Page 24 of Bound to Enemy (Wolf Billionaire #3)

CHAPTER 24

ALESSANDRA

W e moved through the thick trees with great precision. Daxton led us. Jason came up beside me with Alex and his sister not far behind. I understood that they were trying to stick close so that they could keep me safe, but that was not the mission. We needed to defend the moonstone and ensure the rogues did not get ahold of the stone.

When we got to the clearing, we could see that many of the first warriors were already down.

As soon as we came to the western border, all hell broke loose. Both sides went at each other hard.

Jaws snapping, claws swiping, and blood. Oh, the blood. There was so much death and devastation that wafted into the air. No matter how hard the rain came down, it just couldn't wash it all away.

I had taken down at least four rogues, but still, they kept coming. They were hydras. You cut off one head, and then two more would grow in its place.

We were overwhelmed.

But even amid the battle, I could tell that something was off. My head darted left and then right and then back again looking, but I came up short.

He wasn't here.

Something didn't feel right. If this was meant to be their main attack, then he would be here. He had to be here with the rest of his troops trying to get his hands on the moonstone.

He had one small window of opportunity, and if he missed it, then all their efforts would be in vain.

Shit.

He wasn't here because he knew that this was a decoy.

I looked around the area and saw wolves and rogues alike going at each other. Blood spilled onto the wet floors, and the rain washed it away almost immediately. The lightning ripped through the air violently, striking some trees in the far-off distance.

I looked to my left and saw my mate with three rogues coming at him. Elliot and Jason were preoccupied as well. Everyone was distracted, just how he wanted it to be.

I needed to stop him.

I stepped over the dead rogue I had killed and headed into the woods. I shut my mind link down so that Daxton wouldn't get distracted. He had a lot on his plate, and he couldn't get distracted.

I moved through the trees and headed to the central area of the pack. My heart was in my mouth as I raced through the trees.

I made it right to the holding area where I saw the guards who had been stationed here dead on the floor and a very large black wolf leering over them with blood dripping down his mouth.

From what I could see, he was alone. This was good; it would be one-on-one, but he was also much larger than me.

I felt this pressure build up in my skull from the mind link door in my mind. I tried to hold it closed, but the pressure only got worse, so I let it go.

'Where are you?' I heard my mate's voice rage through my mind.

'I headed south by the caves. The rogue king knew the stone wasn't there.' I watched the feral-looking beast rip into an already dead carcass. He ripped the skin of the wolf off and devoured it.

My stomach turned.

Blasphemy. He went against everything we believed in, and not only that, he could not respect the dead or our kind. He was nothing but pure darkness, and I had to eradicate him before it was too late.

For my people. For my family. For my mate.

'I will hold him off until more of you come.' I closed the link and emerged from the tree line.

The rogue's eyes snapped in my direction, their crimson red glowering at me with vengeance and bloodlust. There was no humanity in his gaze. Whatever he was made of could only be described as malice and death.

I gulped.

He was bigger than I was, and I was sure he was stronger. But I had speed and agility on my side. I just needed to keep focused and remember my training. I could not cower in the face of evil; I needed to rise above it.

The rogue king lowered his body, a sign that he was ready to fight. I was not, but I needed to get ready.

The fate of humanity rested on my shoulders.

Without warning, he launched himself at me, and I had only managed to dodge him just as he swiped his large paw. He came at me again, but this time I was more ready. I swerved right and snapped my teeth, managing to nip him, but it wasn't a strong enough hold to get him.

I needed to aim for the neck or the abdomen. I needed to be agile and use my petite size to my advantage.

I turned and launched myself at him again and managed to get another swipe. The poison was lodged in their teeth and possibly their claws. I needed to steer clear of those if I wanted to survive this fight.

We continued to go at each other. I could see that he was tired, but so was I. I couldn't keep this up for much longer. I needed a plan, and I had to force him into an error. I had gotten in a few swipes with my claws, but that wasn't enough. I needed to get his Achilles heel—his neck.

That's when the lightbulb went off in my mind. I had no idea if this was going to work, but I had little to no options left.

I waited by the tree and faced him. He dug his paws into the ground and charged at me with lightning speed.

Good. This was exactly what I wanted.

I allowed him to get close enough to me before I launched myself upward. It was lucky for me to be flexible enough to do this trick. He crashed into the trunk of the tree and paused for one second. I landed on him and didn't waste any time clamping my teeth down into his neck.

The blood gushed into my mouth as soon as I pierced the skin, and a shrill howl filled the air. The thunder rumbled, shaking the ground we stood on.

The rogue king howled in agony; his body already began thrashing as he tried to get me off, but I didn't let go. I sank my teeth in deeper to puncture his artery even more.

I held onto his neck for dear life, refusing to let go. He had me in strength and size, and this was my only shot at beating him.

He threw himself onto the floor, and my body took the brunt of the fall, successfully breaking a bone or several from the pain that radiated throughout my body.

His body went limp, and the blood stopped flooding into my mouth from his artery. The adrenaline that moved throughout my body gave me the strength to keep holding on. I don't know how long I stayed on top of him, but when I finally let go, the rain had calmed

and so had the wind.

The rogue king was dead.

I tried to pull my mind link open, but for some reason, I couldn't feel my wolf. She felt distant, like she was blocked behind a wall. It wasn't until I felt the burning sensation from my abdomen that I realized what it was.

I looked down and saw the blood dripping from my ribs. He had nicked me, and I hadn't even noticed. It was then that I also noticed my legs bleeding and the other side of my abdomen. The adrenaline had kept me from feeling the pain, but now that it was wearing off.

