Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 109705 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 549(@200wpm)___ 439(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109705 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 549(@200wpm)___ 439(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
“Roni,” he griped, shuddering and wiping his ear. “I’m not leaving.”
Human eyes flashed at him once more, this time revealing confusion.
He patted the ground beside him in invitation. “Come on, gorgeous.” With a put-out growl, the wolf collapsed at his side, leaning into him. Stroking her fur, he said, “I don’t buy that you shift out of a need to escape memories or feelings.” Her tail swished at him in what he interpreted as a “shut up and sleep” gesture.
It couldn’t have been more than a minute later when he dozed off, relaxed and content. He woke to the sound of growling. Surprised to find it was daylight and he’d slept so long, he squinted as he sat upright to stroke the wolf who was standing at his side, staring into the trees and growling. “What’s wrong, sweetheart?”
She didn’t move her gaze from the trees, but he couldn’t sense anyone close. Guessing it was one of her brothers stupidly trying to get near, Marcus got to his feet and did a long, languid stretch to get the kinks out of his back. When he went to move forward, the wolf pushed against him—she wanted him to stay exactly where he was.
“Roni, this is the part where you shift back and tell me what’s wrong.” But he got his answer when a black female wolf stepped out of the trees. Taking in her scent, he immediately understood. “Eliza, do you have a fucking death wish?”
Taking another step forward, she bared her teeth at the dark-gray wolf, which confirmed that, yep, Eliza had a death wish. Not only had she invaded the wolf’s space, but there was nothing friendly about her approach.
Immediately, the dark-gray female curled her lips back, exposing fangs and gums, and released a chilling “back the fuck off” growl that made even Marcus nervous. Her hackles were raised and her ears were upright as her raging eyes drilled into the other female. Everything about her posture warned, “I can take you.”
Marcus would bet everything he owned that she could. The two females were matched in size, but he was confident that Roni’s wolf could wipe the floor with this potential challenger.
Generally, female wolf shifters gave three warnings before attacking. The black wolf had had her first warning, but she didn’t appear to be backing off. If she kept pushing, this could get very bad. And Marcus didn’t think Jesse would like finding his girlfriend in bits and pieces.
Fishing his cell out of his pocket, Marcus called Shaya. “You’d better get Jesse here fast, or there’s a strong possibility your sister-in-law’s going to rip out his girlfriend’s throat.” With that, he shoved his cell into his pocket and crouched down beside the dark-gray wolf. “Roni, come back now.” He wouldn’t be able to reason with the animal—she saw a threat that needed to be dealt with.
The black wolf took yet another step forward. His female released yet another chilling growl—warning number two. His inner wolf growled, backing her up, agitated at the sight of his female being provoked this way. And it was an attempt to provoke her. The black wolf hadn’t laid down a gauntlet, but she was testing the dark-gray female.
He stroked his female’s flank. “Roni, shift back.”
Instead, she delivered a warning growl as the black wolf stupidly advanced another step into the clearing—warning number three.
“Roni, come back to me.”
The black wolf took a threatening step forward, flattening her ears and snapping her teeth . . . and apparently the dark-gray female had had enough of this shit. She lunged.
The black wolf sprang from her position, and their bodies crashed hard. There was growling, snarling, yowling, and yelping as they each fought furiously to make the other submit, biting, clawing, body slamming, side swiping. The scent of blood and rage filled the air, further inciting the animals. It was vicious, it was brutal . . . and there wasn’t a damn thing Marcus could do about it.
He had no option but to stand there, hands balled into fists, and watch as his female was attacked. His protective instincts demanded that he intervene, but he knew that he couldn’t. Even his wolf, equally protective though he was, understood that there was no interfering in a situation like this—their female had been insulted, and she was justly responding to it.
As such, all Marcus could offer was his support. So he nodded in approval as the dark-gray female took a swipe at her opponent, brutally tearing a strip into her shoulder. In retaliation, the black wolf bit down hard on her ear. Marcus winced while his inner wolf growled in anger, nervously pacing. But then the dark-gray female slashed at her opponent’s muzzle, making her yelp and bound away as blood sprayed onto the ground. “That’s it. Good girl.”
Gazes locked, the two wolves began to circle each other, their upper lips peeled back as growls trickled from their throats. Powerful vibes clogged the air as each shifter made her level of dominance clear. It was perfectly obvious that the black wolf was outmatched in power, dominance, speed, and strength.