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“Princess!” I shouted, and she spun around angrily to glare at me.

My shout spurred the cusith into action, and it leapt, charging right for her with poised claws and gnashing teeth.

Instinct took over, and I sprinted for her as fast as I could in my human form, intercepting the beast seconds before it could tear her to pieces. She screamed as I caught its paws at the wrists, then shoved it forcefully backward.

I whipped around frantically searching in that brief reprieve for anything useful, spotting a shovel leaning against the castle wall. I grabbed it by the handle and brandished it like a sword, bashing the metal end at the side of the cusith’s face as it lunged at me.

It fell to the ground, rocked, and I swung at it violently over and over until finally stabbing the blade into its neck and severing the head from its body.

I stood, chest heaving and heart racing as I studied the trees for any sign of more. But there was no sound, no smell other than the reek emanating from this feral corpse.

“Wha—what the hell is that thing?” the princess squeaked from where she pressed herself against the wall, her face pale as a sheet.

“It’s a cusith,” I panted, staring down at the heinous monster. “It seems to have been alone, but where there’s one... Go inside. I’ll burn it so its scent doesn’t attract the others.”

She nodded shakily but pulled herself together enough to grab the dead chicken, then ran for the kitchen door.

Why had I saved her? Fuck! That had been my chance! I should’ve just let it kill her and be done with this.

“Consider our debt paid,” I muttered at her absence.

She’d saved my life, and now I had saved hers. We were even. At least there was that.

But this didn’t bode well for any of us. The cusiths in the forest were one thing, but seeing one so close to the castle... They were getting bolder, venturing farther. I would not let them threaten the safety of my pack, not when we were so close to reclaiming our home.

The princess was the least of our worries, and now that our debt was settled, there was nothing standing in the way of eliminating her.

Nothing except for the little fact that I had clearly mate-bonded to her. Everything I did pointed to it. I was ridiculously drawn to her and wanted to fuck her, even now. I’d reacted to protect her from danger without even thinking about the fact that I was meant to kill her or at least let her die.

No... it was clear to me now. I wanted her. And I would protect her until my dying breath.

Fuck.

Chapter 6

Aliya