Page 9 of Bullied Wolf Mate
Before Declan could move, Mark pushed forward, coming to stand in front of me. His eyes scanned every inch of me, cataloging every scrape and scratch and bruise. “You all right?” Mark asked.
I bristled. Like he cared. I didn’t know what his game was, but whatever it was, I wasn’t going to be a part of it.
I wouldn’t have thought I could have this much distrust or dislike for a guy I hadn’t seen in well over a decade, but apparently I was better at holding grudges than I’d realized. All of a sudden, overwhelming exhaustion washed over me. I wanted nothing more than to go home to my cottage and be alone again, where I didn’t have to deal with Mark or any of these shifters. I could just be by myself.
“I’m fine,” I said.
“Good,” Mark said. “Let’s get going.” He held out his hand, as if actually expecting me to take it.
I glowered at him before pushing past him to follow Declan.
“How did you get in, Jameson?” Declan asked, talking to the other shifter in the lead.
“Front door,” the other shifter replied. “We sent Inara on a goose chase. She’s nowhere around.”
I raised an eyebrow, glancing at Declan. “That’syour way out? Walking through the front door?”
He shrugged. “Sometimes the simplest solutions are the best answer. You should know as well as anyone that the place is effectively impenetrable. If walking out the front door is the best option, then that’s what we’re going to do.”
“Here.” The shifter named Jameson held out an amulet to me, one that matched the ones around all the shifters’ necks. “It’s protection. Are you able to wear this?”
“I know what it is,” I said. “And yes, I can. It’s just not pleasant.”
I slipped the amulet over my neck and immediately repressed the urge to shudder. It felt slimy against my skin, burning a little too hot. It would protect me from other witches, but that meant it didn’t agree with my magic, either.
We moved through the house. I stared at the unconscious body at the entrance to the prison until I saw his chest moving up and down.
As we continued walking, I could sense Mark’s gaze lingering on me, could feel the heat of his body right behind me, as if he didn’t want me to get too far away from him. It just annoyed me even more. I didn’t trust the way he was suddenly so attentive. I half-expected him to trip me at any moment or start jeering at me. The weird niceness had to be an act. Even if it wasn’t, that didn’t mean I wanted anything to do with him.
It surprised me how easy it was to get out of there. If it hadn’t been for the talismans around each shifter’s neck, I’d have thought we’d run into some sort of trap by now. But I could tell by the inscriptions on the amulets that whoever had made them had created them with the intention of getting around magical traps. Inara was the type of witch who looked down on any methods that weren’t magical, meaning that any traps or alarms she had set up wouldn’t be triggered.
Sooner than I would have expected, we came to the door. Declan held me back before I could rush out. When he made sure the coast was clear, he gave a nod and let me through.
Fresh air brushed against my skin, filling my lungs for the first time in weeks. I took a deep breath, relishing the freedom I’d been beginning to think I might not ever get back.
“We’ll want to get out of here quickly,” Declan said. “Wait here.”
They all dipped into the woods. Moments later, several powerful wolves emerged from the woods in place of the men who had been here a moment earlier. I sucked in a breath. I had seen shifters all my life, of course, but their beauty and grace never ceased to amaze me. And these shifters were in another league entirely. The sleek fur did nothing to conceal the powerful muscles beneath them as they towered over me by a good foot. Every inch of each of them had been honed into a deadly weapon. I blinked and glanced away, realizing I’d been ogling.
A blond one came to stand in front of me, crouching slightly as if expecting me to climb on. Recognizing the eyes and snout from childhood, I turned my back on Mark, instead clambering on the jet-black wolf I was fairly certain was Declan.
The instant I was situated, the pack took off. My eyes stung as the wind slammed into me, pushing my hair away from my face as the world blurred around me. I bent lower, gripping the wolf’s fur so tightly that I was certain it was uncomfortable for him, but I was unwilling to let him go.
Even as my heart pounded with the rush of adrenaline, I couldn’t help but feel a rush of exhilaration. I could understand why shifters loved running through the woods if this was how it felt just riding one.
We ran for what felt like hours. My head throbbed from hunger, and my eyes ached from the sting of the wind. My legs were sore from clenching the wolf’s side. Eventually, the wolf ahead—Jameson—let out a howl. He must have beencommunicating to the rest of the pack because a moment later, everyone slowed to a halt. Declan bent for me to dismount, leaving me alone in the clearing while the wolves dipped into the trees. Moments later, they had returned, shifting back into their human forms.
“Is something wrong?” I asked, looking around. “Why did we stop? Are we being followed or something?”
Jameson shook his head. “Just taking a break. We’re close to Brixton now, but riding for that amount of time, especially in your condition, can take its toll. So we’re taking a quick stop. Are you hungry? I think we’ve got some food around here somewhere.”
The truth was, I was starving and food sounded incredible. But I was still reeling from how drastically my situation had changed in just a handful of hours. I had other priorities at the moment.
“Brixton?” I asked.
“It’s where we live,” Jameson said. “You’ll be safe there while we figure out a few things.”
“All right, since we have a break, I’ve got some questions,” Mark said. He planted his feet and folded his arms. “What the hell is going on? Why was Lorelei a captive, and what was important enough to bust her out? I have a right to know.”