Total pages in book: 29
Estimated words: 27296 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 136(@200wpm)___ 109(@250wpm)___ 91(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 27296 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 136(@200wpm)___ 109(@250wpm)___ 91(@300wpm)
It wasn’t unheard of for the people in his town to share their mate, especially with close relatives, but he’d never given it a thought before tonight. He hadn’t laid eyes on her yet but Colt already felt possessive toward her and wondered how that would work between him and his brothers who would probably feel the same way about her.
His body already quickened in anticipation. He wondered why her scent had disappeared. At first he feared the worse but Leland’s signal told him that wasn’t the case.
“Looking for me?” Leland came out of the clearing carrying a small body over his shoulder.
The scent was faint but he instantly knew it was her. She was covered in mud from head to toe which explained why he couldn’t pick up her scent from afar.
A low grumble emitted from Zeke’s throat as he advanced toward Leland. “Want!”
Leland backed away, with glowing eyes and a snarl.
Colt realized if he didn’t get in between this two brothers there would be trouble. He grabbed Zeke by the arm and yanked him back and stood in front of Leland.
“Both of you need to calm the fuck down. We may not have discussed this beforehand but we all knew when we entered the hunt there was a possibility that we’d end up going after the same target. It wouldn’t be the first time anyone has shared a mate in this town.”
Leland took another step back and bared his teeth.
Colt held his hands up to show he meant no aggression. “Remember when our parents died, we vowed we’d all stick together no matter what.”
Leland took another step backward and then halted with a heavy sigh. “You’re right. I don’t want to share, but I’d rather do that than to fight with you two.”
Colt turned to Zeke whose gaze was focused on the woman over Leland’s shoulder. “Zeke? Are you willing to share?”
“Do I have a choice?”
“You always have a choice, but you and I both know this is our last hunt before we lose ourselves to our beasts.”
“Fine. I need to mark her”
“I already did,” Leland replied. “That’s how I was able to find her when I lost her scent. The two of you can mark her when we get her home and clean her off.”
Colt nodded in agreement. “We need to be careful. We took out most of the Hendrickson boys and a few of their friends but I know there’s still some lurking around.
“Those cowards ran off,” Leland grunted. “But if they’re waiting for us, we’ll be ready.”
Zeke grunted with a nod.
“Come on boys. Let’s get our rabbit home.”
CHAPTER 11
The sting of warm water hitting her face and body slowly roused her back to consciousness. She opened her eyes to find herself slumped in the corner of a walk-in shower. Kaliah squinted against the brightness of the light.
Brown water pooled around her from the mud that drizzled off her body. What was happening? She attempted to sit up but winced. Her hand flew to her shoulder where she noticed a huge bite mark. Not only that, she was completely naked.
It all suddenly came back to her at once. The vacation. The car breaking down. The Bed and Breakfast. Nicole getting ripped to shreds. Running for her life and being captured by a man beast. According to Amy, Sasha and Brianna had met the same fate as Nicole.
Poor Amy. Was she still in that hole or had someone scooped her up as well?
Kaliah wondered why she was kept alive and not the others? Were they saving her to torture for later? Whatever the reason, she didn’t want to stick around to find out what was in store for her.
When she attempted to stand however, she remembered her injured ankle and she cried out. She slapped her hands over her mouth in case someone could hear her. Maybe they were listening.
“There’s no need to hide your screams. You’ll be doing plenty of that soon enough anyway.” A deep voice spoke from beyond the shower curtain. For the first time she noticed the silhouette of a tall shadowy figure.
She opened her mouth to scream but the sound was stuck in her throat. Kaliah had never been more scared in her life because this time, she had nowhere to run. The terror did a number on her bladder and to her shame, urine slid down her thighs.
The figure outside the shower, pulled the curtain back. She was too scared to look up not wanting to see the hairy beast in the light of this brightly illuminated bathroom.
“There’s no need to be frightened. You’re home now.”
Home? The voice almost sounded comforting. It wasn’t the same as the gravely monster from the forest. Was this another part of her nightmare? Did the monster decide to keep her like she’d been warned?
She shook her head. “Please let me go.”