Page 36 of Framed and Forgotten (Ashen Wolves #3)

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K O E N

Kael slammed into Col like a freight train.

Before we could think of bracing ourselves, we were crashing through underbrush, bark splintering around us.

We barely had time to find our footing before he was on us again.

In a feral match, claws raked against flesh, and fangs snapped at anything they could find.

Col tried to pin him, but Kael twisted under us with impressive speed, throwing us off and sending us airborne. Our spine struck a jagged rock, knocking the wind out of us, but we couldn’t afford to stay still. My wolf rolled, fast, before Kael’s claws could meet our throat.

Col sprang back, creating just enough distance to catch his breath and reassess.

Kael didn’t follow, meeting our gaze head-on instead.

A grin spread across his lips, fangs dripping with saliva and fresh blood - my blood .

He was showing it off, like a trophy. A twisted little piece of proof that he’d gotten us.

There was no rush in him, his movements carrying the ease of someone who believed he’d already won.

He was toying with us, pushing and probing.

Testing us.

Maybe I had underestimated how easy this fight would be. Kael had never been an alpha, but it was evident he had combat experience - more than that, even. It was like he’d been training all his life to face and defeat me .

In that brief moment of stillness as both beasts just panted and waited for the other, my thoughts wandered back to Avril.

I could see Kea from the corner of my eye, passed out on the ground.

The bond we shared let me know she wasn’t in any pain, but I was still desperate to end this and get her out of here.

“It can be over in a minute,” Col reminded me, the shadows within us expanding as he relished the thought of setting them free.

“No!” I insisted. It was too dangerous. “Not unless we absolutely need it.”

“Fine,” he growled, ego bristling at my hesitation. “Take as long as it takes, I’ll win. I’ll keep mate safe.”

Kael snarled, as if sensing my focus had slipped - like he was offended I wasn’t giving him my full attention.

Without hesitation, he sprinted toward us again, jaws wide.

Col ducked under the bite, using his proximity to try and snap at his hind leg, catching fur, not flesh.

Our brother yelped in surprise, clearly not expecting us getting that close, but he recovered instantly.

Pivoting and delivering a precise blow to our shoulder.

Agony flared as his teeth sank deep into us.

Out of reflex, Col jerked away. We broke free, but at the cost of tearing our skin even more in the process.

The pain left our head reeling, but Col only groaned, refusing to give the enemy the satisfaction of hearing us cry out.

We’d been through worse. After everything we’d endured these past few months, pain had become a second skin, barely enough to rattle our focus.

Col pushed through the sheer discomfort, putting full weight into our injured leg.

It burned, and he fought not to look at the wound or the blood pooling near our ribs.

We couldn’t afford to show weakness. Then, we pounced.

We aimed for Kael’s side, missed, then ducked under a swing of his claws that grazed our ear and left it bleeding.

“Have you always been this slow?” Kael mocked as he slowed down a notch, and we circled each other again. “I thought you’d make me break a sweat at least. Where’s the notorious Alpha Koen? Did he go down with his pack?”

“No,” I replied promptly, voice rough. “But I’m about to make you wish I had.”

This time, Col didn’t hesitate to make the first move.

We surged forward, claws swiping with brutal precision, finally landing a deep gash across Kael’s chest. Blood splattered the ground.

Kael roared, more in frustration than pain, and struck back blindly.

One of his claws scraped across our snout - shallow, but deep enough to make the scent of blood grow thick. Still, we pressed on.

My wolf jumped again, our teeth snapping dangerously close to Kael’s throat.

He rolled just in time, scraping our side with his back legs, but we held on.

We wouldn’t let him escape this time. Using our hind legs on impulse, we lunged, finally managing a clean strike.

Our jaws closed around our brother’s hind paw, and we bit down until we felt the sickening crunch of bone beneath our fangs.

Kael whimpered, betraying he wasn’t as used to being beaten and bruised. Still, he kicked like a trapped animal, his free leg hitting Col’s face with enough power to force us to let go. While he did break free, he was injured now. Slower.

It gave us an opening.

Col was ready to go for it, eager to finish this off, when a grunt cut through the haze of the battle. Our ears twitched, the sound making our heart thump. Our eyes snapped toward where Kea had been lying to find Avril had taken her place. She was awake, but weak, struggling to pull herself up.

And we were punished for our moment of distraction.

Kael didn’t miss our slip - he was on us in a heartbeat.

His claws dug deep into Col’s shoulders, knocking us down with brutal force.

We snarled, trying to twist out from under him, but he was heavier, stronger, driven by madness, or hatred, or both.

Showing no mercy, he pressed his paw into the wound he had opened earlier, and my wolf couldn’t hold back a strangled gasp.

“Feelings always get in the way, don’t they? That pesky mate bond,” Kael hissed, pushing his face closer. “It’s the reason you’re in this mess. It’ll be the death of you.”

Col snapped at him, but Kael leaned back just enough to avoid our bite, eyes gleaming with superiority. “I should’ve killed her first. Maybe then you'd have come at me with enough rage to make this fun.”

