Page 32 of Never Tamed (Bad Wolves #3)

Ren

T he snow comes down in sheets.

It starts small, a few flecks lighting the air and mingling with the ash of the charred barrels. The fireworks are long spent and the chill takes root in the base of my spine before spiraling higher.

Where is he ?

I shiver and move from foot to foot, waiting for Andras to show himself. There is only silence, which feels more deafening now that the explosion has gone off.

Noble’s human body contorts. His limbs lengthen, muscle filling out, his face elongating into a wolf muzzle. The massive copper colored male shakes his head. He might be biding his time before showing himself .

I don’t like this.

And then the snow falls. The seething dark clouds above us belch out those first flakes like a warning before they open up and drop a blizzard on our heads.

It’s blinding and sharp, like a thousand tiny knives cutting into my face.

“Shit.” Noble lifts his face to the heavens.

“My thoughts exactly.”

I snap to attention when something thuds on the ground near us but this is the forest. This isn’t the Rochester I’m used to. There are a number of creatures out here, like a squirrel or something.

Do you see anything ? I press.

Not yet. But then again, Andras is tricky.

There’s no way to disguise himself though. This whole thing reeks and now with the weather against us, it’s like fighting with our hands tied behind our back. The snow disguises any scents in the air my super sniffer might have picked up. I can’t tell what direction Andras would come from.

I spin in a useless circle and trample the snow now coloring the ground. This isn’t good .

It’s going to be okay , Noble soothes.

Then why don’t I believe you ?

Because the bond can’t lie and his worries are mine. We share them.

A twig snaps in the same direction I heard the thud. On high alert, I whip around, and catch a flash of hair.

They’re here ! My heart leaps into my throat and I run.

Every breath burns like I’m inhaling ice. My boots pound the ground, slipping on half-frozen roots beneath the rising drifts, and beside me, Noble is a copper streak in the white, his wolf form braced against the wind.

He’s fast, and even as a human, I match his speed. It’s another gift from the goddess because I’m barely winded.

We’re supposed to be luring Andras and his people, and yet it feels like the storm itself is luring us instead , pulling us deeper into chaos while it strips away our sense of direction.

I can barely see the next tree through the whiteout, only flashes of Noble’s fur as he darts ahead, then falls back again, always circling, always guarding.

Shit is right.

This isn’t how I thought it would go. It’s not like I figured the plan would unfold perfectly but seriously? A fucking blizzard?

My teeth chatter more from anxiety than actual cold.

The plan was simple. Too simple. Draw Andras and his wolves into the woods, toward the frozen river where Mathis, Torin, and Dax and the others are waiting.

Make it look like we’re running for our lives, like we’re weak, desperate, and just careless prey, until our enemy is convinced that the kill is his.

But the snow doesn’t care about plans. The snow devours them and spits out bones.

Those kinds of thoughts aren’t going to help, baby , Noble warns in my head.

I pump my arms and a layer of ice cracks underfoot. Sorry?

If anything happens to my men, then it will be my fault and not theirs. I strongarmed them into going along with us.

Where the hell is Andras? Is he actually behind us, or is he circling around to the side to cut us off before we reach the stream?

A branch snaps behind me, close. My heart jackhammers and clogs my throat, cutting off my air.

Noble’s growl rips through the storm before he launches himself out of nowhere, slamming into something I can’t even see until it’s too late.

A wolf yelp is cut off sharp, and the Noble’s copper wolf shakes once, twice, until his opponent goes limp.

Blood sprays dark across the pristine white snow, only to be gone a heartbeat when the blizzard swallows it whole.

No ! The scream tears through me although I don’t make a sound out loud. I skitter to a stop and then stumble, knees hitting snow. Noble turns his head and his eyes catch mine, burning gold.

Run.

The word isn’t spoken, but I feel it in my chest all the same. He’s urging me to go and to leave him behind, to trust him to handle this. My mate is hurt. His pain is right there in my head as well, but the command is too powerful to ignore.

So I run.

Snow crunches loud underfoot and my lungs scream.

This would be so much easier if I shifted, but I can’t yet.

My powers have to be a secret until the very end.

I have to stay in this form when my wolf batters at me and urges me to change, to let her take control.

She will have a much easier time navigating.

I glance over my shoulder and the world is nothing but white and shifting shadows. Shapes move in it—the Blood Moon wolves giving chase and Andras, somewhere. I know he’s back there. I feel him now. Hunting us.

There’s no denying it anymore. How in the world did I miss it? He’s there in the blur of the world, not something I see or scent but a feeling. His laughter echoes in the howl of the wind and he moves in the sideways sheets of snow.

Is this blizzard his doing?

No, that’s ridiculous. I shake my head and keep going even with a part of me left behind with Noble.

