He tilts his head as if hearing something I can’t, and a look of panic comes to his face. It smoothed over a moment later, his face going blank. I’m about to ask what’s wrong when he takes my arm in a strong, almost bruising grip before throwing me to the ground. I land hard, banging my elbow on the concrete.
I shout, “Ow! What the hell was that for?”
He turns away from me as men in full armor come out from between the buildings. Some are shifted, wearing metal plates over their red shining fur, others are in their human forms, holding spears tipped with iron. A metal that affects all supernaturals, not just the fae. Fear swirls in my stomach at the men move closer threateningly. Varus doesn’t look at me as he approaches one of them, clasping him on the shoulder like they’re old friends. I sit up while clutching my injured elbow and the other men move swiftly to surround me, iron spears inches from my body. Fear paralyzes me, and I go still.
I strain to listen to their whispered conversation, but only get bits and pieces floating along the breeze.
Maia informed. . . White coat. . . Blue. . . Forbidden. . .
I begin to sweat as the realization unfolds. Maia followed Varus to the cabin, hoping to get him alone, only to find him looking for me. She probably saw the whole exchange and knew who I was too Varus. Dread fills my stomach at the thought of the hunters surrounding me bursting into my sisters' rooms to drag them away.
I doomed us all.
Varus still won’t look at me, and the blank, emotionless look he had on his face worries me. Was he faking? Was this all a setup? No, it can’t be. I feel his devotion, his love through the emotional bond we now have. Or do I? What kind of magic do the rest shifters possess, if any at all? And who’s to say these feelings aren’t a mating bond at all, but my inner wolf lusting after him to breed perfect little babies? He is the prince and part arctic shifter, so he would have been the logical choice to figure out who I am.
Was everything he said and did a lie?
The two males finally turn, and Varus says in a cold unrecognizable voice, “Seize her. She is Ashe Romanoff, arctic shifter traitor and daughter of Delora and Alagan Romanoff.”
The hunters around me move forward and I look at Varus with what must be a look of terror on my face. His expression is stony as he turns away. Anger surges through me at his betrayal and at my own stupidity. I stand and throw out my hands, ice shards shooting from my fingers. Some of the men stumble back as I surge forward, fighting to get out of the throng toward Varus. Blue light shines off of my body as I shift, turning into the formidable wolf of my ancestors. The wolves around me growl while the men gasped, unable to stop themselves. A thundering howl issues from my throat as I lunge.
The red hunters and I clash in midair, claws ripping and teeth snapping. Blood sprays across the concrete as I cut down two of the men while trying to shake two more off of my back. They sink their teeth deep into my hide, and I growl as my blood seeps into my white coat, turning it a sickly shade of pink. Wherever my blood drips, the ground turns to ice, causing the men to slip and lose their footing.
I’m able to loosen their hold on my back and get a few feet closer to Varus’s retreating figure before an iron-tipped spear goes into my side. A horrible yelp comes from my mouth and I see Varus flinch at the noise. My sideburns horribly as weakness spreads throughout my body, causing me to stumble.
A second iron spear goes into my other side, and my front legs buckle, hitting the group so forcefully that it shudders. This time I yowl in pain and anger, causing flurries of melting ice to come from the sky above. But I don’t have enough strength to turn them into weapons of war, let alone the training. A hunter takes one final spear to my flank, this time piercing my shoulder blade.
My body falls to the ground, limp. There are too many of them, and the iron has wrought my body with weakness and shivering cold. I’m not trained to fight legions of soldiers.
I’m not trained to be a queen.
That thought leaves me spiraling into the dark.
Epilogue
I wake within an iron cell still in my wolf form. My once beautiful white coat is stained with the gore of my enemies and my battle scars. The spears are gone, but the wounds still ooze blood, making me feel weak and dizzy. How long have I been unconscious, alone, and bleeding out? By the wooziness in my head, I’d say a day or two. My stomach growls fiercely, reminding me that I need food and water to heal properly.
How did this happen so quickly? How could I let this happen? How was I fooled so easily? The barrage of questions makes shame coil in my stomach. Varus does not love me. He is not me fated mate. To think I knew what it was supposed to feel like is laughable now. He played me for a fool, and I let him do it. Now look at me. I’ll most likely be dead within a week.
A series of noises issue from the cell across from mine and I turn my head, unable to get off of the floor. There, two additional white coated shifters lie, watching me. My vision is blurry, but I can only suspect them to be my sisters who were also captured during the ambush. I try to get up and move, but my body cries out in agony, forcing me to stop. Whining sounds leave my throat, which alerts the wolves across from me. The larger one, most likely Janna, paces back and forth in front of the bars restlessly.
Watching her makes me even more dizzy, so I turn my head away again. All I can think about as the minutes tick on is the look of panic on Varus’s face, as if he didn’t know that the soldiers were coming. If he really betrayed me, why would he look panicked? Is it just another trick? Or am I reading into it too much, as I did with every other feeling I had for him? My shame burns hot and bright within me, my wolf echoing the feelings back to me. We were both fooled.
His words haunt me, I want you in a way that makes me feel foolish. It’s not love, I know that. Nothing of that magnitude comes so easily.
He was right. Through my bleak thoughts I register the sound of someone shifting, bones creaking and skin stretching back into place. A cold breeze curls into my cell to wrap around my body, strangely comforting. I tilt my head back toward the opposite cell to see what caused it. The wolves in the opposite cell are not my sisters.
They are my parents, alive and well, weak and captive with me.
The End
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Arctic Hunter Page 7
