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She yelps as my teeth graze her skin, and a flash of victory follows the faint taste of blood on my tongue.
Snarling, Beth rears up, pulling out of reach, but then quickly using the height to give her momentum as she powers back down. I push up to meet her, but she’s bigger, stronger.
She’s not carrying a life that she desperately wants to protect.
I crumple under her weight, now at a disadvantage. One Beth quickly harnesses.
This time, she doesn’t go for my throat. She goes for my stomach.
Her teeth flash ivory as her jaw opens, her eyes alive with malice as she aims for my soft underside. I half-growl, half-whine as I become a thrashing, kicking mass of movement.
My front paw slashes across Beth’s muzzle, leaving three jagged gashes. Except it doesn’t stop her. She leaps a little to the right, trying to move out of reach.
I use my rear legs next, kicking out with everything I have. Our growls and snapping jaws join the sound of the blood roaring in my veins.
Little bug! You have to survive!
My foot lodges in Beth’s mouth, and as she chomps down, I’m almost glad. Despite the agony, despite the sensation of flesh tearing from bone, I’d much prefer my leg in there than my vulnerable stomach.
Except Beth uses the grip she just gained to yank me closer. I skid over the rug, yelping with pain and fear. The sound is cut short as her front paws land on my shoulders. She pins me to the ground, her claws painfully digging into my fur. My muscles are straining as I struggle to break free from her grip.
“Where’s your confidence now, Carli?” Beth taunts in my mind, flashing teeth tinged with my blood.
“Beth, don’t do this…please. Don’t hurt my child.”
“For all the hurt you brought me. For coming into Jace’s life when it should have been me he fell in love with, I’ll kill you. No one can save you.”Beth leans her face closer, her muzzle twisted with hatred. “And once I destroy you, I’ll destroy him.”
I put my front paws on her chest and give it another shove, but Beth only laughs at my vain attempts. I turn frantically, trying to spot Jace. In the flash of wolves fighting, my eyes go blurry. I see everyone else slamming into the other, but Devon and Jace are nowhere.
“He isn't going to come for you.”
No…he has to.
“If I can't have his child, you will nev—”
Beth flies off me as another pack member knocks into her in the midst of their own fight. I quickly scramble to my feet and move, trying to get to our bedroom, trying to find Jace. But Beth is hot on my heels, chasing me ruthlessly.
I yelp as her claws dig into the muscles of my hips, dragging me to the floor once more. I curl around my stomach protectively, knowing that’s what she wants. Where she knows she’ll do the most damage.
I don’t realize I’ve shifted back to human until Jace’s name is exploding out of my throat. I scream it, not knowing if he can hear me or not, but I put every ounce of my strength into it.
Beth leaps onto me, her wolf dwarfing me in both strength and size. I still fight her, even as I can feel the fight bleed out of me. I’ll never stop fighting. Not when I have so much to protect.
Her mouth closes hard on my neck, her sharp teeth digging into my skin.
Little bug…
In a haze, I hear the door slam open, then more people running into the room. Beth looks up for a second, and I seize the opportunity to push her off. She roars with fury, but her hate-filled violence doesn’t return.
Although I’m weak and I stumble, I try to gain my balance, watching myself bleed onto the floor and the body swaying with dizziness. I have to get away. I have to protect my baby…
“Jace,” I whisper.
“Carli!” I hear someone familiar scream out.
I slump back down. Blinking, I see two others holding Beth down. She looks feral…for me. I never knew she could be this aggressive, I never knew she was capable of this much ruin.
“I need Jace,” I whimper, my hands digging into the flesh of my stomach.
