Eden’s mate could join him in a shallow grave, and in this moment of clarity, Lyric hoped her sister had bonded to Traydon already. She hoped his death would hurt her. She hoped it would haunt her sister forever.
For her entire existence, Lyric had tried to stay good. She’d tried to please people. She’d tried to stay out of trouble, but now?
After all they had done? After all they’d forced her to do?
She was comfortable being the traitor.
She was going to revel in being the villain in a corrupt system.
Lyric knew what to do, but Traydon’s wolf was much bigger and more dominant than hers. He was hurting her. He was winning.
Lyric glanced at Vic, and his eyes were trained on her, his breathing ragged. She could feel his pain seeping through their Mating Bond. Lyric went insane. Oh, she hurt. She bled. She was taking damage, but she was also staying right near Vic’s body, making sure they didn’t finish him for vengeance.
She had to live so that he would have a chance.
A yelp of pain echoed through the woods, and her bond to Destiny burned. She glanced over and Destiny was under two wolves. Liam’s fight had been dragged off toward the tree line.
Destiny!
A howl pierced the air. And then another.
The woods were moving.
Distracted, Lyric was slammed to the ground and skidded through the leaves. Traydon lunged for Vic’s body.
No!
Lyric stood and bolted for him, ripped Traydon off him and exposed her back to one of the War Wolves. That was the sacrifice. Pain slashed up her back, and she yelped, but she didn’t release Traydon’s throat. She ripped it instead.
The clearing was full of wolves now, charging in to fight the enforcers. A big dark wolf had yanked the wolves off Destiny and was a complete death bringer. The wolf disappeared off Lyric’s back, and when she caught a glimpse out of her peripheral, what she saw dragged chills up her hackles. Vic was up, and he was enraged.
The throat of that wolf that had bitten her back was completely gone.
In a blur, Vic slammed into Traydon and the fight was so fast, and so vicious, she could only look on in shock. Traydon was damaged from the fight with her, but Vic was in for the quick kill.
Traydon’s head hit the mud with a soft thud, and Vic swayed unsteadily over his body.
Lyric stood on shaking legs, her paws splayed in the mud as Vic turned slowly and looked from Traydon to her.
Around the clearing, the War Wolves were down. All except for one. He was back in his human form, begging for mercy from Liam.
A smattering of pops sounded and Liam Changed to his human form. He towered over the man, body cut and bloody, rage in his eyes. “You may live, but not because you deserve it,” Liam barked. His voice echoed through the trees. “Rogues! Change back. Now!”
Lyric’s body shattered inward, and she huffed a breath of pain as her body formed into the skin of another. A few seconds of pain, and she sagged to her hands and knees in the mud. Beside her, Vic’s wolf hit the ground hard, and his eyes rolled back in his head.
“Vic!” she screamed, sliding closer to him to cradle his head in her lap.
A bullet had opened up the side of his face. It looked like it had slashed him deeply from jawbone to the top of his ear.
Lyric hugged him up tight as tears streamed down her face. “Destiny, help me!” she screamed. Her voice echoed through the woods. “Somebody help!”
They needed to get the bleeding stopped. She searched around frantically for scraps of clothing that had been shredded during the wolves’ Changes. Destiny was already bolting for a ripped t-shirt that sat on the damp grass nearby.
“Vic, stay with me,” she pleaded. “I’m here. It’s me and you, okay? We’re going to do this together. I’m here.”
“You will give the Elders a message from the Rogue Pack,” Liam barked at the only surviving War Wolf on his knees. “If they come for one or all of us…” Liam knelt down so the man could see the truth on his face. “We will rip the throat of any wolf involved. The Elders included. We will absolutely assassinate anyone who comes at us. What was the plan?”
The man flashed a look at Vic.
