Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 66609 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 333(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66609 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 333(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
His mate.
Mark her, my wolf whimpers.
Not yet.
He seems to sense the promise in my warning. That I do plan to mark her, just not tonight. My canines retract again.
Sadie’s safe.
Sadie’s mine.
As for telling her I’m a wolf, as for marking her—we’ll get there. When I’m certain I can always keep her safe.
Safe from my wolf and my darkness.
Chapter 13
Sadie
I wake in a warm bed. Alone, but there’s a note on the pillow from Deke.
Gone for a run.
I smile and stretch, feeling good from my hair-sprayed head to my pointed toes. Mission Seduce Deke went well.
We’re leaving today. Our fake boyfriend operation will be over. No promises on how our relationship will continue, but after the talk we had last night, I have so much optimism that we can work things out.
I pull on my hiking boots and head outside. The resort is quiet this morning, with barely anyone about. The rest of the wedding party will be sleeping late.
Outside the air is fresh and clean. It’s the perfect morning for a hike. Hopefully, I’ll run into Deke, and we can pick up where we left off.
I bounce down the hiking trail, quickly leaving the green resort grounds for a worn, rocky path. A twig snaps behind me.
“Deke?” I call, turning and heading back the way I came.
“Sadie.” Scott steps out from behind a bushy bristlecone pine tree.
Ew! Total creeper! I skid to a halt. “Scott.”
“We need to talk.” His voice is hoarse. He’s still in his tux from last night. His eyes are red and his breath stinks like vodka.
Yuck.
“Did you even sleep last night?”
“Can’t sleep.” He seizes my arms, and I get a whiff of his foul breath mixed with stale cologne up close. I gag, trying to push him off.
“Go away.” I manage to get free. He trips on a rock, trying to follow.
“Sadie, I want to be with you.”
“No. You just think someone’s playing with your toy. I never meant anything to you. It was about my dad’s contacts. You can’t get development projects through the town council without his support.”
“Fuck, Sadie, no.” He staggers forward and falls on me, his heavy weight dragging me down. I scream and try to wrench my jacket out of his grip.
“Scott, you’re hurting me—”
A savage growl sounds from the slope above us. Every hair on my body bristles in warning.
Predator!
My muscles turn to stone, and I stop fighting Scott, who fumbles, pawing at me, before standing straight, belatedly turning towards the threat. There’s another growl, and a huge black shape bounds down the slope toward us.
“Wha—?” Scott’s question is cut off by the giant shadow slamming into him. He goes down flailing, and I scream.
Scott lands on the ground, and over him stands the biggest, baddest black wolf I’ve ever seen.
I stumble backward. My boot hits a rock, and I fall, catching myself at the last moment. The wolf’s head turns toward me, and I flinch.
Then it swivels back to Scott, opens its giant jaws and lets out a growl that’s more like a roar.
Run! Adrenaline screams in my veins.
Scott lets out a high-pitched squeal. Fudge, he’s about to get eaten. I have to do something! My legs wobble.
“No!” I snap in my sternest teacher voice. Without thinking, I grab a branch to beat the wolf off of him.
Before I can swing, the wolf backs off. Somehow Scott scrambles upwards.
“Hey!” I try to distract the wolf, so Scott can get away—and he does, hightailing it up to the resort, his shredded tux tails flapping in his wake. Leaving me with the wolf.
Alone.
What a prick.
I take a backward step and adjust my grip on the branch. Fudge.
“This is not how I thought I’d go,” I tell the wolf.
To my utter shock, the wolf sits and whines.
Like a freaking pet!
“Um… okay. Good wolf.” I take a slow step backward.
He watches me. There’s no sign of his teeth, but I’ll never forget the sight of them. This beast is a killer. And I can’t outrun him—I saw how fast he came down that mountainside.
What am I going to do?
He starts toward me—not in a lunge. More of a trot, but I flinch. The moment I do, he stops and sits again. Then I catch a glint of silver in the thick ruff around its neck. The wolf turns its head, and the flat silver rectangle catches the light more clearly.
I gasp. “Th-those are Deke’s! You’re wearing Deke’s dog tags.” What does this mean? Goose flesh crawls up my arms.
I put my hand over my mouth. There are two options here. The wolf either ate Deke and is wearing his dog tags as a trophy or…
“Sherlock Holmes said, Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains must be the truth,” I say in a shaky voice.
The wolf cocks its head to the side, like it’s listening.