Page 126 of Contested Crown

Then she darted forward, and I braced myself, but she was past me, about to land on Cade. The paw she’d been favoring had been a feint—she was putting weight on it, but that didn’t matter because she was going to getCade?—

She landed on him, and I was a second behind her, too late, toolate?—

Only she fell to the floor, her sharp claws dragging over nothing.Cade wasn’t there.

I didn’t have time to worry, didn’t have time to imagine something terrible had happened to him, because I needed her down. I raced toward her, setting my feet and sliding into her, slamming her against the nearest pews but not giving her enough time to get herself back, instead latching my teeth into her neck and biting down. Skin and flesh gave under my sharp teeth, forcing her down as she twisted, trying to get away. Blood coated the inside of my mouth, but I didn’t let up.

No, she was going to go after Cade if I let her up. She was going to get him. The spike of fear lanced through me, so hard and fast that I couldn’t breathe with it.

She yelped in pain, squealing as she finally twisted away, and I was left with a mouthful of blood and fur. Turning to face me, I could see the red on her neck, staining the fur at her throat.

This was going to end brutally for one of us, and I wished that she and I had the same history as me and JD, that I knew her soft underbelly parts, the parts that would make her give in to me without needing to fight this hard, without needing to lose her life to a pointless?—

“Coral!” Cade’s voice boomed in the quiet of the sanctuary. “I have Lily. Let him go!”

ChapterForty-One

The fight fell out of Coral, and she whimpered, falling to the side, shutting her eyes. It wasn’t as dramatic as JD’s submission, but I would take it.

I shifted back into my human form, waiting for her to do the same. Blood matted her hair, and she squeezed her eyes shut.

“Don’t hurt her,” Coral said. “Please, just don’t hurt her.”

I knelt in front of her, brushing aside her hair to check her neck. The bleeding had already slowed, but my teeth had bitten deep.

“You need to shift back,” I said. “Use the shift to help heal.”

“I can’t,” Coral slurred. “It’s not working.”

“What?” I asked sharply, but she slumped over. When she’d shut her eyes, it hadn’t been a sign of submission, a sign of giving in; it had been something worse. She was a wolf at the end of her rope, no strength left.

Shaking my head, I went to find my clothes where I’d abandoned them at the front of the church. When I was dressed, I grabbed Coral’s clothes and then crouched down, lifting her in a fireman’s carry.

The last time we’d talked, she had been all muscle, lean strength that kept her able to protect her mage. Over my shoulders, she was so light I barely felt her weight. There was no way that all her strength had been from magic. She’d worn her muscle with too much familiarity, too much confidence.

“Cade?” I asked, approaching the altar. I had no idea where his voice had originated, but this seemed like a good guess. Coral had come from back here, and that had to be where she’d been hiding her mage, Lily.

“Here,” Cade said.

I followed his voice back, pushing aside the curtains. They revealed a long hallway, dim without lights. Open doors showed a couple of offices and what looked like a chapel.

When I got to a large room in the back, I pulled up short.

It had obviously once been a rec room or some sort of gathering space. All of the couches and tables had been pushed to the sides of the room in favor of rows of cots. Cade stood in the center, glaring at a nun in a worn habit, her wrinkled face severe.

Between them, a mage was passed out on a low cot, her skin so pale it matched the cream sheets. Carefully, I put Coral down on a nearby cot, taking my time to observe the situation.

Theo stood behind the nun, wobbling unsteadily on his cane. I counted three other mages laid out and their wolves slowly getting to their feet at my presence.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“That’s what I’d like to know,” Cade responded, his voice clipped.

I started toward Theo, but the nun got in between us, her gaze sharp. “Don’t you touch him, you monster!”

For a second, I stared at her, the word heavy in my ears. I had heard it often enough. Dog. Monster. Some more creative swear words that left me trembling in anger.

But it wasn’t her fault any more than it was Theo’s for internalizing it.