Page 30 of Bane of Hate and Silver (Primordial Inheritance #1)

“Luca don’t…” Carson began to shout but it was too late.

Luca tossed the lighter down onto the gasoline-soaked floor.

The room around them erupted into flames.

The pages of the books blackened and curled, feeding the fire.

As the smoke built, the wolves released her and rushed from the library.

Luca slammed the door behind them, locking her inside the inferno.

When the wolves had let her go and ran for safety, Jules was left kneeling on the floor. The pain of Luca’s betrayal felt equal to the cuts and burnt flesh.

Sitting there, next to her office, Jules could hear the Alpha snicker as he watched the blaze close in on her.

Everything was burning. The flames were rising higher by the second.

If she stayed much longer, she would most certainly die.

All at once, the snickering stopped and a great howl ripped through the air. More howls followed.

This would not be her end. Not while she still had the smallest chance of escaping.

With every last ounce of strength she could muster, Jules pulled herself to her feet.

Her hand gripped the broken window frame, glass cutting into it as she stood.

A quick glance back toward the werewolves showed all were still congregated around the doorway.

One step toward the far wall and then another. One moment to calculate the distance.

“Wait!” Carson shouted. “This can’t happen!” Luca and Kyle grabbed onto Carson, keeping him from entering the fire-filled room.

Jules didn’t wait for the Alpha to over-rule them.

This was her only chance. Jules ran through the fire and launched herself through the wall of glass opposite them.

Cuts from this glass were added to her chest and face.

Oxygen wafting into the burning room caused an explosion.

Jules escaped in the chaos. Smoke from the library followed her path.

Completely exposed in the empty hallways, she ran. They followed. There was little hope of escaping them, but she wasn’t ready to give up.

Jules could hear several four-legged beings pursuing her now. They were much faster in this form and her pace was much slower than normal. Jules pulled one of the trophy cases away from the wall. It shattered, obscuring their path. A wolf yelped.

Jules didn’t slow her pace. She ran down two more hallways and burst through the doors at the top of the auditorium.

Hit the lights, blackening the room, she slid the lock in place on the door.

Running towards the stage, she skipped several steps.

Panic seized her halfway down the aisle.

A set of yellow, wolf eyes glowed from the right side of the stage.

She took one step backward, intent on leaving the auditorium until several sets of pattering paws on the other side of the double doors gave her pause.

Taking her chances with the one on the stage, she continued up the aisle.

Watching wearily as it crept backwards into the shadows and disappeared.

Facing one was better than facing them all together.

Jules sprinted the rest of the way to the stage and jumped up onto it with a grunt.

She fumbled on her most injured leg but, kept the cry of pain silent.

With more effort than strength, she ran for the left of the stage where there was a back door to the school.

Before she could reach it, large hands grabbed her. A muscled arm wrapped around her waist pulling her off her feet, while his other hand clamped over her mouth.

Jules fought against his hold on her.

“Jules stop,” Luca whispered in her ear. “It’s me.”

For a moment, she considered biting the hand clamped over her mouth, but didn’t.

It didn’t matter how betrayed and used she felt.

It didn’t matter if he handed her over to his Alpha now.

She wouldn’t kill him. She did, however, kick him in the shin.

Forcing him to release her. Spinning and shoving him hard in the stomach made him stumble backward.

Run ! Her mind told her. She needed to run and keep running, and yet, there was so little strength left.

Jules stumbled backward. Luca reached out as if to steady her. “Don’t touch me.” She spat the words, having had enough of werewolves tonight.

“Jules?” Luca looked down at her questioningly.

“You tried to burn me alive.” Her tone was harsh but not loud. There was no sense in helping the rest of the wolves find them sooner.

“I had to...” Luca’s explanation was cut short at the sound of the doors to the auditorium being broken open. Luca’s eyes began to glow the soft yellow of a werewolf about to transform.

Before she could protest, Luca had grabbed her again and pulled both of them behind a long curtain.

His grip was looser this time. It was gentle.

He didn’t release her. His arm came to rest around the front of her neck, on top of her shoulders.

Footsteps and sniffing confirmed that at least one wolf had entered the auditorium.

Jules leaned forward, peaking around their velvet hiding place. The wolf had stopped as he reached the stage. Nose in the air, he was sniffing around him. Luca pulled her back and his grip tightened a little. If they ran, they’d be heard. If they stayed, they’d be found.

A wolf on four paws stepped around the curtain. He zeroed in on Jules, lowered his head, and growled quietly.

“Kyle!” Luca’s whisper was nearly silent, pleading.

The wolf’s gaze shifted from Jules to his Beta. In one swift movement, Luca swung Jules behind him, putting himself between her and his friend. Jules grabbed his waist to steady herself and keep from hitting the wall next to them. “Please, don’t.”

Kyle looked at them a moment longer and then lifted his snout and howled. Another howl answered it and Kyle bolted away.

For the next several moments, neither of them moved.

Then, before she knew what was happening Jules was enveloped in Luca’s arms, shoulders, and chest. She hurt everywhere but didn’t resist the affection.

Jules felt her consciousness slipping. Dying from her injuries was not likely, but still a possibility.

She clung to Luca, trying to anchor herself to the living.

Focusing on the sound of his pounding heartbeat, the tickle of his hot breath on her hair, the feel of his body covering hers.

“They’ll stop looking,” he whispered. “Give them a minute.”

After several more long moments, Luca moved first, looking over his shoulder as the sounds of the aggravated wolf pack began to be more distant. Luca let out a quiet sigh. Releasing her, he walked to the edge of their hiding place. “They’re gone,” he said in a hushed tone.

Jules began panting quietly. She was out of breath. She hadn’t been out of breath in four hundred years. Jules knew it was her mind playing tricks on her; telling her that her adrenaline was dropping. She tried to speak, but couldn’t make her voice audible. Shock, her body was going in to shock.

Luca walked back over to her and placed one finger under her chin. Jules lifted her head, her hair dropping away from her face. He sucked air in through his teeth, cringing. “I’m sorry.”

His pack had done this to her. As their eyes met, there was guilt in his. Jules did not respond verbally but pulled closer to him, hugging him around the waist. His hand rested on her hair softly, the other touched her back and she cried out accidentally.

“I’m so sorry,” he said again. “Can you walk?” Luca asked.

“We should get you out of here.” Luca stepped back, offering her his hand.

She took it and attempted to take a few steps forward.

Pain ripped through every part of her. What little awareness she had left in her fled and she fell.

Luca’s strong arms caught her, lifting her back off her feet.

Glass dug into her back and his arm where he held her, but she couldn’t cry out and he didn’t. Her consciousness waned.

“Jules!” Luca said quietly, shaking her a little.

“Luc…” she mumbled and then her head fell against him.