Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 95748 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 479(@200wpm)___ 383(@250wpm)___ 319(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95748 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 479(@200wpm)___ 383(@250wpm)___ 319(@300wpm)
“No,” Raya snapped, her voice eerily calm. “I just know what’s best for the packs. We can’t keep letting outsiders in. We have to keep our bloodlines pure.”
“Keeping it pure ends up with us getting sick from inbreeding,” Emily spat, throwing a worried glance at Nadia, who had stopped moving.
Raya shook her head as if swatting away the words. “I don’t care. I will take over. And yes, Bulwark is the one who stabbed your sister. He’s with the Ghostwind Pack and has some Slate Pack in him. I’m sure you could tell he had Alpha blood and looks like he’s about to be the Alpha of the other two packs. After the mining accident, nothing will stop us.”
“Jackson’s going to kill you.” Emily had to get free somehow.
Raya rolled her eyes, lifting the gun and checking the chamber. “Actually, as soon as the mine blows, I’m going to make sure Jackson dies. He won’t see me coming.”
Chapter 37
Jackson’s computer finally stopped updating. He clicked the program open. Blood rushed through his veins, his ears pounding with each pulse.
“Jackson,” Thane yelled, barreling through the front door, buck-ass naked. “I got your message. I shifted. Where is she?” He sniffed the air, his gaze dropping to the floor where blood streaked the stone floor. “Blood.” He stalked through the open double-doorway into the office. “What are you doing?”
“I had a camera. I don’t know if it worked,” Jackson muttered, fingers flying over the keyboard. “I engaged the security system.”
Thane’s nostrils flared. “If you engaged the system, the cameras outside should’ve turned on.” He leaned over Jackson’s shoulder, pointing. “No. Click there.”
Jackson followed his instruction. Slowly, grainy images appeared on the screen. He leaned forward, heart hammering against his ribs.
“Here.” Thane grabbed the mouse and clicked several times. The images sharpened.
Jackson sat back, the wolf in him roaring. “Raya.”
“What the fuck?” Thane whispered, jaw dropping open as they both watched the screen.
Raya dragged Emily from the house, a bag over his mate’s head. She was limp, not fighting.
“She must’ve been knocked out cold,” Jackson muttered, heating with fury.
They watched as Raya shoved Emily into the back of a truck and drove off.
“She had a helicopter.” Jackson stood and grabbed Thane’s shoulders. “Where would she go?”
Thane staggered back, shock written across his face. “I…I don’t know.”
“Think it through, damn it. Where would she go?” Jackson barked, adrenaline snapping and coursing through every muscle.
“This is her home,” Thane said, his eyes dazed. “Would she go to Vegas?”
Jackson shook his head. “That doesn’t make sense. What does she want with Emily?”
“Raya must have taken Emily for Victor,” Thane said, his voice hollow.
“For Victor?” Jackson repeated, eyes narrowing.
Thane swallowed hard. “They…dated once. I thought it was over a long time ago.”
What would Raya see in Victor? How had Jackson missed this? He worked with the female every day. “You didn’t tell me that.”
“I just found out not too long ago. We were already dating,” Thane said slowly as if piecing together a puzzle in real time. “It was a summer fling with Victor. They met up at several different mining conferences that year, or so she said.”
Jackson’s mind raced. “Raya wouldn’t take Emily to Slate Pack territory. And she’s not in ours.”
“No.” Thane’s brow furrowed, the lines deepening.
“What about the Embervault Mine?” Jackson asked, the words tasting like iron.
Thane’s eyebrows shot up. “It would work. The Slate Pack’s got the electricity running there. It’s isolated, and nobody would hear a thing.”
Jackson nodded grimly. “We’ll have to fly.” Already shifting before he hit the door, he bolted through the snow, feeling the percussion behind him as Thane shifted and followed. They sprinted toward his helicopter.
If Raya had planned this, it was down to the minute. She was the most efficient wolf Jackson had ever met. The betrayal burned like silver in his veins. He’d trusted her. So had Thane.
Why hadn’t Jackson scented her betrayal? Why hadn’t he caught the discontent beneath her practical exterior? Sure, she’d often been disapproving, but that was just her nature. He hadn’t realized how deep her resentment ran. Or was it love? Were she and Victor in this together?
If so, why not just kill Emily outright?
Unless Victor wanted to make a statement.
Didn’t he realize it would cost him his life? He’d seal his fate the second he touched her.
Jackson reached the helicopter and shifted back into his human form, muscles straining as he jumped into the cockpit. He yanked a pair of jeans from the emergency pack he kept in all his vehicles, sliding them on before tossing another pair to Thane. “Here. We’ll have to go in fast.” She had to be okay.
Thane caught the jeans and tugged them on, eyes gleaming with the same rage that burned through Jackson’s blood. “We’ll find her.”
“We have to.” Jackson turned the key, engaging the ignition. The blades began to spin, whipping the snow into a blinding vortex as the engine roared to life. He gripped the controls, heart hammering against his ribs as the helicopter lifted into the swirling snow.