Chapter 45

Chapter 45

Lyle’s claws cl*pped me along the jaw as I just barely made it out of his way before he tore my head off. Pain radiated up the side of my head and down my n*eck to my shoulder as blood began to drip on the stone floor of the dungeon.

The problem with Lyle was, he expected he could fight dishonorably against people with honor and get away with it. He felt that way about every aspect of his life.

Well, I was just the girl to show him how wrong he was.

With a growl, I shified completely.

So did Lyle. Fur patches were missing over angry red sores on his shoulder and leg, but I could see no residual injury so serious I’d feel bad about beating him.

It still wouldn’t be an even match. He might’ve been an Alpha, but I would always be a better fighter than him.

Shawn was off to the side, pinning Mason in place so he wouldn’t interfere. It was clear by his desperate expression that he wanted to.

But no, this was MY fight. This dog had messed with my life time and time again, and now he’d been cowardly enough to start taking my mate apart piece by piece while Mason couldn’t defend himself.

My blood simmered under my skin. I barked at Lyle, goading him, prancing forward to nip his ankles, then dodging back out of his way faster than he could react.

Lyle snarled the third time I did it and launched himself at me, saliva dripping off of his bared fangs.

It was what I had been waiting for. I leapt for his jugular, wedging my teeth between his n*eck and shoulder while he was in mid-flight

“Kora!” Mason cried out, alarm filling his voice.

Lyle, indeed, had spun so he got a good hold of my scruff, but I got a mouthful of his throat. We both snarled, and our paws scraped back and forth, cach of us fighting for dominance. Lyle shook his head, tearing at my flesh, but I held on. No matter what biting or scratching Lyle did, I only sank my teeth deeper.

The taste of d*rty fur and aluminum filled my mouth as his sour blood coated my tongue.

Even in wolf form, Lyle coughed. When he tried to slide into a better grip, it was me who got a tighter hold.

Lyle yelped in fear when he realized his mistake. I crushed his throat with my jaws, then tossed his prone form aside and spat out his blood.

“M-Mother… Lyle rasped as he shifted back to a man in the last moments of his life. “Mother…”

I shifted myself and stood over the pathetic waste of a man before me. I couldn’t believe I’d ever thought him a worthy mate. “Mommy can’t help you now,” I whispered. But, just in case, I choked the last of his life out of him. quickly, his blood spilling over my fingers.

Mason grabbed me from behind and held me to him. My blood; his blood, and Lyle’s were sticky between us, but I didn’t care. “Kora, you could have been killed!”

“If you’d stop being such a big, dumb idiot, these things wouldn’t happen,” I grunted, but turned and put my arms around him just the same.

“You should have let me handle this,” Mason said, which only served to make me angrier. “I was going to trade-

I slapped him. “You were going to trade yourself for my father, and you thought that was somehow going to make me happy?!”

Mason rubbed his check. “Well… yes.”

“I can’t even… how could I ever… you’re such a… MEN!!!” I shouted, stomping toward the door. “We need to leave.”

“I second that,” Shawn said. “Shift change in five minutes.”

Mason looked from me, to Shawn, and back again.

“Well?!” I demanded with a hand on my n*ked hip. “Are you coming?!”

Mason trotted out after us. He seemed surprised when we met up with Jim and my father at a side gate after hastily putting on some clothes we’d stashed away.

“Told ya the boy was gonna do somethin’ st upid,” Jim drawled, leaning over the bodies of two guards.

“We all do st upid things for love,” my father sighed. “Now, you three get out of here. I mean it. Once the Luna Regent realizes what’s happened to her son, you are all marked for death. And knowing how sa distic she is, she’s probably going to make ME do it, or die trying.”

“I did have a plan, you know,” Mason grumbled,

We all looked at him. He must have seen his error in judgment in our expressions, because he looked away, his. cheeks flaming.

“Right. Now, Mour father would never forgive me if I suddenly let you do something st upid like sacrifice

your future for a miserable old man,” my father said. “All of you, get gone, You, too, Kora.”

“Father, I…”

My father fixed me with a glare. “It is your duty to protect your Alpha. Don’t disappoint me.”

Tears welled in my eyes.

My father’s expression softened, and he thumbed away my tears. “T’ll be fine. If you see me again, know we are meeting as enemies. Do not hesitate to kill me, do you understand me? Because she will not allow me to hesitate.”

I swallowed and nodded. “I will go back to Fullbright-just for now. Just for now, Father. We’ll defeat the Shadowmoon Pack, and I’ll come to free you properly. I promise

“Go,” my father said.

I choked back a s ob, and Shawn, Mason, and I shifted and ran into the woods.

We ran for nearly a day and into the night, stopping only when we were too exhausted to go any further.

“Eddie is handling the war at the border. We’ll join him there,” Mason panted as we all lay on the ground inside a

cave.

I tried to pay attention as he spoke-as they both spoke-going over some information they’d sent Kate to Eddie with and all the new information we had now. All I could think of, however, was my father telling me that we would next meet as enemies.

Finally, Shawn and Mason stopped talking. Shawn sat up near the entrance of the cave, taking the first watch.

Mason drew me into his arms, and though I was still angry, I didn’t push him away.

“I really thought I was doing the right thing.” Mason murmured against my temple.

“You really need to stop thinking. It hasn’t been doing you any favors,” I replied caustically.

Mason let out a soft rumble of laughter. “I guess not.” He feathered soft k*sses over my face, trying to melt my icy facade.

Unfortunately, it was working. I sighed and snuggled into him, resting my cheek on his shoulder.

Just as I could sense myself nodding off, a horrible thought knotted my stomach.

“Mason?” I whispered.

“Hmm?” he asked.

I bit my l*p. “What if… what if she makes me kill my father?”

“Mmm.” Mason said sleepily, nuzzling my n*eck. “Won’t happen.”

“How do you know?” I asked.

Mason sighed and gathered me tight against him, wrapping himself around me. “I know because, if it comes to it, I will kill him so you don’t have to.”