Kane narrowed his eyes and they began to glow eerily. His body was shaking almost imperceptibly. Elise sensed how hard he was trying to maintain control of his human side, when the wolf within was crying out to be released and allowed to seek revenge.
“You really shouldn’t have done that, Marla.” Kane’s voice was so cold and deadly that Elise shivered.
Marla possibly sensed she’d gone too far. She backed up a step, trying to drag Elise with her, but of course Elise couldn’t keep her balance on one leg without the tree to hold onto. She stumbled backwards into Marla, who flinched, causing the knife to dig deeper into her flesh. Her cry and Marla’s shout blended together as Elise reached up to push the knife away. Her body lurched to the left and Marla’s went to the right. As she hit the ground, two black blurs launched themselves toward their mutual enemy.
In rapid succession, two shots rang out, signalling the beginning of a terrifying symphony of screams, snarls, and whimpers of pain. Elise pulled herself upright and saw one black wolf was down, a puddle of red spilling onto the snow covered ground. The remaining wolf, though bleeding heavily, had Marla by the leg. While badly injured, the woman wasn’t giving up. She was kicking and trying to pull herself away. Her arm was stretching towards the gun that had fallen to the ground.
“Hey!” A voice shouted from some distance away. Elise briefly swung her head towards the sound and saw Bryan a few hundred yards away, running in their direction. Help was coming, but would it be in time? She turned her attention back towards the fight.
Horrified, Elise saw that Marla’s hand had reached the gun... She was wrapping her fingers around the handle... Lifting the weapon... Now, she was bending her arm towards her unsuspecting attacker...
Elise tried to get up. She had to do something. Bryan was still too far away. Frantically, she dragged herself towards the combatants using her arms. She felt her hand hit against something cold and hard, half buried in the snow... It was the knife that just moments before had been pressed to her own throat! Grabbing it, she used all of her remaining energy to get to her feet and as a blinding pain shot up her leg, she threw herself forward on top of Marla.
“No!”
As the world went black, Elise was aware of three things. The gun had discharged. A warm, sticky substance was oozing over her body and the forest was suddenly incredibly quiet.
Chapter 35
Elise awoke, sensing she wasn’t in her own room. The surface beneath her was too firm, the sheet covering her was too scratchy. Overall she felt...numb...as if she was drifting on a cloud. Did that mean she was dead? She opened her eyes a crack just to check, wincing as the bright light assaulted her pupils. A large expanse of white greeted her through the veil of her lashes. Hmm... No, definitely not dead unless the afterlife had a crack in the ceiling plaster. And she certainly wasn’t at home. Her bed wasn’t this uncomfortable. The infirmary? Possibly. Licking her lips, she tried to swallow. Her mouth felt dry and a bad chemical taste was assaulting her tongue. She needed water. Maybe beside the bed? Starting to turn her head, she frowned as something pulled at the skin on her throat. Carefully lifting her hand, she felt the gauze that was there and tried to recall what had happened.
A slight rustling sound drew her attention and Elise cautiously turned to see Kane sleeping in a chair beside her. Dark circles under his eyes gave them a bruised look and stubble darkened his jaw line. A wave of love and warmth washed over her as she viewed his beloved features. She scanned down his powerful body only to stop when she noticed that his shirt was unbuttoned, revealing bandages wrapped around his chest.
The events of the past twenty-four hours suddenly came rushing back to her. As she relived those last few moments, tears pricked at the back of her eyes and she blinked rapidly to keep them at bay. So much had happened; arguing with Kane and then blood-bonding, Ryne and Kane fighting, Marla. Just the woman’s name caused a shiver to run through her. Ambivalence filled her over the woman’s fate. She hated what Marla had done, pitting the brothers against each other, killing Zack, trying to ruin Kane’s relationship with her... Yet, no matter how she felt about the woman, her own part in Marla’s demise was hard to take.
It wasn’t in her nature to react violently, but somehow she knew if the situation arose again, she’d do whatever was needed in order to protect her mate. She’d come so close to losing him. Watching the steady rise and fall of Kane’s chest comforted her; knowing he was still alive and by her side. Soon her breathing was in time with his own; steady and deep as she drifted off to sleep.