The Heart of the Shadow

28. As You Wish

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Ryka's POV
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I race to the Pack House, tossing Louis in the safe house along the way.  My heart begins to race as I smell Nathaniel and his wolves. The sight I find on the front lawn breaks my heart. Almost every pack member is bound in chains. I growl as I find The Shadow standing proudly in front of them.

   "I was wondering when you would show up, my dear grandchild. Now, how about we play a game?" I growl as he steps closer. "Where's the pup you're hiding? He would make a beautiful twink for my Beta." A buff man in his mid twenties steps towards me. Many tattoos cover his body, most of them marred by scars. His aura is gentle, but also dominating. His piercing green eyes match his dark raven hair.

   "If you take one more step, I will rip you apart." He smiles.

   "Give me the pup, and I'll let everyone else go." I scoff.

   "Do you think I'm stupid?" He chuckles and nods. "At least I'm smarter than your guards." I cackle as he frowns.

   "What do you mean? My guards are not stupid! I own the best force in the country!" His face turns red in anger. I notice the Beta grin out of the corner of my eye. Nathaniel advances towards me, I stand completely still until he is a foot away from me. With only a twitch of my hand, his entire army drops dead. I only spare Nathaniel and his Beta. He becomes enraged as I taunt him.

   "Aww, did the big bad wolf lose his army?" He opens his arms to strangle me. I use my powers to pin them to his sides. His face gets even redder as he struggles against my hold.

   "Mate! What in the Goddess is going on here?!" Logan shouts from behind me. He storms up to me and places his fingers on a pressure point on my neck.

   "Handling some business." He applies a bit of pressure and I growl. "Get off me."

   "No, I own you and I'm allowed to do what I want. Why are you attacking my boss?" I spin around to face him.

   "Your boss! What do you mean he's your boss?! You are no mate of mine!" I turn to face Nathaniel. "I'll kill you for this!" He smirks.

   "Only if you can catch me. Oh, and I'll be taking the boy toy with me. Ta ta now." He mockingly waves and disappears in thin air. I lunge for him, only to realize there's nothing there. I turn towards the Beta and find his eyes black and his nose in the air.

   "Mate!" He turns to see another guard holding Louis by his shirt. "Let go of him!" He races towards them and gently tugs Louis into his arms.

   "Ryka!" Louis screams. I catch a glimpse of his terrified face before they both disappear into thin air.

   "Mate. Come here. Now." I whip around and find Logan growling at me.

   "No. You aren't my mate. You're just a test dummy for Nathaniel. Get off my territory before I kill you." He takes a step closer, a thundering growl sounds.

   "She said. Get. Off. My. Territory. Fucking scram." Ryder comes up behind me and wraps his arms around my waist. Logan stands tall and puffs out his chest.

"She's mine. Not yours so get off and let me teach my property a lesson." Logan grabs my arm and yanks me out of Ryder's hold.

"Let go of me you bastard!" He hits the pressure point again and my body collapses. Ryder growls and advances towards us. I hold my hand out to stop him.

"Aww, is the little girl going to fight back?" I lunge at Logan and knock him to the ground. He throws me over his head. I land face first on the ground. My body screams as I stand and spit dirt out of my mouth. Blood drips out of my broken nose and a deep cut on my thigh. My body involuntarily shifts into my wolf to heal my wounds. Ryder kneels in front of my shaking form.

   "Let me fight him. You're not strong enough." I growl.

   "I am strong enough. Move out of my way." I link to him. He hesitantly steps away. Logan's blond wolf tackles me before I can even move. Scarlett takes over as my mind panics. She scratches his eyes and shoves him off. Loud whimpers follow as she takes her claws down his back. Blood covers the ground as teeth and claws connect. His now blind eye glints red in the light. He races towards us, his steps uneven as if the ground is moving underneath him. Scarlett grabs him by the neck and slams his body to the ground. His wolf whimpers in submission as she forces him to back down. His one eye switches from black to blue, human fights with wolf. He screams in agony as he shifts back to human form.

   "I will never bow down to a low life like you. I'd rather die." He leans over and coughs up blood.

   "As you wish." With one swipe of my claws I slit his throat. I shift back to my human form. The weight of exhaustion slips over my body. The last thing I see is Ryder running towards me with tears on his face.

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8/6/19
9/1/20