Vix screamed and launched herself at me.
The knife arced through the air. I dodged, barely, and shifted my hands, just my hands, claws extending from my fingertips.Look at me, learning new tricks in the middle of a fight. Personal growth.
We fought, and it was brutal.
Vix was trained, I’d give her that. She moved with precision, striking and retreating. And she was raging, years of obsession fueling every move.
But my rage was bigger.
Every lie. Every manipulation. Every moment of pain Vix caused. This woman had poisoned me. Had tried to destroy my relationship. Had been part of a conspiracy that killed my parents. And now she was trying to kill me herself.
Spoiler alert: I wasn’t going to let her.
The knife caught my arm once, my shoulder once. Annoying, but my wolf was already healing the scratches. Meanwhile, Vix was getting sloppier, more desperate. Turns out unhinged rage wasn’t a great fighting strategy.
I saw an opening.
I lunged. My claws caught Vix’s wrist, forcing her to drop the knife. Before she could recover, I tackled her, pinning her to the ground with all my weight.
Not bad for someone who’d been a wolf for approximately five minutes.
Vix struggled. Screamed. Cursed. But I didn’t let go.
“It’s over,” I panted. “You lost.”
“I’ll kill you,” Vix spat. “The moment I get free, I’ll...”
“Yeah, yeah. You’ll kill me, poison me, steal my mate, blah blah blah. I’ve heard it all before. Get some new material.”
A shadow fell over us.
Caelan crouched beside Vix, and before she could say another word, he knocked her out cold.
“Guards!” he roared. Within moments, two wolves in human form appeared. “Take her. Chain her. If she moves, kill her.”
They obeyed, dragging Vix’s unconscious body away.
I stayed on the ground for a moment, breathing hard. My body ached. I was exhausted, bloody, and probably looked like I’d lost a fight with a blender.
But I was alive. And Vix was in chains. And it was finally, finally over. Caelan’s hand appeared in my vision. I took it, let him pull me to my feet.
“You did good,” he said softly, his eyes warm. “You fought well. I’m proud of you.”
“You’re one to talk,” I managed. “You’re a mess.”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re literally injured.”
“It’s barely a scratch.”
“Caelan, I can see...” I trailed off, looking at him properly. At the way he was looking at me. At the relief in his eyes, the tenderness, the love. “Okay, fine. You’re fine. We’re both fine. Everything is fine.”
He smiled, really smiled, and cupped my face in his hands. “I thought I lost you,” he murmured. “When you ran from the cabin, when Soren took you, I thought...” He swallowed. “Don’t ever do that to me again.”
“Get kidnapped by a supervillain? I’ll try to avoid it.”
“I’m serious, Riley.”
