“She’s not your weapon,” I mutter, bracing myself for more.
I know exactly what it feels like to be used and seen as nothing more than a tool. But if she can be more than this, just like Zane has shown me, then it’s worth putting my own life on the line.
When another shifter is taken down, the others hesitate as they bare their teeth, some shifted and some not. Even then, they’re not strong enough to take my brother on, even when he’s still just a man.
Hayes steps forward with his gaze locking onto me, and everything in me goes still. “Naia.”
My name sounds wrong coming from him now. It sounds too controlled and far too pleased.
His eyes flick over me, taking in everything from my stance to the magic still flickering under my skin. Something darker takes over his features now, just like it does when he has found something that will benefit him.
“You’ve been hiding things from me, Naia.”
My stomach drops, and it takes everything in me not to be instinctively submissive. “I didn’t know…not for a while.”
His jaw tightens as he studies me, searching for lies. “Those powers of yours would’ve been convenient before, but now I understand why these bastards were so interested in you.”
I step back slightly to maintain distance between us. “My magic isn’t for you to use. You don’t get to just take me back.”
Hayes’ expression doesn’t change. “That’s exactly what I’m going to do, and you don’t have much say in the matter.”
The rogues move uneasily around us, caught between two sides now.
“You can’t be here,” one of them snaps. “The buyer—”
Hayes doesn’t even look at him, eyes trained on me. “Iamthe buyer…and you made a very stupid mistake.”
Mutual shock moves through them at once, anger rising all over.
They planned on double-crossing Zane for the sake of earning more money, only to find themselves outsmarted after all. Given their expressions, this is the last thing they expected.
A wolf lunges with a snarl in a desperate and reckless attempt, but Hayes wastes no time, using his current form to his benefit.
With no hesitation, he lets the wolf close the space, only to scrape his elongated nails along the beast’s throat and grab him to finish the job. He drops him fast, forcing the others to act.
The clearing erupts into full chaos now as the other Wraith Peak wolves flood in, and the rogues attack from all sides while their lives depend on it.
Blood and snarls collide at once, and I keep my guard up as I grab Rhea’s arm and pull her back right when a wolf charges.
“Stay behind me,” I snap, throwing another burst of energy in its direction.
Rhea doesn’t argue, thankfully, which I wouldn’t have time to deal with if she did.
Another rogue comes at us from the left, and I turn, magic flaring. It slams into him before he can reach us, and he goes down hard. Even as I stop them, more seem to fill their place.
“They’re targeting you,” Rhea says sharply, lifting a hand to catch another wolf before he can surprise me. A bolt of her magic launches outward, sending him flying back before one of my brother’s wolves ends it.
“I noticed.”
We keep fighting, trying to keep the rogues from recapturing us while Hayes and the others work on collapsing them at the same time. Even if he’s not technically fighting us, this brief alliance will only last so long. He means to take me back, but I have no intention of going.
For a split second, everything seems to pause as more movement crowds in.
A beat later, bodies crash through the trees, both stronger and faster, wrapped in familiar smells.
My breath catches. I recognize that scent even before I see him.
Zane.
