Instead of the werewolf that I’d expected, she’d shifted into a regular wolf. She was massive, larger than me, and in my wolf form, I was a huge wolf. She was a head taller than I was and absolutely gorgeous. Her fur wasthe same color as her hair, dark and sleek, and such a deep shade of red it looked like pools of blood. There was a powerful aura around her, and it made me want to kneel down and bite her all at the same time. When sheturned her gaze toward me as I entered, she truly did look regal. This was what a royal wolf looked like.
“Shoot it,” Viola bawled from the corner. “Shoot the goddamned thing!”
I turned and saw the remaining guard, eyes wide in terror, lifting his pistol toward Maddy. I leaped through the air and clamped my jaw on his wrist. The bones snapped, and the gun fell to the ground as the man screamed. He sprinted from the chamber, clutching his arm, still screaming.
“You bitch,” Viola hissed. “If you’re going to be a dog, then do as you’re told. Be a good fucking puppy and do your damned duty. Don’t forget, we still have your mother.”
I froze. They had her mother? Icy fear shot through me. Had they attacked my compound and taken her again? Had they killed my pack? Maddy turned and leveled her gaze at me again. I could almost feel her thoughts. In her eyes, I found the truth. They had her birth mother. That’s what they were holding over her head to get her to open the vault. Maddy stepped toward the stone monolith at the center of the room.
I shifted back to my human form and took a step toward Maddy. “Don’t do this. Your mother wouldn’t want that.” I didn’t really know her birth mother, but deep down, I knew it was true. She would happily sacrifice herself for Maddy’s safety. I knew it made me selfish, but that was the option I was willing to take. Anything to make sure Maddy survived.
The eyes of the wolf’s head on the vault began to glow red as Maddy neared it. A shimmering white orb of energy seemed to appear around. Maddy stepped across the threshold of the orb, getting closer to the vault. I ran to her, ready to yank her away from it. When I hit the barrier, it was like running into a stone wall. It was so hard that it knocked the breath outof me and sent me flying across the stone floor.
I looked on as Maddy shifted to her human form. It must have taken all she had to change back because she looked exhausted as she knelt on one knee. I scrambled to my feet and tried to push through the magical barrier again. I pounded my fists on it, but it was as unyielding as steel.
“Please, Maddy.” My voice was thick with tears. “Don’t do it. Please, baby. Please.”
She turned her head toward me and gave a small reassuring smile and nod. “It’s okay, Nico.”
I shook my head and pounded at the invisible wall again. “No. No, Maddy!” Panic flooded my body. My vision went blurry as I watched her step even closer to the vault. “Please.”
Maddy placed her forearm in the mouth of the stone wolf and looked at me again. In a whisper so quiet only another shifter would hear it, she said, “Before my heart stops, I need to bite you. I still haven’t claimed my mate yet.”
I stared at her, taking several seconds to understand what she was saying. Then it clicked into place. She was an alpha. Every alpha had to claim their mate to complete the bond. I’d claimed her, but she’d never claimed me. Once she did, our bodies and souls would become one. The magic of the claiming would breathe life back into her. It would save her if she were on the verge of death. Even through my tears, I smiled, in awe of how smart she was. She wasn’t just going to her death without a plan.
An instant later, the jaw of the wolf snapped shut on Maddy’s arm. She flinched, and blood immediately began to flow from her body into the vault. Veins of red began to appear through the stone. Her blood seeped into the rock, her power unlocking the door behind which sat the blood of Edemas.
Viola pressed herself against the barrier, a look of almost ecstasy on her face as she watched Maddy sink to her knees.“Yes,” she muttered to herself. “Bleed the bitch dry. Do it. My whole life, I’ve waited for this. We’ll bring them all back.”
I tore my eyes away from Maddy to glance at Viola. Bring who back? What was she talking about? Maddy groaned in pain, and Viola was forgotten. I looked toward her, and my wolf roared in anger. Her face was beyond pale. Her skin was so white it was like tissue paper, and the veins beneath were visible. She lifted her head and whispered to me again. “No matter what, don’t… let… her get… the vial.”
I couldn’t give a shit about a dead man’s blood. That was the least of my worries. All I wanted was to get to Maddy and save her before it was too late. As though she could see the thoughts forming in my head, she shook her head. “Don’t let her,” she repeated.
Maddy’s head slumped forward—the only thing keeping her from falling to the floor was the wolf that slowly bled the life from her. Her heart was slowing down—I could hear it. Across the room, Viola was screeching in victory. Fury exploded inside my chest. I’d been so worried about Maddy that Viola had taken a backseat in my mind. But seeing her look so happy and pleased at Maddy’s pain and suffering set me off.
I ran to her and wrapped my hand around her throat before she could react. She clawed at my hand, drawing bloody furrows across my skin. She kicked out at me, but the pain was minimal. Viola’s face grew red, and I closed my fingers harder. Before I could choke the life out of her, there was an audible crack, and a pressure change caused my ears to pop. I dropped Viola and turned to see the barrier had fallen.
Viola gasped for air while I ran toward Maddy. The wolf’s jaw had released her arm, and she was lying motionless. Ignoring what she’d told me about the vial, I patted her cheek, trying to wake her up. Viola nearly tripped over herself as she rantoward the vault. She dug her fingers into the small doorway and tugged, but even unlocked, it was too heavy for her to slide aside.
“Help me,” she screamed, looking at me, bruises already blossoming on her throat where I’d choked her.
Cradling Maddy in my arms, I looked at Viola and snarled. “If you’re smart, you’ll get the fuck out of here. Because once I save Maddy, I’m going torip you limb from fucking limb.”
She heard how serious I was, and fear crossed her features, though she did her best to mask it. She opened her mouth to say something, but a growl echoed from the door. I gave her a menacing grin. “Better run. My friends are here.”
She looked around and saw Luis in wolf form standing by the door. Marcus and Darren stood behind him, holding the assault rifles Donatello had given us. Viola looked at the vault with longing before running to the other side of the chamber. There was a small passage in an alcove. She turned on her heel and jabbed a finger in my direction. “You’re going to regret this. You all will.”
Without another word, she disappeared down the hidden corridor. Forgetting her as soon as she was gone, I turned back to Maddy. I wanted to chase Viola down and rip her goddamned throat out, but Maddy was more important. I could still hear her heart. It was beating, but barely, like butterfly wings, faint and weak. I lifted her lips and rubbed at her gums, trying to coax her fangs out. “Come on, babe. You’ve gotta do it. One good bite. Come on. I know you can.”
“What can I do?” Luis asked.
Ignoring him, I smacked Maddy’s cheek harder, trying to get her eyes open. Nothing. The beating of her heart was growing weaker by the second. She was going. My breath was hissing in and out of my nose in panic. I could feel her slipping away. Tears started slipping down my cheeks. “No. Maddy? No. Baby, please.You can’t leave me. You can’t. Please? Wake up. Wake up!” I screamed the last two words, feeling my heart breaking.
Her eyes fluttered open, and I stopped breathing, afraid even one breath might tip her over the edge into oblivion. She locked eyes with me, then sank her fangs into me. The pain was sharp but sweet. It meant she was alive. Maddy was alive and had claimed me. The bond erupted almost at once, our hearts beating in sync, and the color of her cheeks grew pink as her body drew strength from mine. I wept happily as I watched the blood slip down my arm.
76
MADDY
