Page 40 of The Wolf's Captive

A yelp made me glance back. Kieran had freed his hand and was pushing his fingers into Malone’s eye. The alpha turned his head and sliced the offending arm with his teeth. Kieran’s cry rocked into my soul, jolting me.

Malone took the opportunity to bend his head and bite the wires of the bomb. The contraption fell away from Kieran’s chest, but there was still a real risk that it could still work.

Throwing open the front door, I went to go through it, pausing when Malone howled. He had reared away from Kieran, blood dripping from his teeth. The other werewolf tried to sit up, clutching his badly wounded arm.

His free hand reached behind him, straight for the bomb. Without thinking, I lifted my arm and used a telekinesis spell, moving the contraption carefully up and out of his reach. Magic flooded me as I whispered a disabling spell, hoping that I knew what the fuck I was doing. Which, I kinda didn’t.

“No!” Kieran cried, clutching his chest in agitation.

The bomb disintegrated into dust, the particles gently floating to the ground. Malone flung himself back onto Kieran, holding him to the floor with his weight.

I took out my phone and dialled Nigel at the council. When he answered, I could barely speak. “We have Kieran,” I gasped. “I’m bringing him in.”

Hanging up, I went over to the pair and reached for Malone. His lip lifted as he looked at me, his brown and amber eyes flaring. The lift of his lip was a warning, but he wouldn’t hurt me.

“I’m sorry,” I said, stepping back when Kieran started to throw himself around.

Malone slowly lowered his head, opened his mouth and pinned Kieran’s neck.

As hard as it was to defy Malone, I had to get Kieran back into custody.

Placing my hand on Malone’s neck, I bent down and gripped Kieran’s side, teleporting us to the werewolf headquarters.

When we landed in the reception area, a woman screamed, drawing the attention of the other wolves in the vicinity.

I surged away from the pair, clutching my arm. It ached, right at the spot where Kieran was slowly bleeding.

“What’s going on?” Nigel barked, coming through the dining room doors.

Malone released Kieran, his chest heaving as his blood covered fur stuck to his face. I swallowed down the panic that made my hands shake. Would Malone forgive me for using my magic?

Several wolves descended on Kieran as Malone shifted back into human form. Wiping his mouth, he tried to even out his breath.

Nigel approached me, gently taking my elbow. “What happened?”

“He somehow found us at my apartment. He had a homemade bomb strapped to his vest, he…” I almost choked. “…threatened to kill us all.”

Glancing at Malone, Nigel raised his eyebrows. “You did well containing the threat.”

My stomach churned as Kieran was dragged away. The werewolf looked at me, a small smile playing on his lips.

“I’d like to know how he was able to obtain a bomb and escape,” Malone growled, wiping the blood from his cheek.

Although he was in business mode, he touched my arm to reassure me. A flood of relief relaxed my muscles. At least he wouldn’t hold my actions against me.

“We spotted his witch friend outside the building,” Nigel said, waving his hand at a woman who hovered with a bucket and mop, indicating that she clean up the blood on the floor. “She must have cast a spell to get him out. We’ve called a warlock friend to tighten our defences around the headquarters.”

“If it was up to me,” a passing werewolf grumbled, “I would’ve put him down by now.”

“And risk killing my mate by way of association?” Malone snapped, his invisible hackles rising as his cheeks turned red.

Holding up his hands, the man ducked his head. “Oh, yeah, I forgot about that. Sorry.”

Nigel waved the man away, patting Malone’s arm as he guided us to his office. My whole being was shook, the shock of Kieran’s attack only just sinking in. If he’d managed to detonate the bomb, it would’ve killed us all. I couldn’t allow that to happen.

“We’ve contacted Victor Roberts. He should be landing in London in the next few days,” Malone told Nigel. “As soon as he’s here, we’ll push him to try and disconnect the werewolves from the witches.”

“I’ll go first,” I blurted, “just in case something goes wrong.”