Clint is undeterred. He tears away from Ridge’s teeth, taking a hunk of skin out of his arm in the process, and then stumbles away. Black-furred Dare manages to grab Clint’s blue jeans and take him to the floor, but Clint draws his knife and swipes out, making all four wolves dart away.
He gets back to his feet and kicks out wildly, catching Ridge in the face. He shoves at the growling, snapping wolves one more time before rushing across the basement toward the empty room where he used to keep me for “time out.” He manages to slide into the small, narrow stone room and jam the door shut.
My wolf companions throw themselves at the door. They’re monstrous, nothing but strength and muscle, and I think if given the time, they’d crack the heavy door down like it was made of plaster.
But they aren’t given a chance.
A moment after Clint walls up inside, a siren wails in the distance, and even I can tell it’s steadily drawing closer.
“The cops are coming!” I shout, struggling against the duct tape on my wrists. “We have to get out of here. They’re all dirty and friends with Clint.”
Not to mention, any cop—dirty or not—would be likely to shoot what they’d see as feral wolves.
Archer’s golden wolf falls away from the door and lopes to my side. Magic shimmers over him until he’s human again, and he quickly rips through the duct tape to free my hands. His handsome, boy-next-door face is pained as he helps me to my feet.
“Did he hurt you?” He cups my cheeks, green eyes searching my face.
I shake my head. “No. Not like before.”
Pain flashes in his eyes, but he just leans forward and kisses me. “Let’s get out of here. Climb on my back.”
Before I can respond, he shimmers with the change once again. He gives a short, sharp bark, and the other three wolves finally leave the door behind which my uncle is hiding.
Then we run from the house, the wolves dashing up the stairs single file as I cling with all my might to Archer’s fur.
The sirens grow louder as we burst out into the cool night air, and the wolves wheel in the opposite direction of the noise, paws thundering over the ground as they run flat-out.
I don’t look back. Not once. I don’t want to see the white house that holds too many of my nightmares.
I hope to God that was the last time I ever have to see that awful place.
29
Sable
Archer moves swiftly and gracefully beneath me as we race out of town. I clutch his fur and keep my head down, though I can’t help but steal glances at our surroundings as we run.
I don’t know this place, even though I lived here my whole life. My whole world was narrowed down to the house I was kept in, where each room might as well have been its own continent and my only real connection to the outside world were the books and movies I occasionally got my hands on.
We pass a barber shop, a movie theater, and a bank, the latter of which is obviously closed for the night. The buildings are old but well kept, mostly stone and connected by alleyways, and there are planters full of flowers everywhere. Everything is so normal, like a quaint little movie set used for a romantic comedy.
How did I come to live my own personal horror in a town this cute?
I gasp as I see people coming out of a corner grocery, talking and laughing among themselves in the light pouring from the windows. A group of teens carrying soda bottles and cigarette packs. Every single one of their jaws drop at the sight of the four giant wolves racing down Main Street.
Fuck.
Burying my face in Archer’s golden fur, I focus on taking a couple of deep breaths. I’ve come this far without a panic attack; I refuse to give in now. It can’t be good that people are seeing me and the men like this. Shifters have stayed hidden for so long on purpose, to protect themselves from human fear.
But… my wolves came for me anyway.
It still doesn’t feel real. I don’t know how Clint found me in that remote cabin, but it doesn’t matter. Because all four of the shifters came to save me. Thank God I opened up to them about my life and told them about where I was raised. Regardless, I have a feeling they would have found me even if they had to tear apart the countryside piece by piece.
They came for me.
I recall standing on the edge of Ridge’s village, weighing my options after I raced away from the elder’s shack. Archer promised me that if I stayed, if I went to the cabin with them to give the mate bond a chance, I would be the safest I could possibly be.
He obviously didn’t lie either.