Total pages in book: 126
Estimated words: 120031 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 600(@200wpm)___ 480(@250wpm)___ 400(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 120031 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 600(@200wpm)___ 480(@250wpm)___ 400(@300wpm)
“Ask Madisyn to take some photos,” urged Harley.
“She’s doing one better—she’s recording the fight with her cell phone.”
And that was why Madisyn was Harley’s favorite pallas cat ever.
Harley looked up as the pups hurried into the room. She stiffened from head to toe as she took in Cassidy’s pale face.
Cain pushed out of his chair. “Cassidy, what’s wrong?”
The little girl blinked up at him, her eyes wide as saucers. “Cats are coming,” she whispered. “Lots of cats. Big ones. I think they’re already here.”
Everyone jumped to their feet, and the air snapped taut with tension.
“Shit!” Harley hissed.
“What’s going on? What’s the matter?” demanded Shaya.
“Cassidy says cats are coming,” Harley told her.
“What?” the Alpha female fairly shrieked.
People instantly sprung to action—Tao called his Alphas to request backup, Jesse pulled up the CCTV footage on his laptop, Caleb and Kent tried leading the pups out of the room to the basement. Cassidy reached back for Cain, but he insisted she leave and then joined Derren in coaxing Ally into following Caleb, Kent, and the pups into the basement.
“Do not get hurt, Derren Hudson!” Ally shouted as she left the room.
“What’s going on?” asked Nick, who’d obviously taken the phone from Shaya. “My phone alarms haven’t gone off, which means no one has crossed the border.”
“They’re trying, though,” announced Jesse, his eyes on the screen of his laptop. “They’re near the border of the land behind the motel, running right for the electric fence in their cougar form. There’s a lot of them, so I think Ignacio brought some of his allies along for the ride.”
“Fuck,” spat Nick. “The pups—”
“Are heading to the basement with Ally, Kent, and Caleb,” Derren assured him. “We’ve activated the traps and landmines around our territory, before you ask.”
“Good,” said Nick. “We’re leaving now. Well, everyone except for Casey and Eli.” With that, Nick rung off, so Harley pocketed her phone.
“That fence near the motel is a good twenty-minute run from here, right?” asked Cain, to which Jesse nodded. “And even if they pass this fence, they’ll also have to pass the electric fence that stands between that land and this land, correct?”
“Yes,” said Jesse. “But the fences won’t keep them out for long. Not when there are so many of them. The voltages are strong enough to daze someone or even put them into shock, but not enough to kill.”
Tao pointed at the laptop screen. “Look, some are actually trying to use the fallen bodies of the dazed cougars as stepping stones to hop the fucking fence.”
“Not that it’ll do the cats much good—most will fall straight into the hidden ditch behind it that’s embedded with wooden spikes,” said Harley, her stomach in knots. “But others will learn from their mistakes, and they’ll soon pass.”
“Thanks to the landmines and traps, Ignacio’s number will have taken a hit by the time they get here, but they will get here,” said Jesse. “And not before the rest of our pack mates arrive.”
“Ours will make it here before them, though,” said Riley. “Ignacio has probably come for Eli.”
“No, I don’t think so.” Cain rubbed at his jaw. “Ignacio keeps track of Casey. He’ll know about her game, and he’ll know that Eli will be there to support her. My guess is that he’s using the game as a distraction; he came to attack the people that Eli cares for.”
And then the alarms sounded.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
“What’s wrong?” Eli demanded the moment his brother ended his call. “What’s happening?”
Nick looked at him, his jaw hard. “Ignacio and his pride are invading our territory as we speak.”
Eli’s stomach bottomed out, and his wolf froze. Curses and gasps flew out of his other pack mates and allies, who gathered closer.
“The rest of us have to leave, but you should stay with Casey,” Nick told him, urgency in every syllable. “Join us when you can.” And then they all rushed off.
Fisting his hands, Eli looked at his mate. The dark brown mink was still tearing into her opponent like a crazy critter from hell. They repeatedly lunged, pounced, and leaped at each other, always trying to grab the other’s legs, tail, or nose. Small tufts of fur flew as they rolled and twisted and flipped while wrestling for control, leaving yet more blood on the pavement.
He couldn’t—wouldn’t—leave Casey. But, fuck, it hurt not to follow his pack mates and join the battle that lay ahead of them.
“Your brother’s having trouble with Ignacio Rodriguez?” Adrian asked.
“Not Nick,” Eli told the Alpha. “Ignacio’s issue is with me and, to an extent, Casey. To cut a long story short, he believes that she’s his true mate. He wants me to suffer for claiming her, which means he probably intends to kill the people I love—it’s his MO.” Eli cursed a blue streak, hating how powerless he was to help them.