Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 46587 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 233(@200wpm)___ 186(@250wpm)___ 155(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46587 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 233(@200wpm)___ 186(@250wpm)___ 155(@300wpm)
That’s when it hits me, who this man is, this wolf is.
Pete, the not-master.
Pete, and she’s right. He is a monster.
She collapses onto the ground, throwing her hands down at him, as Liam and I stare impassively. We know that she’s right; with the clean simplicity of the wild, knowing what this human feels is necessary. There is righteous rage in her scent, her fists pounding off the man’s naked chest.
“Mom, that’s enough.” Ruby touches her shoulders, helping her to stand. “He’s gone. It’s over.”
“I’m so sorry,” Ilsa sobs, pulling Ruby into a hug. “I should’ve told you. But I didn’t think you’d believe me. I didn’t know what to do. I thought maybe Pete might back off. If he knew they were wolves. But I didn’t get that chance, and he never would’ve listened. Look at this. Look at all I did.”
I rumble, shake my head and take a step forward.
Ilsa tenses up as she stares down at me, but then I move closer, rumbling again, and she relaxes. She breathes slowly. She stares into the eyes of the wolf.
It’s not your fault, I tell her, try to, with the hardness of my gaze. We’re safe now.
Ruby looks down at me, tears in her eyes, her heart pounding so fast. All I want to do is hold her.
Forever.
Liam nudges me in the side with his snout.
It’s time to go.
I grunt, knowing he’s right. The hunters who fled may bring backup.
Pete might have backup.
My mind spins at this connection between the hunters and Pete, but it wouldn’t be the first time a wolf has turned to killing other wolves.
Turning around, I look over my shoulder at Ruby. She nods, walking forward, her hair in disarray around her shoulders and her clothes smelling beautifully. I can smell my seed inside of her, the possibility of life. I can scent our future.
Ruby walks forward, wrapping her arms around my back. “Mom, you have to climb on Liam.”
“I...”
“You can. These are good wolves. Just like there are good people and bad people. Pete was both – a bad person and a bad wolf. Ramsey would never hurt us, Mom. Nor would Liam. Come on.”
I wait until Ilsa has climbed onto Liam’s back, and then, worn and injured as we are, we carry the humans across the fields. We run until we are far away from any possibility of the hunters scenting us, run until we come to a lake with a small outhouse hidden amidst the foliage.
I head for it, remembering this place. It’s one of the many places Liam and I used to store clothes growing up during our training.
The sun is making the lake shimmer, the forest quiet, the world seeming calm and at peace.
And my woman is safe.
That’s the most important thing.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Ruby
I lie in bed, my head on Ramsey’s chest, three days after the mayhem in the countryside. We’ve spent almost every moment together, except when I’m with Mom.
She’s starting to wake up earlier, wanting to go on walks in the park. And she’s also started doing these paint-by-number paintings, which she says relax her.
She seems to be getting better.
Other than that, I’ve been with Ramsey. We make love, have wild sex, and run through the forest together at night, with my hands buried in his silver fur.
He says I don’t need to be gentle when I cuddle him, but I can’t ignore the bandage over his torso. The morning sunlight filters in through the window, making the room shimmer, reminding me of moonlight, of the silver of my man’s hair.
“I had a funny thought.”
“You did?” he says, and I can hear the smile in his voice.
His fingers make patterns in my hair, tickling up and down my spine.
“What are the chances Pete would be a hunter?”
I don’t even think about including the master. After we returned to the city, Liam went back out there to collect the body. Ramsey told me he’s lying in an unmarked grave. He’s been reported as missing. There are news stories about it, about the cult being in disarray.
I only hope the cult members take this chance to leave.
“Low,” Ramsey says. “I’ve thought about this too.”
My hand tightens against his side, my fingernails pricking his skin. My body is still sweetly sore from the sex when I sat atop him, our hands clasped as I rode him. My core aches for him even now, but I focus on his words, on the warm glow they provoke in my heart.
“What?” I whisper.
“Your scent, Ruby, it was like nothing I’d ever encountered. It still tries to overwhelm me, but with how cleverly you tamed the wolf, I’m able to keep him at bay.”
I giggle, looking up into his face. He’s got a small bandage on his ear from when the bullet clipped him in wolf form. He says there are limitations to their healing. He’ll always have a little nick there, a reminder of what he risked to save us.