Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 73170 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 366(@200wpm)___ 293(@250wpm)___ 244(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73170 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 366(@200wpm)___ 293(@250wpm)___ 244(@300wpm)
“What the fuck?” It’s all I can manage.
Because seriously… what in the actual world has just happened? I’ve mated. Been rejected. And now my mate’s wolf is limp, bleeding, and being dragged into the water by my council, my friends, who have all shifted back to their human forms.
“We’re bringing him over, we’ll restrain him,” Linc assures. “He’s all right. Go back.”
“But is he, though?” I ask, face crumbling into tears.
No, I don’t think he is.
7
CICELY
The four council alphas have shifted enough times to heal and be right as rain. Tyson was in the worse shape of all of them having a bleeding throat, face, and shoulder, with flesh hanging in multiple places. I’m relieved to see after two shifts he looks fine. Same with Mase, whose leg looked fairly mangled, but looks fine now, too.
“You go on home, Sis, and I’ll come see you in a little bit,” Linc tries.
As if. I tie my shoes and finish buttoning up my shorts before I answer, “Not a fucking chance.”
“Don’t got time to fight with you about this,” Linc says gently. “We don’t know how long till he rouses and babe… it’ll be volatile. He’ll be possessive, whether he wants to or not. You know what happens after the first mating.”
I scoff. “I know what’s supposed to happen after mating. And all this…” I gesture around me – “is not that.”
Whether he wants to or not? Yeah, he doesn’t want to be. Because he’s trying to reject me.
“The last thing he needs is four alphas around his freshly claimed mate, Sis,” Joel weighs in. “We’ll get him locked down and go from there.”
Linc says, “Keep you posted. Promise.”
“You think I’m down with this bullshit from you? Do you even know me?”
My head might very well explode.
I move in and shove him hard with both hands. He doesn’t budge, but his hand flies up.
“Stop, Cicely.”
“She should come,” Tyson says.
“Fuckin’ no!” Linc starts to argue.
“It’s messy either way,” Tyson reasons. “She needs to be near her mate. And he’ll need to know when he wakes where she is, that she’s fine. She should come with us.”
“It’ll make him worse,” Linc warns.
“So be it,” Tyson states.
Linc lets out a frustrated growl.
“He’s right,” Mase chimes in. “It’ll shake out however it’s meant to go. We’ll restrain him and take it one minute at a time. She deserves answers.”
Thankfully, Tyson and Mason understand. And I’m grateful for them both right now, especially considering the amount of damage they took while seeming like they really did try to inflict minimal pain in return.
Linc’s jaw muscles flex and his nostrils flare before he gets a little more adamant. “He isn’t likely to equalize if she’s close. He’ll tell us to send her away in between shifts.”
“Cicely, go sit in the truck,” Tyson gestures to Linc’s Bronco.
I growl and stomp that way before I climb into the passenger seat, hearing Mase say, “We’ll deal at that point.”
Joel follows, reaches in and squeezes my shoulder with affection and concern on his face. “Sorry, Sis. But we–”
“Don’t touch her if you can help it!” Linc cuts him off.
I bristle even further, shooting Linc another dirty look. “Now I’ve got the plague, do I? Though I’ve had it for a while now judging by how you’ve been treating me.”
Linc’s eyes narrow as he says, “He went silverback apeshit when he smelled you on me after… you know… that last time I spent the night.”
I jolt with surprise.
He keeps explaining, “So, I had to restrain him. For days. He was so weak from his wolf struggling in the irons, it nearly killed him. That’s how we figured it all out.” He blows out a long breath, looking like he’s reliving that.
Man, this hurts.
“It’ll be worse now that he’s claimed you,” he adds. “And shifting is painful for him, Sis. Pretty sure it causes emotional and physical pain for him.”
“She gets it. Let’s go,” Joel says, sparing me from more information that hurts.
As much as all this hits hard, I can’t walk away right now and just sit somewhere to wait for an update. I can’t and I won’t.
***
We’re now in a stone building built into a hill that the guys refer to as the bunker. It’s on a barely noticeable dirt trail that branches off an old logging road near the old water tower road leading to Drowsy Hollow. The council apparently uses it for weapons, spare clothes, and other pack emergency supplies because it’s near town.
Since it’s rarely used, they installed a restraint system here as well as put up a barred door behind the original. The sight of it sickens me. It feels like despair in here. It’s as if I can feel what Jared felt when he was locked in here. I loathe this sensation. Even more than that, I loathe seeing him unconscious on the dirty floor, a thick iron ring around his neck as well as around his arms, legs, and his waist. They’re chained to the stone walls and floor.