Pain slices through my ankle and up my leg, taking me down into the snow. I fall flat on my stomach with a yelp of surprise.

Teeth sink into me, sharp, tearing. When I look down, there’s a smaller wolf snapping at my boot. It’s got its jaw hooked around my ankle with canines crunching down. I twist, kicking out with my free leg, but the animal shakes its head, pulling off the boot and taking some skin with it.

“Asshole!”

The curse rips through me as I pull myself forward on my side, my foot numb and pain lighting the rest of the area.

The wolf spits out the boot and shakes its head before creeping toward me again with hackles lifted.

Noble’s there suddenly and hits our enemy like an avalanche, his weight driving the creature away from me. My ankle screams as I lurch to my feet and half-drag it through the snow.

Warmth pulses inside my sock and leaves a terribly bright trail behind me. Blood. Exactly what Andras will want. Exactly what we need.

But god, it hurts. This is taking method acting to a whole new level.

I grit my teeth. The fucker is going to bleed much more than I am, and he’ll regret every teeth mark I have to deal with.

My power hums under my skin, begging, demanding to be released. I could end that little wolf with hardly any effort. Like lifting a finger and taking a sip of espresso. Its blood would pool on my tongue and maybe I’d give into the joy of it like Dax does.

I can end most of the others on our tail in one surge if I let myself. Hell, I could make it to the river in the blink of an eye, too. Not yet.

Not until the time is right.

The agony helps me focus. The small bit of unease and nerves fall away and I focus on the bite, what it means for us tonight.

So I stagger. I bleed. I make myself an easy target. Andras will come and then the rest of his men will go down with him. “Help! Somebody. Please help!” I cry out.

Overdoing it a little, baby. Just a bit . Noble snarls at my side. His muzzle is red, and his chest heaves. He presses against me once as a reminder that I’m not alone.

Sorry. I’ll try to tone it down. I lean heavily on him and whimper.

The stench of fireworks and charred wood lines my nostrils and through it all is the cold. Winter smells differently now.

But I know the river is close. Even from here, I can also smell the icy freshness of it and the mossy bank buried underneath the layers of ice. The storm swallows every landmark.

I have to trust that we aren’t running around in useless circles.

A howl cuts through the storm, closer this time. Another answers. Then another.

Fear pierces my chest.

They’re tightening in . He’s onto us. He knows what we planned and he’s trapping us instead of the other way around.

Noble snaps his head toward me, lips curled back over his teeth. His eyes burn with urgency. Move. The others are waiting .

I push forward, every step agony, my ankle making me slow. Snowflakes sting my eyes until I can’t tell what’s storm and what’s wolf anymore. The shadows close in. The howls get louder.

You’re not helping , I warn Noble.

His worry is a physical presence between us and weighing me down like an anchor.

My mate is injured and our enemies are circling. You’ll have to excuse me , he bites out.

And then I see it. Through the veil of white, there’s the ghostly shimmer of ice ahead. The river. We actually made it.

Relief nearly knocks me off my feet, but I don’t stop. We’re almost there, almost—

Something slams into my back. I crash into the snow face-first, too fast to screech, the cold shocking. Teeth snap inches from my throat as claws dig into my side right where Catarina nearly gutted me.

Twisting, I scream and thrash, but I’m pinned by the wolf’s weight crushing me down.

Fuck ! They came out of nowhere !

My power flares, roaring in my blood, impossible to ignore. I can feel it on the edge of my skin, the wolf inside me ready to burst free.

If I call to it, I’ll give myself away. If I don’t, I die.

I have to wait for Andras to show himself and the wolf crushing my spine isn’t him.

Noble’s savage snarl splits the air as he barrels into the wolf on top of me. I roll out of the way to avoid their legs, gasping, snow plastered to my face, my body aching. My vision flickers with light, my power screaming at me to unleash it.

No, no, not yet. Not yet!

I’m up on my feet again and running as fast as I can toward the river, toward the waiting trap, all while praying it will work. Torin and Mathis and Dax are somewhere nearby and lost in the sideways sleets of ice. My lungs constrict, my stomach weighted and sick.

Hold steady, love . Torin’s hard voice is a lash, a reminder, in my head.

Bring them closer and we’ll take care of the rest , Mathis adds. Trust us .

We’re waiting for you , Torin finishes.

Keeping Noble with me was the best idea I’d had so far and I have to remind myself that this is what I asked for. Not the blizzard but the ambush. Andras is circling but this is my trap, not his.

He’s in for one hell of a surprise when I finally unleash myself on him.

This ends today. No more playing around.

My mates are here with me. Noble, injured, is here with me.

No matter how many wolves Andras brought with him, they are all going to end up the same way and if the river runs red, then I’ll know I accomplished my goal.

It has to work. Because we all know that if it doesn’t, we’re all dead.