Total pages in book: 139
Estimated words: 131137 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 656(@200wpm)___ 525(@250wpm)___ 437(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 131137 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 656(@200wpm)___ 525(@250wpm)___ 437(@300wpm)
Shaya looked up at her mate. “I like your brother.” Eli gave her a winning smile.
Nick snorted. “Don’t let that smile fool you, baby. He’s a ruthless fucker.”
Shaya could believe that. Eli was almost as dominant as Nick, but he wore that dominance in a very subtle way—much like Dominic. Eli’s wolf, however, wasn’t so subtle. Shaya’s wolf could easily sense his wolf, sense his curiosity and edginess.
Eli’s expression suddenly turned serious. “Derren updated me on what’s been happening. In my opinion, it won’t matter what the verdict is tomorrow morning. The extremists will attack in any case.”
“But we’ll be ready for that,” announced Taryn. The others nodded.
“Ready and waiting,” rumbled Trey.
The next morning, the court hearing was held to hear the case put forward by the human extremists. And every shifter worldwide celebrated as the case was dismissed.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
It was eleven thirty in the evening when the humans finally came. Shaya and the others were all in position, planted in various spots—waiting, silent and still. While many were in their wolf form in the woods, Shaya was positioned on her stomach on a thick branch of a tall tree, allowing her to oversee whatever would come next. Despite the anxiety running through her body and mind, her hands were steady as she held the rifle. It felt right in her grip, made her remember the times her dad had taken her hunting when she was younger. For long periods of time, they would lie still as she was doing now, their senses on high alert. As such, this wasn’t unfamiliar, but still her wolf wasn’t so steady; she was too frightened for her mate’s safety.
Most of the females, Kent, and, of course, Kye had remained in the caves, guarded by Caleb, Gabe, Rhett, and Cam. As such, there was a total of eighteen wolves—including Shaya—taking cover in what would soon be a battlefield: Nick, Derren, Eli, Taryn, Trey, Dante, Jaime, Roni, Tao, Trick, Marcus, Ryan, Dominic, Bracken, Jesse, Zander, and Amber.
It wasn’t long before, one by one, the humans began to enter through the gap that Tao had deliberately made in the perimeter fence. Forty-six humans in total. The fact that they were all dressed in black made Shaya roll her eyes. Dark clothes worked well as camouflage, but black would make a person easier to see, as true black looked unnatural, outlining a person’s silhouette. Even from her distance one hundred yards away, she could clearly see with her shifter-heightened vision that the humans were well armed with guns and knives. It wasn’t unexpected, but it was still alarming.
Knowing his stature and posture well, she could easily spot Logan co-leading the group with another figure as they slowly and cautiously began to move. Could that be the shifter responsible for the creation of the game preserve? Quite possibly. Just the idea had her wolf growling.
Shaya’s advanced hearing barely picked up much noise from them, but she guessed they were all quite experienced at going unseen and unheard if they had been enjoying themselves in the game preserve. Instantly, the images she had seen on the news flashed in her mind, making her sick to her stomach. Having a perfect view of Logan and his co-leader, it was so tempting to just shoot them both there and then. But that wasn’t the plan.
The entire day in the caves had been spent going over the plan. It was simple. They had to lure the humans far inside the expansive territory, which served two purposes. One, it meant Tao could seal up the opening in the fence, thus trapping the humans inside. Two, everyone felt the humans deserved to be tracked and played with, just as they had done to the shifters in the game preserve. Only once the humans were deep in pack territory would the shifters all begin to attack. When images of the mutilated child shifters once again flashed before her, Shaya felt a surge of anger. Yeah, the bastards had this coming.
As the humans followed the trail Trey had left, Shaya thought they would undoubtedly believe they were getting closer and closer to the entrance of the caves. In reality, they were being led farther and farther into the woods. Shaya watched as, without the humans’ knowledge, their hunters began to move into place until the large group was loosely circled as they walked, giving them no avenues of escape when the attack finally began.
It wasn’t until the humans reached one of the many shallow lakes that the shifters made any moves. The three humans at the rear of the group were targeted first. There was no loud attack. Ryan, Dante, and Jaime—all in their human form—each stepped out from behind a tree and swiftly snatched a human and yanked them aside. Shaya knew exactly what they had done in the shadows: snapped the humans’ necks instantly, taking them out of the equation.