A Cursed Bloodline
Page 25

“No, honey, that’s not what I meant!”
“Screw that, Celia.”
Shayna approached me with her palms out like I was going to catapult off a building and take them with me. “Don’t panic, Ceel. You need help—but that’s okay. We’re going to get you through it.”
She jumped when her cellphone rang. I appreciated their attempts to be supportive, but their idea of “help” involved me, a straitjacket, and a trip to the funny farm. I was surprisingly calm, finally feeling like I had made a good decision.
“Puppy, I can’t talk right now.”
Koda’s voice boomed on the other line. “Did Danny help Celia break the bond?”
Shayna’s gaze slowly traveled up to meet mine. Emme and Taran fell silent.
“Baby, it’s important. Ask her—”
“She’s right here, Koda.” Shayna put him on speaker. “She heard you.”
Taran slowly walked toward Shayna’s outstretched hand. “What’s happening?”
Koda took a breath. “Heidi was upset and wanted to speak to Danny about a fight they’d had. She tracked him to Harrah’s in Stateline. She told us when she kissed Danny she could taste Celia on his lips.”
There was an audible pop when my sisters’ jaws fell open.
Koda snarled. “Now, that was last night. The same goddamn night the bond was broken. So, Celia, I ask you this: Did Danny help you break the bond?”
My heart shouldn’t have been beating so hard, seeing how all the color had drained from my face. “Koda…where’s Aric?”
“He went to find Danny to ask him himself.”
Chapter Eleven
Never in my life did I believe I’d say these words: “Shayna, drive faster.”
My hands shook. Danny was smart—too smart. He’d hidden his tracks by using a different name when he’d checked into the hotel. I couldn’t reach him at Harrah’s and he wasn’t answering his phone.
“Do you think Aric will hurt Danny?”
Emme wasn’t asking, she was begging us to tell her Danny would be fine. None of us answered. We didn’t want to admit that Aric would probably do more than hurt him.
If he dies…it’s my fault.
Koda and the other wolves were already hightailing it to Harrah’s when he’d called. But they were coming from Squaw Valley and they didn’t have Shayna at the wheel. She sped into the Nevada side of Tahoe, slamming down on the accelerator until we screeched to a halt in front of Harrah’s.
We rushed out and stopped short, staring at the eighteen-story giant.
Shayna’s eyes bulged. “How the heck are we going to find him?”
I urged them forward. “Taran, use your charm to get the staff to tell you where he is.”
Glass shattered with a scream as we bolted toward the building. A king-sized bed followed by a set of table and chairs flew out a sixth-floor window. The bed landed in the lake. The chairs punctured the lawn like tombstones while the table slammed into the sidewalk, cracking the concrete into large chunks.
Oh no. Aric.
Taran and Shayna charged into the hotel. I grabbed Emme before she could follow. “Toss me up.”
Emme jumped from my grasp. “Celia, my aim is terrible. I might hurt you.”
“Just do it!”
Emme threw me with her force. I rocketed through the air with flailing limbs. She was right, her aim was awful. She stopped just short of ramming me into the side of the building. I scrambled along the brick and through the broken window while she kept me suspended. My claws dug into the thick carpet and I dragged my body forward, rolling aside in time to avoid the giant dresser hurling toward me. It plummeted toward the sidewalk and exploded with a splintering crash.
Aric loomed over Danny, snarling. “All this time, you’ve wanted her for yourself. Didn’t you?” Danny cowered on the floor, his face varnished with bruises and his mouth gushing blood from his missing teeth.
In his rage, Aric had failed to notice me. I shot forward and rammed myself between them. He glared back at me with vicious eyes. “Did you come to save your lover, Celia?” There was nothing left of my wolf behind that malicious and hateful stare. Only a beast bent on destruction remained.
“Don’t hurt him, Aric. None of this is his fault. Please, love. Just let him go.”
A strange stillness gathered around us. “All right,” he said.
I didn’t have time to blink. I didn’t have time to breathe. Aric moved around me with dizzying speed and pitched Danny out of the window. Emme screamed from below as I sprinted forward and dove after Danny. The wind whipped at my face and hair. I reached for the tip of his shoe moments before his skull smacked the concrete.
I shifted us through the sidewalk and resurfaced. Aric vaulted down, swinging off a lamppost and landing in a crouch mere feet in front of us. “You betrayed your Leader, Daniel. Now you will die.”
My body froze in horror. Aric’s wolf had shoved aside his humanity and transformed him into the merciless killing machine he’d been bred to be. He stalked forward, a hungry beast who’d found his meal. I snapped out of my terror and shoved Danny behind me. I wouldn’t let Aric hurt him. He’d have to go through me first.
My heart thundered in my chest as I crouched and readied myself to take on my mate. He didn’t even see me; his gaze stayed fixed on his prey. I almost buckled with relief when I heard the pounding footsteps behind me. The Warriors had arrived.
Gemini tackled Aric onto the sprawling lawn and the others leapt on top of him. Sirens blasted behind me where a large crowd had gathered. Women screamed as Aric broke loose with swinging fists, exposing his ravaged and scarred face.
I shoved Danny farther away. “Get out of here! Get out of here now!”
Danny tried to haul me with him. “Celia, you have to come with me. Aric is in shock. If his wolf fails to recognize you, he’ll kill you.”
In the few breaths Danny had spoken, Aric’s murderous rampage had been unleashed. Liam and Koda sprawled against the demolished turf, unconscious. Gemini thrashed in agony, his legs broken. Emme hurried forward, trying futilely to hold Aric back with her force. He broke through as if bursting through paper and stormed past her.
Shayna rushed to Koda’s side. She wouldn’t risk stabbing Aric unless there was no other choice. Only one sister stood between us and Aric.