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After detailing Tobias on exactly where she was, Katana put the phone down and let out a breath.
This was a life-changing week for her; her family were a bunch of lying crooks, her best friend wasn’t a wolf but a shifter trapped in his animal body, she had a soul-mate who was a werewolf-phoenix hybrid who couldn’t die, and she’d just agreed to marry the one person she never imagined herself with.
Now, she had to go and tell both Jacques and Ashley that she was now engaged and having a secret rendezvous with her new fiancé in a couple of hours. Marvellous. Beheading and burning werewolves was a walk in the park compared to this.
Heading back indoors, Katana plastered a smile on her face and cleared her throat. “Well, we have some good news. We have some help coming. He’ll be here in a couple of hours.”
“Right...” Ashley said, eyeing her with suspicion. “And did he have a price?”
“Don’t,” Jacques said. “Don’t tell me. You stupid girl.”
Katana closed her mouth. Guilt swamped her. She knew Jacques would be mad and he had every reason to be. The discussions they’d had in the past regarding Tobias Bembridge and their more or less arranged marriage had put both her and Jacques on the same level. All of her integrity, what she valued about herself, and what she valued from life, had just been given away in a simple phone call.
“You agreed to marry him?” Ashley said.
“You need to understand the stakes are high his end. His father is a Councillor for goodness sake. The Bembridge name has to be squeaky clean—unless it’s worth his while.”
“You’ve basically prostituted yourself out, Katana,” Jacques said, curling his top lip back in disgust. “I thought I knew you better than that.”
A sharp barb of pain lodged itself in Katana’s heart. “Well, I guess we’re both learning new things about each other this week, hmmm? I had no choice. We need his help.”
“No, Katana. There’s always a choice.” Ashley shook his head and turned his back on her. “I thought you had more about you than that.”
“Fuck you,” she said, stomping around to face him. “How dare you speak to me like that. I’m sacrificing my life here to keep thousands of people safe.”
Ashley threw his head back and laughed. Then, he started clapping. “Well, bravo. At least you’ll die a martyr, hey? Marvellous Katana Kempe giving up on her childhood dreams of being an amazing female hunter just to give in and start popping out kids to save the humans. Wow. It’s almost like you’re Mother Theresa reincarnated.”
Katana couldn’t help herself. It was instinctual. She slapped Ashley so hard around the face, her palm was stinging before she’d even registered what she’d done.
Emerald green eyes flashed at her with fury. Then, he doubled over, crying out in pain.
“Ashley?” Katana said, running to his side. “Are you ok?”
He held his arms around his middle and shouted out in pain. “Get away,” he said, his voice now a deep growl. “Get away from me.”
“Ashle—”
He turned his head and looked at her. Emerald green eyes were now a chilling shade of yellow. His canines were thickening and lengthening and his skin began to take a dark hue to it as black hairs sprung to the surface.
“He’s turning!” Jacques said. “Get Altair. We need to move.”
“But we can’t leave him,” she said, still holding Ashley’s forearm. Thick, coarse hair now covered her small fingers, it’s density still growing by the second. “We can help him.”
“No, we can’t,” Jacques said. “Don’t you get it? He no longer finds you desirable, Katana. He’s lost control.”
Dawning reality hit Katana square in the face, leaving her with a stinging soul. Ouch. Ashley no longer lusted for her. Why did this seem to bother her?
“Katana!”
In a daze, she turned to Jacques, still processing what was going on.
“Get the horse and let’s MOVE,” he yelled.
As Ashley’s body twisted into the fearsome form of a werewolf, Katana pulled her wakizashi from her right hip.
“I’m sorry,” she said to Ashley, then cut his head clean off.
Jacques stared at her, open mouthed. “What the...?”
“I’ve just bought us twenty minutes. Now move.”
Becoming increasingly concerned at the person Katana seemed to be turning into, Jacques didn’t dare argue otherwise.