Total pages in book: 139
Estimated words: 131137 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 656(@200wpm)___ 525(@250wpm)___ 437(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 131137 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 656(@200wpm)___ 525(@250wpm)___ 437(@300wpm)
Feeling the bond click into place, Shaya’s wolf and soul screamed with joy. But Shaya didn’t have the time to rejoice about it, because she needed to be free of the evil bitch clinging to her ankle. And she needed to do it before the fire now attacking the wooden walls collapsed the building and killed them both. It was hot, it was dark, it was frightening. She couldn’t hear a thing over the hissing, sizzling, crackling, and popping around her.
Coughing and panicking as her ability to breathe became more and more difficult, Shaya kicked at Amber’s face and hand, wishing she was wearing her stilettos. Amber only tightened her hold and bit into Shaya’s leg. “You weird bitch!” she croaked. Shaya reached down, fisted her hand in her hair, and pulled hard until Amber’s teeth released her. She would have shifted forms, but her wolf was too spooked by the fire.
Using her hold on her ankle, Amber dragged Shaya toward her and went to claw at Shaya’s face. But the move was clumsy and awkward—most likely as Amber was already weak from her injury. Shaya’s hand shot out and snapped around Amber’s wrist. Digging deep for every ounce of strength inside her, Shaya propelled Amber onto her back, pinning her arm to the ground. As a submissive wolf, her strength shouldn’t have exceeded Amber’s, but knowing what this bitch had done to her mate, Shaya and her wolf were close to feral—it gave her the added strength she needed.
With the hand still fisted in Amber’s hair, she slammed the bitch’s head down over and over until Amber gave a dizzy, hoarse moan. Had she been able to see anything, Shaya might have been able to find her knife or rifle and kill the bitch, but the black smoke made it impossible for even shifter vision to see much. She wasn’t sure where the door was, or she might have tried to crawl toward it, but there was the possibility that she might simply crawl farther into the hut.
Sensing that her mate was now outside, Shaya would have smiled with relief if she hadn’t also sensed the fear and memories tormenting his wolf. It broke her heart to feel just how deeply the accident so long ago had scarred him. She tried to communicate to him that he didn’t have to put himself through this again, that she didn’t want his scars to deepen, but she didn’t have a freaking clue if it was working.
Caught off guard, Shaya found herself lying on her side as Amber tried to reverse their positions. She could tell that Amber was again attempting to shift, but apparently the drug Merrick had used on her still hadn’t worn off. That or her wolf was just as spooked by the fire as her own was. Both coughing and close to passing out, they still continued wrestling with one another, weakly battling for dominance.
Then she heard the door suddenly burst open, and the scent of her mate entered the hut. Seconds later, strong hands slipped under her armpits and were attempting to lift her, but Amber locked her arms around Shaya’s waist, using all her body weight to keep her in place. Amber clearly had no intention of trying to get out of the hut, fully aware that she was dead if she did anyway. She seemed to prefer to die of smoke inhalation than by being pounced on by a pack of pissed-the-fuck-off wolves. And she wanted Shaya to die with her.
Shaya, however, wasn’t okay with that. She shoved hard at Amber’s head, but the bitch released her claws and dug them into Shaya’s waist to strengthen her hold. Not willing to give up, Shaya dug both of her thumbs into Amber’s eyes, pressing hard. Meanwhile, Nick continued pulling, only slightly hampered by Amber.
“Get off me, you neurotic bitch!” It came out more of an abrasive whisper. With the last bit of energy she had left, Shaya pulled back her fist and crashed it into Amber’s jaw. Her hold on Shaya then loosened, and the rescuing hands scooped Shaya up, breaking Amber’s grip. Keeping her tucked against him, Nick hurried through the doorway. She had expected to have to go through a wall of flames, but the way was now clear, and the fire was quickly subsiding.
Finally outside, she dimly noted that fire extinguishers were blasting the flames—things that were kept inside the caves in case of forest fires. But as he sat her inside the SUV, her concentration was solely on Nick; she ran her gaze over every naked inch of him, searching for any injuries.
“Taryn healed me,” Nick assured her. He blew out a breath, forcing one of the bottles of water Cam had brought into her hands. Shaya practically inhaled it. “Christ, baby, you scared the shit out of me.”