Page 6 of The Kill

His jaw clenches, and his gaze burns into mine. He did not like that.

“Can you shift?”

Shifting takes energy, but in my wolf form, I’ll heal faster. I nod, and the stranger returns the gesture, his expression soft and concerned. It’s a stark contrast to the uncaring, vacant look he had while fighting.

Movement pulls my attention back to Lee’s prone form. His wolf is trying to heal him before he loses too much blood, and it looks like it’s working: the wound on Lee’s belly is no longer gaping, the red pouring from his neck has all but stopped. It’s not over yet.

“Then run.”

Blinking up at him, I move closer, inexplicably drawn to him despite how dangerous he is. I try to process his words. I’m finally free. I can finish off Lee if he doesn’t want to. Why do I need to run?

My wolf doesn’t want to leave him.

“I know exactly who this is, little wolf. His father will come as soon as he feels his loss. You need to be as far from here as you can get when I put him out of his misery.”

The blood drains from my face and the urge to curl up into a ball and cry is strong. He’s right. I can’t stay here. His father will kill me, if I’m lucky. That man already hates me, he won’t rest until he gets his vengeance. I’m still not free.

Lifting my eyes to my stranger, I shake my head.

“You have to let him go, or bring him to your alpha. This will come back on you.” This handsome stranger shouldn’t have to die because he was unlucky enough to get caught up with me and my problems. At least I’ll have a head start.

“If I let him go, he’ll go tell his daddy. Same result, but with one more asshole hunting for you. Not going to let that happen.” His tone is resolute and his reasoning is sound.

If Lee were dead, there’s a chance they’ll never work out who did it. If he lets Lee live, the entire pack will come looking for justice.

“But what about you? You’re in danger now. I can’t just leave…”

Drifting closer, I don’t realise how close I’ve moved to him until he reaches out and brushes a wet strand of hair away from my swollen cheek. My body trembles with the cold, but the heat radiating from him feels like a warm blanket.

I edge nearer again. He makes me feel safe, even with the rapidly healing Lee starting to come around at his feet. The stranger must have noticed, too, because he presses Lee’s face harder into the mud.

“Don’t worry about me. You have more important things to think about.” When his gaze falls on my still-flat stomach, I tense. How does he know? It’s too early. “Right?”

My deer-caught-in the-headlights expression is all the confirmation he needs. His face is kind, and his thumb skims along my bruised jawline, brushing the bottom edge of my lip every so lightly.

“Then run. Shift, and put as much distance between you and your pack as you can. And never look back.”

Briefly, I lean into his touch, desperate for affection. Letting my cheek rest against his palm, I swallow hard. This should be the easy part, but why does it feel so hard? My wolf wants to stay, but I know we’ll both end up dead if I do.

“Thank you. I’ll never forget this. Someday, I’ll repay you,” I promise. Placing one hand protectively on my belly, I touch his arm and he tenses, his piercing gaze pinning me once more.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but I hope I never see you again,” he replies with a sad smile. His intense gaze slides to the trees and back to me. “Stay safe, pretty wolf.”

He’s telling me I need to go, right now.

Backing away, I don’t take my eyes from him until the very last second, then I shift and bolt into the trees, forcing myself not to think about what’s going to happen once I’m gone.

4

TYSON

My wolf is unhappy as I stare into the trees, listening intently to the sound of the she-wolf’s rapidly fleeing footsteps until they finally disappear.

He wants to go after her and make sure she’s okay, that she gets to a safe place, but the best thing I can do to help her is destroy the piece of shit who calls himself her mate.

Slowly and painfully.

This situation is not good. The big grey wolf at my feet is a problem. A big problem.

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