Total pages in book: 173
Estimated words: 168701 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 844(@200wpm)___ 675(@250wpm)___ 562(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 168701 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 844(@200wpm)___ 675(@250wpm)___ 562(@300wpm)
The room goes dead quiet.
Riley told me about this being the monster who forced Stacy to shoot Tyson. Who had her poisoning the alphas in the pack and who wants to kill all the council alphas here and take over this territory. He shot Riley, Mason, and Lincoln. He thought they had me. They’ve got me and Jessica mixed up.
“You fucking jerk,” I shout. “You have my sister! You thought she was me? Maybe I’ll melt you right now.”
I’m seeking energy, figuring out where to take it from. I don’t need to be outside, surprisingly. I feel the nearby energy from the trees, the plants outside. From the moon itself. I could blast this son of a bitch to smithereens. Or maybe I should just take it from inside him like I did his guys. Like I almost did from him the other day. I know I need to be careful, but this guy is likely full of nothing but bad energy. By using his own energy against him there could be zero fall-out from ending him.
Yeah. I’ll do that.
I glare at him as I summon it.
Smoke curls from his skin and he looks panicked.
“Hurt me, witch, and your sister dies,” he threatens, holding tighter to Sherry, who’s crying. “And other bad shit happens, too. Really bad shit.”
“No. No way,” Sherry cries. “No fucking way.” She tries to fight her way out of his grip.
I shake off my urges as I hear, “Erica, easy baby,” Riley warns, hand running up and down my back.
“You okay, Erica?” Bailey asks.
I see a few sparks in front of me, sparks I generated. They burn to ash and float to the floor as I try to settle myself down. I need to think. He has Jessie. I need to think.
I look around the room. Most of the pack was already led downstairs. But my family, Riley’s co-alphas and several other men are still here. So is Bailey. Mitch Blakely is eyeing me with alarm.
Several phones are still buzzing. Jessie is still sending things haywire. That means she’s alive, at least.
Stacy’s brother is big, built like these alphas. He’s probably considered good-looking to most who don’t know he’s a bad guy. I know different.
“Get my sister here right fucking now,” I tell him. “And let go of Sherry.”
He holds his phone up. “My phone’s fucked, so I can’t. You all need to listen to me and listen good, otherwise shit will go south for everyone here in a big way.”
“Wyatt, please don’t do anything crazy,” Stacy calls out. “Please. Just… let’s end this. These aren’t bad people. This pack isn’t bad. And like I said in the bathroom, the thing that happened to our father… it’s not what you think. The man who’s really responsible is already dead.”
“Shut up. Traitorous bitch,” Wyatt snaps.
Greyson immediately moves in, grabs Wyatt’s wrist and we hear bones crack as he releases Sherry, who runs to Jase. Jase pushes her behind himself protectively as Greyson punches Wyatt with a whole lot of force. He goes down to his back.
“If I don’t phone or show up at our rendezvous point in ten more minutes, bad shit is gonna happen,” Wyatt warns, glaring at Greyson with a bleeding nose.
Greyson’s eyes are still bleeding as he bares teeth at Wyatt. He bares teeth that are larger. His face is morphing toward wolf but not getting there. It’s like it’s flickering between wolf and man and if this weren’t my cousin, a good guy, I’d be absolutely terrified. Greyson looks furious and unhinged.
“If anything happens to my sister,” I shout, “You will be very fucking sorry.”
“You’re gonna be sorry anyway,” Greyson tells him. “After the shit you’ve pulled. After the shit you’ve put your sister through?”
“I’ll melt you into a puddle of bad guy goo,” I warn. “You’re gonna look like a steaming pile of wolf shit if you or your goons have harmed a hair on my sister’s head!”
“Shh, baby. Easy does it,” Riley coos into my ear.
“He wanted me. He took my sister because she has red hair and they thought she was me, Riley. She probably smells like me being my sister, right?”
“I know, darlin’.”
I’ve got my hair flat-ironed tonight. Jessica’s typically straight hair is curly tonight. We always laugh that her pin-straight hair done curly is party hair for her and my curly hair flattened to straight is my party hair.
I can see the disappointment in Wyatt’s expression. “I’ll give her back. She’s unharmed, just mostly disabled right now. Let me take my mate. Let me and my guys out of here. You hurt me, you’ll never find them. I’ve got all their scents masked.”
“No, no, no,” Sherry cries.
“No,” Jase practically snarls. “You give her back and then maybe we let you live.”
“I’m an alpha and I’ve identified my mate. Alpha code of conduct states no other shifter fucks with that.”