Mine.
The thought was in his head now—his mind—craving her, when he should have tried to push her away. She wasn’t the only one susceptible to the mating bond. It was changinghimas well, making him think very dangerous things. Like, maybe it wasn’tso badif she stayed?
Lukka didn’t want her, and even if the bastard did, there was no way inhellhe’d let her go—
Suddenly, he slammed his foot against the brakes, coming to a stop in the middle of a country road.
Something was wrong. He could sense it in the air. Taste it in his throat. Without thinking, he wrenched the truck into reverse and sped toward his farm, pushing the battered pick-up to the limit. 70. 80. 90...
Impatience pulled at his gut, urging him on.
Loren.At the thought of her, he parked the car on the side of the road, leaving the keys in the ignition, and took off on foot, ripping off clothing as he went. He was working on removing his pants when he heard the first scream.
It was faint—he was about a mile off from his property—but the sound pierced him down to the bone.
On the spot, he invoked the shift with his jeans still entangled around his legs.
Son of a bitch…It hurt like hell. Muscle tore. Bones shattered and reformed. His legs strained against the confining fabric as they compacted and stretched into long lines of sinewy muscle.
But he didn’t care. He took off racing through the fields, hating himself for ever leaving her alone in the first place.
33
Loren raced onto the porch.
She couldn’t see Naomi anywhere. Not by her car, or down the path leading to the road.She probably just broke a heel,a part of her scoffed.But unease had her inching forward, regardless.
Something is wrong.The ominous feeling unfurled in her gut as she leaped from the porch without thinking.A few more steps carried her down the driveway. She didn’t have her boots, and icy rain lashed at her hair, but that sinking feeling drove her forward, past the front yard and across the field.
“Naomi?” Her voice barely rose above the howl of the wind and rain. “Naomi!”
It was so dark. She could barely see a few feet in front of her while her eyes adjusted. Out here, surrounded by wilderness, she realized how stupid it had been for anyone to venture this far alone.
“Naomi!”
Loren’s heart started to pound with dread.
Even before she sawthem.
Four men stood in a line beyond the trees that edged the clearing. They faced the direction of the house, bodies shrouded in shadow, but…
Beside them was a wolf. Huge and hulking, it hunched a few paces away from the others, its fur a deep brown.
And eventhatwasn’t what made her gasp as she skidded to a stop, heels dragging in the earth.
A body lay on the ground before them, so limp and motionless, it could have been part of the environment. Minus the dark navy windbreaker and hot pink miniskirt covering a pair of tanned legs.
No.Loren froze, feeling the back of her throat clench.“Naomi!”
The blond wasn’t moving.But that wasn’t even the worst part. Someone stood in front of her. Someone lean and wiry, with a head crowned by wild dark hair.
They were bleeding.The smell rode on the air—way too strong to have been just from a minor injury. It didn’t take much of a stretch to realize that they had gone up against that massive wolf, and were dangerously close to having lost.
No.Fear washed over Loren like ice. It couldn’t be him.
He couldn’t be hurt.
Her heart fluttered as she ran, ignoring the danger. The closer she came, the more she realized that the man wasn’t tall enough to be McGoven.