Chapter 22 - Kit

My heart was in my throat. Eli had found me snooping in his little lab, and the first thing he'd done was to pick me up and throw me into the nearest table of supplies. The move had given his fucked brain an idea, and I watched—my vision spinning as my head throbbed—as he injected himself with the syringe that I'd dropped.

And then another and another.

I knew nothing about this shit, but taking that much of the stuff seemed like a terrible fucking idea. I mean, I knew the basics of drug overdoses, and Eli looked like he was barreling toward one fast.

My foot had also landed funny when Eli had thrown me, and the twisted ankle ached with every beat of my heart. I'd been able to get to my feet, but Eli had only taken a few seconds to start foaming at the mouth like a wolf with rabies.

Oh God. Shit, shit, shit.

I'd managed to back-peddle myself right into another table, and Eli had not appreciated that. My normal speed, which had never been very good, was absent. The rage and power swirling through Eli's eyes then had chilled me to the bone. I had nowhere to run, and I had held my hands out to protect myself as he lunged forward.

My head had collided with the ground when he knocked me down, and even now, it throbbed.

Still, thank anything out there that Kaiden had found me. I didn't think I'd have been able to keep Eli from tearing into my throat for long, and fortunately, I hadn't needed to find out.

But when Eli had me pinned to the ground, he'd partially shifted, and he'd raked his claws through my front, slashes now stretching from my chest to my ribs. Blood oozed from them slowly as I pressed my hand to injury.

Absently, I remarked that I'd have a massive scar over my left breast now. If I survived this at all, that was.

Kaiden was still snarling at Eli in front of me, using himself as a protective shield, and my vision was hazy from the exhaustion—and probably the blood loss, too.

My pulse boomed in my ears as I leaned against the only table left in the room that hadn't been turned over, its contents still intact for the most part. I tracked the fangs protruding from Eli's mouth and the claws stretching from Kaiden's fingers. But that asshole had taken so much of the drug. As much as I was grateful for Kaiden and confident in his abilities, I knew this was far from over.

"Dumb bitch!" Eli's voice was garbled around his fangs and tongue, an inhuman darkness to it that sent a chill down my spine. "Pathetic fucking Alpha! You'll both die!"

Kaiden held his hands in front of him, his claws deadly sharp and pointing in Eli's direction. The other alpha surged, and Kaiden was just able to block Eli's slash as he swung down with his own clawed fingers.

Eli's strength was impossible, and he knocked Kaiden back, who landed against me. I hissed as the slash across my chest burned, and Kaiden looked back at me, his eyes going wide.

But the sound of claws on the floor grabbed our attention. Eli was shifting into his wolf, and the massive gray thing stood several feet tall. His rage fueled him, taking over completely. All I could see in Eli's eyes was the need to fight, to kill.

"Eli!" Kaiden stepped forward, dodging another lunge from Eli. "What did you do?!"

Eli didn't listen. He couldn't respond as a wolf, so he just slashed his claws faster and harder through the air toward Kaiden.

Kaiden didn't shift, and he struggled to maintain his balance as Eli swiped and clawed at him with each step. I could see how the frenzied attacks were pushing Kaiden backward. He was losing ground.

"Kaiden!" I called out.

"Stay back, Kit! I'll deal with him." Kaiden didn't risk glancing over his shoulder at me, keeping his eyes trained on the rabid mutt in front of him.

Eli rushed forward, and Kaiden sidestepped, giving him an opening to attack the wolf's ribs. He slashed out, and Kaiden's claws streaked through Eli's side. The fur bloomed with red.

As another snapping bite went for Kaiden's head, he just dodged Eli's fangs. The massive wolf paws swung to his right, and Kaiden grabbed hold of Eli's front leg, using that momentum to send Eli flying.

Eli was back on his feet, shaking his head, in seconds. My heart was nearly bursting through my ribcage now, and I looked around the room for anything that I could give Kaiden to help him win this.

Kaiden growled as Eli stalked forward, and I noticed the growing stains of crimson covering his shirt. Eli had raked his claws all across Kaiden's arms and chest. Each wound bled slowly, and healing them all would take time, even for a wolf.

There was nothing I could see aside from more of that damned drug, and I wasn't going to risk that. My knees began to wobble, and after a second, I slumped to the ground, nausea and sweating swirling over me.

I looked up at the sound of more glass breaking. Kaiden had been shoved to the ground, but he used his feet to kick Eli up and off him. It sent the wolf soaring onto a table, where he landed hard. The wolf crawled backward, slowly shifting back into human form as blood poured steadily from his mouth and side.

