Total pages in book: 120
Estimated words: 113406 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 567(@200wpm)___ 454(@250wpm)___ 378(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113406 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 567(@200wpm)___ 454(@250wpm)___ 378(@300wpm)
“She said as much to my mate. But I think you and I both know that—just as my mate guessed—Claudia was confident that she could lure me away from Madisyn since the bond hasn’t fully formed yet.”
Nick slanted his head. “You don’t believe her story, Brookson, but you came here anyway. Why?”
Shaw rubbed at his brow, as if feeling the beginnings of a headache. “Because I’d hoped that I was wrong. Hoped that the member of her team who contradicted her version of events had simply misunderstood the situation. No one wants to think that their daughter would willingly cause such a mess and then lie to them about it out of hurt pride.” He looked back at Bracken. “You dented her pride when you turned her down, and your mate dented her pride by defeating her. Claudia’s pride has always been a delicate thing.”
Several cell phones began beeping at once. Bracken stiffened, because the sounds came from the phones of the five Mercury wolves . . . and that particular alarm meant that someone had pressed their panic button. The hairs on his nape lifted as intuition nabbed at him. His inner wolf tensed, pulse quickening.
Shaw gave them a mockingly rueful smile while his gaze turned cunning. He no longer looked tired. He looked cold. “Still, I can’t overlook the insult your mate paid to my daughter. Not with the reputation I have to maintain. A man like me has to be seen as someone who deals with such situations swiftly and harshly. And, well, I was offered a very nice sum of money from a business associate of mine to keep you busy and then kill you all. He needs to make an example of what happens when even just one person crosses him, which is something I understand. I must say, your mate is very good at making enemies, Slater.”
As the truth hit him, Bracken cursed viciously, and anger rushed through his body. Shaw was no more than a distraction. A distraction that had served to not only separate the strongest of the pack from the others but also to separate Bracken from Madisyn. And now he had to wonder if Ally had foreseen this and then pressed the panic button.
Muscles quivering with the urge to move, his inner wolf growled at Bracken, wanting him to go find Madisyn. That same urge rode Bracken. The only thing keeping him from rushing to her in a blind panic was that Archer couldn’t be too close, or they would have received phone alerts that the security sensors had been tripped. That meant that Madisyn knew there was a threat, and she had time to seek a safe place to lay low.
Nick spoke, “We’ve got this, Brack. You go to your . . .” He trailed off as several other wolves prowled out of the trees.
Shaw chuckled. “I forgot to introduce my other enforcers and their mates.”
Son of a fucking bitch. As that familiar ice-cold rage trickled through his veins and settled over him, Bracken drew in a breath through his nose. He wanted to get to his mate, but he couldn’t leave yet. Not when it was now twelve against five. If he didn’t help hold off the bastards, they’d kill his pack mates and get to Madisyn anyway.
Like him, Nick, Derren, and Zander would also be worried for their mates, just as Eli would be worried for his mother and sister—they were all in the same boat. Sort of. It wasn’t their mate who was the fucking target, it was Bracken’s.
“You motherfucking prick,” Nick snapped at the Tundra Alpha.
“Madisyn will be okay, Brack,” Derren said in a voice too low to carry to the Tundra wolves. “She has Jesse, Marcus, and the girls.”
Yes, she did. And if the Olympus Pride was with Archer, she’d have the pallas cats too once the pride switched to her side. Bracken wasn’t sure how big the pride was, but he did know that just one pallas cat was hell to take on.
He drew in another deep breath, reminding himself that the Phoenix Pack would also have received the alarm, and they would soon arrive to provide backup. Once they did, Bracken would go to Madisyn. But if he felt any pain or fear pulse down their mating bond in the meantime, he was going after her no matter the fuck what.
“You made a mistake coming here, Brookson,” said Nick as they all began to shed their clothes. “And now you’ll pay for it.” Almost as one, they all shifted into their animal forms.
Bracken’s wolf peeled back his lips, baring his teeth. The Tundra Alpha didn’t lunge. He howled, calling to his wolves. They all charged.
Cell phone in hand, Madisyn dashed down the stairs, heart pounding in her chest, anxiety clawing at her insides. She skidded to a halt in the kitchen, where she found everyone gathered around the island. No, they were gathered around Ally, who was propped on a stool, her eyes completely white. The shocking sight made Madisyn do a double take.