We bucked, trying to throw him off, but Kael gripped tighter. Instead of finishing it off, he relished the advantage he had over us. He thought he’d won, but he was too busy talking. And, as my mind raced, I saw it - a shift in his stance, weight leaning too far forward, one flank exposed.

"You might not have feelings to distract you,” I growled through gritted teeth. “But you run your mouth way too much.”

Kael could only tilt his head in confusion.

He never anticipated the savage twist of our body, destabilizing him.

With a final burst of energy, we surged upward and to the side, breaking his hold and slashing his thigh.

He had no time to sprint away, inevitably tumbling over.

When our jaws found his exposed neck, Col showed no mercy.

With one powerful, unrelenting bite, we sank our fangs into the flesh and clamped down.

Kael let out a strangled howl. His legs flailed, his claws raking across our ribs in a desperate attempt to free himself.

But we held firm, enduring the pain. His body thrashed for a moment longer, then began to tremble.

Ultimately, he went still.

We released him, letting his broken form crumple to the ground before us. His chest heaved in a frantic search for air, but his lungs couldn’t be filled. His eyes flickered open, and for the first time, there was no rage, no smugness - only fear.

Kael’s beast looked up at me, barely breathing, lips trembling with the shape of a word he couldn’t say. Col stood tall, staring down at him, denying him the power he wanted until the end.

“Love is not a weakness,” I told him. “I won because I had something to lose - something to live for. That made me fight twice as hard.”

Just as the message reached him, the light in his eyes flickered.

Then vanished.

Once the victory had been secured, Col staggered a step. As the heat from the battle started to wane, the weight of our injuries became harder to bear. It didn’t matter, though. The threat had been eliminated.

Or so I thought, until I turned to Avril again, only to realize she wasn’t where she’d been a moment ago. Col’s head snapped from one side to the other, searching for her in a frenzy. When our eyes finally spotted her, our heart stopped.

Nerine had her.

Avril was still naked, still weak from the drug in her system. Her trembling hands tried and failed to loosen the woman’s grip around her throat. Nerine held a silver dagger against her neck, one strike from ending her life.

My head was spinning violently, my heart racing, when my ex-wife’s crazed voice broke the silence. “If she’s gone,” she threatened, a hopeful smile that bordered on insanity slowly curling in her lips. “You’ll finally pick me.”

My blood ran cold.

Col tried to move on instinct, but I held him back. It was too risky. Avril’s life was literally in Nerine's hands, and one wrong move could mean her death. My wolf resisted, but I managed to force him to retreat, shifting back into my human form so I could try to fix this.

“Nerine, you don’t want to do this,” I half warned, half begged, hands raised in a sign of peace.

I stepped forward. She pressed the blade tighter, a sliver of red blooming across Avril’s skin. I immediately stilled.

“Why not?” Nerine asked, her expression shifting between despair and anger. “She took you from me! If I-”

“I was never yours,” I said, low, controlled, begging the universe to let her hear me. “Even if you kill her, nothing changes. I still won’t love you.”

She was thoughtful for a moment. “Maybe. But it’s worth a shot.”

“If you kill her, Nerine,” I said, louder this time as my control started to slip. “I’ll kill you. I won’t let you get away with taking her life.”

Her lip quivered. For a second, I saw doubt flicker in her eyes.

Then she smiled again. “Maybe. But at least she won’t get to keep you either.”

“Think of Elias,” I tried, one last desperate attempt to make her see reason. “His father is gone now. If you die, too, he’ll have no one. He’ll be alone.”

Her mouth trembled, like she was on the verge of crying. “I don’t care. He isn’t yours, so he doesn’t matter to me.”

After that, everything happened too fast for me to even register it.

The dagger moved.

The line of red opened across Avril’s throat.

Time shattered.

Nerine didn’t even scream. One second she was standing. The next, her head hit the dirt several feet from her body. My claws were dripping with her blood, but I couldn’t feel a thing.

All I could see was Avril.

I dropped to my knees, cradling her limp body. Her eyes fluttered, unfocused. Her breath came in soft, wet gasps. Blood soaked her chest and my hands.

“Avril,” I breathed, voice cracking. “Stay with me. Please, just stay.”

She didn’t answer.

“I’ll fix it. I’ll fix everything,” I whispered frantically. “You’re going to be okay. You’re going to be okay.”

But she wasn’t. The light in her eyes was already fading, and no matter how tightly I held her, I couldn’t stop the blood. Kea couldn’t help her either, the wolfsbane preventing her from healing.

Col howled, broken, and I pressed my forehead to hers. My tears fell onto her cheeks, mixing with her blood.

“I can’t lose you,” I begged, to her, to the Goddess - to whoever would listen. “Not after everything. Not now.”

But the silence that answered me was the loudest sound I’d ever heard.

She was bleeding out, and all I could do was watch, waiting for her to slip away - knowing she’d take the last piece of me with her.