Chapter One Hundred and Thirty-Three
Catherine watched in horror as Dominic and Graham wrestled. Dominic quickly shifted which forced Graham’s claws from his shoulders. They split apart and circled each other. Dominic snapped and Graham did something out of character, he went on the offensive. He rammed into Dominic with all claws and teeth. He tore into Dominic’s flesh, ripping chunks of skin from his bones. Dominic answered back by sinking his teeth into Graham’s leg until there was a sickening snap.
Catherine cried out and fell to her knee as if the injury had been her own. Graham’s ears flicked in her direction and he whined but there was no time for him to understand what was happening. Dominic jumped onto his back and bit down on Graham’s shoulder. Catherine screamed in pain as she watched her mate fight off his attacker. Graham spun around and kicked Dominic across the field. He advanced at a breakneck speed, looking to ram Dominic in the side when Catherine’s steady knee was knocked from behind.
Catherine fell into the dirt and before she could figure out what was happening, another kick hit her in the rib cage. She choked on the lack of oxygen until another kick forced the air back in. She heard a pistol being cocked and a moment later a white-hot searing pain shot through her thigh. Catherine screamed, the sound reverberating across the clearing.
“Let him up or I pump a few more into her,” Gerald yelled.
Catherine clasped her thigh, trying to stop the bleeding. She looked up and saw Graham’s teeth sunk into Dominic’s back, centimeters from severing his spine.
“Let her go, Gerald,” Jensen warned.
“You think I care about her? She killed my Morgan. I don’t mind blowing up this entire plan for justice. Without Dominic there’s really no reason for me to keep her alive. Tell your mutt to let Dominic up or I swear to the Goddess I’ll do it,” Gerald said. He pressed the barrel of the gun to Catherine’s head.
Catherine dug in her pocket, trying to find the crystal when the pistol at her head was pulled back and then rammed into her skull. She saw stars but managed to catch herself with her palms before she could hit the ground. Graham’s unmistakable growl brought her eyes up. He was moving away from Dominic now, stalking toward Gerald and Catherine. He snapped his teeth until Gerald put the barrel back to her head.
“Stop. Now.”
Graham stopped. His ears flicked to the right and Catherine looked to see Dane and Elliot’s men filling out the edge of the clearing. Graham suddenly shifted. His eyes moved from her to the pistol and back, Gerald gripped Catherine by her hair and pulled her upward. She gasped as the pain of the silver began to work through her blood stream. It wasn’t enough to kill her, but it would debilitate her if she wasn’t treated soon.
“This doesn’t end well for you,” Graham said to Gerald.
To Graham’s left, Dominic was limping toward them. Gerald started moving in the same direction while Julia stayed behind, her focus still on her father. She gave Catherine a bright smile and an enthusiastic wave in farewell. With the three alphas leading them, Elliot and Dane’s men started closing the distance. Dominic was nearly to them. The sound of the plane’s engine was louder now and she knew they had to be close to the airfield.
“None of you will make it out of this,” Graham promised.
Dominic was breathing heavily due to his injuries. He had finally returned to Gerald and Catherine. He reached over Gerald, yanked the gun from his grasp and turned to Graham.
“Neither will you,” Dominic hissed.
Dominic pulled the trigger. Catherine watched helplessly as Graham’s eyes widened in alarm. Just before the bullet struck him, Jensen appeared. The bullet hit the alpha on the left side of his chest. The impact caused his shoulder to jerk back. He stumbled and Graham caught him. The two fell to the ground. Catherine screamed as she watched blood flow from her father’s chest.
Dominic didn’t waste any time. He grabbed Catherine by the waist and hoisted her over his shoulder. He shoved Gerald and the two took off into the woods. Catherine lifted her head and saw a sea of lycans racing after them. To the left she noticed Julia and Muriel standing only ten feet apart from each other, ignoring the chaos around them.
“I need Curtis!” Dominic growled. “I need a fucking portal!”
“Just hold on,” Gerald panted.
A moment later instead of a portal, he received reinforcements. A blur of fur raced beside them heading in the opposite direction. Catherine watched as the
1/2
two sides clashed, stalling Dane and Elliot’s men from their pursuit.
Dominic and Gerald left the canopy of trees and raced across another clearing. The whir of the plane engine became deafening. Catherine struggled in Dominic’s arms until he finally released her. She scrambled to her feet. She started to run back to the treeline while also digging in her pocket for the crystal.
Dominic quickly seized her from behind and started pulling her toward the plane. Catherine screamed and kicked but her blows merely bounced off. He threw her down hard.
“Don’t leave now, Queen,” Stuart taunted. He squatted down next to her. “It’s just about to get good.”
Catherine spit in his face. Stuart’s expression morphed. He backhanded her across the cheek and her head hit the dirt again.
“What the fuck?” Dominic yelled.
“She deserved it. She’s making this difficult, Dom.”
“I don’t care. She’s mine to punish. Do you hear me? Mine.”
Catherine glanced up to see the fighting had moved to the runway. She dug in her pocket and her fingers brushed against the rough crystal just before Dominic pulled her up from the ground.
“Hey, I’m the only trusted guy you have left,” Stuart griped. “I know Curtis is down. You’ve lost Julia and it’s only a matter of time before Gerald…”
“Before Gerald does what, Boy?” Gerald asked.
“Don’t ‘Boy’ me. I…”
Catherine shut out the bickering. Her eyes scanned the crowd until they landed on the familiar lycan, fighting his way to her.
“They’re killing our men,” Dominic whispered into Catherine’s ear. She shook her head as she watched Graham dodge a lunging wolf. “Are you ready to play your part? Are you ready to show everyone what you’re capable of when given the proper direction?”
“Dominic, stop this. It isn’t too late,” Catherine tried one last time. She rolled the crystal between her fingers, positioning the sharp end so she could slash at the bracelet the moment his hold on her slackened.
“I’m long past the negotiating phase, Catherine,” Dominic whispered. He placed a kiss to her neck over Graham’s mark and she shivered in disgust. “It’s on to the implementation phase. You ready?”
Graham was close. Only 20 or so yards. His eyes kept shifting to her, connecting as if to reassure her he was almost there.
“She’s mine now, MacTavish,” Dominic called. Graham swiveled and his eyes widened. Dominic took hold of Catherine’s hair and yanked her head to the side.
“What are you doing?!” she shrieked.
“Taking what’s mine,” he said, his eyes locked on her fated mate. “I’ve waited so long.”
Dominic’s teeth punctured the skin of her neck and Catherine gasped. It took a moment for the pain to come. As Dominic’s venom leached into her blood, it began to burn. Catherine closed her eyes and screamed as the pain invaded every nerve ending, fried every cell, tore through her mind. His teeth sunk deeper and her mind went white as if it was wiped clean. The last coherent thought she had before she could be sucked into the void was to jab the crystal into the bracelet.
