Chapter 10
As soon as Fay felt a little wiggle room, she forced her back up and sent Cassidy flying. When the wolf came tumbling down, she spun and landed a drop kick square in its jaw. But since she was just human, it didn’t have the impact she had hoped for.
Cassidy shook her head as she stalked up to Fay with a predatory look in her eyes. And that was exactly the situation Fay had put herself into. She was prey, facing off against a predator with amazing strength, speed, and agility.
“You’re weaker than I thought you were,” Cassidy sneered through the mind link. “No real wolf would allow themselves to be taken down like that.”
“Say’s the person who just got her ass handed to her by someone in human form.” The words slipped out before Fay could even think of stopping them. “You can’t even pick on someone your own size without the help of your wolf.”
“Ha! Do you really think I shifted because I’m afraid of you?” Cassidy licked her lips. “No, I shifted because the human form is not enough of a challenge anymore. But what about you, hmmm? Too afraid to let your beast run loose? Or are you just too arrogant to admit you’re no match for me?”
Crap! Fay thought to herself. Cassidy had the upper hand and she knew it.
There was no way Fay could fight back, not in her condition. But the worst part was that she was depleting her own energy each time she had to defend herself. Her strength was waning, and it wouldn’t take long for her to be completely exhausted.
Fay looked around, hoping she would find something that could be used as a weapon, but Cassidy struck again. She darted to the side to avoid the impact, but the wolf reached out.
“Ahhh! Fay howled as Cassidy’s claws ripped across her stomach.
The four deep gashes that were left in her skin stung so badly she could hardly stand upright. Blood was running from the wound, staining her white dress and the sand below her. It was bad, worse than any injury Fay had sustained before. That was when Fay realized that Cassidy wasn’t fighting by the rules anymore.
“I won’t survive this,” she sputtered as she felt those same claws sinking into her back. “I can’t…”
Fay whirled around, landing a punch on Cassidy’s jaw. But things had already gone too far.
Dark spots had appeared in her eyes. The world around her had stopped spinning. Her blood loss was catching up to her. Her body was too frail to keep going with the injuries she had already sustained.
“Mom! Dad?” she whispered through the mind link, but she got no response. “Shit!”
The silver pill… It had to be… It must’ve been blocking her ability to even talk to those she needed most.
Fay knew she was screwed. She couldn’t keep dodging Cassidy’s attacks. Her body was far too weak, and there was no way she would get out of the battle alive. Even if she was willing to look like a weak fool in front of the entire pack, Fay knew Cassidy wouldn’t stop.
The wolf struck over and over again, coming at her repeatedly. But each time it did, it came on stronger than the last. Luckily, Fay managed to evade each attack. Until Cassidy lunged at her and successfully managed to push Fay to the ground.
As she lay there with the giant wolf on top of her, all she could think of was that this was the end. Her miserable existence would be diminished by a jealous she–wolf who tried to prove herself to a man who clearly wanted nothing to do with her.
I guess that’s as good a reason as any, Fay thought to herself as she looked up at Cassidy.
The wolf forced her claws into Fay’s shoulders ever so slowly, causing her to cry out in excruciating pain. But at that exact moment, a sense of determination, with the help of her fight–or–flight system, forced her to act.
She punched Cassidy in the gut, making the wolf whimper as it moved off her. Fay got up, her body swaying with her weakness, but she still took a moment to look up at Elias. As their eyes met Fay could clearly see his concern in them.
She didn’t understand what it meant, but then again, she couldn’t understand anything at that moment, so she just watched him in amazement. His lips were moving as if he was shouting something at her, but she couldn’t hear it.
“Shift! You’ve got to take your wolf form!” his words eventually pierced her shrouded mind.
“Listen to him!” Sabel pleaded.
I can’t… The words were at the tip of her tongue, but her body was no longer responding to her commands. She wanted to respond to them both, to tell them she needed help, but she never got a chance to do so.
