Chapter 217 217
This is impossible.
No… no… no.
A low, threatening snarl rose from her right, and she jerked violently, losing her balance and dropping onto the ground. Panic took over as she scrambled backward on her hands and heels, the gun completely forgotten.
The wolf advanced toward the girl.
“P… please… don’t hurt her…” The plea slipped from her lips before she even realized she was speaking. The wolf’s gaze shifted to her, his eyes narrowing dangerously.
When he bared his teeth and hissed, a scream climbed her throat, but she forced it down, choking on the terror.
Then a howl of agony split the air.
Her head snapped toward the sound.
The gray wolf lay sprawled on the ground, blood soaking through his fur. Four wolves surrounded him, their bodies tense and predatory. The largest of them snarled viciously.
Something twisted painfully inside her chest.
Before she could think, before fear could stop her, she ran.
The massive wolf with streaks of white and black in his coat lunged forward, ready to strike the injured gray wolf but she threw herself between them.
Her arms spread wide as if her fragile body could shield him.
The monstrous wolf snarled at her, lips curling back, but she refused to move.
“Go away, you monster!” she cried, her voice breaking as thick tears streamed down her cheeks.
Her entire body trembled violently. The world tilted around her, making her dizzy and lightheaded. Yet beneath the terror was something else something deeper. A strange pull tugged at her soul, drawing her toward the wounded wolf behind her.
Movement stirred at her back.
She heard it clearly, but fear didn’t come. Strangely, she wasn’t afraid at all.
It felt as if her body had stopped obeying logic, acting on instinct alone.
Slowly, she glanced over her shoulder.
The gray wolf had risen to his feet.
He stood behind her like a warrior guarding his ground, his gaze locked on the hostile wolf ahead. A deep, menacing growl rumbled from his chest.
“D… D… Damien…” she whispered, her voice small and trembling. Her chin quivered violently, and her heartbeat thundered so loudly it roared in her ears.
The wolf lowered his head and gently brushed his snout against her back in a comforting gesture.
Shock rippled down her spine.
The truth crept into her mind, slow and devastating.
But before she could grasp it fully, the vicious wolf lunged forward.
The gray wolf reacted instantly, launching himself over her to meet the attack.
She fell backward onto the ground and scrambled away just as two of the other wolves began circling toward her. At the same time, the third wolf lunged at the gray wolf from behind.
She stared, stunned, barely able to comprehend the chaos unfolding.
Then the wolf on her right shifted.
Before her eyes, fur melted away, bones twisted, and within seconds a naked man stood in its place.
He leaped toward her.
She screamed but the man clamped a rough hand over her mouth before the sound could escape. With brutal strength, he yanked her upright and began dragging her toward the forest, another wolf stalking behind them.
She fought like a wild thing, scratching and clawing at him, but it was useless.
The man was like a mountain.
Her strength was nothing compared to his.
She kicked violently, forcing him to grab her legs to keep control. The moment his hand slipped from her mouth, she screamed with everything she had.
“DAMIEN!”
The gray wolf’s head snapped toward her.
A terrifying roar erupted from him as he tore into the brown wolf attacking him. The wolf’s body crashed to the ground with a heavy thud.
The gray wolf began stalking toward them.
Then
A gunshot exploded through the forest.
Blood burst from the gray wolf’s body.
He collapsed onto the rough earth with a sickening thud.
Her heart seemed to leap straight into her throat.
“DAMIEN!!!”
Her scream ripped from her chest.
Without hesitation, she twisted sharply and slammed her head backward into the man holding her.
He cursed loudly as his grip loosened.
She shoved him away and ran.
Dropping to her knees beside the fallen wolf, panic overwhelmed her as blood poured from his wound.
Her gaze locked onto his eyes.
Golden flecks shimmered within them.
Her breath caught.
She had seen those same flecks before.
In Damien’s eyes.
“Damien…” she sobbed, her trembling hands stroking his blood-soaked fur. His body trembled faintly beneath her touch.
Movement in the forest caught her attention.
Several men emerged from the trees.
One of them held a gun.
Her gaze darted frantically toward where the girl’s gun had been but it was gone. The man crouching near the girl now held it in his hand.
“D… Damien… is it you?” she whispered shakily, tears blurring her vision so badly she had to blink repeatedly to see.
The wolf moved his head slightly.
Her heart felt as if it might explode in her chest.
The terror of losing him crushed the air from her lungs.
“D… Damien… don’t leave me,” she cried, clutching fistfuls of his soft, blood-soaked fur.
Suddenly, a harsh grip seized her hair.
The man she had headbutted yanked her violently to her feet.
The gray wolf growled, but the sound was weak.
His eyes were barely open.
The wolf’s-bane within the bullet was too powerful. His body was going numb, his strength fading fast.
Jacqueline watched in horror as the vicious wolf shifted into a man. Someone tossed him a pair of shorts, which he quickly pulled on.
He was tall.
But an ugly scar carved across his cheek, trailing down his jaw and neck.
Another man emerged from the forest carrying the unconscious girl in his arms.
Everything was happening too fast.
Her mind refused to process it.
Reality felt distorted, unreal.
But when she looked into those golden-flecked eyes again, the truth struck her with brutal clarity.
The wounded wolf lying there… dying…
was Damien.
But this couldn’t be real.
Only moments ago there had been wolves everywhere. Now they were gone, replaced by human figures everyone except the gray wolf.
Maybe this was a nightmare.
A cruel, twisted dream.
“Damien…” she whispered over and over, repeating his name like a prayer, desperate just to see his human face once more.
The man dragged her farther away while the gray wolf struggled on the ground, growling weakly as he tried to rise.
Tried to reach her.
Tried to save her.
The scarred man approached the bleeding wolf and smirked.
“I’m taking her with me. If you want her back… surrender your pack to me.”
He laughed coldly.
“My name is Henri, Alpha of the Black Blade Pack. I’ll make this offer only once. Refuse… and there will be war.”
His eyes flicked toward the lifeless bodies of two of his warriors lying nearby.
Then he glanced down at the deep claw marks slashed across his chest, blood running from the wounds along his arms and back.
“Don’t worry,” Henri hissed darkly. “I’ll make her suffer on your behalf.”
Damien bared his teeth, forcing his body to move.
But it was useless.
No matter how hard he fought, he couldn’t stop them.
Once again in his life, he could do nothing but watch helplessly…
as they took her away.
They stole his light.
They took his Jacqueline.