I knew this sensation well, and I knew that it was only a matter of time before the poison would kick in. The mark had saved me once before, but that had been from one single bite. This was the rogue king.

I hobbled to one of the large trees and braced myself against it. My body shook as I shifted to my human form and placed my back against the thick bark.

Small droplets of rain kissed my skin and washed some of the blood away. But it did nothing to ease my pain and the burn that moved through my entire body.

I was going to die.

The thought flew into my mind, but the panic that I had thought would follow didn't.

I heard a small crack of a branch to the side.

I wasn't alone. My neck snapped to the left, and I saw a wolf break through the tree line. My heart jumped when I thought that another rogue had found me, but then I connected with those familiar eyes.

"Jason." I could barely get his name out without my lungs feeling like they were straining.

He walked toward me, his soft little whimpers telling me that he was worried about me.

Jason's wolf nudged me, urging me to get onto his back. My body was extremely weak, but somehow I managed to get myself onto his back. I held onto his fur, trying to make sure that I didn't fall off.

He took off at a sprint in the direction of the pack house. But with each meter we made closer to the house, I could feel my life source draining from me. I genuinely believed that the only thing that was keeping me alive was the mark on my neck. I was drawing strength from my mate.

I wondered if he could feel my weakness. I hoped not. I didn't want him to experience me dying.

I heard an ear-rippling howl come through the thick forest. I had no idea if that had come from a friend or foe, but after a few minutes, I got my answer.

A flash of brown came out of nowhere, and suddenly we went down.

My body tumbled to the ground with a hard thud. A rogue had gotten Jason by the neck, and they were rolling on the floor.

I could feel the life draining from my body with each passing second. The venom was spreading; I could feel it burning my organs from the inside out.

I tried to reach for my wolf, but that damn barrier was there.

I heard a horrifying crunch sound, and the rogue that had been on top of Jason flopped to the floor with a loud thud. The dead carcass sprawled at his feet as he breathed heavily with blood dripping from his neck.

No.

I tried to breathe in, but my lungs strained against my ribcage, gasping for air and failing to take in more.

Jason's large grey wolf hobbled to me. The blood pooled out of his neck at an incredibly fast rate. His eyes were drooping, and I could feel him fighting.

"J-Jason." No, we both couldn't die. Not like this. "S..sh...shift."

His wolf needed to conserve its energy, and his being in human form would allow it to heal him and keep him alive until help arrived.

He hobbled over to my side, and his large wolf started to shake until he came to lay beside me in human form. One hand was clutched to his neck trying to stop the blood, while the other reached out for me.

I strained myself against the rough forest floor but managed to place my weak hand in his. I didn't know if it was me or him that was cold to the touch.

Probably me. I could feel my soul straining to stay in my body.

"Don't...don't you dare die, Jason. You promised that you would stay alive for me. You have to stay alive for me, please." Why did talking feel so heavy? "Please."

A pained and tired smile graced his lips. His eyes twinkled with a little glimmer of light. "Serving you has been my single greatest honor, Ale."

I shook my head, straining against the tiredness that threatened to pull me into darkness. "No, you can't die, Jason."

"And..." he swallowed against the emotion that had lodged itself in his throat. "And neither can you. I...I promised your father I would keep you safe. This is me...ke-keeping my promise."

The sting built up behind my eyes. It increased in intensity with each strained breath I took.

We were both knocking at death's door, but I could not allow him to walk into her cold embrace.

"Please, Jason," I was begging him at this point.

Tears welled in my eyes. I could hear the cracks that formed over my chest.

He couldn't die. I wouldn't let him.

I threaded our fingers together and willed whatever strength my wolf had to offer me at that moment forward. I had studied every practice and every magical discipline, but I was not sure if what I wanted to do would even work. Magic had long become a forgotten craft.

It was a forgotten magic, the kind of magic that had not been seen in centuries.

"Ale, don't..." Blood oozed in between his fingers, staining his skin.

I was running out of time and options. I had nothing to lose here.

I focused my mind and searched for my life source from within. I sifted through my mind and found my link with my mate. There was a large wall that surrounded my wolf, and I couldn't get to her, but I could still feel her presence inside of me.

I moved along until I came to the shining ball that hovered in the very center.

I reached for it and pulled at it. I plunged it out of my mind and into my arm that was connected to Jason's

I felt my arm heat and then fall out once the power poured out of me and into Jason. I had no idea what I was doing; all I knew was that I was giving this man a shot at life. He deserved one for all he had suffered through this war and all he had done for me.

"Ale, no..."

The tiredness intensified.

"It's okay," I tried to offer him a reassuring smile. "It's my job to protect."

"And it's my job to protect you," he choked back.

I could already see the blood beginning to ease. He was healing, which meant that it was working.

I guess all my studies had finally paid off.

"Don't you dare die," the color returned to his face.

Like a miracle sent from the skies, the rain began to ease and the rumble of the thunder dwindled.

Truth be told, I had no idea if it was really happening or if it was my soul that was preparing to take me to the other side. Whichever it was, it didn't matter. My job was done.

The rogue king was dead and my people were safe. But most importantly, I could die knowing that Daxton would be safe.

It was all over.

"Ale, please..." Jason's cries faded into nothing but distant echoes as my eyes strained against the fatigue to remain open.

The last thing I remember was seeing a pair of blue-green eyes that reminded me of my most precious thing.

"Daxton..." his name came out like a final prayer, then my eyes finally shut and I allowed the darkness to take me in. I only prayed that when I made it to the other side, the goddess would have mercy on me and allow me to see him one more time.