Mated Girl (Wolf Girl #4)(46)

“Pass out later, darling. Right now, you need to kill Psycho Auntie while I help Sawyer.” He looked down at me and his nostrils flared as the scent of my blood hit his nose.
He was right. I needed to push through the pain, because he wasn’t allowed to kill her or assist in her killing. Clearly, he could still help me, which was good, because I think he’d just saved my life.
He pulled to a stop and I pushed his arm away, forcing myself to stand.
“I got this,” I said, deciding to leave the stake in my thigh and not pull it out in case it was plugging a major artery.
“Good luck.” He bowed, and then he raced back to where I could see Sawyer still lying motionless on the ground. The one vampire that was still alive was gunning for my man.
Where in the hell was the qu—?
A tree rustled to my right and I spun, ready for her. She tried to reach out and grab me, but I caught her arm and snapped it backward with lethal force.
Her inhuman cry brought me great pleasure as her arm went limp inside of its socket.
“You bitch!” she shrieked, grabbing at her dangling arm.
I hissed like a psychotic cat, right in her face. “I’ll tear you limb from limb if I have to.”
She reached behind her back with her good arm and pulled something out. The glint of metal caught my eye. I thought it was another stake until I saw that it was two half circles, connected on one side.
It was a fucking collar. Electric no doubt.
Oh hell no.
I felt my power rise up inside of me, like a live wire just under my skin, and I latched on to it in that moment, wrapping it around myself, and then around the queen. It was hard to explain, but I felt these invisible threads reach out and clasp on to her like glue. Her eyes went wide, so I knew she felt it too. An invisible burst of energy blasted from her as she tried to protect herself. It slammed into me, but I held on to her with my magic threads. The wind knocked from my chest, leaving me gasping, but I stayed standing, pulling her slowly toward me.
She flailed, a genuine look of panic on her face as her toes scraped across the dirt, dragging bits of leaves and moss with her as I lured her into my web like a spider. Holding one of the stakes Sage had given me, I raised it, grinning as she was brought to me.
“No!” she shouted, pushing another shockwave of energy into me. It slammed into my solar plexus and I could no longer stay upright. I tumbled backward, my sticky energy web of power bringing her down with me. We landed awkwardly, with her falling onto the lower half of my good leg as we tumbled, grappling with each other.
I grabbed anything I could, a fistful of hair and her left ear, yanking her face toward me so that she didn’t slither away. She opened her mouth, hissing, and then jerked out of my grasp, sinking her teeth into the meat of my uninjured thigh.
A chunk of her hair was left in my hand and I recoiled at the pleasureful sensation of her bite.
Bitch was refueling.
Nope. Not today.
Reaching out, I punched her in the side of the head, dislodging her teeth from my skin before she could drink from me. She rolled to the side and then scrambled onto her knees, trying to get on top of me. I tried to right myself, but my injured thigh and the pain it was causing me was slowing me down. Before I knew it, she knocked me back down and hovered over me with a feral, bloody grin. “My lead scientist thinks that if I just drain you fully, your powers will transfer to me permanently. I say we try that now. I’m not sure you’re worth the trouble of keeping alive.”
I planted my booted foot right on her chest. “I say we don’t!” With as much strength I could muster, I kicked, chucking her off of me, and she went flying. Her scream of frustration cut deep into the woods as she landed with a loud thud in the trees.
I stood shakily, readying myself for her to come at me again. This was harder than I thought, but I was determined to end this now and not retreat, nor let her withdraw.
I pressed on, limping forward, stalking through the trees. Trying to inject some vampire speed into my run, I leapt over a fallen log, wincing when the pain shot up my leg and I had to slow down.
Where was she?
I didn’t kick her this far. Did she leave? Was she going to come back with an army? I trusted Sage and Walsh to protect Creek, but something told me she was still here, watching me and waiting.
“Come on, you coward!” I screamed, feeling the full-blown rage of every pain she’d cause me come to the surface.
A tree rustled and I spun, eyeing the queen, who stood just behind a tree in an effort to camouflage herself. But I also saw something else, something she didn’t see. The giant bear that had been such a pain in my ass stood just behind her, sniffing the air.
She must have smelled him, or felt him, because she turned, her eyes widening just as he opened his mouth, showcasing his massive teeth and let loose a terrifying roar. The queen charged forward, toward me and away from the bear, but I wasn’t going to let her get away. With what little strength I had left, I burst forward, ignoring the pain in my thigh, and grasped her shoulders. Kicking off the ground, I pushed her backward into the bear.
This fall wouldn’t hurt me, this bear wouldn’t hurt me—we were one, family, on the same side. I knew this. The bear reared up on his hindlegs, making himself terrifyingly tall, and the queen slammed right into his chest.
“Attack!” I threw compulsion into my command.
Without even a second’s delay, he reached for her with his paws and trapped her against his chest, tearing into her abdomen like it was Play-Doh. Her wails of agony ripped from her throat and I backed up, wincing at the gore before me. Throwing her to the ground, he pounced on her chest, and the sound of cracking bones filled the forest.