Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 87771 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 439(@200wpm)___ 351(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87771 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 439(@200wpm)___ 351(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
I brought the back of his hand up to my lips. “I love you.” I kissed his hand. “And I’m going to come back to you.”
“You fucking better, or I’m going to be so pissed.” The tension in his body eased slightly. It was a joke, but I could tell the undercurrent of fear and anxiety had gone nowhere. I squeezed his hand. I was grateful that I’d at least know Eli would be safe here, watched over by Raquel. Emmy had a shift room inside the house, which would provide an extra layer of safety.
I just had to make sure I made it back to him.
“I promise, Eli. I’ll come back.”
Coral Ridge Park was a massive nature preserve that was relatively popular during the day but rarely ever visited at night due to the large number of predator sightings once the sun fell. The news often talked of the mountain lions and the bears, but it was the wolves that people seemed most frightened of, just due to the sheer number of sightings recorded and howls heard.
Which meant we were completely alone as we stood at the heart of the preserve, inside a clearing that would be spotlit by the light of the full moon any minute now.
I stood practically shoulder to shoulder with Emmy. Chris stood on his other side. We were supposed to be following the rules of pack engagement, which meant the alpha and two of his betas met before the shift. It would be the six of us who initiated the fight. The rules stated that only five pack members could fight at once, which was why Yuni and Soren were currently in the dense foliage surrounding the clearing.
Viktor appeared from the other end of the clearing with three of his betas. He wasn’t the tallest or even the most muscular—I recognized two of his betas as players on the Sharks team—and the third beta was a woman who appeared to be a professional bodybuilder, judging by the way her shoulders and arms were corded with muscles. They were all dressed in similar clothing—upscale athletic clothing—like they had all raided the same Lululemon on the way here.
Viktor strode forward, staring daggers directly at Emmy. He wasn’t breaking eye contact for anything. Alpha to alpha. I glanced at Emmy, who returned the same intense glare. He stood with his hands behind his back. He still had on a Bobcats jersey from yesterday.
It was going to get tattered to shreds in a few minutes.
“Where’s Veronica?” Viktor said, standing only a few feet from Emmy. There wasn’t much time for chitchat. I glanced at my watch. We’d all be shifting in just a couple of minutes.
“We don’t have her,” Emmy replied. His words had the weight of a boulder being dropped onto the field. “Where’s Dylan?”
Viktor arched a brow. He stayed quiet for a moment. Likely trying to judge if Emmy’s words were true.
“We saw a photo,” he said. “Of her with you standing behind her.”
“Photos can be edited,” Emmy answered. “Now where the fuck is Dylan?”
Viktor shook his head. “And the threats? About our territory?”
“We never sent threats.” Emmy took a threatening step forward. His eye contact didn’t break from Viktor’s. Viktor on the other hand glanced over to his pack members then down to the floor.
Something about this felt off. I couldn’t pinpoint what, but it was as if there was some kind of invisible string connected to us, pulling us…
It didn’t matter, though.
Emmy looked up at the sky. I didn’t have to tilt my head back to know that it was time. The buzz of pure energy underneath my skin told me that.
No more words. No more questions.
The moon sat directly above us.
It was time.
Energy poured through me, flooding me, filling me. I shouted as I dropped to my knees. The world became a haze of color and sound and sensations. None of it was painful. Almost the opposite. Shifting at the command of the moon was a euphoric feeling.
My eyes focused as my body settled. I knelt on the ground, my claws digging into the dirt.
A snarl from next to me as Emmy leaped forward. He crashed into Viktor, clawing into his shoulders and yanking him down to the ground. They slammed into the dirt. Blood sprayed from the wound Emmy had inflicted.
I ducked. A claw swiped over me. I reached forward and grabbed the were by the ankle. Pain pierced through me as the were sunk its claws into my back. I twisted my grip, pulled back. The were lost balance and rolled. I flung myself on top of her. My jaws were open; her throat was bare.
Someone slammed into me, throwing me off her. I rolled until my back cracked into a tree. The wood splintered. A trail of blood from my back followed me to where I got back onto my feet. The other were was fast, though. He raced toward me, teeth bared. Saliva dripped from his jaws.