79. Anna

79

Anna

I slept fitfully that night. I wouldn't have slept at all except that Saul slipped something in my drink. I'd been furious with him, but he reminded me that I was still healing.

And that Jax needed me at the top of my game.

Still, I hated sleeping alone. Strange. I'd gotten so used to sleeping alone that it was strange sleeping with Jax. There was a time I'd felt so fucking trapped by his side. Then, I was alone again and trying to remind myself that it was for the best.

Now I knew that I wasn't giving Jax up without a fight. We had our problems, but he was mine now. So when I glanced out the window at just a few hours before dawn and saw the figures emerging in the parking lot, I knew who it was.

"Kenzi," I barked at the woman still sleeping in the bed. "Emerson is here."

Finn, who'd been on guard, was already opening the adjacent door. Saul, Amelia, and Janelle filed quietly behind him. "It hasn't even been twelve hours," Finn grunted.

"Emerson has never been known to be a man of his word." I pulled the curtain back, and my stomach flipped. Emerson, Elonso, and two guards stood under the streetlight facing my room.

Cindy was motionlessly standing right next to him.

"Oh God," I whispered as I looked at her. "What the hell am I supposed to do?"

"She is not your friend, Anna. She is not your pack. And if she dies tonight, it is not your fault," Kenzi snapped as she pulled me from the window. "What you do is whatever is necessary to protect yourself and your pack. Just a few hours ago, you were willing to kill several humans.

Remember?"

I glanced at Saul who immediately turned away. He wasn't wrong. I'd grown harder in the past few weeks. Having something like the mating bond ripped away can do that to a girl.

"Cindy is a good woman," Janelle cried softly. "She doesn't deserve to die."

"She wouldn't even be vulnerable if it wasn't for you," Amelia hissed.

As much as they wanted me to do nothing, I knew it would fracture them to see an innocent wolf killed while they stood by.

There was a polite knock at the door. "Don't open it," Kenzi barked.

"Saul, take Janelle into the other room," I said softly. "Take her and run if Emerson attacks.

She's got secrets that Jax can use when he's free."

It wasn't until the adjacent door was closed that I ignored Kenzi and slowly opened the door. A body flew at me and fell in my arms.

Cindy.

We tumbled down, and Finn, Amelia, and Kenzi stepped forward.

"Shula," a soft voice whispered, and they flew back against the wall.

Goddamn it, Emerson had brought a witch.

I looked down at Cindy, but she was already calmly standing. Recognition lit up in her eyes. "Anna," she said and smiled. "What are you doing here?"

"Times up, my darling," Emerson said loudly as he walked in with the other wolves. "Time to make a decision, Anna."

"You said one day."

"I'm fairly certain I said within one day," he said cheerfully.

My heart hammered in my chest, and I grabbed Cindy's hand. "Look at me, Cindy. Do you know why you're here?"

She nodded. "My alpha has an important job for me. Are you going to help me?"

There was a flicker of something in her eyes, and I stilled. I knew that look well.

Fear. Desperation.

"You can help yourself, Cindy. I know you can," I said in a low voice. Squeezing her hand, I turned and stared at Emerson. "You swore to protect her. It's in the oath that binds you to her.

Loyalty and protection. What kind of alpha are you if you break that oath?"

His eyes darkened as he took a step toward me. "I don't give a fuck about oaths. I certainly don't give a fuck about her. I will drop the body of every single wolf you've ever met right at your feet, my own wolves included, until you learn that you belong to me! Swear your loyalty to me, Anna. Right now, or you can say goodbye to sweet little Cindy."

"Go to hell." I pulled Cindy behind me, a figure moved behind Emerson. Tall and willowy, the witch was dark-skinned and beyond beautiful. She lifted a single finger and flicked it my way.

I hit the wall so hard I momentarily lost my vision as my head cracked against the wood.

Through the blurred vision and the pain, I watched helplessly as Emerson handed Cindy a bottle. "A little water for you, darling. Drink up."

As soon as she unscrewed the bottle, we could all smell it.

Silver.

Liquid silver. It would be a horrendous death. Burn her from the inside out. Tears blurred my eyes.

As she lifted the bottle, Kenzi, Finn, and Amelia all screamed and pushed themselves up to stop her. So much for their hard stance to let an innocent wolf die.

In the corner of my eyes, I saw someone else move.

In slow motion, I sat up and watched the entire scene unfold. Cindy lifted the bottle to her lips, hesitated, and then screamed. She flung the bottle with all her might, straight at Emerson.

Liquid flew out of the bottle and landed right on his face. His roar of pain filled the room, and he reached out between them and yanked on something invisible. Cindy fell boneless to the floor, and Emerson took a step toward her, still shouting.

"We have to go," Elonso snarled as he grabbed his alpha's arm. "Now."

Emerson was still cursing as his guards dragged him out. Finn reached the door first and slammed it shut.

Amelia and Kenzi had crawled to Cindy's side. "Saul," Kenzi shouted.

The healer was through the door. He knelt down by the woman's side. "Silver burns on her hand. She's alive but unconscious. What happened?"

"He severed her bond," Janelle said in a shaky voice. "I've seen him do it before. It renders them helpless before he kills them."

"And protects himself in return." I glanced up at Finn. As a child, he'd had his own bond severed. He said it was like dying.

"She's alive, and Emerson is badly wounded. I'll consider that a win."

"You knew," Amelia pointed out. "I saw it in your eyes. How did you know?"

"Janelle said the magic would fade. When she looked at me, she was scared. I knew his hold on her had loosened. I'd hoped that it was enough for her to defy him."

"He could have killed her himself." Amelia shook her head. "She was lucky."

"Emerson doesn't like to get his hands dirty. He preferred to watch my father kill than kill himself. He gets off on watching the violence. That doesn't mean he isn't dangerous. He will retaliate. Bigger."

"We better hope that Jax is out before then," Kenzi muttered. "If we have to kill an alpha, it's going to bring a lot of trouble on our heads."

"What are we doing to do with her? She's essentially a rogue now," Finn pointed out.

"Give her a place to rest. And you can leave Emerson to me." I glanced down at Cindy.

"Believe me when I tell you that he won't live to stop us from leaving."