The Three Who Chose Me
Chapter 34: Mine to Bleed For

Chapter 34: Mine to Bleed For

Thorne

I was seeing red.

Not the kind that just blurred your vision. No—this red ran down my throat like fire. It poured into my fists, into every step I took. My wolf snarled inside me, crazed, starved, and full of murderous intent. There was no logic left. Only rage. Only her.

Josie.

She was somewhere in this cursed house—hurting. Because of me.

Because I hadn’t gotten there in time.

Because I hadn’t protected her.

Outside, I could hear the screams. I could hear Varen and Kiel tearing through the guards, wolves and men alike—crushing bones, slicing throats, rending flesh. It was war out there. But I couldn’t enjoy it.

Not when she was in here.

Not when my mate had been paraded like some toy. Touched. Threatened. Degraded.

And I’d let it happen.

"You’re trespassing, Alpha Thorne," a grating voice drawled from the shadows. "Who gave you the right to step into my lair?"

Ian.

I turned slowly, my knuckles cracking with anticipation. The pathetic excuse for an Alpha stood near the table, blood still drying on the sleeve of his shirt. Josie’s blood, I didn’t doubt.

"You’re a dead man," I said coldly.

He laughed.

Laughed.

And then snapped his fingers.

"Kill him," he commanded.

The guards surged forward.

I didn’t wait.

My body moved on instinct, slipping into violence with the ease of second nature. The first guard barely got his blade halfway out before I slammed my knife through his neck. Blood gushed, hot and furious, and I pivoted, slicing the next across the stomach so deeply his insides spilled with a wet thump.

Another charged, shifting mid-air. A wolf. Big. Strong. Stupid.

I didn’t flinch.

I ducked, drove my blade under his jaw and twisted. His howl ended in a wet gargle as his body hit the floor.

Two more. One armed with a spear. One with a steel whip.

They circled.

"You should’ve run," I growled.

They lunged at once.

The whip cracked across my back, but I didn’t feel it. Not really. Not when the image of Josie shaking in that silk slip still burned behind my eyes. I turned, catching the whip mid-air and yanked the wielder toward me—right into my elbow. His nose shattered. I spun him around, grabbed his head, and slammed it into the wall until it caved.

Spear-man tried to run. Coward.

I hurled my knife into his back. He dropped like dead weight.

"P-please," someone stuttered behind a table. "We—we didn’t know, Alpha. We weren’t part of it."

I turned to them, chest heaving.

One glance told me they were speaking the truth—or they were damn good at lying.

"You better pray you’re right," I said. "If you’re lying, my brother will gut you."

They nodded quickly, scurrying backward. I ignored them.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ian dragging Josie—my mate—away. Toward a hallway.

I bolted after them.

I followed the scent of her pain. The stench of Ian’s sweat. My feet barely touched the ground.

I reached the bedroom door.

And froze.

Josie was strapped to the bed.

Stripped again.

Mouth gagged. Eyes wild with terror. Wrists bound in leather that was cutting into her delicate skin. My heart stopped beating.

This was a trap.

I knew it was a trap.

I stepped forward anyway.

The second my boots crossed the threshold, I felt it.

Click.

The hairs on my neck rose. I threw myself forward in time to see it—a goddamn arrow screaming through the air, straight toward her.

I didn’t think.

I moved.

I grabbed the arrow mid-air, both palms catching its razor-sharp edges.

It sank deep into my hands, slicing flesh and bone. Blood poured out, but I didn’t feel that either.

I only heard her gasp.

I only saw her eyes go wide with horror.

And then—

"W-what the hell—?" Ian stepped out from a hidden closet, pale with disbelief.

I turned, still holding the arrow, blood dripping from my fingers.

"You set a trap," I said, voice colder than death.

"I—I had to!" he stammered. "Her father paid for her! What was I supposed to do? She’s just an omega! You—you shouldn’t treat her like—like—"

I threw the arrow to the floor with a clatter.

He flinched.

I stepped closer.

"No one touches what’s mine," I said softly, deadly. "And she is mine."

The door burst open behind me.

Kiel and Varen stormed in, blood-slick and panting, their wolves still riled from the battle outside.

They saw Josie.

They saw me.

They saw Ian.

Varen’s face twisted into something inhuman. He was across the room in seconds, yanking Ian off his feet and slamming him to the floor.

Kiel snarled, grabbing the bastard’s legs as Varen forced him onto his knees.

Ian struggled.

I pulled my sword.

He whimpered.

"Don’t—don’t kill me, please—"

"This is for every time she cried," I said.

The blade slid into his chest with a sickening crunch.

Josie screamed.

His blood splattered across my face.

He choked. Twitched. Died.

I didn’t even blink.

The silence that followed was deafening.

I turned toward the bed.

Varen was already at her side, murmuring softly, stroking her cheek as he undid her binds. "It’s okay, little star. We’re here. You’re safe now."

She sobbed into his arms.

Kiel was behind me, breathing heavy.

I couldn’t look at her.

I couldn’t move.

I had failed her.

She was here, like this, because I hadn’t gotten to her fast enough. Because I hadn’t protected her like I swore I would.

I grunted and turned toward the door. "We’re going home."

Kiel didn’t argue.

Varen lifted her gently, cradling her to his chest like she was made of glass.

I stared at the blood on my hands.

"Archer!" I barked as my Beta stepped through the corridor.

"Yes, Alpha?"

"This land is ours now. Burn their flags. Tear down their name. And make sure every last wolf in this pack suffers for what their Alpha did."

Archer nodded grimly and stalked off.

We moved toward the exit.

Josie’s soft whimpers haunted every step.

Then—softly—"Thorne?"

I froze.

She called me.

Me.

I turned, slowly, hating that I couldn’t meet her eyes. "You need to rest."

And with that, I walked to the entourage waiting outside.