me,” I pleaded. “Isn’t that what you wanted all along? Me out of the picture? Then you can have Zane as a mate; you can use the coins to give him eternal life. You love him, remember?”
No! I will never touch her. Don’t do this! I. Forbid. It.
Ignoring Zane, I made myself look up and meet Jazmine’s crimson eyes.
The smug look of defiance pasted across her face flipped a switch inside me. Inhuman fury boiled to the surface and overflowed, giving me the burst of inner strength I needed to resist.
Without effort, I fired a mental missile into her scheming brain with such efficiency and force it blasted her onto her ass; her feet flew from beneath her. She collided with a breath-sucking thump against a trio of boulders. What sounded like bones cracking followed.
Scooting myself next to Zane, I prepared to press my marks, now glowing amber, against his.
Out of the mist came Logan Sanders.
Snarls and guttural growls preceded The Alpha leaping at me as if he’d sprouted wings; his claws extended, and lips curled back, with unrestrained hostility. His fangs appeared more lethal than a saber-toothed tiger’s.
Terrorized, I lost my mental grip on Jazmine, who though unsteady, grappled to her feet as another massive wolf plummeted into Logan, forcing him onto his back.
Logan responded fiercely, knocking his attacker off. The two rolled, each one struggling for purchase. Jazmine, to my amazement, backed away and fled.
Now! Zane’s pain-laced roar spurred me into action.
With speed I didn’t know I was capable of, I wrested my pant leg up and pushed Zane’s over his knee. His sigils were writhing, welcoming mine. Instead of amber, they shone black.
I pressed my calf against his and watched in amazement as our marks intertwined, tattooing an extra, matching ring of sigils around our ankles. His turned the same vibrant color as mine.
“You did it, Princess,” he said, his voice steady and strong, and his eyes glowing with pride.
“I did, didn’t I?”
Healed by deep magic I couldn’t begin to comprehend, he pulled me into a long-awaited embrace, and kissed me. First tenderly, and then more insistent, his mouth ravaging mine. Running my fingers through his hair, I heard myself whimper his name.
Momentarily sated and with a look filled with promised pleasures, he lifted me to my feet, where I clung to him, unwilling to let go. Losing him wasn’t an option.
“Well, Zane, are you prepared to be our Alpha?” asked a masculine voice.
Staring up at the moon, Zane looked thoughtful. “I can’t ignore that destiny has made my purpose so obvious, old friend,” he said, serious.
Seeing it was James McQuillen who’d spoken so casually to Zane, sent a jolt of electricity down my spine; I readied my torpedoes. Target, the betraying bastard’s manipulating mind. This Judas wouldn’t have a chance to hang himself. I’d beat him to it.
Zane, sensing my intention, pressed his lips to my hair. “He’s one of the good guys.”
Staggered by this latest revelation, I intruded into McQuillen’s thoughts.
He didn’t erect any barriers, allowing me to snoop through his mental file cabinet. My findings confirmed Zane’s statement. He was one of the good guys.
“Logan’s dead,” McQuillen stated what I was already well aware of. The Indian had defeated Logan, returning Zane to his rightful position as Pacific Pack’s Alpha.
Naked and torn apart, Logan’s blood soaked the ground around him.
I couldn’t help replaying what he’d so cruelly said to his sister. Something about her blood nourishing the soil. He’d picked the wrong Sanders sibling. Misty Sanders was just fine, alive and breathing. Her big brother, not so much.
Coincidently, at the moment, Misty, along with our core group, was trudging across the schoolyard; a sizeable crowd of women and a few men who had surrendered in tow. I’d examine their motives later to ensure their future loyalty to our pack.
Our pack, I thought, inwardly cheering. I was married/mated to a pack leader. Who would have visualized predictable me as part of a werewolf pack?
On a somewhat less pleasant note, I still had some in-depth questions for Alcuin about his loyalty, or lack thereof, but they could wait. He’d come through for us in the end. That’s what mattered.
“Where’s Jazmine?” someone asked.
It was then I remembered she’d disappeared during Logan and James McQuillen’s fatal clash. “Oh, no! I think she got away.”
“She couldn’t have gone far!” Stryder barked. “Let’s spread out. Find her! If our new alpha agrees, of course.” He inclined his head in honor of Zane’s position.