled on a silver knife, and we know what that means.”
Erubus ran out of the trees, speeding directly to Nix.MATE!
Nix whirled and furrowed her brow.What are you doing here?Her question was through gritted teeth. I couldn’t protect them from my pain, not since she made me promise to share everything with her the last time we were dealing with Verity’s magic.
I’m here to help you.
Megan trotted over.How? There is silver in Amy’s body.
So what?Erubus walked closer and rubbed against both of my wolves.
Wolves can’t shift with silver in their bodies.Megan bumped his shoulder.
Erubus licked her snout.Wolves can’t, but Lycans can.He turned to face Nix.You can still shift.
How can I shift into my wolf with his knife inside of me? It will move or tear. And it isn’t like Garith is going to sit there and wait for me to finish shifting.
Erubus shook his head.You do not understand.
What are you talking about?I looked back at my wolves, trying to pay attention to inside and outside.
“Let her go.” Rowan slammed his fist on the barrier. “You can take me instead; isn’t that what you wanted to begin with?”
Garith threw back his head, pulling me back with him, deeper onto the knife. “That was before I found out that this bitch already mated you and is ready to step in as the next ruler.” Garith leveled Rowan with a look. “No…I think she is going to die. Right after you.” He grinned.
Rowan pounded on the bubble, and I saw a flash. I recognized it. This wasn’t a full shield like I did at the cabin. This was a temporary one, one that shrinks as the magic is used up. “Let her go.” Every time Rowan smashed the bubble, it shrank. Not by a lot, but enough. His eyes bored into mine, and I saw a flicker of panic.
Lycan’s can always shift.Erubus called out again, drawing my attention. His eyes flashed towards me.Lycan’s are more powerful than a wolf. They can always shift. They are stronger and faster.
I know what the books said.I called out in pain when the knife shifted.
“Oh, no you don’t.” Garith leaned over my shoulder and pressed his face against mine. “No talking to each other’s wolves. Cai tur flo shi nockta.”
Erubus was yanked out of my mind, our bond rebounding from the magic that Garith spoke into my ear. Rowan staggered, and both of my wolves howled their pain. “What the fuck did you do?” Rowan hit the shield, causing it to flicker and shrink again.
Garith smiled. “I did exactly what I needed to do. I stopped your wolves from crossing that pesky little bond bridge to talk to each other. This way, you can’t plan together. This is between the two of us, my King. My granddaughter is honestly just my bargaining chip.”
Rowan snarled, his eyes flashing and teeth snapping into place. “Let her go.”
“There you are. Erubus, King of the Lycans, the beast of the capital.” Garith leaned into me, pressing me against the barrier and shoving the knife further into my back, but this time I was prepared and I bit the inside of my cheek. Garith turned to me with a smirk. “Quiet as a mouse, huh? Well, let’s see what you can withstand then, granddaughter.”
He ripped the blade out of my lower back and slammed it into my shoulder. I kept my eyes on Rowan’s and my teeth firmly into the meat of my cheek to stop any sounds from escaping.
“Oh ho. Look at you. You think that keeping quiet is going to do you any good?” Garith growled.
Shannon snickered from where Rowan’s aura dropped her. I glanced down and saw that she had turned her face towards meso she could watch everything happening. Her eyes met mine, and she laughed. “You deserve every fucking thing you get today, Amy.” She sneered as she watched blood trail down my legs. “I can’t wait to watch you die. This will be the best mating gift anyone could have ever given me.”
Rowan growled, and it shook my bones. He turned to face Shannon. “The only reason I am not ripping your legs from your body is because I promised Amy that she would get to kill you.” He dropped to a crouch. “But mark my words. If she dies…then everyone here will become a resident of my torture chamber. And I will spend the rest of my life making sure you are as broken as I am.” He grabbed her face. “Death would be too easy. I will do unspeakable things to you. I will use your own mind against you. I will make sure your mind shatters so fucking completely that you will wish that you were dead.” Shannon trembled, and then the smell of urine reached everyone’s nostrils. My mate dropped her face, disgusted. Then he stood and looked at Garith, the threat clear in his eyes.
Garith just smiled. “You wouldn’t do any of that. You are too good.” He laughed, but my mate just smiled as all pretense fell away from his face. I think that in that moment Garith realized Rowan wasn’t joking, because even though he tried to hide it, I smelled a whiff of fear.
Rowan turned to look at me, and I could feel that he was about to snap. If I made a noise, he would lose the tiny bit of sanity he had left. So I mouthed the words I love you to him. I watched him shudder as the meaning hit him. His eyes bored into mine, and I blew him a kiss. I wasn’t afraid to die; I was afraid that this would break my mate. I pressed one of my hands against the bubble and waited until his hand met mine on the other side. His gaze trailed all over my face, as if he were memorizing it. I mouthed one more word to him. One thing that meant the world to me. Carly. He nodded.
