Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 44845 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 224(@200wpm)___ 179(@250wpm)___ 149(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44845 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 224(@200wpm)___ 179(@250wpm)___ 149(@300wpm)
“Let’s go.” He carried her through the house and out the front door. Less than five minutes had passed.
She understood the urgency, but this would be the first time she left the property, and she was nervous.
He set her on the porch and dropped down to squat in front of her, holding her hips. “We’re going to shift and run through the woods. I want you to stay on my flank the entire time. Okay?”
“Yes, Daddy.”
“Are you scared?”
“Yes.”
He kissed her forehead. “Can you sense them coming, Little one?”
She nodded. “They’re pretty far away still, but they’re moving this direction.”
“Still just two of them?”
She frowned and drew in a deep breath. “Four. Two of them have not moved.”
“They can run fast, but we can run faster. Ready?”
She nodded. “Yes, Daddy.” She was scared, but she could do this. She needed to follow her Daddy and do as she was told. It was important.
He stood. “Shift, Baby girl.”
She stepped off the porch, closed her eyes, and let the shift take over. In seconds, she was standing before him in her wolf form, and she watched as he shifted next before nodding toward the tree line.
Khloe followed him, quickly realizing she was faster, which unnerved her. Was he going slow for her benefit? She stayed right on his flank, but she wasn’t winded. She could go faster.
She loved the freedom of being in wolf form, and it felt even better now that she was finally taking the opportunity to run harder than she had yet done. She’d only shifted in or next to the house and practiced prancing around to get her footing. She had not run free like this before. Too bad her excitement was clouded by fear and concern.
Khloe had no idea where they were going or how far it was to Damon and Olivia’s house. As they got closer, she could sense them, though. At least she assumed it was them. She hadn’t met either one. She realized once she met more of the Alpha Protectors and their mates, she would be better able to detect them as individuals.
Suddenly, she became aware of the bears. They were moving at a fast pace to her left. She glanced at her Daddy. He apparently did not know. That was so strange. It would take some getting used to.
They were coming fast. Too fast. Khloe didn’t see a house around them, so she had no idea how much farther it would be to get to Damon’s property, and she feared they would not arrive first.
And then she decided the bears were headed directly toward her and Felix. They would be upon them in less than a minute.
Khloe disobeyed her Daddy and stopped running. The instinct to face the bears instead was strong. When she stopped, he looked back and howled. She howled louder and nodded in the direction of the approaching bears.
Suddenly, four bears bounded out of the trees, coming directly toward her. Fear consumed her, but it was internal. She’d never seen a bear in her life. She did not detect a threat from them.
Nevertheless, she howled loud enough to vibrate the air around them. Birds fled from the trees. Small animals scampered away.
Khloe braced herself, leaning back and sending the most menacing glare toward the bears she could conjure before howling again. She realized she was alerting anyone in the area—friend or foe.
Two of the bears rose up on two legs and growled. Two of them remained on four legs and stepped in front of their comrades.
Khloe tipped her head back and scented the air. Two wolves were about to join them. Two more were also approaching. She recognized the second pair as Erza and Elias. The two she did not know bounded into the small clearing. They glanced around and then stepped between the bears and Khloe and Felix.
Everyone stopped moving. An eerie silence ensued. Khloe wasn’t sure what was going on as she watched one of the wolves—a female—slowly approach the bears. She stopped, seeming to stare at them.
That’s when Khloe remembered Olivia could communicate with bears telepathically. This had to be Olivia. She was speaking with the bears.
The two bears who were behind started growling menacingly as they slowly crawled forward. They were staring at Khloe, teeth bared.
Khloe rose to her full height as Felix jumped in front of her. She didn’t like him getting between her and the bears. It was an odd sensation. She was larger. She wanted to protect him, not the other way around. But she didn’t have the skills to fight four bears, and even though she was incredibly large for a wolf, the bears were still bigger than her.
Felix howled.
Elias and Ezra arrived.
Khloe didn’t even glance at them. She knew they were to her right as they crept closer and joined the others in front of her.