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)
Claudia tilted her head. “As for you . . . I watched him plenty, so I know he showed no interest in you until now. He wouldn’t let himself have me, but he let himself have you. I guess he didn’t see that as denying himself pleasure or happiness—you simply weren’t that important.” Claudia gave her a look of mock sympathy. “That must hurt. And it must play on your mind, must make you wonder if the bond will ever truly snap into place or if you’re just not enough for him.”
Once upon a time, it might have. But now? “No, it really doesn’t. And I’m done here. Like I said, you need to stay the fuck away from him. If you don’t—”
“You’ll do what, bobcat?” Claudia laughed. “Go ahead. Tell me what you’ll do.”
Subtly grabbing the newspaper, Madisyn gave her a feral smile. “I’d rather just show you. Oh, by the way, I’m not a bobcat.”
“Really? Then what are you?” asked Claudia, though she didn’t sound particularly interested.
Madisyn smirked. “I’m a pallas cat.”
Claudia’s grin faltered, and then Madisyn struck.
Planting his hands on the bar, Bracken looked at Ally, tension in every line of his body. “Where’s Madisyn?”
Pausing in drying a glass with a cloth, the Beta frowned. “She’s on her break. Why?”
Turning away, Bracken stalked through the crowd toward the break room. His wolf paced, just as anxious.
Derren caught up to him, asking, “What’s going on?”
“Something’s wrong with Madisyn,” said Bracken, flexing his fingers. “I can feel it through the bond. It’s not so much anger as . . . battle adrenaline, maybe.”
“Fuck,” Derren bit out.
As they neared the break room and Bracken saw four of Claudia’s guards lingering near the door, he rumbled a growl. “Out of my fucking way.”
One of the guards raised a placatory hand. “Claudia just wants to talk to her. Your cat was a little upset after Claudia asked to send you a drink to congratulate you on finding your mate. They’ll be fine in there and—”
Crash.
Heart leaping into his throat, Bracken pushed through the guards and kicked the door open, making it ram into the wall. And he stopped dead. Hell, they all stopped dead. Because Madisyn was dragging Claudia along the floor by a fistful of her hair—a floor that was covered in the litter that had tumbled out of the fallen trash can.
The she-wolf’s cries were muffled, thanks to the wad of newspaper that had been stuffed in her mouth. Claudia managed to pull the wad out just as Madisyn hauled her to her feet and started ramming Claudia’s head against the locker.
All the males suddenly snapped out of their stupor, but no one moved to intervene. It was never a good idea to get between two fighting female shifters. Never. They’d just as easily turn on you for the implication that they couldn’t finish the fight themselves. So Bracken, Derren, and Claudia’s team all just stood there, shouting encouragement at whichever female they were supporting.
Claudia lifted her legs and kicked the locker, shoving her weight back at Madisyn. Bracken and his wolf snarled as their mate stumbled backward and crashed into the kitchenette counter. Since she still had a firm grip on Claudia’s hair, the she-wolf was forced to go with her.
With a disturbing laugh, Madisyn snatched an unwashed cup from beside the sink and smashed it over Claudia’s head. Drops of coffee and bits of porcelain splattered all over the she-wolf and the floor.
Shrieking, Claudia slammed her foot on Madisyn’s instep, wrenching a hiss of pain out of her. Bracken clenched his fists against the urge to stalk forward and grab the little bitch by her throat.
Her expression one of pure fury, Madisyn yanked Claudia’s head back by her hair, grabbed the—oh God—coffee maker, and brought it crashing down on Claudia’s face. There was a nauseating crack. Claudia cried out. Blood spurted. His wolf bared his teeth, satisfied.
Madisyn shoved her at the table with a sneer. Claudia, far too dazed to steady herself, went down as she staggered forward. There was a god-awful thump as her head smacked the table, knocking Claudia clean out.
The security team jumped into action, eyes narrowed on Madisyn, but Bracken and Derren planted themselves in their path.
Bracken jabbed a finger at them. “You don’t fucking touch her.”
“She just beat the shit out of our boss!” one of the males yelled.
“Oh, please.” Breathing a little fast, Madisyn sidled up to Bracken. “I only smacked her around a little.”
The thing was . . . Bracken knew she wasn’t kidding. He’d seen how vicious his mate could be. Seen how fast she could incapacitate someone if she chose to do so. Technically, she hadn’t fought with the she-wolf. Hadn’t given her the respect of a duel. No, she’d dragged her around the room, hitting her with objects and knocking her into shit—which would make the embarrassment of losing the fight much worse for Claudia. In that sense, what Madisyn had done to her was nothing, really. A direct message that, in Madisyn’s view, Claudia herself was nothing.