This Dark Wolf (Soul Bitten Shifter #1) - Everly Frost Page 0,102
A cage. You will only know your true power when you rid yourself of it. When you recognize it as the vessel that it is.”
“No.” I stand my ground. “My human soul is more than that.” Straining at his hold on my wolf, we both edge forward. “My human soul makes me who I am.”
His lips draw back. He gnashes his teeth at me. “You are too much like your mother.”
I jolt, feeling as if he slapped me. The insult burns. I push my damp hair away from my face, glaring back at him. “I’m nothing like her.”
I would never reject my daughter or slap her down in front of others. I would never allow her to be hurt.
The white wolf squeezes so hard around my wolf’s ribs that my breathing becomes rapid and shallow.
“You.” He advances on me. “Are exactly like her.”
Burning anger rises inside me. I want to strike out at the white wolf, but he’s like my wolf—insubstantial. I can only assume his form will claw through me and the pain will all be mine.
I have to get free. I scream against his hold on me, my wolf writhing within his grip. My human body drags at my wolf’s energy, trying to pull her back to me. As soon as I do that, he won’t be able to stop me from escaping.
In a desperate move, I snatch the dagger from the holster around my thigh. Even though I know it’s futile, I leap forward with a scream, the dagger gripped in both of my hands.
The wolf’s burning eyes widen, the dagger’s blade reflecting his sudden fear as the steel descends toward his head.
In the next instant, he’s gone, leaving behind nothing more than a bright spot in my vision.
My dagger sails through air.
The pain around my chest disappears.
I land on the ground at a crouch, stopping the dagger before it would lodge into the earth. Taking no chances, I call my wolf back into my body and close my eyes with relief once she’s safe again.
My relief is short-lived. Too soon, my inner turmoil returns.
When I couldn’t control my power, I was vulnerable to the strongest alphas. My power drove them wild—can still drive them wild if I let it. But now that I have control, so much control that I can release my wolf from my body, the white wolf can find me.
He told me that he has three names. If he’s the three-headed wolf that Tristan is worried about, then getting to me would be his first step to getting to Tristan.
I haven’t told Tristan about him. Tristan doesn’t know about my ability to release my wolf, either. Suddenly, that feels like a mistake.
I grip my stomach, my breathing shaky again.
The three-headed wolf is coming for Tristan.
Baxter Griffin is coming for Tristan.
An ice jotunn and a warlock with a fucking shotgun for a wand are coming for Tristan.
And I’m caught between them all.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
The sun is on the verge of rising when I reach the clock tower again. I didn’t bring much with me on patrol, but my past self was forward-thinking enough to pop my security pass into the hidden pocket inside my skirt’s waistband.
Letting myself back into the building, I scan the parking garage for Tristan’s usual SUV. Its parking space is empty, which means he’s still at Hidden House.
My heart wrenches suddenly because I miss its safety and its occupants. I’ve only been gone for a few days, but it feels like a lifetime ago. I miss Ella’s humming. I miss reminding the card mage twins, Luna and Lydia, about the time of day. I miss Helen most of all and the comfort of her advice, her ability to help me keep everything in perspective.
I shudder as I remember Luna’s prediction that my real enemy is the one whose face I can’t see. I’m not certain yet, but she could have meant the white wolf, who must have a human form somewhere. He said his human form was delighted to discover my existence. If he is as in control of his power as he appears, then he won’t have any scent, no way to detect him.
I remind myself that I’m lucky to have Iyana and Danika and that they’ll be worried about me right now.
Taking the elevator upstairs, I pause when I step into the small living area in the entrance. Jemimah sits on the couch under the window staring out at the night sky as she bounces her little girl on