Drake snapped, “Let them go. This is between you and me. Don’t drag them into it.”
Jakobi ignored him. I could hear the smile in his voice. “Let’s play a game, Alpha. You like games, right? I’ve prepared a few little punishments. You just need to choose… who takes them.”
My heart dropped.
“No,” Drake said immediately. “You want something, say it. Land, money, power—I’ll give it to you. Just let them go.”
“Stop wasting my time,” Jakobi snapped. “First game.”
Chains clinked. Low growls followed.
“The first punishment… is blood bait.”
I froze.
“We’ll smear one of them with fresh blood and throw them into a pit of starving rogue wolves,” Jakobi went on, almost cheerful. “Let them chase. Let them hunt. Don’t worry, I’ll pull them out before they die… maybe.”
Drake’s breathing turned heavy. “You’re insane.”
“Choose.”
Silence.
Then suddenly, we were shoved forward. Something cold and wet smeared across my skin. The smell hit instantly—blood.
“No—!” I gasped.
The ground beneath me dropped.
I fell.
Growls exploded around me. I couldn’t see, but I could feel them circling, closing in.
“Drake!” I screamed. “Please—!”
He roared, furious, desperate. “Stop! I said stop! I’ll choose!”