Total pages in book: 41
Estimated words: 39650 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 198(@200wpm)___ 159(@250wpm)___ 132(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 39650 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 198(@200wpm)___ 159(@250wpm)___ 132(@300wpm)
Simon wasn’t a big wolf, but he was fast and he had a lifetime of experience evading other shifters. He ignored the instinct pulling at him to roll over and show his belly and wove around the trees at a breakneck pace, planning to do exactly what he’d done thirteen years earlier: take his meager belongings and escape from the Blue Mountain Alpha. But then a roar shook the very air around him, a big body knocked him to the ground, and teeth dug into his nape. Without breaking his skin, the Alpha shook him like a lamb and growled. Human words weren’t needed for the message to come through loud and clear: submit.
It wouldn’t happen. If Simon was going down, he’d do it fighting and inflicting as much damage as possible along the way. He kicked and bit, clawed and smacked, never getting free but occasionally hearing pained yips and eventually smelling copper.
As the scent of the Alpha’s blood permeated his entire being, Simon twisted in knots, waging an internal war between the cell-deep instinct to bare his throat to the wolf above him and the well-honed habit to fight and get free. When the world began darkening, he was less sad about the loss of his life than he was thankful for the reprieve from the battles—both external and internal. At least he’d be laid to rest with his mother.
Simon was warm and comfortable, like in his favorite dreams. He sighed happily, and the scent of the Alpha slammed into him, reminding him of the fight in the woods. Instantly awake, he shot up and assessed his body.
Their kind healed quickly, but he expected to see more than a few bruises and the cut on his right hand from the stone he’d gripped too hard. He distinctly remembered scratching the Alpha, drawing his blood and making him cry out and struggle. How he could have come out of that fight healthier than he’d been going into it, he didn’t know, but he’d have to figure out the reason later. First, he had to go somewhere safe or at least somewhere safer, somewhere far away from Blue Mountain. And he had to do it before the Alpha that captured him came back to finish what he started.
He looked around the room, searching for an escape route, and gasped when he realized where he was. With his heart aching, Simon quietly slid out of the bed and padded over to the window. The paint on the frame was thick with many years’ worth of coats, but a shifter lived there and their kind craved fresh air so chances were good the window still worked. The only question was whether Simon would be able to open it without making enough noise to alert anyone guarding him.
After searching for the locking mechanism and flipping it open, he took hold of the bottom of the window and gently pushed it up. It wouldn’t budge so he tried again, putting more force behind it. When that still didn’t work, he knew he’d have to push harder, which increased the risk of making a sound.
He weighed his options. Unfortunately, his only choices were the window and the door. He didn’t have to open the door to know it led to a short hallway with a windowless bathroom across the way and an opening to the living portion of the house on the side. Going that route was almost certain to put him face-to-face with his captor.
Having no other option, Simon drew in a deep breath and then shoved the window open with force. The glass slid up with no discernable resistance, which was good. But it made a lot of noise, which was exactly what Simon had been trying to avoid. Nothing to be done about that problem except run, which had been the plan all along. Planting both palms on the windowsill, he braced himself and then threw one leg over the ledge. He was lifting his other leg to follow when meaty hands grabbed his shoulders and yanked him back into the bedroom.
“Where are you going?” the Alpha snarled, sounding more wolf than human.
Simon wondered how the pack didn’t realize he was feral. Or maybe they knew but couldn’t stop him, which didn’t bode well for his chances of escape.
Responding to the question would do no good, both because the answer was obvious from his being halfway out of the house and also because any conversation would cost him time he didn’t have. Knowing the element of surprise was key, Simon didn’t resist when he was pulled back inside. Then before the Alpha’s first hit landed, he shifted into his wolf form, squirmed free, and ducked between the Alpha’s legs, heading for the open bedroom door.
Before he could get far, a heavy weight landed on him. “Enough,” growled the Alpha. He plastered his bulky frame over Simon, and still in his human form, he bit Simon’s nape and shook him.