Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 108368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 542(@200wpm)___ 433(@250wpm)___ 361(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 542(@200wpm)___ 433(@250wpm)___ 361(@300wpm)
Ally smiled at him again. “How awesome for you. Bye now.”
Warren looked to the two bulky, blank-faced wolves that the Alphas had assigned to “escort” Derren. Translation: they were there to watch him closely. “Escort them off our territory.” The wolves didn’t appear impressed to be receiving an order from a male who was barely dominant and, as such, had no authority over them. They dismissed him with a look.
Derren was more than happy to leave. “Let’s get out of here.” He took Ally’s hand in his as they all made their way to the SUV that was waiting outside the pack’s territory. He paid close attention to their “escorts.” One walked in front of them while the other walked behind them.
There were also other wolves—who apparently thought he wouldn’t sense them—padding through the forest to their right and keeping pace with them. Noting that Nick, Roni, and Ally occasionally flicked their gaze in the direction of the forest, Derren knew his pack mates had also sensed them.
When he finally crossed the border, Derren’s wolf stopped prowling in apprehension—though he remained watchful and on guard.
“What a pack of utter assholes,” remarked Roni. “You know, Derren, if your sister hadn’t been so disloyal to you, I’d feel sorry for her for having that pompous bastard as her—”
The breath left Ally’s lungs as Derren’s body crashed into her, and she hit the ground hard behind the SUV as he yelled, “Down!”
There was swearing, grunting, loud snaps cracking the air, and the sound of tires screeching away. It took her a few seconds to process what had happened. Someone had fucking shot at them.
“Ally, are you all right?” Derren asked, frantic as he searched her body for injuries.
“Yes, but you’re not.” Dread filled the pit of Ally’s stomach as a red stain began to bloom over the shoulder of his shirt.
“We need to get in the SUV now.” He pulled her to her feet as he looked at Nick and a hobbling Roni. Yes, Derren’s first concern should have been for his Alpha. But when he’d caught a glint of silver hanging out of the passenger window of a black van, his primal instincts had urged him to protect Ally.
Nick carefully placed a cursing Roni into the rear of the SUV. “She took a bullet to the thigh.”
“It went straight through, I’ll be fine.” But there was pain in Roni’s voice.
Derren held the rear door open for Ally. “Get in, baby.”
She didn’t; her eyes were on the red stain that had spread way too far for her peace of mind. “Derren, let me see.”
“Help Roni first.” Derren practically shoved her inside before hopping into the passenger seat. Immediately, Nick sped off.
Roni jerked in her seat and then cradled her leg. “Motherfucker! Jaime’s right. Getting shot isn’t fun.”
That did sound like something Jaime would say. Ally laid her hands near the wound. “It’s okay. Just be still.”
“You didn’t foresee this?” Nick’s voice was like a whip.
Without moving her gaze from Roni’s injury, Ally told him, “Seers don’t see everything. That’s not how it works.”
“Nick, lay off,” Derren ground out before swerving to face her. “Baby, it’s not your fault.” He knew she’d feel guilty.
“We’ve grown complacent because of Ally’s visions,” said Roni as the wound finally closed over. She gave Ally a nod of thanks. “You’re handy to have around.” At that moment, Roni’s cell phone rang. Marcus’s frantic voice made her wince. “I’m fine. Really. Ally healed me, I’m fine. Just get the fuckers for me.” With that, she hung up.
“Are Bracken and Marcus following the van?” Ally asked.
“Yes.” Roni returned her cell to her pocket. “They’d better catch the bastards.”
Derren snorted. “Marcus is driving. He just watched his mate get shot, so, yeah, he’ll catch them.”
Ally leaned forward in her seat. Derren caught her hand before she could touch him.
“No, baby, you can’t heal me yet.”
Her wolf growled. “Why?”
“The bullet isn’t out.”
“Fuck,” Ally snapped. The skin was probably already beginning to heal over it.
“I’ll dig it out when we get back,” growled Nick, enraged.
When they got back to the main lodge, Nick did exactly that using a sterilized pair of tweezers, and, although Derren hadn’t made a single sound, Ally knew he was in agony. After healing him, she cleaned him up, and he put on one of Nick’s shirts—refusing point-blank to have a shower until he’d seen the trigger-happy bastards that Marcus and Bracken did in fact capture.
“I’ll be back soon.” Derren gave a pale Ally, who was nibbling on a sandwich that Kathy had made her, a quick kiss. “Eat all of it.” She’d used up more energy than he was comfortable with. He turned to Shaya, who apparently read his mind.
“I’ll take care of her,” vowed his Alpha female.
Satisfied, Derren accompanied Nick and Eli to the toolshed where their captives were being held. The small building wasn’t far from the main lodge.