Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 62782 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 314(@200wpm)___ 251(@250wpm)___ 209(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 62782 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 314(@200wpm)___ 251(@250wpm)___ 209(@300wpm)
Fisting my hand in Cy’s shirt, I attempt to pull him closer to me. This sets him off because his body shoves mine against the dresser, his hips pinning me in place.
Mine.
The word is a whisper inside my mind, but I hear it like he’s yelled it in my face. I shiver, letting it wash over me, enjoying the tingle of it.
A pounding on the bedroom door is a strike of reality splitting us in two like an old oak in the forest. Cy falls back, and I slide to the floor, my ass hitting it with a hard thump. Not even a second later, the door opens, revealing Judd.
Cy’s eyes are burning into me, and I give him a slight nod.
Our secret.
Whatever that was, we can figure out later.
Right now, space between us seems refreshing and wise.
Apparently, he thinks so too, because before I take my next breath, he pushes past Judd and escapes my presence.
I feel like I can breathe again, but the ache inside me never fades.
Cyrus
Fucking hell.
What was that?
I don’t have time to consider it because Sheriff Bell is here. I’m worried he’ll be here to bring us bad news about Wyatt. He’s bearing bad news, but thankfully it’s not about Wyatt. I shouldn’t care, but Wyatt is Cash’s brother, and whether I like it or not, Remy is friends with Cash.
Van is still asleep on the couch, no longer pale, naked from the waist up. Bandages are wrapped around his middle. Whatever got him tried to disembowel him, but luckily he managed to escape with mostly superficial wounds. The guy lost a lot of blood, but he’s going to be fine.
“Another one?” I ask, clarifying Jax’s words. “Where?”
He scrubs a palm over his tired face before releasing a sigh. “Not far. Just off the highway not far from here. It’s either a bear or someone really fucking twisted.”
He’s got the second part right, that’s for damn sure.
“Injuries?” Judd grunts out. “Same as the others?”
Jax’s jaw tightens. “There’re signs of sexual violence, yes. Fuck. Beacon Island is supposed to be one of the safest areas in the US. What’s happening?”
Something tickles my memory. I try and dig through a past I’ve spent the past eighteen years burying. Everything is jumbled and murky. It hurts thinking about my father, but I need to go back to those long nights in the woods when he’d explain all the unexplainable.
Rey cuts in, understanding the need to keep a lid on all things supernatural. “Some people are straight evil. Trust me. Finnick makes me watch serial killer documentaries all the time. You can’t understand crazy.”
Remy walks into the room, and Cash perks up at the sight of him. I have the urge to stand between them so Cash can’t see him. Explain that one because I sure as fuck can’t. All I know is Remy is mine, and I don’t like how Cash looks at him like he could change that.
My eyes track Remy as he steps around the couch, his eyes flitting down to Van before coming up to Jax’s side.
He signs to Jax, Can you call the FBI?
Jax’s gaze flits my way, waiting for an interpretation. I sigh heavily but say, “He wants to know if you can call the FBI?”
“I can,” Jax says, “and I will. It’ll take them a few days to organize themselves. I’m not sure we can sit around doing nothing until then. This killer is relentless. If it’s a bear then we need to hunt it down. If it’s not…” He trails off. “We still need to hunt this motherfucker down.”
“What about telling the locals there’s a rabid animal on the loose? Have them go hunting for it?” Finnick suggests, his weary eyes nearly drooping from exhaustion.
“The people in this town can hunt rabbit or buck, not bears responsible for ripping people to shreds.” His lips press into a firm line as he pauses. “Or men who rape their victims as they mutilate them.”
“More casualties,” Ewan says in a solemn tone. “It’s sending pigs to slaughter.”
Jax nods and lets out a heavy sigh. “I’ll make the appropriate calls. We need reinforcements, but in the meantime, we have to catch this…” He trails off, leaving us to fill in the blanks since we still don’t know what the fuck we’re dealing with.
We spend the next hour with a map spread out over the kitchen table, sucking down coffee and trying to find some sort of pattern. Unfortunately, most of the bodies have been found within a five-mile radius of this cabin. It’s unspoken, but my pack all feels like I do. Like this is personal. Like it connects to Remy’s past.
By the time Jax leaves to relieve Brie from wherever she’s patrolling, I’m thrumming to hunt. The wolf claws at me, begging to be freed. As much as I want to give in to him, I know I can’t. He’s single-minded, driven by the urge to feed and fuck. I need to keep my focus for as long as possible. Maybe by the full moon I’ll have gotten my hands on this bastard. Then I can shift and run it all out of my system.