Chapter 28

Chapter

Twenty-Eight

Kael

I barely had time to process Lana's movement before I was sprinting. When she lunged for Callista, every thought in my head disappeared.

Protect.

Nothing else mattered. Not Bill, not the dagger, not Destin or the alphas. What had gone wrong? One moment Lana was making the blood sacrifice, and the next, she was hunting Callista down.

I was a blur, moving almost faster than I could process. My vision narrowed to a pinpoint focus on my target. I slammed into Lana, and we both went down. Lana hit the ground hard, and the dagger slipped from her grasp. It dropped to the grass.

"Ah!" Callista doubled over, clutching her arm.

The dagger.

My muscles tensed, and I shoved off the floor. I had to get to it before Lana. Even Bill's voice yelling at me to stop was only a buzz in the background. I didn't care what it did to me or what had happened in that pool.

My fingers were inches away when Lana swooped to grab it. I collided with her, sending her sprawling, but she gripped the hilt in her fingers.

"Lana, look at me! Look at me!" I tightened my grip on her leg as she writhed beneath me, her eyes wild. She thrashed, her foot connecting with my chest. I grunted but held firm. "Lana!"

Her eyes flicked to mine, and there was a glimmer of recognition. Then her expression hardened, cold and detached. I knew that feeling well.

"Kael!" Bill called out. "She can't fight it!"

"No shit!" I growled as Lana twisted, catching my jaw with her boot. She was stronger than she should've been. I scrambled to get a hold on her, but the fabric of her pants tore as she ripped herself out of my grip.

She rose, spinning, and as she lifted her hand above her head, I caught the shift of her grip on the dagger. Lana was going to throw it.

This time, I didn't bolt for her, I lunged for Callista. "Get down!" She turned to me with wide eyes, her lips parted in surprise.

There wasn't time. The dagger left Lana's hand, and I dove in front of Callista. I threw my arms around her, curling her into my chest and bracing for the blade to sink into the muscles of my back.

But it never came.

Something hard knocked into me, and Callista and I were falling.