2

I gripped my chest, pressing my back against the tree for support. I felt like I was going to collapse. How could Ivy do this? We had welcomed her and her pack into our home, trusted them with our lives and housed them when they were attacked by rogues. Was this how she wanted to repay us? By plotting to harm my husband with a deadly substance, by killing him?

My thoughts swirled, mixing with anger, fear, and betrayal. I knew I had to act fast, to warn Tyris and protect him from Ivy's evil plans. But how? I was just one person, and Ivy had an entire pack at her disposal. What did I have against her especially with the fact that my husband never listened to me?

I shook my head and took a deep breath, steeling myself for what was to come. I would not let Ivy get away with this. I would fight to the end to protect my husband and my pack.

“What about the money you promised me?” The man's voice sliced the silence that settled in the air, halting my train of thoughts.

I pushed out my head again, eyeing the both of them.

Ivy's smile faltered for a moment, her eyes flashing with a hint of uncertainty before she nodded curtly.

"Wait here," she said, raising a hand up, her voice dripping with venom. She spun on her heel, her cloak whirling around her like a dark cloud, and her legs seemed to carry her to her horse with a kind of grace, one that had won Tyris over.

I wrinkled my nose in distaste, my mind racing with the warnings I had tried to give the alpha. But, as usual, my concerns were dismissed, and I was left feeling like an insignificant fool. Maybe I should let him die.

I bit my lip. I couldn't let him die. I loved him.

A lump formed in my throat as I pondered on what to do, my heart heavy with a sense of foreboding. I knew I had to do something, but what? My thoughts were interrupted by a blood-curdling scream, and I blinked rapidly, my gaze snapping back to the horrific scene unfolding before me.

My eyes bulged out of their sockets as I took in the petrifying sight. Ivy's fingers had morphed into razor-sharp claws, which she had sunk deep into the man's stomach. Blood gushed out of the wound, and he tried to stem the flow, but Ivy was relentless. She stabbed him again and again, her claws digging deeper, until she finally yanked out his heart and tossed them aside like discarded trash.

Ivy's tongue darted out, running over her bloodied claws with an unsettling relish. I shivered, feeling goosebumps crawl up my arms as a chill ran down my spine. What in the world was she? A monster? A demon? My insides churned with a mix of fear and repulsion, my mind reeling with the implications of what I had just witnessed.

“I know you are here. Come out,” Ivy slurred, pivoting on the balls of her heels.

Swiftly, I pulled my face away from sight, hiding my body behind the tree. My heart thrummed in my chest, threatening to burst out of my ribcage.

“You know, you just made killing you easy for me. Well, it was always easy. I mean, you're a useless breeder to Tyris,” she stated, and my legs turned into jelly with fear oozing out of my skin.

“Tyris!” I screamed in my head, trying to mind-link him, but my muscles grew more tense when I recalled I lost my wolf and my abilities to do wolfish things.

With a heaving chest, I poked my head from behind the tree in an attempt to take a gander at Ivy, but my brows fused into a frown when my eyes fell on a space filled with trees and bushes.

Where did she go? I asked in my head, throwing furtive glances around and even over the rolling stunted hills that stretched around the teal forest.

Empty.

Pulling my head to rest on the tree, my heart skipped a dangerous beat, nearly galloping out of my mouth.

“Hello, Cari,” Ivy said, and her lips stretched into a wicked grin that caused crinkles to crease the sides of her eerie green eyes.

A lump sat in my throat when I saw her once white teeth, glistening red with blood trailing a path down her jaw.

I pressed my back harder against the tree, wishing it would open up and swallow me. Goosebumps devoured the entirety of my skin, and the walls of my throat ached like talons clawed at them.

“What in the name of the moon goddess are you?” I managed to say, trying to mask my fear.

“Do you know what happens to a curious cat?” Ivy asked, taking a step forward. “It dies, just like you and your foolish alpha are going to die.”

Fear seeped through my pores, and I began to tremble.

“I always knew you were evil. I never liked you from the very first day I met you,” I spat, filled with irritation and fright. “Did you actually come for an ally, or was it part of the plan to warm your way into his bed and heart, just to take the throne?”

“You are not as dumb as he paints you to be,” she shrugged. “I am willing to give you a chance. Would you join me so we can overthrow Tyris, or would you like to stand by him and die with him?”

“Never will I stoop so low to be on your side,” I said, creasing my forehead and flashing her a look of disapproval.

Ivy dashed toward me, clutching my neck with her claws. I gasped with enlarged eyes as I felt my throat closing up and restricting the flow of oxygen.

My heart thrummed against my chest, threatening to fly out of my ribcage, and I parted my lips, “Let me go!” I screamed, clawing at her hairy claws.

“You're so weak,” she chuckled, tightening her grip around my neck. “You'll make a fine slave when I eliminate your darling husband.”

“Never!” I rasped, adding, “I will never let you harm him as long as I am alive!”

Ivy growled, and her fangs elongated as she pulled me forward and slammed me against the tree with her claws still around my neck.

Pain spiderwebbed the back of my head, causing my vision to dim, making her face blurry. Finally, she released me, and I fell with my cheek kissing the ground.

“Say hi to the moon goddess for me,” she slurred.

I snap my head up with granules of sand etched to my cheek, ignoring the stings of the now acquired bruise on my face.

Ivy lifted her hand, and my eyes widened with horror flashing in them when I caught sight of the wolfsbane syringe in her hand.

“What are you doing?” My voice shook.

“Getting you out of my way,” she responded with venom dripping out of her voice.

Ivy lowered her hand, aiming for my neck, but I clutched her wrist, pushing her with all my strength.

I had grown weak with each passing day ever since I sacrificed my wolf for Tyris. I never learned how to fight because all the women in our pack did was to cook and reproduce heirs.

Using my other hand, I stuck my fingers in her eye, and she groaned, moving away from me. I picked myself up and dashed into the forest, weaving through tall and short trees, getting flogged by branches.

Glancing over my shoulder, I tripped against a vine and landed on the floor.

“You can not run from me, Cari,” she snapped, sounding like she was behind me.

Just as I rose to continue running, pain shot down my neck, and my eyes rolled skyward as I felt the syringe pricking into my skin.

“Tyris!” I exclaimed, and the birds flew out of the trees, screeching.