No, no, no.I watched in horror as the werewolves followed their alpha’s command.
James forced an exhale through his pursed lips, his head on a slow swivel as he watched the shifters obey with skepticism.
Greg nodded in approval. “Good. Now we can trade.”
I shoved him with my shoulder. “Trade what?” The words came out weaker than I’d liked.
“A life for a life. Yours…” He looked up at Marcus. “For his.”
I pulled at the chains around my neck, my hair standing on end. “Hell no.”
Greg laughed. “I think I’m being more than generous since technically it’s two lives for one, right?”
I bared my teeth. “Eat a dick—”
“Right.” Marcus’s interruption stole the breath from my lungs.
My hands froze in their place as I stared at him in disbelief.
Marcus ignored Maya as she barked in what I assumed was opposition. “Let Joanna go, and then I’ll hand myself over.”
Please, God.No.Marcus, kill him.
Greg snickered. “I wasn’t born yesterday.”
I knew hunters like him. He wasn’t going to let me go. He was going to kill Marcus and slit my throat while the werewolf’s body was still warm. Then he and the others would strike down every shifter during the commotion.
If Marcus surrendered now, the Blackwood Pack would be eradicated.
Greg pushed me forward, and I cursed in pain as I fell to my knees. “I’ll break her neck,” he warned. I heard as he fidgeted with his utility belt until he threw something over my head.
I recognized the collar moments before it clattered onto the concrete but turned away when the silver reflected the sunlight straight into my eyes.
“Rebecca,” he called over his shoulder, “bring the dog his new accessory.” He tugged on the chain from behind me. “Ah-ah-ah, James. Now, you know better than that. Both you and the kid stay back. Let the beast—”
A tiny meteor crashed down from the sky and embedded itself in the ground in front of me. Red splattered across the pavement. Something warm poured down my back.
The chain loosened from around my neck, and I wasted no time scrambling to my feet, watching as Greg’s lifeless body dropped to the ground—a hole clean in the middle of his forehead.
Panic sizzled through the air like a living thing. The hunters scurried around to find cover from the invisible threat.
My hands flew to my stomach in relief, frantically rubbing against my skin.
A chest slammed against my back, and hands rushed to remove the silver chain from around my neck.
“That was too close,” I whispered to myself. It should never have happened. “Too close.” I turned to my liberator. “I thought…”
Marcus was biting the insides of his cheeks when he opened his grasp and let the chain clatter onto the concrete.
The sound of the impact snapped me out of my spiral. I pulled away from Marcus and gasped. With a furrow on my brow, I grabbed his hands in my own.
His burned palms were a violent shade of red.
Tears welled in my eyes, and without thinking, I brought his palms close to my lips, blowing the blotchy skin.
He shuddered, releasing a wistful breath.
And just as I was about to thank him for saving me yet again, tingles danced along my skin.
