But I couldn’t go back.
Olmdere lay in ruin under the wrath of a sorceress, and Briar lay alone in that tower. I couldn’t go back and live out my days as if she wasn’t there. I refused to walk by the stairwell that led to her room day in and day out until time and practice made me stop caring that she was there. I wouldn’t abandon her like that.
I spotted my discarded dress on the tree in front of me. My paw hovered in the air as I debated what to say. Tell him he always mattered to me, too? That would only spur him on. But I couldn’t lie to him, either.
Pain lanced through me again as I began to shift. “Goodbye, Grae.”
“No!”
Fourteen
The sound of Grae’s shouts disappeared as the bond severed. My hands trembled as I returned to my human form. The things he had said . . . they hurt. My blisters were healed and my legs felt strong, but my heart still ached. Nothing in me felt right.
I snatched the dress off the branch and pulled it over my head with a huff when the snap of a stick made me freeze. I peered over at a tree at the edge of the forest. A man leaned against it, relieving himself as he whistled. I curled my lip as I crouched down behind the sparse bushes.
He wouldn’t spot me in the shadows. His eyes were still trained to the bright tavern lights. I waited as he buttoned his trousers, ignoring the rustle of leaves behind me until it was too late.
“What’s a fair maiden doing alone in these woods?” a deep voice called from above me. I shot up, turning to see two men emerging from the other side of the clearing. This drunken man hadn’t been alone.
“Waiting for a lover?” the larger man behind him jeered.
They were both incredibly tall, nearly twice my size. Their faces hid in shadow, but I could make out their silhouettes. I stumbled, my back colliding with the tree trunk. As the third man approached from the other side, the three of them circled me like wildcats.
Think. I could shift and outrun them easily, but that would reveal my identity, and then Grae would be back in my head. Within an hour, everyone would know there was a Wolf in the village . . . and then King Nero would come looking for me.
No. I’d have to fight them in my human form.
I wished I had thought to bring my dagger or even my knife into the woods. In my exhaustion, I hadn’t thought about anything but shifting. I wasn’t as helpless as I might have looked, though. I pushed a little of my Wolf magic into my muscles. My eyes dilated and I could make out their shapes in finer detail.
“Go back to the tavern,” I said, trying to sound neutral. It was a delicate balance with drunken men, one I’d only had a few occasions to practice in Allesdale. Be too aggressive, and it would provoke them. Be too sweet . . . and it would provoke them. They were just as temperamental and brutish as the Wolves in that regard.
“I think we could have more fun out here,” the tall one said, taking another step toward me.
“I can promise you, you won’t,” I snarled. “Look, I’ve had a really bad few days and I have no patience left.”
The first man chuckled, reaching out for me. The second his hand landed on my shoulder, I grabbed it and twisted, forcing him to drop his face forward until I could smash my forehead into his nose.
“You bitch,” he hissed as the two other men rushed toward me.
“You have no idea.” I laughed, kicking one in the knee and elbowing the other.
The one behind me snatched the waist of my dress, yanking me to the side. I stumbled, throwing out a punch but missing as I caught myself. Beefy arms circled around me, pinning my arms to my sides. I threw my head back, hoping to hit his nose, but it only smacked into his chest. He coughed but didn’t let go.
A fist collided with the side of my face, then another hand smacked back in the other direction. My ears rang, their laughter muffled as I kicked out. My foot landed on the leg of the man in front of me, shifting his weight enough that it blunted the force of the next blow to my mouth.
I spat blood. Enough of this. I needed to stop fighting like a human. I turned my head into the bicep that snaked around me and bit down.
The man screamed as I thrashed my head back and forth, shredding his clothing and pulling muscles from bone. With a yowl of pain, he released me, and I dropped to the ground. I sprang forward, taking out the legs of the tallest man. He landed hard, head smacking into a rock. I didn’t wait to see if he survived the blow as I barreled into the man with the broken nose, snarling as I pummeled my fists into him.
“Help!” he shouted as blood poured from his nose.