A Curse of Shadows - Page 81

Branches break as the wolf stalks closer. Before turning around to face my attacker, I carefully set the pup back down, thankful to at least see his chest still moving, even if he is unconscious.

As soon as my hands are free and I’ve stepped away, my wolf rushes to the surface, forcing the shift before we’ve even fully turned around. She comes to life with a vicious roar, teeth bared and claws eager for blood.

It was no longer my intention to make myself bait without Asher in the know, but it seems fate has other plans. A large black wolf with dark eyes and sharp fangs digs into the ground before he launches himself at me.

My wolf ducks and rolls out of the way, but our attacker is quick. He whips around and catches our rear flank with his claws, tearing into our flesh.

Fuck!

Still, there’s no giving up. I don’t know who this is, but whoever wants me gone again is going to get a hell of a lot more fight from me than they did last time.

We launch ourselves forward, slamming into the other wolf. He bites into our neck, but we do the same to him. Blood splatters everywhere, and I can’t tell who’s worse off, but my wolf is vicious and relentless.

She pierces his side and then goes for his underbelly, but as she pulls our paw back, his claws rake down our ribs.

“Isla!” Asher’s voice booms through my mind just as a shadow launches over us.

Within a second, our attacker is ten feet in the opposite direction and unmoving, while we’re left breathing heavily on the ground, crimson leaking from several wounds along our body.

Asher’s wolf whimpers and growls when he faces us. He takes a step toward me, but I stop. “Get whoever that is first. I’ll be fine.”

Considering the amount of adrenaline running through me, I don’t feel nearly as bad as I assume I look. Though I’m sure that will change later.

When he turns around, a loud rumble escapes his wolf. “He’s gone.”

“What the hell do you mean?” My wolf lifts her head, but we can’t hold it up for long.

“I mean he’s fucking gone,” Asher snarls. “This was a setup. I never should have left your side.” He shifts back to two feet, closing the distance between us. “Fuck, Isla. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay,” I promise him. “I’m okay.”

He cuts his wrist and tilts my wolf head back. “Drink.”

I don’t argue with his harshly spoken word. I know he’s not angry with me and the sooner I’m okay, the sooner we can figure out who the hell that was. I assume Asher already knows as the Alpha King, but I don’t want to ask until I’ve healed.

With the way he’s trembling and how dark his eyes are, plus the amount of fury that’s coursing between the two of us, I can taste how murderous he is. Yet he’s here with me.

I can’t believe I almost did something this stupid without telling him. How damn selfish that would have been.

Dad and Estee come running into view, both of their faces pale.

“Why did you do this without me?” Estee demands, making Asher’s head snap in her direction.

Oh, hell.

I need to shift back right now, or I’m going to have one furious mate on my hands.

Estee’s gaze widens as she looks between me and Asher. “We, uh, well, um…”

“Don’t be angry,” I say to Asher through our bond. “With Estee’s help, I was going to use myself as bait to draw out whoever killed us, but?—”

“How fucking selfish could the two of you be?” His voice roars and even in my wolf form, I can’t help shedding a few tears.

“No, Asher,” I plead with him. “That was the plan, but during the pack run, I knew it was stupid and decided that I would tell you tonight when we were alone. If you didn’t agree to do so together, then I wasn’t going to go through with it. I only got caught by this wolf because there was an injured—shit, where’s the pup?”

After a few gulps of Asher’s blood, I’m already feeling better. I force myself up, but he places a hand over my wolf’s back, keeping us down. “You wait here.”

He’s still rightly furious, but at least through our bond, I can tell that the emotion is no longer directed right at me.