Page 29 of Awakened and Betrayed
Holy shit!
Is this why Sentinels went into hiding and never resurfaced? Was it more than the fact that they were being murdered? Were they being forced to bind and transfer their magic to anyone strong enough to take it? Can Sentinels even beforcedto mark and transfer their magic?Fuck! I really need to read that tablet the Readers left me!
Torrez is the first wolf to find me. He breaks into the clearing and drops his nose to the ground. He sniffs all around me, letting out a low growl followed by a whine. His huge wolf body nudges up against me, but I'm too numb and overwhelmed by everything that just happened to respond in any way. Alpha Silas breaks through the trees and skids to a stop next to Torrez. His wolf is black as coal, and his eyes glow yellow and reflective. Several other wolves lope in behind him and move to surround me. There’s no sign of the rest of the pack.
Torres and Silas both shift in front of me, and I blame shock for not looking away.
"Are you okay?" Torrez asks me.
"Where is it?"
Torrez's question is flanked by Silas’s, and I'm not sure who to answer first. I run my fingers through my hair, not sure what to say or how to respond. A brown wolf circles us, he gives a yip, and two other wolves break away from the cluster surrounding me and head in the direction that Sorik and his friend ran away.
Torrez places his hands on the outside of my arms and leans down. His looming face breaks up the image of the wolves who are now hunting down my mother's other Chosen. What does that make him to me? Another dad? An uncle? Lachlan’s face flashes through my mind, and I immediately shut down my train of thought. I refocus on the smooth tan face and dark brown eyes in front of me.
"He's gone. It's fine. I’m fine."
I try to pull away from Torrez's tightening hold, but he doesn't let me. His grip is firm on my upper arms as he turns to his Alpha.
“Were they working together? One distracts, while the other moves in on her?”
Silas looks me over as he contemplates Torrez’s cryptic question. “What did the leeches say to you, Vinna? Why do you look so…” Silas’ nostrils flare, and he breathes deeply before continuing. “...unnerved?”
I meet his questioning gaze and debate what to do. They can smell lies. So there’s really no point in trying to come up with some kind of cover-up for what just happened. I go with vague.
“It’s nothing you should worry about. It has nothing to do with you or your pack.”
Silas narrows his eyes at my lacking explanation. He folds his big arms over his chest, his stubborn body language matching the tone of my dismissive explanation.
“Leeches just breached our territory for the first time in pack history. I’d say that has everything to do with me and my pack. What just happened should’ve been impossible, and that’s definitely something worth worrying about. I don’t see, or scent, any ash, which means they were here with a good enough reason to convince you to let them live. Now, I’ll ask you again, what did they want?”
Silas lets some bite come through in his tone as he demands an answer again. I can feel the threat in the air, and I know that I’m not going to get out of this unscathed if I don’t cough something up. Seven wolves surround me including Silas and Torrez. I try to picture what it would be like to fight seven versions of Torrez all at the same time. A part of me bubbles over with excitement at what a challenge it could be, to try and take them all on and win. But, could I do it without killing any of them? As much as a good part of me likes the idea of fighting my way out of this, I don’t want to kill any of them, or you know, die.
“Fucking hell, I think she just got excited by your threat,” Torrez groans, and his pupils dilate as he scents me.
He seems to be fighting internally with himself about something. A few whines sound off around me, and Silas gets an amused glint in his eyes.
“Definitely one of a kind,” he grumbles quietly.
So quietly, that if I didn’t already have my runes activated to increase my hearing, I would have missed it. Silas tilts his head as he considers me, and I decide to do the only thing that will satisfy his question and get me out of here as soon as possible. I tell him the truth.
“He was here to warn me. I have some history with his nest. He knew my parents, and he felt he owed them, so he came to let me know that I’m not safe here.”
Torrez and Silas both scent my admission.
“And what did you say to that?” Silas asks me, a smile fighting to break across his face.
Why is he suddenly so amused?
“I said let the threat come. I’ll deal with it when it does.”
Silas gives me a nod of approval, and Torrez’s hold on my shoulders tightens ever so slightly. I reach up and pinch his nipple in an effort to make him let go of me. Instead of it hurting him and causing him to flinch like I thought it would, the opposite seems to happen. I’m pretty sure he likes it, and the serious erection he’s sporting supports that theory. He pulls me into him and shoves his face in the crook of my neck. He breathes in deeply, and I push against him in protest.
He nuzzles against me, either oblivious, or just not giving a shit about my efforts to get away from him. Fuck, he’s strong. So I do the only thing I can think to do in this situation. I call on a small dagger and move my hand to his overeager, rock-hard dick. I press the flat of the blade against the base of his hard-on and wait for him to notice. A few seconds pass, and he freezes with realization and then snickers with amusement.
Does he have any normal reactions to pain or threats?
Pfft, like you’re one to talk, Vinna.
