Darren chuckled in wolf form as a wicked smirk crossed his face.
I limped, hoping to build his arrogance up.
He howled as he rammed into my side, dragging me farther away from the house. He wanted me as far away as possible so I couldn’t get any help.
I dropped my body, forcing him to roll over on me, and I jumped to my feet once more. I lifted my front paws, ready to jump on him and tear into his throat. This asshole had to die. Prison was too good for him. However, I’d damned well make sure Richard and his mother stayed in the dungeon that had been closed for so long. They didn’t deserve the sweet revenge of death.
Are you okay? Mason’s frantic voice echoed in my head. I’m coming out.
As I lowered my upper body, going straight for Darren’s throat, he rolled out of the way, so I landed on grass instead.
He then jumped on top of me. His teeth were only inches from my neck.
I had to move fast or I was going to die. I used all of my strength and pushed myself to stand on my legs, and he dropped to the ground onto his back.
Within seconds, he was back on all four feet. Pure hate shone in his eyes. He crouched down and charged me once more.
I tried dodging him as he came at me from the side, but he anticipated my move. He slammed into me and sunk his teeth deep into my shoulder again. He jerked his neck side to side, trying to tear the muscle so I wouldn’t be able to move.
All at once, my training kicked in. Even though it was going to hurt like a bitch, I dropped back using Darren as my cushion which caused his teeth to dig in deeper until all my weight landed on top of him, making the breath rush out of him, and him to retract his teeth.
I turned my head sinking my teeth into his neck as I rolled my body off of his.
He growled as he threw his leg over my head, tightening it around my neck and cutting off my airway. I stumbled back, choking on his blood filling my mouth as I tried to pull in oxygen with little success.
We were both desperate, and I had a feeling this might be a fight to the death. When he moved to face me head-on, I was finally able to pull in a deep breath.
My legs wanted to crumple, so it was by sheer will that I was able to remain standing on all four feet. I had to at least outlive him. Tommy and my guardians wouldn’t allow Richard to ascend the throne though there was no telling what would happen. However, any alternative had to be better than Darren or him.
Then, I remembered Kassie’s words as they rang in my head. 'It’s better to be on the offense than defense. When you’re on the defense, you’re trying to prevent the attack. When you’re on the defense, you’re only countering and can miss out on opportunities to exploit their weakness.’
I took a deep breath and rushed Darren. I wasn’t sure what the hell I was going to do, but I couldn’t stand here waiting for him to get the upper hand. As I put weight on my right leg, it threatened to buckle, and I almost fell, but I pushed through the pain.
As I went hard for his neck for the last time, Darren stood on his hind legs and pushed me, causing me to fall on my back and knocking the breath out of me.
A low chuckle vibrated from Darren’s chest as he moved toward me.
No. Mason’s growl was deep with anger, but he was too far away to help.
All of a sudden, Darren’s body stopped lurching as a bullet hit him in his chest, and he fell straight to the ground.
I turned around to see Tommy lower his gun.
“I’m so sorry.” Tommy’s voice was rough, and his pain was evident. “I didn’t know.”
Mason didn’t stop until he grabbed my wolf and pulled me right against his chest.
“We need to go in and tell the others to stop.” Tommy slowly sat and placed the gun back in the sheath. “When they see your color, they’ll know.”
If anyone would know the significance of my coat, it would be him.
Please go help Tommy. I licked Mason’s face. He was shot in the chest. He needs medical attention soon.
Okay. He let me go and headed over to the guard. “Let me give you a hand.”
“I’ll be okay.” He clutched Mason’s shoulder as they walked to the door. As soon as we stepped inside, Tommy spoke up.
“Stop!” Tommy’s voice rang loud. “Look. She is the princess.” He motioned for me to come forward. As I did, the guards’ eyes grew large.
There was officially no turning back.
It had been a whirlwind after everyone finally realized I was the princess. The coronation was scheduled to happen next month, so I had time to get situated and ready for my palace life. Thankfully, I was going to be able to bring my tight family of five with me, and a large part of that was being able to save Dehlia. I was in a place where I could actually help her.
Luckily, it was easy for Mason, Ella, and me to drop all our classes for the rest of the semester via the internet. I hated to do it, but my priorities had shifted.
I was back at our house in South Carolina, getting packed up and working out my last day at the Flying Monkey. The shift had gone by quickly, and Mason was sitting with Ella at the same table as last time.
Ella had proclaimed that she needed to be there too since Mason was taken by surprise. It hurt his ego, but
