Chapter 13
*Jiselle*
The
moment I locked eyes with them, I knew they weren’t here to negotiate.
One was massive, and I recognized him easily as a fourth–year, his biceps straining against his training gear. The other was smaller, wiry but quick–looking, maybe a second–year. They eyed me like I was prey, their gazes flickering from my face to the claw gripped tightly in my palm.
I swallowed, gripping it harder. They wanted it.
Behind me, a low, warning growl rumbled through the air from Nate, and for some stupid reason, a bit of my apprehension lifted at the reminder that he was here.
As if I needed a protector.
He stepped beside me, his body brushing mine briefly before he gently nudged me back. Protective. Possessive. I allowed it.
The two wolves hesitated for a fraction of a second, eyes widening. They knew him. Of course they did. Everyone did from what I’ve realized.
Then, the bulky one scoffed and smirked. “I hardly see how that’s fair. You both have claws.” His voice was gravelly, deep. “Just give us one, and we’ll be on our way.”
Nate laughed. A sharp, humorless sound. A shiver ran down my spine at the sound of it. His amusement was laced with something else–a promise..
He tilted his head. “You know the rules. You want a claw? You find one or fight for one.” He cracked his knuckles. “Now, you either leave now or fight me. I don’t have time to
waste.”
The smaller wolf shifted uneasily. “You know I’m just an Enhanced. I can’t take Nathaniel freaking Morningstar.”
J didn’t have time to register what he meant before Nate snorted, and the bulkier one turned to him, sneering.
“We don’t walk away from a fight.” His eyes flicked to me. “You take the skimpy twin girl, I’ll take Morningstar.”
The smaller one smirked and his eyes flickered in what seemed like relief–perhaps for thinking he would fight me and not Nate. His gaze raked over me with something else
apart from malice, and my throat bittered. Nate noticed too it seemed, as he
completely blocked me with his body.
Nate clicked his tongue, exhaling sharply.
“No one is fighting her.” His voice was deadly calm. “You both fight me.”
I bristled. “I can-”
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Chapter 13
“No.” His command cut through me like a blade. He didn’t even look at me. “Stay behind me, Jiselle.”
His voice left no room for argument.
The two wolves exchanged glances before the taller one said, “Fine. Two against one. We can take him.”
They had no idea what they were getting into, and Nate’s chuckle proved that even more. Idiots.
The moment they lunged, Nate moved.
I had seen him fight before. In the ring, he was ruthless, calculated. But this? This was something else entirely.
He ducked under the first punch so fast the bulky wolf’s knuckles barely grazed his hair. Nate twisted, slamming an elbow into his ribs with such force that I swore I heard something crack.
The smaller one barely had time to react before Nate spun on his heel and drove a boot straight into his gut. The impact lifted him off the ground.
They stumbled, coughing, but Nate didn’t give them a second to recover. He was relentless.
simply blinked.
He was faster than I thought possible as he dodged, struck, twisted, and hit with pinpoint precision.
The sheer speed, strength, and control he had over his body was almost… unnatural.
I knew he was good. But this? This was something else.
From the corner of my
e, I spotted movement and grew alert, until I blew out a
Sau
breath of relief as I finally who it was.
Eva and her partner were a few yards away, seeming to have been passing by when they heard the fight. She caught my gaze, her eyes widening in concern as she took in what was happening. She moved like she was going to intervene.
I shook
my head quickly. As Instructor Bastain clearly indicated, interfering, helping or aiding another team meant…, consequences. Just as showing up without a claw at sunrise. I didn’t want to test/what those consequences entailed, and I sure as hell didn‘ t want Eva facing them for trying to help me.
She hesitated, looking torn. But I noticed something else–they didn’t have a claw.
The sun had completely set. Things were about to get messy. Claws were about to become even scarcer and harder to spot and reach.
1
I looked at the second claw in my hand–the one Nate had handed me before the fight began.
Chapter 13
The rule said we couldn’t help other teams.
But it never said anything about misplacing a claw, right?
I closed my eyes, spun a few times, knowing I looked ridiculous, and then hurled it, not knowing what direction it went.
When I opened my eyes, Eva looked confused. I waved the second claw I still held, and hoped that wasn’t considered helping.
I misplaced it and they found it. No one could prove otherwise.
Her lips parted slightly before she grinned, and her partner retrieved the claw, having the gall to look like she had just been cheated out of something. What? Death?
The moment was short–lived.
A vicious growl ripped through the air.
I whipped my head around just in time to see the bulkier guy latch onto Nate’s neck. I wasn’t trying to be cocky or biased, but I had a feeling that if Nate wanted to end this, he would have a long time ago. He didn’t want to actually hurt them too much. He probably just wanted to tire them out so we could leave.
But the bulky guy grinned in victory as he pointed my way.
“Go get the girl!”
The smaller wolf charged me.
I threw up my arms, bracing for impact. But he was fast–too fast.
His foot swept under my legs, and I hit the ground hard.
Pain exploded in my skull as my head hit the dirt. My vision doubled.
Then, he was on top of me, pressing his forearm against my throat, crushing my windpipe.
I struggled, clawing at his arms, but he was stronger. He was winning. He reached for the claw still clutched in my hand, but I refused to let it go, which only resulted in him crushing my neck even harder.
I saw doubles and black dots as I gasped for air. The sickening bastard even had the audacity to be grinding himself against me. I almost puked.
From my
tilted view, I saw Nate standing over the bulkier wolf, his boot pressing against his throat.
Then, with a sickening crack, he snapped his neck.
The smaller wolf above me faltered, his grip loosening for a fraction of a second. It was all I needed to fill my lungs with air again.
“Get… off me!” I managed through a gurgle as something inside of me surged.
His
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eyes widened only a fraction, and his hand moved completely from my neck, his
knees bending as if he was actually doing as I said, which was both confusing and terrifying. But a growl caught our attention, and I swung my blurry gaze across the clearing, seeing that Nate had finally noticed the position I was in.
Then he disappeared.
One second, he was across the clearing. The next, a breeze and a shadow, and he was right in front of me.
How the hell did he move that fast?
Nate ripped the second wolf off me as if he weighed nothing. A second later, another sickening crack echoed through the night.
Silence.
Nate knelt in front of me, his hands on my face, his thumbs tracing over my
cheekbones.
“Are you okay?” His voice was low, strained. Desperate.
Everything was ringing. I could barely see. But I could feel him. His warmth. His breath. His hands shaking.
I winced as he touched the back of my head and his fingers came away red. Blood.
Nate cursed under his breath.
“I need to get you to the cave,” he mumbled as he cradled me in his arms like I could break if he moved too hard, and started walking.
A loud ringing sound split through the air like a giant bell from the academy.
Once.
Twice.
“Does that mean the assignment is over?” I managed to ask.
Nate’s jaw ticked. The outline of his flawless features from this angle was sharp in the -moonlight. He was perfection. He always was. Always will be.
“No.” He exhaled, his voice low and unreadable. “It means the first kills of the night
have just occurred.”
My stomach turned and I swallowed.
“How do they know?”
Nate didn’t answer immediately. His grip on me tightened slightly, as if he was afraid to
let go.
Then, finally, he murmured, “They know.”
