Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 72056 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72056 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
And deadly.
My wolf is deadly.
“Are you ready?”
I resist the urge to gulp. “I am.”
The ether.
How we got here, I have no idea. It’s almost as if Rogan has willed it. Has he? Is that how we got here before? He says he doesn’t know, but I wonder...
I’ve been here before, but it’s different this time. No longer is it green and peaceful. No.
Now flaming arrows whoosh through the air. Bullets fly. The sounds of war...and they’re deafening.
Someone yanks Rogan’s arm and I tumble along with him.
It’s Dominic.
“Rogan! Now!”
Dominic runs, and we follow, dodging fire as we go.
This is the end of my life.
I’ve accepted it.
I know it.
No one can live through this.
At least I found Rogan. At least I found love.
A few more moments and we’re safe inside an underground dwelling. I inhale the musty scent of dirt and stone.
“You two will be safe here,” Dominic says.
“We’ve been through this,” Rogan growls. “I fight.”
“You’re our leader. You need to lead, Rogan. Not die.”
“Who says I’ll die? I know how to fight, Park.”
“So do I,” I add.
“Neither of you will fight,” Dominic says. “The pack has decided.”
“The pack has decided?” Rogan stomps his foot on the soft dirt. “The fucking pack? I am the pack, Dominic. Me. The alpha.”
Oh, yeah. Rogan’s going all alpha, and it’s hot, but something pisses me off.
“Wait a freaking minute,” I say. “Neither of us will fight? Since when do you make my decisions, Dominic?”
“Since you became our alpha’s mate. You think he can lead if you’re out there fighting? He needs to know you’re safe.”
I look at Dominic, and then to Rogan. And I don’t like what I see in his eyes.
“You gave me a weapon,” I say.
“So you can defend yourself,” Rogan says. “Not so you can fight.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I advance on Dominic, pull the knife from his belt, and throw it toward Rogan, missing him by two inches. The knife lodges in the hard dirt of the wall.
“What the hell are you doing?” Dominic gasps.
“Exactly what it looks like. I’m showing you my skills. I could have put that knife in his eye, but I didn’t. This is the man I love, and I’d never harm him. But I can fight. Both of you know that. I’m skilled with a knife, with a pistol, and with my fucking body. I could kick your ass, I bet.”
“You’re the alpha’s mate,” Dominic says again. “You’re the future of our pack.”
“Am I? Do we even know if a wolf and a vamp-human hybrid can reproduce?”
“None of that matters at the moment,” Dominic says. “He can’t concentrate if he knows you’re in danger.” He turns to Rogan. “And you can’t fight because the pack needs you alive and well.”
A low growl from Rogan.
I sense more than hear it. Our underground bunker vibrates with its intensity.
He’s going to fight.
And so am I.
I scramble upward, but Dominic grabs my legs and pulls me back down. He growls at me, yanks me to the ground.
In a flash he’s lodged against the part of the wall made of stone, Rogan holding him by the throat.
“You fucking touch her again, and I’ll rip you to shreds.”
Rogan’s words are a growl, and again I feel more than hear them.
Then a dull thud as Rogan’s fist collides with Dominic’s jaw.
Just like a couple of men.
Fine. Let them fight it out.
I take my chance to scramble out of this foxhole and into battle.
54
“Princess!”
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
Damn.
No. Fight it, Hannah. Leave. Leave him and fight!
But Rogan...
His voice...
Him...
He pulls at me—an invisible wire that seems to bind me to him, and it’s so much stronger than the bond to my father.
I break way—and it’s damned difficult—and reach the ground.
Princess!
No. Fight it. Fight it.
I still have Dominic’s blade, and the pistol is in the back of my waistband. I slide the blade inside my boot and duck as an arrow whizzes past me.
People are everywhere, but where are the lycans? The vamps? The demons?
How the hell am I supposed to know who I’m fighting? They all look the same.
I gaze around, all the while evading fire, trying to find something—anything—familiar.
Then I laugh out loud at the absurdity.
The only things familiar to me in this situation—other than Rogan and Dominic, who are still underground—are my father and my stepfather.
I can’t fight for my father. I won’t fight for my stepfather.
So where does that leave me?
I duck another arrow, and I grab my pistol out of my waistband. I look over my shoulder, assess my surroundings.
A giant man hurls himself at me, and I fire a bullet. It ricochets off him and doesn’t slow him down a bit, but I slip out of the way and he lands on the ground with an oof.
And it dawns on me...
My size, speed, and agility are my best weapons here. These demons and vamps are armored against bullets and blades.