Page 160 of Whispers of Wisteria

I would rather die.

There was a change in the air. It was so subtle that I might have imagined. I could hardly feel past the heavy breathing against my ear and the sweaty, frenzied motions of the man ripping at my tights.

The ice retreated from my veins, and as the hands lifted, likely to prepare himself, my panic lifted.

Things were different this time. I wasn’t just Bianca anymore.

The next time I tried to open my eyes, a sliver of light broke through the darkness.

The dirty-blond-haired werewolf was fumbling with his jeans, and at that moment, I loathed him.

He didn’t notice at first. Not that my muscles had tensed, nor that I was even looking at him at all. He was grinning, pushing his pants down past his hips, before he looked up and met my gaze.

His happy panting stopped, and dark honey eyes morphed from elation to terror within a second. “What the—”

I was going to kill him.

The pressure exploded around me, and I was airborne, twisting to face the ground asSpellslayerappeared in my hand. The kneeling man fell face-first to the floor and stumbled as he attempted to crawl away.

I landed on him, pushed my knees into his back, and thrust my blade through the center of his neck. It cut through bone and muscle like a warm knife through butter.

The once loud room suddenly silenced.

‘Kill them both.’ The voice I’d been waiting for rang in my head.

I stepped away from the corpse, pulling my sword from the sticky mess. A line of blood flicked off my weapon in a graceful arch.

The wolf was fleeing, almost to the open cell door. The animal knew when he’d been outmatched.

He was fast, but he wouldn’t make it.

I threw my blade at him, and it embedded in the wolf’s back. His body fell onto the steps, the echoing end of a whine fading through the prison.

The air swelled as I reached for my weapon and pulled it free. The wolf stayed down, breathing heavily, staring up at me with wide, panicked eyes.

My grip tightened, and I threw my weight forward and pierced him directly through the throat.

The crimson haze stayed in my vision as my mouth went dry, my thoughts numb. Somehow, I was standing, unable to tear my eyes from the thick red blood coating the ground at my feet.

“Holy shit!” Ada’s shout pierced through my throbbing head. I glanced at her as she stood, pointing at me. “She’s Mu! I fucking knew it.”

“Shut up!” Maria rounded on the hyena. She pushed her shoulder and looked towards the closed dungeon door. “Someone might hear you!”

“You knew?” Ada glared at Maria. “How could you not have told me?”

“It’s on a need-to-know basis,” Maria answered.

My gaze drifted to Gloria. She was still unconscious, bleeding from a wound to the head.

I should move. I needed to find a way to set her free, at the very least.

I had to help us escape.

My legs shook as I took a step, and my ears popped as the breath rushed out of me. It was as if a weight had been lifted. My vision swayed asSpellslayerslipped through my tingling fingers. It disappeared, mid-air, before it could even touch the ground.

I didn’t even feel the floor as my legs gave out, and I fell to the floor on my side.

I held my head and closed my eyes.