Wolf Girl (Wolf Girl #1) - Leia Stone Page 0,55

seen him in human form, coming up the ridge with the others. He must have seen me fall out. I rolled over the bed of leaves and popped back to my feet, jumping again like a bunny, just wanting to get to Sawyer and his men so I could be safe.

He came for me. I knew he’d come for me.

“Look out!” Sawyer yelled, and everything in me tensed as someone grabbed me from behind, their strong hand coming around the back of my throat and a sleek steel knife going to the front.

This person holding me radiated power I could sense and smell. When he pulled me to his chest, I knew it was a different man from the one who had originally kidnapped me.

I was panting, out of breath and out of hope as Sawyer and his wolf pack finally reached us.

Doors slammed and ropes descended from the trees, and suddenly over a hundred Ithaki were gliding down from the tree houses and meeting their leader, who I was one-hundred-percent sure was the man holding a knife to my throat.

Sawyer was wearing a full black camouflage jumpsuit, knives and guns at his waist, and another held loosely in his hand.

The Ithaki held bows and arrows and spears, all aimed at him.

“Let. Her. Go.” Sawyer’s voice was barely human. Fur kept trying to erupt from his skin as his wolf tried to take control.

The man behind me laughed. “Finders keepers. You’re trespassing, and so was she when we found her. It was all legal, by the book.”

Sawyer clenched his jaw. “She fell. She didn’t wander. You will release her to me right now and I will pay you for the trouble.” Sawyer snapped his fingers and a young male wolf stepped forward with a suitcase, but the knife dug harder into my skin and I yelped.

“You think we want your money? Poisonous Werewolf City money?” The man spat behind me.

My eyes flicked to the female vampire-fey; she’d just joined us, holding her hopefully broken jaw and glaring at me.

Sawyer’s eyes flashed yellow. “I’m not leaving without her. Alive. The alpha has dispatched helicopters, and they will come shortly, laying waste to your entire encampment if you don’t release her to me. Now.”

The knife cut into my throat and I felt the trickle of blood rush down my chest as I gasped. “Not before I kill her.”

Sawyer put his hands up. “Okay, okay! I’ll call off the ‘copters, just tell me what you want.”

I suddenly felt ashamed. It was so stupid of me to fall. Now a Paladin man was killed and Sawyer had dispatched helicopters? What a mess. But I was grateful he was here, fighting for me. He seemed to always show up when I needed him, and that was something I’d grown to love. He was dependable.

“I want you, the alpha’s son,” the man behind me spat, and I flinched.

No.

“I want to fight, like the good old days. Wolf to wolf. Winner gets the money and the girl.”

So he did want the money, but he also wanted to kill Sawyer.

“No!” I growled at the same time that Sawyer started to unbutton his shirt.

“Agreed. Winner takes all.” Sawyer didn’t look at me, he just took off his shirt and leaned into Walsh, whispering something.

“Sawyer, no!” I shouted. “He’s not just a wolf!”

The man behind me laughed. Within a second he’d removed the blade from my throat and tossed me to the vampire-fey, who caught me, and then another blade was pressing against my jugular.

“I know what he is,” Sawyer responded, half man, half wolf.

Sawyer was jacked, like he looked like a prison convict minus the tattoos, but I seriously doubted his ability to fight for some reason. He was … too pretty to be a dirty fighter. He was the kind of guy who had bodyguards and could probably shoot someone, but rip their throat out? I just didn’t know and I didn’t want him getting killed.

“Don—” I tried to warn him off again and Vampire Bitch wrestled her hand around my mouth. All I could do was watch helplessly as the crowd surrounding us began to form a circle.

Eugene slowly broke away from the Wolf City pack and weaved his way over to where I was standing with a blade to my throat.

“That’s far enough, giant,” the woman said to Eugene without looking at him. He was about five feet away now and simply nodded, holding his hands behind his back. My gaze flicked to Eugene and I