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7
It wasn’t possible. There was no way the fates were cruel enough to put the two of us together. He had to be messing with me. Besides, our pack took mating bonds very seriously. If a wolf was lucky enough to form a bond, it usually meant increased strength and other perks. Things like possibly even breaking curses.
He had to know that myth. He was trying to get one last dig at me. “That’s a fucked up thing to joke about, even for you.”
“I wish it was a joke,” he said. “I wasn’t certain until this past week. As we got closer to the time you should have shifted, my wolf made it pretty fucking clear we’re supposed to be together.”
My insides twisted as my emotions went to war. There was a tiny glimmer of hope trying to fight through the other negative emotions. I hated Tyler and I wanted nothing to do with him. The thought of being intimate with him made my skin crawl. But there was that rumor about the bond breaking the curse. I’d given up long ago of ever feeling my wolf rise to the surface. I’d long ago resigned myself to a human existence free of magic.
What if he was telling the truth? What if there was a way to get my ability to shift back? “You’re sure? You’re not messing with me?”
His smirk was vicious and I took a step back without thinking. He finally released his grip on me. I knew that look well. It was the same self-satisfied half-smile he wore every time he beat the shit out of me for fun.
“You’re lying to me.” Even as I said the words, I feared it wasn’t true. Tyler was a lot of things, but I didn’t think he would use something as sacred as a mating bond for sport. It was rare to find your mate at all. It wasn’t something most wolves would be willing to joke about.
“Now, I’d heard the rumor that a mating bond could break a curse. I mean, you’re attractive enough, you’re a little too mouthy, but that could be fixed with a few beatings.” He moved closer to me and Kyle and Julian stepped closer as well, closing me in.
If Tyler thought I’d willingly choose to be his mate with a speech like that, he was insane. “I’d never submit to you.”
“It doesn’t matter. There’s one thing about you I could never overlook. You’re broken. You won’t be any good to anyone without the ability to shift,” he said.
I kept my mouth shut. He was clearly enjoying listening to himself speak and I’d rather get this whole charade over with.
“If bringing you here tonight on the full moon around your mate and all the others didn’t force the shift beyond the confines of your curse, nothing will. So, you’re useless to me,” he said.
“So that’s why you brought me here. To test your theory?” The moment of hope was long gone. Even if being with Tyler meant freeing my wolf, it wasn’t worth it. Nothing was worth enduring being shackled to this asshole. “Well, it failed. So if you don’t mind, I’ll be on my way.”
“That’s the other odd thing about mating bonds…” Tyler stepped away from me and Kyle and Julian moved even closer to me, one on either side, boxing me in. Both wolves had their hackles up and they growled at me.
The hair on my arms stood on edge. Something was very wrong here. Tyler had me surrounded by wolves and we were alone. “Just let me leave and I’ll never return. Like you asked.”
“I’m afraid I suggested that before I knew that in order for me to be free of the bond to you, you have to die. And here’s the really funny part: I can’t kill my own mate.”
“There are other ways to sever a bond,” I said. “You know I don’t want to be mated with you. I’ll do what it takes.”
He shook his head. “And risk you getting a second chance with a new mate? Or worse, having everyone know I formed a bond with a broken wolf? I don’t think so.”
I didn’t wait to hear what was coming next. I took off at a run. What choice did I have? Tyler wasn’t going to see reason with this. Cursing myself for not hiding in the woods last night, I raced forward, eyes on the tree line ahead.
In the distance, I heard a wolf howl and several howls responded. My heart raced faster. There were wolves all over these woods and I knew Kyle and Julian had to be right behind me. I was insane to think I’d ever get out of this place alive. Now that I was so close to freedom, I wasn’t ready to give in to the eternal sleep of death. I wanted to know what it was like to not feel like I was a walking target at all times. I worked my ass off to make it this far and I sure as hell wasn’t going down easy.
That’s when I felt a jaw close in on my calf, teeth breaking the flesh, sending burning pain with the force. I was pulled back, landing face first in the dirt. I was able to break my fall with my arms, but my right hand twisted on impact and I heard the snap as my wrist broke.
Searing pain made my vision go black for a moment and I cried out in agony. My leg felt like it was on fire from the bite and my wrist sent shooting pain through my arm. “Oh, fuck!”
Grabbing my injured wrist, I rolled over to face my assailant. In the nearly pitch-black darkness of the forest, I could just make out three huge wolves looking down on me, panting and growling. Tyler had joined his friends in wolf form. Drool from one of the beasts landed on my cheek and I wiped it away with my good hand before returning to cradling my injury.
I tried to scoot away from them, but the movement sent a fresh wave of pain through the bite on my leg. I winced and hissed. “If you’re going to kill me, you might as well get it over with.”
One of the wolves, a dark gray wolf, who was the largest of the three, took off, leaving me with the other two.
“So he’s making you do the dirty work?” I asked. “That’ll go over well when your grandchildren ask for stories about your youth. Like, hey, remember that time we killed your Uncle Tyler’s mate? You two are pathetic.” I spit at the wolf nearest me.
The creature growled, then went for my arm, biting down. I screamed and tried to pull away but each movement made the pain more intense. Suddenly, the second wolf clamped down on my other arm and my vision blurred as the pain crashed through me. The wolves started to drag me, pulling me over the rocky and rough terrain.
Rocks tore up my back, thorns caught in my flesh, chunks of hair caught on the ground but the wolves pulled me on, forcing the hair to rip from my scalp. “Let me go, you assholes!” I yelled at them between gasping through the pain. Everything hurt. My body was broken in multiple places and each jostle over the ground sent fresh waves of agony surging through me. Soon, the discomfort was too intense and I found myself in and out of consciousness. It was as if my body was trying to protect me. Or maybe I was at death’s door.
When they finally released their jaws, I was dumped on the ground, in the dirt. Every inch of my body hurt. My arms and legs felt like they were on fire and my head throbbed. My skin was sticky with blood and sweat and all my open wounds were full of dirt. Even if I survived this, infection would set in if I didn’t get medical attention. I knew all this, but I couldn’t make myself move. Rolling to my side, I tried to catch my breath. Maybe they were done with me. Maybe they’d leave and hope I’d die. If I could find some strength, I could limp or crawl out of here, right?
