Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 59422 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 297(@200wpm)___ 238(@250wpm)___ 198(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59422 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 297(@200wpm)___ 238(@250wpm)___ 198(@300wpm)
Tyler braced, bending his knees like a defensive lineman.
I screamed. There was no way Tyler could survive a fight with a mountain lion!
Tyler launched into the air, kicking the cat in the chest at the same time it slashed him with its great claws.
“Tyler!”
The force of his attack drove the cat back, but it was even madder now, and it had badly injured Tyler. He grabbed his bleeding shoulder as he rushed to put his body between mine and the mountain lion once more.
Dropping to my knees, I yanked open his backpack, searching for a weapon of any kind. “Please have bear spray,” I muttered as I tossed our lunch out of the pack onto the ground. Did that stop mountain lions too?
The cat attacked again. Tyler fought, punching it in the throat and head as it toppled him to the ground.
Its mouth opened, yellow canines poised to end Tyler’s life.
With shaking hands–hell, my entire body was shaking–I grabbed the picnic blanket from the ground–the only weapon I could find–and ran toward them.
Tyler wrestled with the wildcat, struggling to keep those enormous jaws away from his throat with all his strength as he bucked beneath it, trying to throw it off his body.
I threw the picnic blanket over the animal’s head, hoping to disorient it enough for Tyler to escape from underneath.
What happened next didn’t make sense.
A ferocious snarl sounded–not from the cat, but… from Tyler?
Jesus, fuck! I screamed and jumped back, tripping over a root and falling on my butt.
I didn’t know where Tyler had gone, but an enormous wolf had taken his place and had its ferocious jaws around the cat’s throat. A horrible snap and crunch of bone finished its life. The animal collapsed to the ground, blood spurting from the neck, its head hanging awkwardly.
I let out a warbled exhale–more like a moan–and crab-walked backward.
The giant wolf wheeled its enormous head to look at me. A wolf. First, a mountain lion, and now a wolf?
Blood dripped from its jaws and–what the hell? It was wearing the tattered remains of Tyler’s clothing!
Despite the heat of the summer day, ice washed over me. My teeth chattered. I threw my hands out to ward off an attack, scrambling away.
“T-Tyler?”
I blinked, and the wolf was gone, replaced by a very buff, very naked Tyler. Blood dripped from his chin and smeared across his chest. His arm had open gashes from the cat’s claws. I was in shock. I was having a traumatic response. Seeing things.
He held his hands up, mimicking my gesture. “Riley, it’s okay,” he said in his deep rumble. The one that used to turn me on. Now, I was freaking the fuck out. “Don’t run. I won’t hurt you, I promise.”
For one interminable moment, I remained frozen, unable to move. Then the impulse from my brain reached my feet.
I jumped to my feet and ran as if being chased. After seeing a mountain lion and a wolf, maybe I was.
1
CODY
“We have a problem.” I stalked into our alpha’s home office, removing my hat as I entered.
Tyler followed behind at a much slower pace.
Rob Wolf was behind his desk and looked up from his computer. In a western snap shirt with the sleeves rolled up and a crease in his dark hair–with the cowboy hat that creased it on the corner of the desk–he appeared the quintessential rancher. No one but those in our pack knew he was also a shifter. And… fuck, maybe one young human.
Rob’s gaze slid from me to Tyler, then widened. “What the hell happened to you?”
We stood side-by-side in front of him. Tyler wore nothing but a pair of sweatpants I had in the back of my Jeep for emergencies. He bore gashes in his torso and was covered in other cuts, bruises, and dirt. There were a few twigs in his hair. He looked like he fell down a mountainside, which may have been better than what he told me really happened.
“Sit,” the alpha ordered, pointing to one of the empty chairs. “Hell, Tyler.”
Rob didn’t rush to get medical supplies. They weren’t needed. A quick scan of Tyler–even though he looked rough–was enough for Rob to know he was quickly on the mend.
Tyler dropped heavily into the leather chair. “Mountain lion. But I messed up. I’m really sorry.”
I was proud of him for admitting it, especially to his alpha, but an apology wasn’t going to solve the problem. Rob arched a brow. “Oh? Do we need to track an injured animal and put it down?”
I sighed and let it out. Let Tyler talk. He was nineteen, not six. I would stand by him and support him, but to be a man, to be a wolf, he had to own his mistakes. Especially with our pack alpha and also his boss. This wasn’t stupid cow tipping or other teenage shenanigans. This was a big fucking deal.