You can do this, I kept repeating over and over again. I’d blocked my thoughts so my pack wouldn’t know what a mess I was on the inside.
He shifted into his wolf. He was big and vicious. His big, sharp teeth gleamed as he snarled at me.
I shifted and, despite the pain, I stood proud in front of my enemy. His amber eyes fixed on me as he growled and showed me his razor-sharp teeth again. I took a fighting stance and fixed my eyes on him.
In a split second he launched himself at me, but I was quick enough to evade him by rolling to the right. I got back on my feet quickly, knowing he wouldn’t give me a lot of time to recover.
He was growling as he started to turn to face me again. My heart was hammering in my chest even though I was trying to stay calm. If I allowed the fear to take over, I would make a mistake and I’d be as good as dead.
Richard’s eyes narrowed and prepared for another attack. If I was ever going to have a chance of winning a fight, I would have to start attacking him, since just dodging him wasn’t going to be enough. A plan began to formulate in my mind. Somewhere in the distance I could hear Kyle shouting at the guards to let him go. He’d been the only one who wouldn’t be forced to obey my command.
Richard jumped for me again but this time I wasn’t quick enough and the full force of his powerful body slammed into me, knocking the air out of my lungs. Pain exploded in my front paw as his powerful teeth closed into my flesh. I didn’t cry out as I gritted my teeth to manage the pain.
I landed on my side just as I kicked him with my back legs, forcing him to let go of my injured paw. The pain throbbed from the bleeding wound as I stood on all fours, but I ignored it. Adrenaline began to flow into me.
He lunged for me again but this time I did move quickly enough and as he passed by I opened my powerful jaws and sank them into the flesh on his side. He howled with pain. I released him as I circled around. He got back onto his paws and faced me again. His blood mingled with my saliva in my mouth.
Blood seeped from my injured paw as we faced each other. This time I lunged first, but Richard was quicker and got out of the way. As I tried to roll back on my feet, he jumped onto me and his teeth dug into my front leg. Pain tore into me as I tried to shake him off, but he refused to let go.
I managed to maneuver above him. Finally he let go and fell back, whimpering at the pain from my new wound. I wanted to get up but the pain was excruciating.
Get up, I commanded myself. I lay on my side, trying to get the strength to get back up to my feet.
Richard lunged for me again as I got to my feet. I had no time to defend myself as his jaws closed around my stomach. Pain like I’d never felt before jolted through me and I whimpered.
I landed with a thud on the ground as Richard released me. I hurt so badly and my vision blurred.
“Get up, get up,” I heard the nervous voice of Kyle. “Come on, you can do it.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Keri
I was in bad shape. Even though I was a werewolf and could heal quickly, I knew that I’d sustained a serious injury to my stomach, but there was no giving up. I’d been taught to be tough and to keep going my whole life, but I was too injured to get back up on my feet.
I closed my eyes and opened them again. The blurriness sharpened and I saw Richard had shifted back into his human form. He was looking triumphantly down at me. He’d won this fight. If I couldn’t get up, I couldn’t defend myself.
For most of my life I’d hated him as much as I’d hated my father.
“You never stood a chance,” he spat at me and I gritted my teeth as the reality of the situation sank in.
“You actually thought that you could defeat me.” He laughed, mocking me, and I felt anger rise up in me.
I would die and he would take over my pack. I’d done everything I could and it still hadn’t been enough. Blood poured through my wounds and the pain was excruciating. I breathed in a haggard breath as I tried to move.
“I’m going to end your life and you will die knowing that I own your pack,” he added with a sneer.
He would run the pack like my father had and every member of my pack would live in fear like they had before. All the changes I’d started to put into place to change things would be for nothing. They would go back to being treated like soldiers instead of people with a chance to live their lives with some choice. If I died, their freedom died with me.
“Get up!” I heard Kyle shout. I looked from Richard’s victorious face to Kyle, who was pleading with me to get back up.
For a few seconds I scanned the faces of my pack members and I felt guilty at the fact that I’d failed them. I heard a phone ring from where my pack stood. My eyes settled on Curtis for a moment and I saw the horror on his face. He could do nothing more than watch the inevitable unfold in front of him.
“Do you have any last words?” Richard asked, smiling down at me with the evil evident in his eyes.
I whimpered. I couldn’t die, but there was no way for me to get back up. I was too badly injured. My stomach felt like it had been shredded and my legs were injured as well. My dark red blood began to pool beneath me.
Richard bent down on one knee beside me and leaned closer.