"You filthy pieces of shit!" Eli's eyes were bloodshot as he snarled at Kaiden. "It doesn't matter what happens to me. You'll all die!"

Kaiden growled, glaring down at the man. "Not before you, Eli."

Kneeling down on one leg, Kaiden stretched his claws as far as he could, hovering his hand over Eli's throat.

"You'll pay for what you did to those wolves, to my clan, to my mate ."

My mouth fell open as I stared in awe. Everything spun, and I wanted to get to him. I needed to get to Kaiden.

Eli shot up off the ground, his hand whipping forward as he snatched something from the ground. Kaiden tried to dodge in the other direction, but Eli used the last of his strength to jab four needles into Kaiden's neck.

The liquid pumped into Kaiden's veins, and I screamed.

"No!" This couldn't be happening. That was so much. "Kaiden!"

The two of them scrambled in a tangle of limbs. Eli managed to push the plungers of the syringes as Kaiden tried to throw him off. It was too late. It was in his system.

A terrible growl shook the entire building, and fur rippled over Kaiden's body like a rapid. His body shifted too hard and too fast, and the awful sounds of his muscles tearing and bones clicking into new shapes turned my stomach.

"That's right! Enjoy the high, Kaiden. Right before you kill your bitch for me!"

Something must have snapped inside Kaiden. His wolf eyes focused like a laser on Eli, the yellow glow actually casting light on his wolven features. This was so wrong. What the fuck was I supposed to do? I began to drag myself across the floor.

A cool mist chilled my skin, and I looked up toward the ceiling to see a gray-white vapor pumping in from the vents. The hell?

But I couldn't focus on it for longer than a second. Kaiden launched himself at Eli, and I watched in horror as his long fangs tore into the man's neck until the flesh and sinew were ripped free of their owner. Blood gushed everywhere, and still, Kaiden's teeth found every vulnerable spot on Eli.

He tore and ripped and chewed and clawed the man to pieces, leaving nothing but ribbons of his body scattered across the floor.

"Kaiden, he's…dead." My voice was barely a whisper, the need to pass the fuck out so damn strong.

He spun around to face me, his mouth dripping with gore. I blanched, my stomach clenching, and then Kaiden just growled. The sound shook me to my core, and I trembled.

When Eli had been coming at me, I was afraid. Right now, watching the wolf that I very possibly loved stalk toward me with murder in his eyes, I was terrified .

"Kaiden, stop." A sob bubbled up my throat, and I tried to fight it back. "Please, come on. It's me. It's Kit."

But he just kept moving closer, snarling low.

I inched backward slowly so that I wouldn't provoke him to leap at me. His claws clicked against the floor as he walked closer, bloody paw prints left in his wake. That mist still flowed from the ceiling, and it swirled around him.

For a moment, Kaiden sniffed angrily and shook his head, little droplets of blood flinging off his fur onto the floor. His eyes were dilated, but the pupil looked like it might be shrinking. I knew that Kaiden had been working on an antidote. Was the mist actually some kind of gas designed to nullify the effects?

Oh, fucking please be that. Please work faster.

Kaiden growled again, padding across the floor a bit quicker now. Shit . What if the gas wasn't enough to help him now? He'd been injected with four syringes worth of the stuff. Eli had only taken three.

"Kaiden, please!" I begged, still sliding myself backward across the smooth floor. "You've got to snap out of it. It's Kit!"

He was going to kill me. Oh God, no. This can't be how I die.

"Kaiden, wake up. Come on!"

He sunk his head lower between his shoulders. Kaiden was going to pounce. I was already feeling weak enough to be knocked over by a strong breeze. If Kaiden attacked, there was no way I was surviving it.

Goddamn it. Really? This is how it ends? After everything I've been through. I'm going to be killed by the first guy I really liked. Well, this just sucks. I hate this!

The tears started, and I couldn't stop them—not that I tried. Kaiden rushed forward, and I just managed to dodge behind a table. His snout collided with the metal, making a gong sound ring out in the room.

I scrambled backward to try and get more distance between us. If I could make it to the door, maybe I could lock him up in here until it wore off. As far as plans went, it was pretty flimsy.

But it was all I had, and I wasn't going to let him just kill me.

Kaiden, this isn't you. I know it. So, excuse me if I have to knock your ass out or something.

My fingers trembled as I crawled across the floor as quickly as I could. Kaiden was right at my heels, snapping at me as I tore off toward the door.

And then I slipped.

The blood and spilled liquid drug had made the floor slick, and I smashed down onto the floor, landing on my face.

When I pushed myself back up, warm breath hit the back of my neck as Kaiden snarled.

Fuck .