Bonds at War: The Untouched is Mine novel Chapter 121

Chapter 121 Everything’s Mine

Chapter 121 Everything’s Mine

ARDEN

I couldn’t fight him with Tessa on my back.

Mr. Winters was older, stronger, and at the moment, more agile. And Tessa could barely hold her head up. I knew if I put her down, she wouldn’t be able to hold her ground either. She was in no condition to run. She might not even survive another hit of whatever he’d given her.

So I did the one thing I could.

“Hold tight,” I whispered.

And then I shifted.

The pain tore through me instantly, claws ripping from my fingers, bones snapping and rearranging, skin stretching into fur. My clothes shredded off my body, falling in useless ribbons into the grass. My muscles expanded, my senses sharpened, and a growl rose in my throat like a war cry. Tessa whimpered as her weight shifted against my new form, but she clung to me instinctively, her fingers tangled in the scruff of my neck.

With that. I bolted into the trees, my paws pounding into the soil. The forest blurred past us in a rush of green and shadow, my ears twitching at every snapped twig, every breath behind us. My legs stretched farther than I ever thought they could, driven by nothing but the fire in my chest and the primal scream inside my skull.

Escape.

Behind me, the ground thundered.

Mr. Winters was following after me. He had shifted, too, and I could hear his claws scraping against stone along with the angry huff of his breath.

Every step felt like a countdown to disaster.

“Arden,” Tessa whimpered, her voice a broken thread in the wind. “Just leave me. I’ll distract him. You can get away. Please.”

No. I snapped.

My voice was a guttural growl in this form. Don’t you dare say that. We both get out.

I ran faster.

The wind lashed against my fur, tree branches slashing at my sides, but I didn’t stop. I leapt over roots, slid down ravines, and tore through vines.

I was faster than he was.

I had to believe that

Being lost in this forest before turned out to be a blessing. I remembered the path Cade and I had found

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Chapter 121 Everything’s Mine

when we scouted this area. I veered toward it now, banking hard left, sending leaves into the air beminit.

inc.

Mr. Winters roared behind us.

And still, I ran

My paws hit the forest floor. Tessa was slipping, her hold weakening, and I had to keep adjusting to make sure she didn’t fall.

I didn’t have time.

He was gaining on me.

The next few turns came in flashes–over the creek, past the rock pile, under the tree. My mind was working like wildfire, burning every ounce of energy into escaping.

Until I felt pain–hot and sharp, stabbing into my thigh.

I yelped and staggered, skidding across the forest floor as my back leg gave out. Tessa tumbled from my back with a pained grunt, rolling a few feet before collapsing against a patch of dirt.

I turned around, teeth bared, vision swimming.

I saw Mr. Winters back in his human form. He was fully naked, blood smeared across his chest. His hair was still damp, sticking to his eyes, and the empty black pits in his eyes locked onto me with anger.

A knife glinted in his hand, its blade glistening with dark fluid.

It wasn’t silver, I knew that.

Still, a tremble ran through my leg as I collapsed to my knees. It was bleeding, but it wasn’t the blood that scared me. It was the scent coming from the wound.

Tessa groaned from the ground.

“That’s what he gave me.” she rasped. “That scent.. it’s the same

I stared at the wound on my leg, horrified. The edges around it were already beginning to go numb. My heartbeat faltered. My breath came in gasps.

I tried to stand, but my balance wavered. My limbs weren’t listening to me anymore.

Mr. Winters turned back to me, smiling casually.

“I told you,” he said as he wiped the knife on his thigh. “All you had to do was follow through with my words. Obey. And you would’ve been in a much better position.”

“But no. You just had to play the hero. The martyr. The noble little bitch.” His smile widened. “And now look at what you’ve done. You made me angry. You made things… difficult.”

He gestured toward Tessa’s crumpled body. “We were going to have a good time. The three of us. On the bed. Maybe even a little fun before I put you to sleep permanently. Peacefully. But now?”

I growled low, my claws digging into the soil as I tried to force my body to fight again. But it was like trying to hold water in my hands.

My body trembled once more–and then I shifted back. I collapsed onto the forest floor in human form.

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