Page 97 of Strictly Forbidden

I twisted my hands around the steering wheel, ignoring the snow. Ignoring the remaining ice or other exterior dangers.

I would get to her.

Period.

The end.

Minutes ticked by. Horrible minutes where all I could do was think about her. Wanting her. Needing to protect her.

Fuck. As I continued the turns, scenes of meeting her in the grocery store, of delighting in the lust-filled look in her eyes and the laugh I’d been gifted with early in the exchange rushed through my mind.

And I wanted more of them.

My heart was thudding in my chest as I pressed on, dangerously bypassing idiot tourists who were out cruising just to enjoy the local snowfall. Damn them. Damn this moment.

Damn everything.

Closer. I was closer.

Not close enough.

Go. Go. Go.

Time meant nothing at this point, my mind a huge blank, but there was no doubt I had revenge right there in the darkest spaces of my brain. I’d allowed one family to face death. I refused to allow another.

The truck’s tires nearly spun out as I yanked the steering wheel, pressing down on the accelerator almost immediately. I finally gained traction, pushing the truck to its full speed as I flew down the long driveway.

I slammed on the brakes, barely cutting the engine before I jumped out, racing toward the front door. As soon as I stepped onto the porch, I knew something was off. Every nerve in my body was standing on end, every cell spiked to a thousand degrees.

As I slowly turned around, I bristled and allowed the rage to fuel every ounce of adrenaline in my body.

Because I heard her anguished scream.

CHAPTER 25

Kage

Before I could take off running toward the horrible sound, I noticed Max was on the ground. Kneeling down, I fisted my hand before feeling for a pulse. While there was no blood that I could see, I sensed he’d been hit hard with something. When I noticed a thick limb tossed nearby, I hissed. “Oh, buddy. I’m so sorry. It’s going to be okay.”

He opened his eyes, extending one leg to give me his paw.

His whine nearly broke my heart.

“I gotta go, buddy. I’ll come back. Just rest. I have to save your mommy dog.”

After grabbing my weapon, I took off running toward the sound, trying desperately to listen for anything that would lead me toward her. While I was grateful to hear sirens in the distance, it was drowning out the more subtle noises in the forest.

I jogged one direction then the other, crouching down when I noticed a single drop of blood and a cigarette butt. While I wanted to call out Noel’s name, I also didn’t want to draw attention to the fact I’d arrived to join the twisted party. The element of surprise was exactly what I needed.

As I sprinted, I continued scanning the perimeter. Suddenly, Max was there right beside me, refusing to allow some asshole to break either his body or his spirit.

“Go, Max. Find her. Find your mistress.”

He didn’t need me to tell him twice, flying high over the areas of snow, all four paws off the ground as he took off running. It was tough to keep up with him, but I managed, suddenly seeing two sets of tracks in the snow.

And neither one belonged to me.

Her shout of ‘help’ came from the right seconds before I heard a rumble. There was no chance a vehicle of any kind had made it through the forest and the snow.

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