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8
Everything hurt but I wasn’t ready to die and I knew the cave was a death sentence. I turned on my side, telling myself that I was fine. I didn’t have a broken wrist or a torn up back or bite marks on my arms. I was just imagining it, right? Okay, fine, I still felt like I was nearing death’s door, but I had to try.
Kyle and Julian were pushing on a huge boulder that sealed off the entry. Now that I knew it was the cave, it was hard to miss the obviously placed stone that acted as a door.
Turning my attention from Kyle and Julian, I looked over at Tyler. He was watching his friends, oblivious to me. If I was going to attempt to run, this was it. Holding my breath, I braced for the pain.
Wincing, I pushed myself to standing as quietly as I could. Already panting from the strain, I stood on shaky legs. With a quick glance at the distracted shifters, I took off.
The searing pain escalated with each pump of my arms, but I forced it down. I had to get away from these psycho wolves. Under the light of the full moon, I watched for rocks and kept my gaze on the tree line. It was unlikely I’d actually get away from them, but my plan was different this time. Instead of hoping to avoid other shifters, I was hoping I could run into some witnesses. As far as I knew, it was still against pack law to attempt to kill me. Tyler and his thugs had never pushed things quite this far.
And as much as I hated to use the mate card, I knew it was definitely against pack rules to try to kill your mate. You were to protect that bond. Mated pairs resulted in stronger wolves, not only for the bonded pair, but also for their offspring. Even if I couldn’t have children who could shift, opening the door to allow a mate to treat their partner the way Tyler treated me was dangerous. Even someone like Ace would have to see that, right?
My foot caught on a root and I went down. Instinct had me cradling my broken wrist so I landed on my right shoulder. More pain surged through me and all the adrenaline that had been keeping the other injuries manageable seemed to wear off at once.
With a whimper, I tried to push myself up. Everything hurt and my body didn’t want to cooperate. I lay there in the dirt, breathing heavy, listing to the pounding of my heart. This was it. I guess I didn’t need to be trapped in a cave to die. My body was giving up on me. “Fuck me.”
“No, I don’t think I will,” Tyler’s voice came from somewhere in the darkness. “If I did that, it would solidify the mating bond, and then where would we be? Instead of breaking the bond, I’d spend my whole life missing you. Who wants that?”
“Just let me go, Tyler,” I said. “I’ll sever the bond when I’m away from here.”
“I can’t trust that you’d take care of it on your end,” he said.
“Like I want to be bonded to a piece of shit like you,” I hissed.
“Pick her up, take her back,” Tyler commanded.
Shadowy figures shrouded in darkness moved in the distance. As they drew closer, my heart jackhammered in my chest. I thought of myself as a fighter. Even if I didn’t always fight back, I knew when to fight and when to cut my losses to live another day.
I’d played a dangerous game of balance my whole life. I knew when to pull back and I knew when retaliation was worth the risk. Now, I was staring certain death in the face and all the fight was gone. I didn’t see a way out of this. My injuries weren’t going to allow me the sliver of a chance and Tyler already wanted me dead. Nobody was going to hold back if I fought.
The cave, while a death sentence was my only chance at pulling through. The thought flitted in and out of my mind in a heartbeat. I knew it was futile. I would never survive. I’d starve before I found a way out; and that was if my injuries didn’t kill me first.
Julian’s face hovered above mine. “Time for you to die, little whore.”
“Fuck you.” I spat at him. Hey, just because I’ve accepted that I’m going to die, doesn’t mean I have to be happy about it.
Julian wiped the spit off his face, then rose to his full height. He kicked me in the same shoulder that hit the ground, and then kicked me in the back and stomach.
Sometime around the fourth of fifth kick, I must have blacked out. As my eyes fluttered open and I woke, I realized I was moving. Each step jostled me and I winced as fresh pain bloomed with each movement. I was slung over someone’s shoulder, being carried like a sack of potatoes.
“I can walk,” I said, my voice coming out dry and gravely.
“No, you can’t,” Kyle said. “You might as well conserve your energy.”
“Why? So it takes longer for me to die in the cave?” I asked. “Do you feel good about this? You do realize you’re a murderer now.”
“I’m not a murderer,” he said.
“You’re leaving me to die. Just because you’re not stabbing the knife in my heart yourself doesn’t change anything,” I said.
“Shut up or you’ll make it worse,” he hissed.
“You say that as if I’m not dead already,” I replied. “Do you really think I can get out of this?”
My head was spinning and everything felt even more unsteady than it should despite my current predicament.
“I’m sorry, Lola, I don’t have a choice, I have to follow my alpha.” Kyle sounded a little sad.
