Chapter 39

“You’re fucking joking. If you pin him down, then that means...” Sasha pales, losing color in her face. Her mouth trembles, and she looks at me again and then to Evan. She shakes her head. “Dante! Dante, you fucker! I know you can hear me!” Sasha shouts the words, her chest heaving as she thinks about what Evan just mentioned.

“You can do this. I think we’re out of time. We can’t wait for the others and risk it spreading. I don’t know what else to do. If we wait, we can lose him. We need him to survive. Dustin is one of us.” Evan pinches her chin, looking into her eyes. “Your hands are far steadier than Breck’s. Dustin trusts you.”

He isn’t wrong, but I also don’t want Sasha to be in this fucking position. It isn’t fair. It’s my dumb ass who got mauled. Maybe I deserve to die like this because of my actions.

“You’re going to owe me something, Evan. You’re the doctor,” Sasha mutters under her breath, taking the machete from him.

He helps her pour water over it, cleaning it off.

“Whatever you want. I’ll do anything for you. If you want to smother me with those thighs, you got it. You want me to hand feed you? I’ll do it. I mean it. Whatever.” Evan leans in and kisses her. “You got this.”

I groan, wishing my damn mouth would stop trembling enough so I can tell him to shut the fuck up already. He’s offering to lick her pussy for cutting off my arm. That’s some fucked up shit right there, though I might have to offer her the same thing if she’s my hero. Goddamn it. This fucking sucks.

Sasha shakes out her arms and looks at me. “I’m sorry, Dustin. I’m so, so sorry. I just don’t want to lose you.”

My need for self-preservation kicks in, and I thrash and buck my body. Evan gets on top of me and holds me down, shoving his hand at the top of my shoulder and the other one at my wrist. I’m going to kill some wolves for this. I’m going to kill everyone who isn’t a part of our group.

I will fucking save my arm to shove it up their asses. They will regret ever doing this.

“You need to swing with your entire body. Put all your weight and force into it. I want you to do your best to chop it in one swing. No one wants to deal with a second blow.” Evan clears his throat, his voice choking with his instructions. “Make sure you hit here.” He draws his finger over my arm just above my elbow.

“Fuck. Fuck! Fuck!” Sasha screams, her voice ringing through the forest.

Evan looks down at me, grabbing my shorts and folding them up. “Bite on this, man. I don’t want you breaking your teeth.”

I don’t have a choice, so I let him shove the gross fabric into my mouth. I honestly don’t give a fuck about my teeth right now. I give a fuck about the fact that someone is about to chop my arm off without any anesthesia or pain meds or any bullshit. If I survive this... shit.

I yell like a damn baby, and unbidden tears blur my eyes. I’m terrified. I don’t think I’ve ever been so scared in my life. I’m afraid that I’m about to piss myself. Maybe shit myself. My dignity is about to be obliterated by this entire situation. I just wish I could pass out again. I want somebody to suffocate me, so I don’t have to be awake.

“On the count of three, Sasha.” Evan says, adding more pressure to my arm.

She gasps and nods her head. “I’m sorry, Dustin,” she repeats.

“One.” Evan’s voice deepens. “Two.”

Sasha releases a sob and adjusts her arms, holding the machete over me. I squeeze my eyes shut, preparing for agony worse than what I’m already going through. I prepare for the end.

“Three.” Evan growls with the word, pinning me down with his entire body.

I holler, my voice muffled with the fabric. My whole body cools while sweat pools on my forehead. The pain doesn’t come.

Sasha doesn’t swing the machete. I risk opening my eyes, seeing Sasha looking in the distance. Evan frowns beside her.

She drops the blade by her side and covers her face with her hands. “He’s coming. I just heard him. He told me to stop. If we do this, he’ll be rejected.”

Evan searches her face. “But the infection—”

“He said to let Dustin fight it. He’s coming with something to help.” Sasha reaches down and rubs her fingers over my forehead, smearing the moisture on my face. “Dustin, I’m so sorry. This whole situation is fucked up, but I trust Dante. It’s hard to explain. He’s in my head. He’s in my soul.”

“I don’t understand,” Evan says, voicing my silent question.

“He claims we are soulmates. He can project his voice telepathically to me. He heard my cry. He’s coming.” Sasha swipes her palms across her cheeks, smearing blood over her skin. “He said the hunt is about to begin. We’ll be tested soon. It’s what is taking him so long and why he didn’t follow us. His alpha called him back. He had no choice but to go.”

Her words strike me to my core. A hunt? Fuck. A test? Has it even been a couple weeks? I don’t even know anymore. Time passes sometimes quickly, sometimes slow. I’ve lost track of days and nights as I’ve only slept when I’ve had the moment to.

“Whatever he’s talking about doesn’t sound good.” Evan leans away and links his hands to the back of his head.

He’s right. It sounds worse.

“Maybe we should try to get the boat. We can wait until Dante gets here and then head out. We won’t give him a choice if he is who he thinks he is to Sasha.” Breck speaks up for the first time in a while. I can’t see him with Jeff though.

“What about me?” Lisa asks.

Her voice enrages me and gives me the strength to sit upright and push through my shadowy vision. “You can fuck off. You’ll be the one they chase first. I’ll guarantee it.”

Sasha grumbles next to me. “No, I will. You’ve betrayed us. You’re lucky we didn’t let that wolf take you.”

“You can’t do that. It isn’t right.” Lisa abandons her spot on the ground and looks around. “I won’t allow it.” Opening her mouth, Lisa screams, calling out to the island that we’re over here.

She doesn’t see the wolf launch from the trees.

Dante smashes into her back with a snarl, transforming into a man to restrain her. She screeches, only to have him cover her mouth. “Shut up. You’ve been chosen by the Windshore pack, and you’ll face their mercy. Now, speak again and find out what happens. You’ve betrayed my soulmate.”

Lisa sniffles and submits, crying into the dirt.

Dante jerks his attention to me. “Now you, Dustin. Who bit you? Tell me everything.”

My mind draws a blank. I can’t remember the attack and only the pain after.

“It was a black wolf, I think,” Sasha says, absently combing her fingers through my hair.

Dante flares his nostrils. “Someone from the eastside of the island. Blackshell or Lagoon Hollow. They shouldn’t have been in this territory at all.”

“What does that even mean? Does it matter?” Breck asks, flexing his muscles.

Dante trains his gaze on me. “It’ll determine where you end up. I can try to intervene, but I have to bite you. It’ll be twice as bad.”

Sasha shakes her head. “No. Not again. We’re getting out of here, so those packs won’t be a problem.”

Dante ignores her and presses his hand to my chest. “The choice is yours and yours alone. You’ll be the first one to ever have been granted the option. Don’t disregard it out of fear. If you want even a chance to be around Sasha, then take it. It’s what I would do.”

“Dustin, no,” Sasha says, trying to draw my attention to her.

It pains me to ignore her, but a deep-seated part of me believes Dante. I can’t imagine a life on this island otherwise, and right now, I have zero hope of ever leaving.

I stretch my arm up. “Do it. I’m accepting your offer.”

Sasha and the others don’t have a chance to argue. Dante explodes into his wolf form, snarling and baring his teeth. Opening his jaws, he bites me hard over my wound, making me scream in agony.

I can’t keep conscious any longer. This is it.

I’ll either wake up from this nightmare or I’ll die.

“Blessed be the lunar goddess. May you be chosen and worthy, brother.” Dante’s words whisper through my mind.

All turns silent.