Wynn’s eyes widen. “Oh shit. Elias is a bastard.” My thoughts exactly.
Wynn furiously grabs one painting off the wall after another, stabbing through the middles with his fist. He uses his knee to break the frames, scattering wood shards across the floor. Either those paintings seriously angered him or he’s getting some frustration out while trying to free me.
“Not everyone will agree,” he says when he’s calmer. “But there are definitely some wolves in our pack that would fight for Elias. I’ve got no problem with your pack myself.”
“If Bane and I don’t win, will whoever becomes the new Alpha go against Elias?”
“Well, once Adelaide replaces her father, it’s her decision,” he says slowly, thinking it over. “Adelaide and her mate won’t be happy enacting Elias’s plans during their reign. If he doesn’t finish his schemes in time, they won’t see it as their responsibility.”
Almost good news. Too bad I sense a ‘but’ coming.
“Except in this case, they’d be on board. Adelaide herself isn’t overly cunning or even cruel, but she does love battle and doesn’t always think things through. With Elias planning it and their strength, they’ll be able to drive your pack away before he’s officially replaced.”
“The witches won’t like it.”
“They’ll find a way. Sounds like he’s been planning for a while. You think he doesn’t have ideas on how to explain an attack or make it look justified?”
I sigh heavily. Elias hinted at the same thing. “You’re right. We have to win.”
“First we have to get out of here.” He looks around at all the destruction. “Any bright ideas?”
I look around helplessly. He’s destroyed so much. And still not the right thing. The tether remains in place.
“I’m not sure. It could be in plain sight, or all the crap in here is a distraction. It could be something harder to reach.”
Wynn thinks it over and shoos me out of my seat. “Knowing Elias, it’s not going to be as simple as something on a shelf or up high…” He rips through the seat with his claws.
“I can’t touch the item,” I remind.
Wynn kicks the chair over. An old book is revealed, lying under the chair forgotten. Unless it wasn’t forgotten. Wynn rips the book in half.
I shudder and a ripple of air passes through the room. “That did it. I’m free.”
“Then let’s go.” Wynn’s already at the door. “You’ve got a fight to win.”
24.The Fight of Your Life
Bane
Whoa! I barely dodge sideways as Adelaide lunges, her massive copper-furred form hurtling toward me like a freight train.
I dodge and spin, ready to counterattack, but Cierra’s dark mass barrels in from the opposite direction, forcing me to weave between them.
Dammit! As far as I know, Adelaide and Cierra spend all their time sparring or screwing, with occasional breaks for eating and sleeping. It’s paid off. They move in effortless harmony, and it’s all I can do to avoid their attacks and not get cornered between them.
They weren’t always so in sync.
For the first few years of my sister’s union, we worried one of them would kill the other before the fight ever came. Then they learned how to stop battlingeach otherand focus on fightingeveryone else.
Adelaide and Cierra have been nearly unstoppable ever since. They were madly in love now, two fierce, bloodthirsty warriors. How can I defeat them on my own?
When I spring away from Adelaide’s snapping jaws, Cierra’s ready for me. I let out a guttural growl as her claws rake across my flank. The pain is sharp, but I push through it, twisting around and sinking my teeth in near her right hip.
But she’s quick, shaking me off with a fierce snarl that echoes in the arena. I hit the ground hard, the impact jolting through my body.
I scramble up, they’ll pounce if I’m down too long, but as I push off my back paw, a sharp pain shoots through my leg. Fuck! I shake my head, trying to clear the haze of pain clouding my thoughts.
Cierra lunges again, her jaws snapping mere inches from my face, and I barely manage to sidestep.
