Total pages in book: 29
Estimated words: 27964 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 140(@200wpm)___ 112(@250wpm)___ 93(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 27964 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 140(@200wpm)___ 112(@250wpm)___ 93(@300wpm)
“No way…” I whisper when I see the familiar little car pulling into the clearing in front of my cabin.
It’s her. It’s actually her.
My grizzly stirs as my mate parks beside my house. I quickly fix my hair and toss the empty beer bottles into the bushes.
Her engine idles for a moment, then shuts off.
The door opens.
And there she is.
Erica.
My mate.
She walks into the light, her silhouette haloed by headlights, hands in pockets, her jacket pulled tight like a shield. For a second, I wonder if grief has finally broken me—because she looks too perfect to be real.
My heart lurches so hard it feels like it might split open.
I stand silently, not trusting my voice.
She takes one step. Then another. Then she stops, arms wrapped tightly around herself.
Her headlights turn off and I can finally see her gorgeous face, lit up in the moonlight. My heart aches, she’s so beautiful.
“I wasn’t going to come,” she says softly. “I was going to drive back home.”
“I’m so glad you didn’t,” I say with a lurch in my throat. “Erica, I’m so sorry.”
She puts her hand up. “I don’t think I can forgive you,” she says, which makes me want to die. “I don’t know how I could.”
I drop my head, devastated. That’s the last thing I wanted to hear.
“Then how come you came?” I ask in a low tortured voice.
“I had to say goodbye,” she says. “I couldn’t leave without saying goodbye.”
I just stand there, not knowing what to say or do. I don’t know how I can fix this.
“I know you’re not a bad man,” she says, her voice breaking. “I know you didn’t want what happened to happen.”
“I would take it back if I could,” I whisper. “I’d do anything to make it right.”
We’re standing only a few feet apart, the tension so thick I can barely breathe. I just want to go over there and kiss her. To make it all better. But I can’t.
“Well, we are where we are,” she says sadly. “And there’s no fixing what already happened.”
“So,” I say, not wanting to believe it. “This is it?”
She shrugs her slim shoulders, trying not to cry. “I think this is it.”
I’m about to beg her to reconsider, but the faint sound of motorcycles comes rumbling to my ears. She doesn’t hear it yet. It takes her a few seconds.
“What’s that?” she asks fearfully, turning to the sound as she steps back.
“You’ll be safe,” I tell her as my bear steps up inside, ready for anything. “No one is going to hurt you.”
Three motorcycles rumble onto my property, the aggressive headlights slicing through the darkness.
I grit my teeth and narrow my eyes on them as they roll to a stop.
“Yes,” I whisper to myself. “Yes.”
This is exactly what I need.
Destruction. Rage. I need to punch something. Hard.
And these fucking biker wolves? They’ll do just fine.
CHAPTER NINE
Erica
He followed me here?
I gasp as Banks steps off his motorcycle, creepy eyes roaming up and down my body. I recognize the two others from the porch this afternoon.
Why are they here? For revenge? To cause chaos? To steal me away? What the fuck.
“This the guy you’ve been hanging out with?” Banks says, shaking his head as he sizes Magnus up. “You’re going to make me jealous.”
“Don’t fucking talk to her,” Magnus roars, stepping between us.
I hide behind his massive body, every muscle in his broad back flexed and ready for action.
“She belongs to us Warhounds,” Banks says. “She’s our property.”
I shiver at the thought. They’d probably lock me in that horrible building and… I don’t even want to think about it.
“She’s not yours,” Magnus snarls in a low, gritty tone. “She’s mine.”
I feel his possession wrapping around me and it makes me feel so safe. So protected and secure.
There are three against one, but Magnus doesn’t even hesitate to put himself between me and the danger.
“You think she wants to be with you?” Banks sneers. “You killed her brothers. Did you know that, Erica? His bear killed your big bros.”
“You stay the fuck away from her,” Magnus roars. “This is your last warning.”
Banks just laughs as the two shifters behind him morph into their wolves.
Seeing those deadly wolves prowling from side to side with their coldblooded eyes locked on me sends a primal chill down my spine. They’re terrifying. And Magnus is the only thing standing between us.
“Like I said,” Banks repeats, rubbing his pointy jaw. “She’s property of the Warhounds and we ain’t leaving without her.”
He waves one of the wolves forward and the terrifying predator snarls as he slinks toward me.
I hold back a scream as I watch him coming in horror.
But he doesn’t get far. Magnus leaps forward in a blur, grabs him by the scruff of his neck, and picks him up like an angry father disciplining his cub.