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)
Her voice is loud in my head, the bond sparking to life with warm familiarity as I just now realize she’s linked back to us. Finnick is a soft breeze, but his link to the bond thrums, even if just softly for now.
When I got free, Cy explains through the bond, I sent Rey to look for them. The East clan is out here, though. We have to be careful.
Anyone gonna explain how the fuck we can talk to each other now? Finnick.
No time. Cy.
Hurry! Rey.
I still owe you an ass whipping for making fun of my teenage hormones. Me.
Finnick’s amusement can be felt through the bond, and I can also hear his laughter in my head. I’d always been annoyed, but now I only feel relief. This is my pack. We’re one. Cy is mine, and I am his, but they are ours to look after.
This mind speaking shit could have been useful, I don’t know, ten years ago when you were a crybaby kid with a penchant for temper tantrums. Finnick.
Don’t worry. You get to listen to me nonstop for the rest of your life. You’ll never get away from me. I’ll harass the shit out of you until you go insane. Me.
For fuck’s sake. Finnick.
While I razz Finnick, I imagine Judd. The metal around his neck. I make it dissolve into sand.
About damn time. Judd.
Where are you? Cy.
Right this second? Just took off in a sprint. Running from Van. Judd’s unimpressed tone makes Finnick laugh.
We’re going to catch these fuckers. Finnick.
Got one! Rey whoops through the bond. Wyatt East, the bastard.
He’s mine. Cy spits out his distaste. They fucked with the wrong pack.
Judd jolts toward us from the shadows, and moments later a beast is tearing after him. The creature is shrouded in a black fog and has wings like a bat and a body like a wolf. It’s intimidating as fuck. For a second, I remember that night. Terror claws at me, forcing me to screech to a halt.
Finnick bolts past me, and Rey emerges from my right. They both slam into that thing—or Van if Judd is right. Judd skids to a stop, turns on his heel, and attacks Van. The three of them snarl and thrash, biting at the creature wherever they can sink their teeth in. Van’s howl is otherworldly.
We have to find Ewan. Cy. They can handle that filth. Let’s go, mate.
I’m jolted from my haunting past and tear off after Cy. He sniffs the air before making a hard left. We run along a creek and leap over it. Wyatt, still in human form, stands over Ewan’s naked body. Cy charges at Wyatt while I mind shift the metal around Ewan’s neck into a cashmere scarf.
Bang!
Cy yelps and falls to the ground. Wyatt’s laughter rattles me to my bones. I stare in horror at the gun in his hand. I mind shift the metal into a bear trap, snapping it closed around his arm. Wyatt screams as he attempts to yank the thing off. It’s not going anywhere.
Cy! I pounce on his body, licking away the blood on his furry chest.
What happened? Rey.
Cy’s hurt! Judd.
Ignoring them, I think of the bullet in his chest and mind shift it into more of his blood that oozes out. Gently, I lap at the wound, watching it slowly close.
Ewan’s snarls are loud from nearby. The tearing of flesh and bones breaking means that he’s getting revenge on Wyatt for trying to kill his Alpha.
Cy shudders and reaches through the bond to stroke me. Healer?
It would seem. I lick his snout. Can you stand?
Shakily, he rises to his feet, growling in annoyance at Wyatt’s mutilated body on the forest floor. Supposed to be mine, Ewan.
Finnick trots up, face covered in blood. You snooze, you lose, old man.
Judd nips at Finnick’s ear as he passes, making him yelp, and then tackles Ewan to sniff for injuries.
Theb is here. Somewhere. Cy’s blue eyes burn with intensity as he stares at me. Cash is still out there too.
I can handle Cash, but the idea of facing Theb sends a tremor of anxiety rippling through the bond. All of my packmates growl in unison, hackles raised and surrounding me as if to protect me from my thoughts alone.
This ends tonight. Cy’s vow washes over me, soothing me from the frightened boyish memories that still cling to me.
Cyrus
Death is in the air, and it smells like victory.
I know better than to get ahead of myself, though. Theb East is out there along with his psychopathic son. Our lives depend on ending these motherfuckers tonight. I crave to draw out their pain as I slowly dismember them with just my teeth.
Harsh, boss. Finnick. But I’m totally there for it.
A chorus of agreement echoes inside me from the other pack members. All but Remy. He’s gone too quiet. It’s alarming and has me reaching through the bond to comfort him.