Total pages in book: 29
Estimated words: 28245 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 141(@200wpm)___ 113(@250wpm)___ 94(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 28245 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 141(@200wpm)___ 113(@250wpm)___ 94(@300wpm)
“Excuse me,” I mutter as I hurry away.
My bear makes another push for it as I rush through the crowd. He’s snarling and thrashing around as I bump into a lady, spilling her drink.
“Sorry,” I mumble as I keep going, not even turning around. I’m afraid my eyes are glowing golden. He’s so close to the surface. I can feel my skin tightening. I can feel my gums aching.
I explode through the swinging door where the servers keep coming in and out. A waitress gasps when she sees me barrel past her with my body flexed and swollen. Vicious snarls are rumbling out of my throat, which are loud enough for her to hear even though she’s human.
I don’t look back. I don’t want to see the horror on her face.
Fuck…. What are you doing to me?!
He snarls again as I push the door of a stockroom open and charge inside.
I sit on a huge bag of rice and close my eyes. I’m trying to focus on my breathing to calm him down. It’s worked before, but it’s just enraging him further. He bounds for the surface and I gasp as he nearly breaks through.
Fuck! Stop!!
My body swells up. The seams along my sleeves stretch to their max, nearly tearing. The iron taste of blood fills my mouth as my canines pierce through my gums.
I grit my teeth and growl back as I force him down. I can barely control him. He’s so strong already and he’s getting stronger every day.
There’s no ignoring it now.
He’s becoming… feral.
It’s my worst nightmare. I’ve fought against feral shifters my entire career and now I have one trapped inside me. My professional life will be over.
My life will be over. If any of those agents find out the truth, I’ll be put down on the spot.
No… This is not happening.
It’s just… I haven’t taken my bear out enough.
I’ve been too focused on my career and getting this promotion and I’ve been neglecting my bear. That’s it. He’s just cranky. He’s feeling left out. It’s gotta be that.
I’ll take you out tomorrow morning, okay? We’ll drive to the mountains and you can wander through the forest the entire day. Just let me get through this night and I’ll make it up to you.
He snarls inside but doesn’t charge at the surface again.
Oh thank goodness… I can’t believe I almost thought…
I laugh as I stand up and shake out my nerves.
Let’s just get through this night without incident and the director’s job will be mine.
I head back into the hall and suck in a nervous breath when I see The Foxhounds walking in. The executioner on their team is a wolf shifter.
Rumor has it that he can smell the feralness on a shifter from miles away. To a wolf, it’s like smelling sulfur.
I’m watching him out of the corner of my eye as he lifts his nose and inhales long and hard.
His alert brown eyes dart across the room and land on me.
I swallow hard as his brow furrows. His eyes narrow. I can almost feel the hate radiating off him.
He’s surrounded by his team. Jackson, the team leader, is up for the director position as well. I’m the top contender, but he’s a close second.
Normally, I’d be making my way over there and wishing him luck. Stoking the rivalry while positioning myself for a possible promotion in case he does get picked as the new director.
But right now, I can’t take my eyes off that wolf shifter.
Remy Beaufort. That’s his name.
A French Canadian wolf shifter.
He’s a ruthless executioner. He carries a Samurai sword on his back and decapitates his feral victims.
I start to sweat as I wonder if he has the sword in his car.
My heart pounds as I wonder if I’ll be discovering how sharp he keeps his blade.
With the intense way he’s looking at me, I can tell he’s itching to show me.
Chapter Two
Mindy
“Dude!” my cousin Sophie says as she gets into the car. “Way too late.”
“I know!” I say as I slam on the gas before she even has the door closed. “I’m sorry!”
“What the hell happened?” she asks as she quickly straps in. “Aren’t you always on time?”
“Not always,” I say as I adjust my big round glasses.
“Well, Grandpa is going to blame me,” Sophie says as she lowers the mirror and applies lip gloss. “He’s going to think it’s my fault since you’re little miss perfect.”
I can feel my cheeks burning as I squeeze the steering wheel. I hate it when she calls me that.
She pulls a cigarette out of her purse and puts it to her shiny lips.
“Please don’t light that in here.”
Sophie sighs as she puts her purse on the ground. She doesn’t light the cigarette, but she keeps it between her fingers.
“Why are you late anyway?” she asks as she runs it under her nose. “You know Grandpa is going to be pissed that we’re late for his precious retirement party.”