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)
It wasn’t like a regular cemetery. There was no chapel, no religious statues or mausoleums. It was just a section of land that featured six smooth black marble headstones. The bursts of color that came from the flower beds didn’t make the sight any less sober. What made it even sadder were the blue teddies on Hayden’s grave; both soft toys were wrapped in a thin plastic sheet tied with ribbon to protect them from the weather. While he appreciated the kind sentiment, the sight made his chest tighten painfully.
Reaching the headstones, Bracken stared down at them. He hadn’t brought flowers, as he hadn’t planned to come. In fact, he’d been on his way to the parking lot, since Madisyn would arrive shortly—she’d already called to say she was on her way here. Coming to the graveyard had been a spur-of-the-moment idea brought on mostly by curiosity. Was the peace he felt real? Could he now, for the first time since the funeral, visit the graves without a bottle of vodka in his hand?
Apparently, the answer to both was yes. For the first time ever, he could stand there, look at those graves, and feel glad that he wasn’t in one himself.
Out of respect, he took a moment to remove the decaying flowers and brush away the dead leaves that had gotten caught in the plants. Done, he sat on the wooden bench opposite the headstones, hands clasped, and read each of the carvings, even though he knew them word for word.
He didn’t remember much about the funeral. He’d been far too numb to really feel the impact of it. As if his emotions had shut down to protect him from the grief and rage.
Each time he’d visited the graves since then, he’d felt weighed down by guilt. The heavy feeling still lingered, but it was no longer a dark cloud hovering over him. It no longer dampened his life or stopped him from living it. Madisyn gave him a reason to live.
His entire world had shifted when he first got a psychic taste of the mating bond. Bracken had metaphorically grabbed it with both hands, had held on to Madisyn like she was a lifeline—which she was. Maybe that was selfish of him, considering he’d be no easy mate, but he could never have walked away from her. Never.
He was glad that he hadn’t, because he wouldn’t have found this peace without her. It wasn’t that all the sadness, grief, guilt, and anger had now left him. No, it was that the emotions no longer crushed him. No longer dictated his moods, muddied his thoughts, or held him back. He could accept what Jesse had been telling him—they were senseless but part of the grieving process. He could still enjoy this peace he’d found with Madisyn. Still live and laugh and find pleasure in things.
His cell began to ring, and he pulled it out of his pocket to see Derren’s name flashing on the screen. Feeling strangely uneasy, Bracken answered, “What is it?”
“You have to get to Madisyn,” Derren insisted. “And you have to get to her now.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Pulling up at a red light, Madisyn exhaled heavily. She really needed one of those cars where she could pair her phone via Bluetooth; then she’d be able to take calls using the hands-free phone system. Her cell had been ringing and ringing and ringing, but she never used her phone while driving. Now that she’d stopped the car, however, she could at last answer it.
Fishing the phone out of her purse, she saw that it was Ally calling. Madisyn swiped her thumb across the screen and propped her cell in the holder on the dashboard. “You’ll need to make this quick, Ally, I’m—”
“Keep driving! Whatever you do, don’t stop!”
Madisyn’s head jerked back at the panic in Ally’s voice. “Huh?”
“Don’t stop the car, whatever you do!”
“I already stopped. I’m at a red light, I had to—”
The rear door opened, a darkly clothed figure quickly slid behind her seat, and she heard the snick of a gun just as something sharp jabbed her in the back through the cushion.
“Don’t move.”
Madisyn blinked, thrown by how damn fast the whole thing had happened. She inhaled deeply. Hyena. Her cat rose fast with a long hiss, ready and raring to strike. Studying his reflection in the rearview mirror, Madisyn couldn’t make out more than a pair of distinctive forest-green eyes, thanks to the damn balaclava he was wearing.
“Madisyn?” prompted Ally. “Madisyn! Shit! We’re coming for you!”
He closed the door. “Light’s green.” His voice was deep. Gruff. “Hang up and drive.”
“I’m gonna have to call you back,” she told the Seer. “Call Makenna.” The she-wolf was a few cars behind Madisyn and might not have noticed the hyena yet.
Madisyn ended the call and discreetly pressed the panic button on her phone—it would send an alert to every member of both the Phoenix and Mercury Packs, along with her GPS location.