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Kendra held up a barrier, but that didn’t stop the heat from licking our faces.

“Get back,” I ordered her. “Protect yourself.”

Kendra opened her mouth to argue, but I wouldn’t let her. I shifted and charged toward Lucas. Nearby, I could hear Chris shifting as well, growling and charging toward one of the guards.

I jumped, lunging toward Lucas. Laughing, he vanished just before my paws hit the ground. I rounded, catching sight of two guards going up against Chris. He fended off one just as another jumped into the fray. With no sign of Lucas, I charged forward to go help.

I staggered backward, snarling as a burning sting washed over me. Blood from my flank trickled down to the pristine floor. I looked up in time to see Lucas reappear, a knife dripping with blood in his hand. He gave a broad, lazy smirk as he sauntered forward.

“This is what I don’t get about shifters,” he drawled. “You guys all think you’re the strongest things on the planet, the biggest threats. None of you ever stops to consider that not all power comes from brute strength.” He shook his head. “I asked Cain about it once. He said that was part of the beauty of having a strong witch on hand. I told him I figured the beauty was that all we needed was a bit of fire to keep people in line. Like this.”

He hurled a fireball directly at my face. I dodged just in time, feeling a lick of flame singe my fur. The unpleasant stench of burning fur clogged my nostrils. I ran forward, jumping toward him. This time, I managed to hit him, pinning him down and biting his shoulder. His fist slammed into my jaw with surprising force, dislodging me. He scrambled up.

Lucas laughed and held up his hand. His eyes glittered with triumph and malice as my entire body froze, immobile. I tried desperately to move, but couldn’t do anything beyond breathe and glance from side to side.

“Your mate over there might be able to help you,” he said, jerking his head over at Kendra.

She had cast some sort of shimmering barrier around her, preventing the guards, both wolf and man, from getting any closer to her, but not doing any damage. It was the best she could do as long as she couldn’t hurt them. Her eyes stayed locked on me, barely paying attention to the immediate danger surrounding her.

“Or she would if she could cast a second spell without breaking concentration on the first, and I don’t think anyone has taught her how to do that.”

He stabbed down, and pain screamed through my shoulder.

“She’s actually pretty strong, based on what I’ve seen of her,” Lucas said, as if analyzing a child learning to paint. He gave me another of those amused, triumphant smirks. “But too bad we have those pesky enchantments on all our slaves.” He leered at me. “Do you want to know what’s going to happen to her after I’ve killed all three of you?” He gave a feral grin. “It’s not going to be nearly as pleasant as being sent to the fighting pits, I’ll tell you that. She’s going to be in for a world of trouble. But first, I might have some fun with her. I don’t think Cain would mind.”

Something hurled through the air. A large world collided with Lucas, and just like that, I could move again, his concentration broken. Nolan, apparently back from escorting the girls, barreled into Lucas, snarling and preparing to strike again. But already, fresh guards had stormed forward and taken his attention.

That was fine. Lucas was mine, anyway.

I snarled, lunging forward. My paws landed precisely where his shoulders should have been. A harsh, mocking laugh filled the air. A moment later, a sharp, stabbing pain burned on my side. I yelped, staggering back as I turned to see Lucas, a knife still dripping with blood in one hand. He gave a lazy, triumphant grin as he strutted forward, using that same spell as before to immobilize me.

“No more dallying,” he drawled. He raised his knife once more and brought it down in a killing blow.

Something cool wrapped around me. A second later, the knife struck my fur, then shattered.

Lucas stared, disbelief etched on his face. For the record, I was shocked, too. It wasn’t until I turned that I realized what was happening.

Kendra was staring straight at us, one hand outstretched, even as she kept her own barrier up. She gave a half-smirk when she saw me glancing and gave a short nod. Her hand quivered. I could tell keeping two spells at once was a lot for her, but she was holding onto them, keeping me safe.

Lucas couldn’t do anything. His brow knitted together as he scowled. He held up his hand, preparing to disappear. Only, nothing happened. Somehow, Kendra was nullifying it. He was done.

