"I don't have the right to even consider kissing you," he said, even as he pulled her closer. "I fucked up everything for you."
"No." She put her hands on his chest, stopping him. Anger rushed through her. "Don't you understand, Jace? It's not your fault. Grigori and Lucius were going to take Seth from my sister, no matter what. If it hadn't worked with you, it would have happened anyway." Tears filled her eyes, but she blinked them away. "She ran away with Grigori's grandson. Do you honestly think they would have allowed her to live?"
Denial flashed in his eyes. "If I had resisted that song-'
"You couldn't have! It's too strong! Don't you get it?"
He narrowed his eyes. "You said you could desensitize me to the song. Which is it, Abby? Is the song so powerful that no wolf alive could resist its call? Or is it beatable, and I simply failed?"
"No one can break it without the right training. It's impossible. But with the right training, it's possible for some wolves." She met his gaze. "If you noticed, Damien was there when my sister was killed, and he didn't shift. Grigori was there, and he didn't shift either."
Jace's expression was stunned at her words. He dropped his hands as if she'd burned him. "Son of a bitch," he said, his voice raw. "I didn't even think of that. They didn't shift. Only me. I'm the fucking alpha, and I was the one who didn't have enough control. Fuck!" He pushed her back and then held his hands up. His face was stricken, and she realized that in her attempt to encourage him, she'd given him the fuel to condemn himself the final time.
"Jace, no! They had training-"
"Damien was weak and pathetic," he snapped. "Weak. And yet, he didn't shift." He stepped away from her, but the moment he set his right foot down, he collapsed, dropping to the ground as his body literally gave out from the onslaught of pain that had burst through his shield.
Abby lunged for him, but he was too heavy, and she fell with him, tumbling to the ground beside him. They had just hit the ground when she heard the front door of the cabin open.
Jace swore, and rolled to his side, stumbling back to his feet, his body shaking as he scrambled to get back up.
But it was too late.
A black shadow streaked out the front door and launched itself at him.
Chapter 9
Jace braced himself a split second before he was hit squarely in the chest by a scrawny black wolf that hit him with surprising, desperate force. He grabbed his assailant and flung her into the car, spinning himself out of the way as he did so. He leapt over to Abby and landed in front of her on one foot, crouching and ready. Pain flooded his body, but he shut it down, every last bit of his energy focused on protecting her.
The black wolf that had attacked him landed easily on all four feet, her upper lip raised in a snarl as she whirled back toward them.
Jace went still, holding back his own wolf, while he watched the female. She was lean and wiry, as if she'd lived a life skulking through alleys foraging for food, always prepared to fend off assailants. She was a wolf of the streets, the most dangerous and unpredictable kind in existence, because she lived by no rules. "I'm not here to hurt you," he said, attuning his senses to the cabin behind them, checking for the presence of any more wolves. He didn't like having his back to the cabin, so he pressed back against Abby, shifting her to the side so he could get them in a better position.
Abby was right behind him, her body rigid with fear. "Where's Kiernan?" He could smell her fear, but her voice was steady and strong.
The black wolf looked back and forth between them, her lips still raised in a silent snarl.
"We're here to see Kiernan," Abby repeated. "Where is he?"
The black wolf didn't move, her body taut as she watched them. Everything about her spoke of aggression, and a willingness to fight to the death. Jace's wolf fought to emerge, preparing for a battle, but he shoved it aside. He would not attack a female. There was no fucking way he was going to hurt another woman again. Ever. "Stand down," he snapped. "We're here in peace!"
I got her. Drake's voice drifted through his mind. Keep her distracted.
Jace couldn't smell Drake, and he knew his teammate was approaching downwind. Jace crouched lower, letting his wolf pace closer to the surface, letting the female shifter know that he was her equal. Don't hurt her, Drake.
She gets mercy only if she deserves it. Drake's voice was cool, without emotion, the voice of a soldier prepared to do whatever he needed. Jace swore, not liking the tone of Drake's voice. When had Drake begun to lose his humanity?
Abby touched his shoulder. "Don't shift," she said softly. "It's not safe."
Something about the edge to her voice caught his attention, and he stiffened. "Why not?"
"The song. I can hear it in your blood right now. If you shift again, it might own you."
He went cold, and fury coursed through him. What else did she know about that song? What had she not told him? "Abby-" The female wolf shifted position, drawing his attention back to her.
She'd focused on his injured leg, and he felt her sudden surge of energy. Son of a bitch. She was going to attack him and try to take advantage of his injury. "Stand down," he said again, using the voice he'd perfected with his fucked up pack when they were losing their shit.
She tensed her body, and then sprang at them, clearly immune to his fantastic powers of persuasion.
Jace swore, throwing himself in front of Abby as he held up his arm to block their assailant. The black wolf's teeth sank into his forearm, tearing flesh he couldn't afford to lose. With his leg injury, he couldn't get the leverage to defeat her without shifting, and his wolf knew it. It howled with the need to be released, but Jace fought it back with iron control. Even without Abby's warning, he would have known he couldn't shift. He was too close to the edge of control, and if his wolf took over, it would own him.
It would be a lethal killer he couldn't control. He'd rather have his throat ripped out than unleash himself onto the world, or this wolf.
There was something about the female that made the song hum even more loudly through his veins, calling to the monster Grigori had unleashed. He couldn't shift to his wolf form, but he knew he would lose if he didn't. Die or kill? Those were shitty options even for a guy with his morals. He wouldn't kill the she-wolf, but he wouldn't risk Abby either by letting himself get killed.
"Get to the car," he ordered Abby as he slammed his elbow into the wolf's ribs, trying to dislodge her teeth from his arm. She didn't let go, her teeth grinding deeper into his arm. "Get out of here!"
Abby didn't move. "No, I can't leave you-"
"Go!" He shoved her backward as the wolf tore at his arm. She threw him off balance, and he had to put his right foot down to keep from falling. The pain ripped through him, and his leg collapsed-
A silver wolf charged out of the woods. Drake tore across the grass and leapt on the black wolf, his teeth sinking into the back of her neck. She released Jace and whirled around, trying to dislodge Drake, but she had no chance. He was too heavy, and he'd gotten a perfect grip on her, because she'd been too focused on crushing Jace's forearm instead of paying attention to her surroundings.
It was a rookie mistake, an unusual lapse in judgement that he wouldn't have expected from a savvy street wolf. She should have been accustomed to always focusing on all possible threats, but she hadn't. It was an anomaly he'd contemplate when he wasn't in so much fucking pain.
Swearing, Jace rolled to his side, fighting against the nausea. He was an expert at shutting down pain, but between his ankle and his arm, it was impossible to keep it all at bay. Jesus. Pain was inconvenient as hell.
Abby crouched beside him, still too close to danger. "Let me help you up," she said urgently, her gaze flicking to the battle between Drake and the alley wolf.
"Get back," he gritted out. "Now."
"No. We have to get inside. We have to find Kiernan." She grabbed his uninjured arm, helping him up. He staggered, trying to keep his balance on one leg. His arm was torn, the ligaments and muscles heavily damaged. He'd almost been taken out by a street wolf half his size, a wolf he could usually take down without even an extra breath. What the hell? Even injured he shouldn't have been hit so hard. His timing had been slow, his awareness compromised, things that should have nothing to do with his injured leg.