I blocked with a forearm, the painful bite of steel into flesh stealing my breath. But I couldn’t stop, or they’d do more than cut me. I wrenched the dagger free of my arm and flung it toward his eye with deadly precision, but he caught the flat of the blade between his palms before it could sink into his eye socket, letting the second dagger clatter to the floor.
As soon as I landed, I launched another series of attacks, pressing headache guy back, back, back toward the wall, all while keeping my senses tuned for his friend.
Mr. Headache stumbled as his heel caught on his own garrote, flailing his arms for balance, and that was my chance. I lifted my sword overhead for a two-handed slash and lopped off the arm that held the remaining dagger.
Blood spurted as he fell screaming, but I turned my back, all my focus on the second attacker.
He seemed content to wait, for some odd reason, defending against my blows but never pressing. He certainly didn’t deign to look to his fallen comrade. No, this one was as cold as ice. Perhaps he resented being sent in a pair?
From what I knew, Drakenia preferred to work alone.
I took a single stride in his direction before it hit me.
Wooziness, and the sickening feeling that I was about to vomit.
Shit, the dagger was poisoned.
A new clock was ticking on my life, and I reached for my wolf. A shift would heal the wound on my arm, but wouldn’t stop the poison ticking through our system. But my wolf’s reflexes were greater, and while it went against all my training to drop my sword…
I careened forward, the fast-acting poison making me lose control of my limbs, all the strength draining out of me.
I mentally braced for the impact—I could no longer lift my arms—but steel bands around my chest stopped my descent midflight, a vicious growl tearing out of a masculine throat behind me.
“I’ve got you, Firecracker.”
Valens.
Why did the gentle way he laid me back on the floor make me want to weep? Even as a designated alpha and pack second, he’d be hard-pressed to hold off a trained assassin without the backing of his pack. And I still had no clue what kind of magical ability this one had up his sleeve.
But Valens didn’t hesitate, charging forward with an enraged growl as his massive, umber-and-cream wolf sprang free from his skin in a shower of shredded clothing.
My vision was going dim, soft, fuzzy black closing in on me from every direction as the sound of tearing flesh reached me.
My head lolled toward the safe room as my shoulders lost control, and anguish washed over me when the door clicked open.
No. Save yourselves.
But the thoughts would never become words. My lips had gone numb, and the last thing I saw as the lights went out was Galyna, charging out like an avenging angel, come to slay my killer.
I failed.
I failed.
Chapter 12
Valens
Ididn’t even consciously decide to let my wolf out. My instincts drove me down into the basement, where I knew my mate was in trouble in the time it took me to clear the top of the mansion. I found her falling and barely caught her before she slammed into the floor.
And while it physically pained me to leave her there, clearly in danger, I had to take out the threat so I could see where she was hurt.
My wolf took over from there. We charged the assassin, teeth bared and deadly intent filling us with every breath. The black-clad killer was well trained, and his footwork kept him a step ahead as we relentlessly pursued him.
When Galyna joined the fight, splitting his attention with her butterfly sword, he began to make mistakes.
My teeth sank into his thigh before I had to release him to dodge a downward slash of his sword.
Galyna’s blade lopped off the tip of his ear when he dodged a second too late.
