This time, I saw the red of Sonja’s magic extending out from his palm before he made contact, and I dove away, sliding until I came up behind him. I bit at his knee, wrenching back so that he fell hard onto his stomach.
Before he could use any more of the spellwork tattooed on his body, I danced away. He rolled over, still in his human form, although I saw the beginnings of hair on his chest and arms. His eyes sharpened, gleaming wolfishly, and talons extended out of his fingers.
Snarling, he slashed at me, and I used his movement to bite into his exposed chest. He wrapped an arm around my head, bringing it close, and I could feel the magic crawling over my skin.
He slammed us both into the ground, and Sonja’s magic draped over me, pinning me down, trapping me against the bare floor. Tyson kept his face close and hissed into mine.
“You’re no alpha. You’re weak. The only people you can claim as your own are those pups, and you letthemget taken by the dryads.” He came even closer, his lips brushing my ear. “You’re pathetic. A real alpha never would have let his pack get taken away. He never would have let his pups get enslaved to someone else.”
I roared, feeling my bones pop and my skin strain. He wasright. That was the worst part. He was right. I had no excuse as an alpha. If my mother had seen me, she would have been ashamed.
The guilt ate through my stomach, twisting it into a tight ball. Bile rose in the back of my throat, and I smelled burning fur as the magic began eating through. This was my fault. I never should have promised those kids anything. I should have fought every member of House Bartlett to get the pups off the property.
I should have begged Cade, begged him to let us go, begged him to have mercy.
Anything to keep those kids safe.
Roaring, I wrenched myself up, the magic shredding like real ropes. I spun around and growled at Tyson. His eyes went wide, but he was too slow. I slammed into him, flying at his chest, tearing through some of the magic. One of the lines withered on his chest, and from the sidelines, Sonja screamed.
Tyson’s head snapped to the side, his eyes searching for his mage.
Cade had said that when magic was destroyed or removed it was like cutting off your own hand. Tyson was covered in Sonja’s magic. It crawled over his skin. I used that distraction to grab hold of one of the lines on his arm, scratching at it with my claws until it broke, disappearing into the ether.
Sonja cried out again, but it seemed to give Tyson strength. His arm shifted, and he threw me off, dragging his claws over my face, leaving me bleeding.
I limped backward, circling him. Why hadn’t he fully shifted yet?
We were both stronger in wolf form. In human form, there were too many exposed body parts and not enough sharp claws and teeth. That had been why I had to attack JD before he had shifted. Human on wolf was always going to lose.
So why was he hesitating?
He can’t use his magic when he’s a wolf. Look at his arm.It took me a moment to parse Basil’s words, but then I saw that his human arm brushed over one of the spells on his chest before Tyson threw it into the air.
I recognized the lines of magic. It was the same type of spell Cade had used to pin me to the wall when we first met. This time, I was ready.
I darted low, then threw myself to the ground, sliding underneath it so the magic flew harmlessly over my head.
If I help you, can I eat your arm?Basil’s voice was in my ear.
I growled.
Basil sighed, clearly annoyed.Fine. But I want lots of mice when this is done.
I threw myself against Tyson.
Basil was there, and the explosion threw both of us across the arena. I shook my head, shifting back into human form and sprinting at him. Pulling my arm back, I brushed it across my neck, letting Basil crawl onto my hand.
Tyson leapt to his feet, bringing his own arm back, and I saw the tattoos, a thick blackberry bramble on his skin.
At the last second, I dropped to my knees, using momentum to slide me. I punched at his knee, the one I had injured earlier. Basil exploded against his skin, and I heard the snap of bone and tearing of flesh.
Tyson screamed, dropping onto his side and clutching at his leg.
“Yield,” I panted.
He glared at me, his canines sharpening. As he shifted, the magic moved from his torso down to his leg, bracing it the way that Theo’s leg had been braced the night before.
When he leapt at me, I was ready, grabbing Basil from where he coiled in my palm and stretching the snake between my hands through the air, the most dangerous garrote I’d ever held. I moved to the side, wrapping the line of tattoo around Tyson’s throat, drawing it tight and bearing him down, my knees braced against his back.
