Chapter Twenty-Nine
Anne
The man stands up.
Even after the force of Kain’s impact had him flying several feet away and landing on the hard ground, he is able to get up. He moves slowly, bruised and bleeding, his eyes on Kain.
“To think, you really had the balls to be a traitor.” The man shakes his head, seeming disappointed. “I thought I trained you better than this. It appears I have more work to do.”
Realization dawns on me. This must be Rick. Kain’s handler. The man who took ten years of his life.
My wolf snarls at him. Rick glances my way, then he shifts.
His wolf is lean and scarred, with gray and black fur. Larger than his human form in the dense way of an animal that has fought and survived and fought again until violence became instinct.
Kain is already moving before the change is complete. The two wolves collide mid-air.
My attention is drawn away as Darius arrives. His eyes find Violet, and he’s by her side in an instant. He shifts to human form and cradles her body in his arms.
“What’s wrong with her?” he demands, but then he sees the dart in her neck. Darius’s face contorts, and he barks an order at the soldier behind him. “Get me a healer!” To Ethan, he says, “Stay with them both.”
Then, he’s on his feet. The mansion’s grounds are filling with pack warriors and a growing number of the enemy. Darius throws himself into the fight while Ethan stands guard over Violet and me. I’ve never seen a battle like this; if I were in better shape, I would be fascinated.
But as I crawl over to Violet and sink down next to her, my eyes search anxiously for Kain. My Kain.
He’s facing off against his captor. Rick is older, clearly has more experience, and he fights with the patience that comes from it—not matching Kain’s fury but redirecting it, using it against him. Rick absorbs the first charge and turns with it, claws raking across Kain’s shoulder. Kain snaps at his throat; Rick manages to avoid his fangs.
They circle each other, and Rick feints left. He tries to go for my mate’s stomach, his most vulnerable area, but Kain is prepared. He rears back and slams both paws into Rick’s chest hard enough to drive him to the ground. Rick rolls over and comes up bleeding from his muzzle.
He circles Kain, reading him. Looking for the pattern, the habit, the place where ten years of conditioning may have left a groove.
He finds it.
I see the moment—the slight shift in his posture, a new intention in his eyes—but I cannot warn Kain, cannot speak, can only watch. Rick darts in low, targeting a back leg. Kain pivots to cut him off, but Rick uses the pivot, comes up inside his guard, and drives his shoulder into Kain’s chest. They go down together, and Rick lands on top.
His jaws go for the throat, but Kain twists, and Rick gets shoulder instead of neck. The howl of pain Kain lets out causes my wolf to whimper.
Rick looks around while Kain is still struggling to his feet, the shoulder wound bleeding profusely. I follow his gaze and see that most of his operatives have been killed. It’s clear that they’ve lost.
Rick shifts back.
In human form he has hands, and the silver blade is still lying on the grass where it fell when Kain first slammed into him. He picks it up. For a moment, I worry that he’s going to charge at Kain while he is still unsteady. But then, Rick looks past Kain.
Toward me.
It’s only for a split second, but I understand his intention.
He moves faster than someone bleeding that much should be able to. Kain realizes what he’s doing and spins to cut him off, but Rick is smaller in human form and slips past him too easily, aiming for Violet. I jump in front of my friend, plant my feet, and lower my head, bracing for—
But the impact never comes. At the last moment, Rick stops and turns around to face Kain, who is hot on his heels, and drives the blade into his chest.
No!
Silver. Wolfsbane. Straight to the heart. At the exact same time, Kain’s jaws come down on Rick’s head with a sickening crunch.
Blood pours down onto me from the decapitated handler, but all I can do is watch in horror as Kain drops Rick’s body and stagger to the side.
His wolf whimpers, and then he shifts back. Kain stands very still, naked from the shift, hands at his sides. He is covered in wounds and staring blankly. His legs buckle, and he falls to his knees.