He realized it, too. A horrified expression spread across Lucas’s face. Blood trickled from the gash on his shoulder. He glanced around, seeming to realize he’d been beaten. He spun on his heels and raced toward the door.

Moments before he got there, the door slammed shut with so much force, the stone walls seemed to shake. Kendra again. Lucas reached out and grabbed the handles, shaking them desperately, to no avail. He spun back around, pressing against the door as I approached.

I didn’t waste time. With a furious snarl, I jumped through the air, lunging forward. My paws slammed into his shoulders. Before he could get away, I bit into his neck. He twitched once, then stilled.

I waited just long enough to make sure he was actually dead. When I was satisfied, I let go, turning back to see Chris and Nolan continuing to fight. I didn’t waste any time, racing over to join in the fray.

The other guards stared at the three approaching wolves. One tried to step forward, preparing himself to fight, as did another in wolf form.

Nolan and Chris lunged. In a handful of seconds, both guards were dead, and the Gold Wolves were already turning toward the others. The final guards fled, booking it the instant Chris and Nolan had attacked, running through the reopened door.

The three of us waited to see if they would come back, maybe with reinforcements. After a moment, we all relaxed. The shimmering light around Kendra evaporated, and she hurried forward as I shifted back to human.

“Are you okay?” she asked, her voice sounding strained and panicked as she looked me up and down. “Are you hurt?”

Reaching out, I wrapped my hand around hers, holding it tight. “I’m all right,” I said. “Are you?”

Her eyes flicked down to my arm and then to my side. Her eyes narrowed. “Liar,” she said.

Before I could say anything else, she placed her hand on my side. Startled, I let out a hiss of pain. She gave me an exasperated look, then muttered under her breath.

A breath of ice brushed across my skin, then everything went numb. Glancing down, I saw that the injury there had healed over, bright red and shiny with new skin, but healed. Without missing a beat, she moved to my arm and repeated the process.

She made it to go to Nolan and Chris to heal their injuries the same way. Before she could, I reached out and touched her shoulder gently.

“Thank you,” I said. My thumb stroked across her skin, and she leaned into the touch as she stared up at me. “You saved my life.”

She gave a soft smile. “I wasn’t about to let you die,” she said. She hesitated, biting her lip as though debating whether to say something. Then she shook her head to clear it. “I’m just glad you’re okay.”

“Great,” Nolan said. “Now that’s taken care of, we need to get to the portal. As strong as we are, I don’t like our chances with a bunch of greedy assholes who don’t care about slavery and want to make a fast buck. There is such a thing as being outnumbered. The portal is still up, as far as I can tell. I got the girls through it and told them to head toward town.”

I nodded. “Let’s get back.”

I noticed Kendra hesitating, her eyes flicking toward the far end of the room where the door to the private chambers lurked. I reached out and took her hand. Her head whipped back toward me, burning with frustration. Her eyes caught my face, and the anger there dimmed a bit, mixed with resignation.

“I know,” I said. “It’s going to be okay.”

She shook her head as if she didn’t believe me. Regardless, she took a deep breath. When I tugged on her hand, she followed.

We raced through the streets. I half-expected there to be a dozen assassins lurking in the shadows, waiting to strike. But nothing stepped in our way as we continued to sprint through the roads, the town almost eerily quiet.

Either people have already left, or they haven’t realized what just happened to Lucas and still want us out of here , I thought. I tried not to worry about it too much. Right now, the only thing that mattered was getting out of here before the portal closed. We only had a matter of minutes.

We turned into the alley. I half-expected it to be closed, so I sighed in relief as I saw the portal swirling in midair before us.

“Ladies first,” Nolan said with a sweeping motion of his hand.

Kendra hesitated, glancing back over her shoulder. She licked her lips. “Are we… we really can’t…” She trailed off, unable to finish her sentence. But she didn’t need to.

I reached out, turning her head so she was looking at me again. I brushed a strand of hair from her face. “I know this is bad. I can’t imagine how you’re feeling right now. But staying isn’t going to help your sister. The only thing that will happen if you stick around is that you’ll get dragged back into slavery or killed, neither of which is remotely helpful to Morgan.”

