There’s a long pause. If the bastard doesn’t answer me, then I’m done giving him more chances; I don’t care if he is my mate, I’ll—
“I’m on the west end of town. You’re close. I’ll finish these three off and then answer any question you have for me.”There’s a sadness and fear that he pushes through with his words.
I snap my mind shut, blocking him out in an instant. I’m not even sure how I block him or if I’ll be able to repeat it, but I’m not going to let him pour emotion into me that will confuse how I feel. There is no excuse for what he did to Kael. And if Ambrose still expects me to play his mate, he has a lot of explaining and graveling to do.
Ambrose is right, though; I am close. I hear the cheers of the crowd that has gathered to watch Ambrose fight. Before I make it out of the forest, Rowena collides with me.
“Are you okay?” She looks me head to toe before her eyes widen. “You know—you know what happened to Kael.”
I nod.
She sucks in a deep breath as a loud cheer has us both turning our heads toward the sound.
I don’t know how she knows what happened to Kael. But the sincerity in her eyes tells me she just found out as well. I’m glad she wasn’t hiding it from me.
She grips my shoulders firmly. “Give him hell. I’ll have your back, and you’ll always have a place to sleep if you decide he isn’t the one for you.”
I nod slowly, unable to speak for fear of taking any of my wrath out on her.
She seems to understand as she grips my hand, and together, we walk out of the forest and into the crowd. The crowd ischeering as if they are watching a boxing match instead of a real life or death fight.
Rowena and I both shove through the crowd, pushing people aside as they grunt at us, that is until they see my face. I don’t know how many of the shifters recognize me, or they just see my look of pure resolution. Either way, they begin to part for me instead of needing to be shoved out of my way.
At the edge of the crowd, I stop as I see Ambrose’s large wolf form tear into the neck of a vampire. His teeth sink hard into his cool flesh, and then, with a flash, he’s human. Emeric tosses him a dagger, and he shoves it through the vampire’s heart.
The crowd roars with applause as Ambrose drops the vampire’s body to the ground before immediately shifting back into his wolf form. I scan the ground and find another vampire already dead with a stake in his heart. Only one female remains.
I look the three vampires over quickly, but none of them are the same ones who attacked Emeric and I earlier.
The female bares her teeth at Ambrose. But he doesn’t so much as break a sweat as he stands to his full height and lets out a warning growl—one that says you’re next.
They both stare at each other for a second longer, and then the female runs. She’s fast, so fast that my eyes can barely track her as she moves.
The crowd parts, no one brave enough or stupid enough to try and stop her.
I turn back to Ambrose, curious to see what he’ll do.
“She doesn’t get to escape. Not after what she did,”he growls in my head.
I don’t know how he plans on catching her. Vampires are faster than wolf shifters, and she already has a head start.
But he breaks out into a run, darting through the crowd where she just zipped through. I hold my breath even though Iexpect it could take hours or even days for Ambrose to track her down. And I don’t have that long.
I’m about to send a message telling him that in my head when a high-pitched scream echoes above all the other noise. The voice falls silent quickly, and so does the crowd. All eyes are locked in on a break in the crowd.
Ambrose drags the limp body of the female vampire with his teeth to the edge of the crowd and then drops it unceremoniously onto the ground before shifting back into his human form.
The crowd cheers once again. But Ambrose’s eyes lock in on me in a serious manner. He may have just defeated three vampires, but he hasn’t dealt with my wrath yet. And I may very well kill him for what he did to Kael.
Rowena places her hand on my shoulder and gives me a gentle squeeze, reminding me that she has my back. But I don’t need her help to deal with Ambrose. I don’t need anyone’s help. I don’t even need my wolf’s help, if she even exists at all. I’ve got this.
I take a step forward, out of the crowd, and into the center of the circle that Ambrose just fought the vampires in. The crowd is still reeling from Ambrose slaughtering the three dead vampires. Those who notice me don’t notice the expression I bear. I’m not about to congratulate my alpha mate on a job well done.
Ambrose is frozen as he watches me approach. Sweat-soaked hair frames his face in dark waves. His face is a stale, somber white, and his eyes never leave mine, not even to blink.
I’m burning with my rage as I stride across the grass. I don’t hesitate a single step. I don’t think about how strong he is and how weak I am. I don’t think about his threats to kill me so that he’ll get a new mate if he doesn’t find me worthy.
“You traded Kael to that monster. You traded his life like it meant nothing to you. You gave our enemy the only friend I havein this world.” I narrow my eyes, my teeth grinding together so hard that I feel the enamel turning to powder in my mouth. “You, Ambrose, are not my mate.”
