Shadowlands Sector,Three - Mila Young Page 0,83

to be free.

She is my salvation, always has been, I see this now. And without her, I can’t stop Mad.

And in an abrupt moment of desperation, I open my floodgates to my wolf.

She doesn’t need coaxing and rushes out of me, coming so fast, her brutal growl startles even me. She’s a tempest of vengeance, and I set her free, well aware of the consequences she brings to me. And I don’t have a single regret.

I can’t live with myself if I don’t do everything in my power to finish this fucking bastard who should have died long ago.

His grip slackens as my transformation rocks through me, ripping me apart like someone’s taken a blade to my body, and then stitched me back together. The world sharpens, and for the first time, I ease my grasp over my wolf.

You are free, I tell her. This is all you now. I shudder, my thoughts constantly on Dušan. While the other half of me drowns in violent fury.

My wolf whips around without any encouragement from me.

Mad’s raising his rifle, his lips twisted when he looks at me, but my wolf pounces on him, shoving him backward. The gun drops from his grip as he shouts for backup.

A large form slams into my side so abruptly, the world tilts around me.

With a snap, my wolf bites right into the side of the guard’s face while bent over me. The ferociousness is stark and animalistic.

He screeches with terror, clutching the side of his head, batting me away with his other hand. I taste his blood, the metallic, coppery tang drowning me. My wolf spits out the man’s ear on the ground, and that grosses me out.

As I get to my feet, a snarl soars from my mouth, and my wolf’s bloodthirsty hunger floods me. For the first time, a new sense of confidence flares over me.

Lifting my gaze, I meet Mad’s eyes.

He’s backing away, his eyes locked on the rifle he had dropped several feet away.

And I dare him with my sneer alone to collect it.

My wolf freezes, watching him, my ears flat, breaths shallow.

Go for it, asshole.

He makes his call, and it’s just as I hoped.

Mad scrambles desperately for the weapon.

My wolf takes off.

We crash into him before he takes another step. Adrenaline races through my veins. Sharp teeth bite into his neck, my wolf savagely shaking him, and she rips free with a chunk of him dangling from her mouth… my mouth. It’s hard to tell when I feel and taste everything, like it’s me moving.

There’s no stopping her now. She goes back and rips him to shreds. Breaks bones, tears flesh. His terrifying gurgling sounds I decide are too fast a death for him. Yet he doesn’t deserve another moment to be alive. He’s a pitiful excuse for a life.

After he took my Dušan, he needs to suffer.

My grip on my wolf hardens suddenly as blind fury burns me. And before I know it, it’s me there with my wolf, greedily stealing Mad’s last breaths away, stealing everything from him, as he’s done to me and so many others.

Coppery blood fills my senses, and warm blood drips down my face.

Anger burns me. I’m screaming in my head for what I lost, for how hard I fought to finally have a fair life. Now it’s gone.

I glance down at Mad. His eyes are wide and frozen with shock, staring into the sky. Gone from this world but not soon enough.

Stars dance in my vision, and I blink them away. Instead, my wolf presses forward once more and tilts her head up. She unleashes an ear-shattering howl.

Darkness comes at me, curling around me.

My wolf darts back toward Dušan, who hasn’t moved. Then she recoils within me. I feel her pulling back until it’s only me left.

The ache in my heart deepens to the point where it hurts like hell each time I stare down at him gasping for each breath. I need to get him help. It may not be too late.

I turn to fetch someone, when the agony, the exhaustion, the grief swallows me. My legs buckle out from under me, and I’m falling into a darkness that sweeps in and carries me away abruptly.

Chapter 25

Dušan

I startle awake, sitting upright so damn fast that the room spins. An excruciating ache burrows through my chest. I cry out with the pain and clutch my chest as I fall onto my back. Eyes shut, I inhale each deep breath, wading through the pain that