She blinked up at me, and I could see the tears filling her eyes. Howls sounded somewhere in the streets beyond, dozens of paws pounding the cobblestone. The hunt for us had begun.

“Please,” I said. “I can’t lose you.”

A single tear began falling down her cheek as she looked behind me down the street, as if hoping that Morgan would magically appear. Her shoulders slumped, and she took a deep, shaking breath. She squeezed her eyes shut, and another handful of tears spilled down her face. Finally, she nodded. Without a word, she turned and stepped through the portal.

The instant she disappeared, an overwhelming sense of relief washed over me. Kendra was safe.

Another round of howls and calls echoed behind us. Without wasting any time, Nolan, Chris, and I stepped through the portal. That same squeezing sensation that had happened last time slammed into me. I could barely breathe as I flew through the dark colors all around me.

I stumbled out onto the grass, a beautiful blue sky overhead with puffs of white clouds. Birdsong twittered through the air, and a soft, cool breeze blew through the clearing.

Nolan and Chris stumbled out after me, both panting, Nolan looking slightly queasy. Kendra stood a few feet away, barely noticing us, her gaze locked slightly overhead. She stared back where we had emerged. Her jaw worked as pain and guilt flooded her eyes. She was acting like she’d just been rendered mute.

“It’s gone,” she murmured. “The portal isn’t there anymore.”

Chris stepped forward, holding out his hand as if testing the air. “How can you be sure?”

“I can’t sense any magic,” she said. “It was there just after we got out, and now…”

She stopped talking, as if something had lodged in her throat. She looked like she might collapse to the ground. I pulled her against my chest, holding her as I stroked her hair. I leaned my head on hers, trying to give her some semblance of comfort as she wrapped her arms around me and soft sobs began.

“It’s okay,” I muttered to her. “It’s going to be okay.”

She buried her face in my shoulder, crying as her nails dug into my skin. I felt like she might collapse at any moment without me there.

“I failed her,” she wailed.

“No, you didn’t,” I insisted, stroking her hair as I held her against me. “She would have wanted you out of there. She wanted you safe.”

“But she’s still in there,” she sobbed, the cries masking her words so they came out almost garbled. “She’s the one who should be out here, not me. She doesn’t deserve any of what’s happened to her. It’s all my fault.”

“We’ll get her,” I said. “I promise. For the moment, I’m just glad you’re okay.” I took a deep breath, unsure how to say this next bit but knowing I had to. “I can’t tell you how angry I was when I found out Ronan had taken you. I went nearly insane.”

She stopped crying and glanced up at me, her eyes glistening with tears, both for Morgan and because of something else that I couldn’t quite discern.

“You came after me instead of leaving,” she said. “You risked the mission for me.”

“Of course I did,” I replied. “I don’t care what it is. I will put you over any mission.” I took a deep breath, knowing I needed to tell her, knowing she needed to know before any more time had passed. I couldn’t keep it in any longer.

“I know we haven’t known one another for long,” I said. “But I love you.”

She blinked, some of the tears subsiding as she looked at me. “What?”

“I love you,” I repeated. “And I promise I’m going to do everything in my power to get your sister back. Not for any mission. For you.”

A dozen emotions seemed to spread across Kendra’s face at once as she stared up at me, her eyes glittering. I waited, breathless, to see how she would react. Without a word, she pulled my face to hers. Her lips brushed against mine, lingering there for a long moment.

“I love you, too,” she said, then nuzzled against me.

Despite everything, a wave of relief and delight washed over me at those four simple words. We had a lot of work to do; everyone knew it. But at least one good thing had happened from this nightmare.

I took her chin, tilted it up toward mine, and pressed my lips to hers again.

The next kiss was deeper, more intimate. Her hands wrapped around my neck as mine slipped to the small of her back, pressing her against me. For a moment, just for the length of that kiss, nothing else mattered. Everything else could wait. Just for the moment.