[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
Adrienne shifted, feet crunching and snapping the dried twigs and leaves beneath her. Trista
shuffled back, still between her mate and the female, yet farther away.
Your daddy caught my mother on his lands. She was there to pick up a few things for the pack
since Redby s store was out of stock. Your daddy didn t listen to those laws of visitation. Instead, he
took her. A ripple of fur slithered along Reid s arm, attesting to his wavering control. He took her.
And beat her. And raped her. The snap of bone cut through the air. And when he was done, he
kicked her over the border with a note pinned to her chest, in her flesh, that thanked my father for use
of his whore.
The air rushed from Trista s lungs, stealing her breath and punching a whole in her chest. She d
hated Mr. Scott for as long as she could remember, he was a bastard, but she hadn t ever heard&
You wanna know how your daddy died? He didn t wait for an answer. My father gutted him.
Found the bastard close enough to the border that he dragged the asshole onto our territory and tore
him apart. I did the same to your brother. Parker s kidnapping was the perfect reason to join the bears
fight and it gave me the chance I needed to go after that piece of shit. The Alpha focused on her fully,
yellow eyes boring into hers. And you re the last one, the last piece of shit in that family. But I don t
kill women, I don t fight women. So, Adrienne is going to take care of that for me. Reid waved the
gun between her and the she-wolf. Get to it then.
The rest was a blur. Trista went from panicking on the inside, heart racing and pounding, to
battling for her life.
Adrienne was on her, teeth exposed, hands curled like claws and aimed right for her. She heard
Keen s roar, felt the sound vibrate through her bones, but she couldn t spare him a glance. If he was
making noise, he was alive, and that s all that mattered as she fought for her own existence.
Since Heath s attack on her at thirteen, Trista had taken a few free self-defense classes at the
various YMCA centers throughout the towns. They came in handy now. If only the lessons included
ways to defend herself from teeth and claws.
Adrienne struck out, claws extended, and Trista jumped aside, tripping on her own feet as she
scrambled away. Her shoes slid in the damp dirt, but she managed to clamber out of reach.
Then the woman pounced, flying through the air. Fur sprouted and the she-wolf s mouth formed a
muzzle as she sailed toward Trista. Teeth lengthened and became more menacing, deadlier.
Roars and growls came from her right, Keen s animal battling Reid. The Alpha kept her mate
occupied while giving Adrienne the chance to get the job done. She turned her head, worried for the
man who d become her whole world, but was only able to spare him the sparsest glance.
Because suddenly the woman was there, on top of Trista, claws aimed for her throat and open
maw heading toward her head. Death lurked in Adrienne s eyes, the promise of a quick, painful
demise.
That expression had Trista s inner-animal raging against the situation. It was stuck inside her,
deep within her body and unable to emerge. She was a shifter, but not, and it enraged the beast in her
heart.
But just because it couldn t appear didn t mean it couldn t help. She d healed quickly her entire
life due to the animal. Now it gave her strength and speed.
Trista caught Adrienne s hands, wrapping her fingers around the woman s wrists and keeping her
at bay. She used her hold to halt the woman s progress, but the she-wolf leaned down and snapped at
Trista s vulnerable throat. The wolf s heated, moist breath coated her neck and face, bathing her in the
disgusting stench of wolf and rage.
She jerked her head aside, bolting left while pushing Adrienne right, attempting to buck the
woman from her body.
But it didn t work. Even with her animal s strength. No, it allowed the wolf to snap her right arm
free and scrape those deadly nails down Trista s arm. She dug deep furrows into her flesh, exposing
muscle and releasing blood. She tried to suppress the scream that rose furiously, but it emerged
anyway.
The sound soaked the area and Keen bellowed in return. She sensed his anger, his pure fury.
Hopefully he d take out his rage on Reid and then come to her before Adrienne got her way.
Then the she-wolf was there again, clawing and snapping, hunting for any hint of Trista s flesh.
Her wounded arm throbbed and pulsed with agony, but she couldn t spare a thought for the damage.
Not when Adrienne attacked anew.
When Adrienne swiped again she released the woman altogether. She blocked the strike with one
arm while she formed a fist with her other hand. She d been taught how to punch. She d just never
used it on a half-shifted woman before. Well, she used it now. She cocked her arm back, borrowed
strength from her animal, and struck. Her bare fist collided with the woman s lower jaw and more
pain vibrated down her arm. Knowing how to throw a punch and actually striking skin and bone were
two entirely different things.
But while she recovered from the bolting ache, Adrienne rocked back. Her balance shifted, the
bulk of her weight no longer crouched over Trista but on her ass as it rested on Trista s hips. This
was another thing she d been taught, how to lie passively beneath someone and then buck them before
they had a chance to do any further damage.
She planted a foot and shoved, twisting her hips to dislodge the fierce woman. The moment she
was free, she rolled in the opposite direction and sprang to her feet. Her left arm hung limply at her
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]