Total pages in book: 139
Estimated words: 131137 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 656(@200wpm)___ 525(@250wpm)___ 437(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 131137 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 656(@200wpm)___ 525(@250wpm)___ 437(@300wpm)
The one in the middle stepped forward slightly, tilting his bald head. “Who are you?”
“You guys are confronting me. I’ll ask the questions. What do you want?” That seemed to have knocked his confidence a little. Good. Stupid shit was dominant, but he wasn’t an alpha, and yet here he was practically challenging one, endangering himself and his packmates. He should know better. He should have been taught better.
“Our Alpha would like to speak to you.”
“Really?” drawled Nick. “And why is that?”
“You’re on our turf.” He clenched his fists, snarling fiercely. “He wants to know why.”
“Is that right?” Nick ensured he sounded bored. In truth, he was. When he was Alpha, there had been lone wolves who had drifted in and out of town occasionally. Unless they had bothered him in some way, he had left them alone. And if he had needed to speak with them, he hadn’t done this whole song and dance in an effort to intimidate them. There was nothing big and bad about it. In fact, it was plain disrespectful and showed a lack of good leadership.
“So you need to come with us.”
Nick stepped toward him. “If your Alpha wants to speak to me, he’s welcome to come and find me.”
“You really don’t want to play this game. We’re members of the Sequoia Pack. Our Alpha is the Nazi.”
Nick just looked at him blankly. “As I said, if he wants to speak to me, he’s welcome to come find me.”
“You have no idea who you’re fucking with.”
“Neither do you.”
He narrowed his eyes. “You’re either very brave or very stupid.”
“I’m bored.”
“You’re crazy,” he decided.
Nick smiled. “How can you tell?”
“Listen, I follow orders. That means I’ll take you to him conscious or unconscious. Do the smart thing and make the right choice.”
No one was taking him anywhere. In a sharp yet fluid movement, Nick delivered a hard punch to the wolf’s temple, knocking him out cold. Before any of the others could react, he yanked the hand dryer from the wall behind him and bashed it over the head of the wolf on his left, sending him dizzily crashing to the tiled floor with a hard thud. Just as Nick turned, one of the others charged at him. But Nick was faster. He used the hand dryer to shove him backward and simultaneously knock the wolf behind him off-balance. Nick then dealt his opponent a solid kick to the ribs, pretty sure at least one of them cracked. As the wolf keeled over slightly, Nick grabbed him by his hair and bashed his head on one of the urinals. The male went instantly limp and slumped to the floor.
Nick cursed in surprise when water suddenly sprayed at his face; the remaining wolf had turned on the faucet and curled his hand in the flow of water to make it spray at Nick. Taking advantage of Nick’s distorted vision, the wolf aimed a mean kick at his face. Nick managed to dodge the move, but the kick still caught him on his shoulder. Totally pissed, Nick grabbed the next leg that came at him and twisted sharply, breaking the bone. The wolf screeched through his teeth and fell flat on his ass, satisfying Nick’s enraged wolf.
Nick glanced around, taking in the scene in front of him. The wolf with the broken leg was getting paler by the second. Both the bald wolf and the one who had a close encounter with the urinal were still unconscious. And the male who had suffered a blow from the hand dryer was on the floor, moaning and cradling his head. He looked at Nick, who then arched a brow at him, daring him to get up. He didn’t.
Nick sighed. “And that, children, is why you shouldn’t pick a fight with an alpha—whether he’s outnumbered or not. Your own Alpha should have taught you that. Consider this a lesson learned that your own Alpha should have taught you.”
Strolling out of the restroom, Nick cast a quick glance at the three wolf shifters at the rear of the diner. They looked back at him, but there was no challenge in their gazes. Satisfied, he continued to his table.
Spotting him, Derren rose from his seat. “Did you let them live?”
Nick placed the money for his food on the table. “If I hadn’t, then they couldn’t explain to their Alpha that I’m not an easy target, could they? I don’t need this shit right now.”
“Not that I disapprove of you teaching the wolves a lesson,” said Derren as they exited the diner, “but if you want to win your mate over, it makes sense to stay alive rather than go around pissing off drug lords.”
“I don’t know—I think she might prefer me dead.”
CHAPTER FOUR
You seemed a little distracted today,” Kent told Shaya as they were slipping on their coats at the end of a long shift. “And you look real tired.”