Suddenly, her heart rate shot through the roof. Fay clutched her chest as breathing became impossible. Her legs gave way beneath her and she fell to her knees. Her ribcage hurt so badly it felt like her heart was about to pop and suddenly something rose up in her throat.
Fay blinked her eyes open in an attempt to stay focused, but the only thing she saw was blood staining the ground as she vomited all over it. Darkness overwhelmed her, and the last thing Fay felt was her body quivering and her head hitting a hard surface.
***
Elias couldn’t believe his eyes. His mate, the one person he’d spent his entire adult life searching for, was lying on the ground with her own blood pooling around her. He looked over at Cassidy, who had a mischievous look in her eyes as she sauntered over to Fay. At that moment he knew he had no choice but to intervene.
“Stop! he said through their mind link.
“She’s just playing dead,” Cassidy growled. “This is my chance to prove myself to you.”
When Elias heard those words, he snapped. His fists balled as he got up and walked off the podium.
“What are you doing?” Tybalt asked, his tone laced with concern. “You can’t interfere in this.”
“Watch me,” Elias said through gritted teeth.
Cassidy was about to bite down on Fay’s leg when he stepped into the sparring grounds, but luckily Elias got to her before she could. Using all his strength, he pushed Cassidy away.
He sent the wolf flying through the air and only knew she landed when she let out a pain filled whine. But he couldn’t care less. Fay was his only concern right now. Cassidy should have been happy that she wasn’t dead.
Elias kneeled down next to Fay so he could lift her into his arms. She was badly injured, and as he examined one of the wounds, he realized she wasn’t healing like she was supposed to.
His brows furrowed in confusion, and he leaned closer. As the scent of silver invaded his nose, all of the pieces fell into place. There was a large amount of silver in her blood, which could only mean someone was trying to harm her.
“Silver, she’s been poisoned with silver. That’s why she didn’t shift,” Elias mumbled to himself, not realizing that the entire pack had surrounded them.
A wave of gasps echoed through the crowd of stunned onlookers, and all attention was immediately diverted to Cassidy. She had shifted back to her human form and was approaching Elias when he looked up at her.
But all he saw was red. His wolf was coming to the surface. Both of them wanted answers. If Cassidy did it, she would suffer the consequences. His wolf growled in his mind.
Elias gently rested Fay’s body on the ground, and before anyone could realize what he was planning, he lunged at Cassidy.
He grabbed her by the throat before raising her into the air, pinning her to a tree.
“What have you done to her?” he spat. “Was this all a part of your plan? Poison her with silver so you could kill her in front
of everyone?!
He tightened his grip as he slammed her against the tree once more.
“Was this the only thing you could come up with, knowing that she’s a million times better than you are?” Elias asked, his voice rising with each word that slipped through his clenched jaw.
Cassidy whimpered and tears rolled down her cheeks as she said, “I swear I had nothing to do with it. Yes, I challenged her because I was angry, but I would never try to win a fight by poisoning someone.”
“Uhm, Elias, Tybalt said, the panic in his voice forced Elias to look at him. “We have a major problem. She’s bleeding out.”
With the reminder that they should get Fay the help she needed first, Elias released his grip on Cassidy. Not caring whether she was injured or not, he turned his back on his ex so he could rush to Fay’s side.
“Her healing is impaired.” Elias said as he lifted her lifeless body into his arms once more. “If she doesn’t get medical attention right away, she’s going to die.”
Even though Elias tried to hide it, he was extremely concerned. Fay was already paler than usual. Her skin had gone completely cold. Her breathing was so slow it could barely be heard, and her heart rate was slowing down by the second.
Fay’s life was slipping away so quickly that it would be a miracle if he got her to the pack hospital in time. But he wasn’t going to give up on her that easily. He couldn’t.
Since she stepped into his territory, she became his life, that was something he couldn’t afford to lose. With determination, he got up. He held her close to his chest and sprinted to the medical facility, which was a few miles down the road.
