“You talk about me being weak,” Dimitri said, his voice still conversational despite Ethan’s threats. “But you couldn’t even protect your own Mate, could you, Ethan? You hid while she faced the consequences of your conspiracy. You ran while she died.”
Ethan’s face went purple with rage. “Shut up—”
If I hadn’t known better, I’d say Dimitri was insane—trying to trigger a man who seemed to have both our lives in his hands.
“Some Mate you are. Some Alpha.” Dimitri’s lip curled. “At least when my family is threatened, I show up to defend them. I don’t send them to do my dirty work while I cower in the shadows.”
“I said shut up!” Ethan lunged.
And in a split second, the warehouse erupted into violence. Ethan’s men stormed into the warehouse in a second. But it wasn’t just Ethan’s men—it was members of the Ravencrest security force. Somehow, Dimitri had managed to sneak them into the perimeter.
Dimitri lunged forward, shifting mid-leap, his wolf form massive and ethereal, his eyes glowing with a gold that promised pain. He tore through the first two attackers before they could react, jaws closing around throats, claws rending flesh.
But there were too many. They swarmed him from all sides, trying to bring him down through sheer numbers.
I struggled against my bonds with renewed desperation. The zip ties cut into my wrists, drawing blood, but I didn’t care. I had to get free. Had to help him.
The hands holding me tightened painfully. “Stay still, bitch.”
Dimitri fought like a demon possessed. Ethan’s men fell to the ground, either dead or bleeding profusely.
When Ethan noticed he was losing the fight, hedipped his hand into his back pocket and pulled out a silver blade. Silver was harmful to wolf shifters. But it wasn’t just silver. The edge of the knife was coated in yellow liquid. And I realized instantly what it was. Wolfsbane.
“Dimitri, watch out!” I tried to say, but the gag on my mouth wouldn’t let me. I wriggled aggressively against the man holding me down. But he was too strong.
I shoved my head backward and knocked into the man from behind. Blood oozed from his nose. “You bitch!”
And then I hit him between his legs, and that did it. He let go of me, collapsing to the ground.
Despite the pain in my body, I tried to stand to deter Ethan, but I wasn’t quick enough. Ethan was already pushing forward, ready to strike him from behind. But Dimitri was faster than Ethan expected. He shifted back to human form in an instant and caught Ethan’s wrist, stopping the blade mere inches from his ribs.
They grappled, both fighting for control of the weapon. Dimitri was stronger, his grip like iron, but Ethan was desperate, driven by grief and rage and the knowledge that this was his last chance.
The knife wavered between them, neither gaining the advantage.
And then Ethan did something I didn’t expect.
He twisted, using Dimitri’s momentum against him, and redirected the blade.
Toward me.
Everything slowed down.
I saw the knife coming, saw the malicious triumph in Ethan’s eyes as the blade nearly connected with my chest.
I was prepared to accept my fate. But somehow, Dimitri was there.
He’d released Ethan’s wrist and thrown himself between me and the knife, his body becoming a shield. And the wolfsbane blade sank into his chest with a sickening sound.
“No!” The scream tore from my throat, muffled by the gag but no less anguished.
Dimitri stumbled backward, his hand going to the knifeprotruding from his chest. Dark blood spread across his shirt, and I could already see the telltale black veins spreading from the wound, the wolfsbane working its poison quickly through his system.
He fell to his knees, his eyes finding mine across the space between us.
And in that gaze, I saw everything. Love. Regret. Goodbye.
Ethan stood over him, breathing hard, that vicious smile returning to his face. “Not so strong now, are you? Not so clever.”