Page 55 of The Wolf's Captive

“I lost her,” one of the werewolves was telling Nigel. “I searched the whole house.”

I couldn’t tell whether he was lying or whether the witch had cast a spell to cover her tracks. Either way, it was good to know that they hadn’t just left me.

“What happened?” Nigel snapped when he spotted us.

Malone didn’t even reply as he lowered me onto the hard stone ground. I groaned, looking around at the witches, who were gathered in a worried huddle. The wolves were still tied to their chains.

Why had Malone brought me here? If I died, I didn’t want to be in front of them all, especially Kieran.

Speaking of which, I could hear my familiar’s deep moans. He would’ve been able to feel the pain that rocked through my whole body. Good, hopefully the bastard died with me. That would save Malone the job of killing him when I was gone.

“The ritual has been completed for the other witches,” Victor said, hurrying over. “I can help.”

Nodding, Malone sucked in a breath and steadied his hands above the handle of the blade. “It’s silver," he said, his words shaky, “so when I pull it out, you’ll need to use a healing spell instantly or she’ll…”

The room fell silent, even the elders of the council stared. I didn’t mean anything to them, and yet, they respected me enough to allow Victor to do his job.

“Are you ready?” Malone whispered.

Nodding, I gritted my teeth, bracing myself for the pain. The dagger slid slowly, the scratch of the blade tearing my skin even more.

“Sorry,” Malone whispered before yanking it out quickly.

Crying out, I clutched my stomach, feeling the gush of wet as blood spurted from me. Shit, I was going to die in a basement with my mate by my side. Fucking hell, talk about a pitiful ending.

“Move!” Victor demanded.

I didn’t know who he was talking to, until my arms were wrenched away and his hands pressed against my wound.

His loud chant quickly filled the room. He was panting, his breath short. He had just used up a lot of magic to disconnect the other witches. Would he be strong enough to seal a silver cut wound?

I blinked my eyes open as more voices joined the warlock’s. The other witches stood around him, their arms held out to the side and their eyes closed. They were lending him their magic.

“Malone,” I whispered, fighting the numbness that wanted to overtake me.

He bent down and held my face, stroking my damp hair away from my cheeks. “I’m here,” he muttered, “I always will be.”

“You have to move on without me.”

The sharp intake of his breath echoed in my ears as he nudged my neck with his face. “No.” Kissing my chin, he cleared his throat. “You will survive this.”

Enjoying the feel of his stubble along my neck, I sighed before lifting my blood soaked hand and cradling his cheek so he looked me in the eye.

“If I don’t…” I placed my finger over his lips when he went to protest. “…find someone who will love you as much as possible. I know you won’t be able to love them the same but try. Please… you must have an heir and be happy.”

Tears filled his eyes as I struggled to catch my breath. Death was coming, I could feel it. The numbness was spreading throughout my limbs.

My arm went to drop away as my muscle went weak. Malone caught it, kissing my fingers and shaking his head as his tears dropped onto my cheeks. “You can’t leave me, not after everything we’ve been through.”

“The universe has a funny way of ruining our lives,” I quipped, coughing suddenly.

Malone’s eyes widened before he looked up at Victor. The warlock’s body shook from the effort it was taking him to cast the spell. He wasn’t strong enough.

“Can’t you use your own magic?” Malone gasped.

Shaking my head, I coughed again, pleased that the pain was fading. I didn’t want a long drawn out death. It was better that they just let me be.

A roar in my head made me scrunch my eyes closed. My wolf spirit was protesting against my demise. I didn’t blame her, she hadn’t even managed to commit to Malone fully. Hopefully that meant the break in our bond when I was gone wouldn’t cause him too much trauma. Who was I kidding? I didn’t want to leave him.