Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 73170 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 366(@200wpm)___ 293(@250wpm)___ 244(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73170 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 366(@200wpm)___ 293(@250wpm)___ 244(@300wpm)
I reach out, extending my hand, hoping he’ll sniff it, but he goes even crazier and claws rips across my hand and my chest, burning with pain as my skin is ripped open.
Oh shit, he’s going to use his razor-sharp claws to rip me apart. And like blood in the water to a shark, his eyes narrow as he noses the wound on my hand. If that thing on his face wasn’t holding his mouth shut, he’d absolutely tear in with his teeth. He’s growling louder, drool dripping on me. I flip over and turtle and I’m just about to reach for my shirt to pull it off and shift so I can run, thinking maybe I can run fast and get to the river, but pain rips across my back.
I hear a car, car doors slamming, and now there’s whistling and shouting.
“Oy!” Cade, one of our alphas hollers from behind the camper where he’s pulled up in his car. Clinton, an older beta and good friend of Dad’s is coming up behind him, whistling loudly with his thumb and third finger in his mouth.
“Come at me, dawg!” Cade dares, widening his stance.
Jared’s wolf pretty much tramples me to run for him, claws ripping across my back again.
I scramble to my feet, shouting, “Cade! Don’t hurt him!”
Both Cade and Clinton have weapons trained on Jared’s wolf.
Jared’s wolf snarls at them.
“Get inside that building, Cicely!” Cade shouts.
Jared’s wolf turns and trains his gaze on me and sprints in my direction again. I back into the bunker and close the gate.
He growls at me.
Those guys are coming in from behind.
There’s no recognition in my mate’s wolf’s eyes whatsoever. He keeps growling and if the gate weren’t between us he’d resume his task of ripping me apart by any means necessary.
They zap him and he drops. Clinton zaps him again and he’s convulsing now.
“Hey!” I shout. “Don’t overfucking do it!”
“Making sure, Cicely,” Clinton reasons.
“No! Do not use more force than necessary. That’s my mate you just unnecessarily attacked!”
Clinton looks at me like I’m bonkers. “He was gonna kill you, kiddo.”
I growl in frustration. “Be careful!”
***
Two minutes later, I hear brakes squeal. Shit. Dad.
He takes one look at me and looks like he wants to murder someone, namely the unconscious wolf shifter they’re dragging into the bunker.
22
CICELY
“No! Fuck it. You’re coming home with me,” Dad asserts while I sift my hands through my hair with frustration.
I’ve undressed, shifted to help me heal, and re-dressed.
“He needs to be euthanized!” Dad shouts.
“How dare you say that!”
“Look at you!” Dad hollers loud enough to wake the dead, though not loud enough to wake my mate, who is restrained but hasn’t shifted to human yet.
I’ve never seen my father this furious.
“Saw the whole fucking thing in the surveillance room,” Dad tells me. “I see my daughter knocked down, attacked with claws, and run over like you’re nothing but roadkill so he can attack those coming to your rescue? No! This ends.”
We’re just outside the bunker. Cade, Clinton, and Dad secured Jared’s wolf inside and I’ve already shouted because my father, who is the most stand-up guy anyone could ever meet, hoofed Jared’s wolf in the side while he was unconscious, shouting at me that he wanted to put a bullet in his brain. I screamed at him to get the fuck away from my mate and I’ve never screamed at my dad in my life.
He stormed outside and he’s been pacing for the last few minutes. Everyone is giving him space.
I’m about to go back into the camper, but now Linc and Joel roll up in Linc’s Bronco, followed by Riley and Erica on Riley’s motorcycle.
“Hey,” Erica rushes to me, concern in her eyes.
I hug her.
“You okay?” she asks.
I laugh. But there are tears threatening.
And I’m pissed at myself for it because this notches Dad’s ranting up by a couple more degrees. Now he’s addressing Lincoln.
“What the fuck is gonna be done about this shit? This shit that’s on you, Fowler.” Dad is aggressively all up in Linc’s grill and Linc’s nostrils are flaring with anger.
Linc looks ready to get aggressive too, which is very concerning.
Two super alphas, regardless of the fact that one of them is twenty-five years older than the other, chest to chest like this is the last thing I need to deal with.
“Slow your roll there, Lorenzo. We’re on it,” Linc fires back. “I just shared a whack of information with him. He took it in stride, didn’t seem to react, but…” Linc looks at me. “I do take responsibility. We need to talk about a better plan, Sis. To make sure nothing happens to you.”
“Do better. That’s my daughter!”
Linc grinds his teeth.
“Lor, we’ll learn from this, yeah?” Joel puts in. “If we share further information that might be triggering, we’ll ensure he’s good before we leave.”