Page 105 of Cursed Bonds: An Alpha's Destiny

Had he put her on the phone to prove she was still alive and unhurt?

“I’m in a car,” she said, her voice regaining some composure. “I escaped, but Eren and his men are right behind me. I don’t know what to do.”

Sparing a glance at Waylan and Langston, I said, “It’s Kirsten. She escaped, but Eren is chasing her down.”

A murmur of surprise rippled through the crowd. Waylan raised an eyebrow. He looked as impressed as I was that Kirsten had managed to get away.

“I have no clue where I am,” Kirsten said. I heard her fumbling around. “I punched in the address for your house. It says I’m about forty-five minutes away. There was a big house and a barn they used as a car garage.”

I locked eyes with Langston. “He took her to the fucking Stephenson farm,” I hissed through gritted teeth.

“Well, goddamn,” Langston said, shaking his head. He gave the man who’d suggested it an approving nod.

“We’re coming for you,” I said to her, rushing outside, my men following me. I couldn’t manage to get a decent breath in. I needed air. “Keep heading south toward us, and we’ll meet you. We’ll hurry. Stay calm. We can’t help you if you wreck that car.”

“They’re right behind me, Jace,” Kirsten said, her voice laced with fear.

“Forget about them. Keep your eyes on the road. Stay on the phone until we get to you unless you absolutely have to hang up. We’re on our way.” I turned to Waylan. “Change of plans. We’re going to meet up with Kirsten. This ends now. I’m putting Eren down today. Call the scouts back, tell them what’s going on. Maybe they can come in from behind and flank Eren and his men. Hurry,” I barked the last word, and Waylan pulled out his phone, dialing as we rushed to his truck.

The crowd of men followed behind, all heading for cars. I covered the speaker of my phone and shouted at them, “I need two cars to follow me, the rest I want in town. For all I know, Eren could have sent men to do some damage to keep us from helping Kirsten. Go!”

My pack obeyed with unfailing loyalty, men leaping into cars and heading toward town. Langston led the men to town while a few others got into a truck and SUV to follow me. Within seconds, Waylan had us speeding down the driveway, the engine of his truck screaming as he got the vehicle up to seventy by the time we were on the road leading north toward the old Stephenson farm.

“Jace, they’re gaining on me,” Kirsten said. “Fuck, they’re right behind me, Jace.”

“How close?” My heart thundered in my chest as the miles ticked by quickly—Waylan had the car up to ninety now. Dangerous on these small country roads, but I was okay with the risk.

“I don’t know,” she said. “Maybe a hundred feet?”

Fuck. They might try to force her off the road like last time.

“I need you to tell me where you are. Do you see any landmarks? Be specific.”

“Um… uh… I’m passing a really huge cornfield. There’s a big red silo out in the middle of it.”

“Okay, I know where you are. If you stay on that road, you’ll see a turn-off onto a tiny dirt road that doesn’t look like anything. Go down that road a little over a mile, and I’ll meet you. It’ll shave off a solid fifteen minutes on your drive. I’ll be there, I promise you.”

“All right,” she said. “Jace, I’m scared.”

Gritting my teeth, I imagined pulling Eren’s guts out of his body while he was still alive. “We’ll be there soon,” I said, swatting Waylan on the shoulder as I pointed out the windshield. “Take the next right,” I directed him. “The dirt road leading to the Puckett cornfield. We’ll need to slow down a bit, but it’ll get us to Kirsten faster.”

Clive Puckett was human. Like Kirsten, he lived on the threshold between Scottsdale and my own pack lands, except he was closer to Eren’s land than mine. His family had lived there since my dad had been a young man. We had a good relationship, and he had no love for Eren, either.

“Got it,” Waylan said.

He pulled onto the dirt road thirty seconds later. Dirt flew up behind us, probably blinding my men who followed, but they’d figure it out. All I cared about was getting to Kirsten as fast as possible.

“Kirsten, you’ll see a small barn or shed in what will look like a big dirt cul-de-sac, with another road attached at a right angle. We’ll be coming up that road. Park at the barn. We’ll meet you there.”

“I think I see it,” she said. “Is it painted orange?”

I sighed with relief. She was almost there. “Yes, that’s the one. Waylan, how far are we from Puckett’s barn?”

“Maybe five miles. We’re getting close,” he answered, never taking his eyes from the road. The car bounced dangerously with the speed we were going on the pitted dirt road.

Moments later, through the dust cloud, I saw a black truck skidding to a halt next to the small orange barn. Kirsten jumped from the cab, leaving the driver’s side door open. I leapt from Waylan’s truck. Shifting in mid-air, I hit the ground running in my wolf form and sprinted toward her. Seeing her, alive and well, made my heart ache in a way I never knew it could. I’d nearly lost the most precious person in my life. Now, she was running toward me.

Just before I reached her, I shifted back into my human form, and she slammed into me, arms wrapping around me and burying her face in my chest. I clutched her to me. Hard. Magic buzzed through her. I could just barely make out the sensation of it under my fingers and across my chest. It was like her anger and fear had fed the power coursing through her.

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