Wolf Bound

Chapter 44: Fate

I'd once thought I knew what it felt like for my life to flash before my eyes—the night Amaury bit me. Surely, there was no chance of me surviving such a vicious attack. Yet somehow, I earned another chance at living as a wolf shifter. Some might say it was fate. For us to cross paths, that was. Could it have been fate? I didn't know. Up until now, I hadn't truly believed. But here I was again. Earning another chance at living. Maybe it was fate.

"Genesis!" Amaury's voice was a faint echo in my head; faded and barely audible, as if we were miles apart. "Genesis!" I heard him again. But I couldn't move. I was trapped inside my mind. Somewhere far away from him and the outside world as my consciousness slipped away.

"I'm going to make sure you die a slow and painful death!" Another voice echoed. My neck felt tight—hands? Were there hands around my neck? They squeezed. I couldn't breathe.

"Genesis! Wake up!" Amaury's final cry caused my eyes to blink open slowly. A blurry face hovered over mine. Long dark hair hung from its head, draping over me like curtains. I then noticed the pale hands around my neck, traveling up to the blurry face I soon registered as Sophia's. And as I lay limp on my back, she straddled my waist, choking me.

Sophia was clamping down on her jaw, teeth bearing at me viciously. Had she crawled over to my unconscious body after busting through the door? I coughed. Blood spurted from my mouth. I tried prying her hands away, or even loosening their grip. Casting that spell, however, took all that was left out of me. I didn't have the energy to fight her.

"How dare you try to outsmart me?" She was putting all her strength into her grip now. I weakly slapped at her hands, my legs twitching underneath her. I feared she'd snap my neck. "I hope you didn't think I'd let you get away that easily. You wretched, wretched girl—"

Before Sophia could finish her sentence, I saw a hazy spot of gray leaping over me. Sophia's back slammed against the floor. But rather than a person hovering over her, Bennett's wolf towered her, his breath awfully close to her face, pinning her to the floor.

"Benny," she whispered.

He growled in response.

"B-Bennett. . ." I coughed again, more blood spurting from my mouth. Shit, I didn't want to know how bad my internal injuries were. "Do it."

Sophia chuckled, then said, "Will you really kill me?"

Bennett breathed in through his nose.

"Do you have the guts to do so?" she continued.

"Ben. . ." I rolled onto my side, attempting to hold myself up with my elbow.

His hesitation went noticed.

"Oh Benny"—Bennett was so focused on her face, he hadn't acknowledged the fact that she reached out for the nearest glass shard beside them—"you can't."

I heard my own gasp as Sophia inserted the long, thick piece of glass into Bennett. She pushed it deep, then removed it, letting the bloodied shard fall from her hand back onto the floor. Bennett staggered back, whimpering. My mouth hung open, quivering like a leaf, while Sophia kneeled on all fours. Her eyes glowed the color of a wolf's. But her attention was no longer on me or Bennett. It was split between the cottage entrance and the hallway leading to the back.

What was she doing?

I received my answer when I sensed them—Vincent and backup. She was looking for a way to flee. And she'd found it down the hallway. After shifting, she took off. I heard a crash from the back, indicating she might have jumped through the window. All was quiet afterwards.

Bennett's silence disturbed me.

I turned flat on my stomach, using my elbows to drag myself to Bennett's wolf, who was now bleeding out on his side, unresponsive. My body trembled as I struggled to my knees, balancing my weight on my palms. Vincent's wolf barging into the cottage was the next thing I saw. He looked around, then did a double take when he saw Bennett.