only made the biting sensation worse.
She wound the strap about him, up his torso and then around his neck. Each inhalation brought an agony of metal 44
teeth tearing at his skin. He fought so long that it seemed there had never been anything before the sharp teeth that tormented him.
Ingrid murmured, “I can feel your pain.” She pulled the strap to increase the bite. When he shuddered with agony, she leaned against him.
The thrill she felt at torturing him leeched through his skin and clawed inside of him. The sadistic glee tormented him more than the pain ever could. His empathic nature shrank away from the wrongness of what she did. The whine that filled his ears came from his own throat.
Ingrid backed away with a throaty laugh. “You"re not as strong as you need to be.”
Brand looked up into her beautiful, spiteful face. How often she"d repeated that sentiment. Over time she"d convinced him he couldn"t ever lead while he was so weak. She mocked him because he let her abuse him. Still, a part of him felt he deserved the treatment. If he"d protected her when he had the chance, perhaps she wouldn"t be so broken.
A savage growl filled the air around him. He felt the coiling of Dagny"s rage before she pounced, knocking her mother to the ground. The remains of the straps that had bound her still clung to her wrists.
The two females scuffled, wrestling for control of the knife Ingrid had left on the ground nearby. Brand watched them, powerless to help; he barely had enough strength to keep his head up.
Dagny struck her mother in the face with her forearm, then grabbed a handful of golden hair and slammed the back of Ingrid"s head against the ground. While Ingrid was dazed, Dagny leapt to where the knife had fallen. Outrage carving tension into every muscle, Dagny set the blade under Ingrid"s jaw.
Dagny"s silver eyes, metallic irises iridescent in the night, flicked up to Brand. Her lips pulled back into a victorious grin, both fierce and joyful. She looked back down at 45
her mother, and said in a rough voice, “Free him of his oath, or I will cut your throat.” She dug the blade into the hollow of Ingrid"s jaw until it drew blood.
Fear marred Ingrid"s lovely face, and she gasped. Her eyes darted until they came to rest on Brand. She spoke in a rush, as if unsure what her daughter would do if she delayed.
“You are released of your oath to me with no impunity to your honor, Brandúlfr Geirson.”
* * *
Brand leaned into the post and tried to summon the calm he needed to form his barriers. He teetered on a dangerous edge. He felt the wolf, frustrated and furious, clawing inside him. The energy of the moon pulsed, tempting him to give in and let the monster rage. He panted with the effort, but accomplished nothing.
Dagny came out of Ingrid"s cabin a few minutes later.
Kneeling next to him, she pulled the fabric out of his mouth.
“Are you okay?”
Brand felt the beast surging forward again, desperate to have her. He swallowed. “You shouldn"t untie me right now.”
“I don"t believe you"re going to hurt me.” He snarled. “I"ll have you on your back before you can blink.”
She thought it over for a few seconds, then tilted her head. “I don"t think so.” She worked the straps loose with care.
The cuts ached even more with the pressure released.
He tried not to look at her. The wolf was still close and he feared what it might do to her. He concentrated on her emotions since he couldn"t block them. A quiet sense of ease filled her, and he let that spread through him.
When the last of the bindings came loose, he clawed his way over the ground to get away from her. Feeling the constricting of the torc around his throat, he tore it free and tossed it aside. He sat alone with his head down.
46
After several minutes of silence, Dagny spoke. “You aren"t weak.”
His head snapped up. How could he ever explain how truly weak he was? How much he feared losing control and never being able to wrest it back? He simply shook his head.
“Your mother is right. I"m weak.”
“You gave your oath to that sadistic bitch to save a female much weaker than you. You sought to protect me, though you don"t even know me. What about that makes you weak?” He couldn"t formulate a response that she would understand, so