Page 63 of Bonded Through Bite

“How far are we from pack land?”

“Not far,” Rafael murmurs, looking worried.

Samantha wouldn’t go after the witch, would she? I don’t think so, but a seed of doubt grows at the back of my mind.

“We better go check,” I say, but Rafael shakes his head sharply.

“The wolf we found… She was the alpha’s mate. The pack’s going to be a mess and on edge. I need to make a call and get approval, or we might start a war.”

“And you are not willing to go to war over Samantha,” I spit the words out bitterly.

“Fuck you, San,” he snaps right back at me. “I’m more than willing if it comes to that. But we don’t know if she really is heading that way. You think we can protect or feed her if we are captured or dead?”

“Don’t be absurd. They would never catch me,” I growl.

“Well, go ahead then,” he shouts, eyes swirling black. “I won’t risk messing this up even more than I already have.”

I’m ready to rip him a new asshole when the wind changes and brings the faintest whiff of Samantha to my nose.

We’re running before another word is uttered.

That scent carries the note of her blood.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Samantha

Fuck him. Fuck him and this bloody stupid vampirism. And especially fuck the fucking witch whose blood he drank. The foul taste still lingers in my mouth and I wish I could rinse it off.

My feet carry me effortlessly through the forest. Rafael’s shirt is ruined from snagging on branches, but nothing scratches my skin too badly.

I didn’t blur far, but my pace is still pretty good. Trees pass by as I aimlessly keep going. I jump over tiny streams and my bare feet are silent on the forest floor.

I’m running half naked in the woods like a crazy person.

This is what my life has come to.

Bloody great. I must have racked up some major points of bad karma at some point. Maybe not staying dead does that to a person. If I ever meet an expert in the matter, I’ll be sure to ask.

Does my family think I’m dead? Thea? I flinch and stumble. Don’t go there, Samantha. Focus on something else. Like the witch you are going to drain—no! Fuck.

I push myself to run faster.

Distracting myself from my rage is not easy, but after some time, I can breathe evenly again. I don’t dare to stop or think too hard about why I’m angry. A voice whispers for me to hunt down the witch, bleed her dry. That way he won’t be able to drink from her again.

Not that he has been drinking from me either. Maybe that’s the problem. He’s willing to take her blood but not mine. I only become aware that I’m weeping when I choke on a sob and stumble.

Hastily, I clear my eyes and keep running. There’s no way I’m going to let Rafael see me crying after him. Another sob threatens and I push harder, almost blurring again.

Something crashes into me hard and sends me flying. Not something, someone, I realize when a growl sounds behind me. The wind is blowing from the wrong direction and I can’t get a scent. Based on the power that sent me hurtling, I think it’s safe to assume that there’s a threat.

I grip the tree for leverage and pull myself up. Right at that moment, I smell my own blood and my hunger decides to make itself known. Heaving, I spin in place just in time to see a massive wolf smash into something dark and large.

Both bodies roll and crash against the trees. Menacing growls and painful yelps fill the air. They fight, moving so fast that my senses warp. At one time, it looks like two wolves, then it looks like a wolf and a bear, and then a wolf and a lion. The only constant is the wolf that somehow seems to be staying between me and the other thing.

Blood flies around with tufts of fur and all of it makes my hunger worse. Pain gnaws in my stomach and dizziness makes it harder to keep track of the fighting beasts. To my untrained eye, they seem to be quite evenly matched, until the thing manages to ensnare the wolf’s leg in its jaws.

“No,” I whisper, horrified when the thing crunches down and the wolf howls in agony. The knowing that I need to help the wolf comes from deep within me. If he loses, I—we both die. Now I wish I hadn’t dropped out of those self-defense classes.