Page 47 of Sassy Embrace

Aric shook his head. “This isn’t a sanctioned attack,” he explained. “We’re not here to join these other wolves, we’re here to stop them.”

That fact left Claude feeling cold. Now he really knew something was wrong. The idea of Leigh joining some underground, anti-vampire attack force was unthinkable.

His men continued cornering and disabling the attacking wolves, fending them off screaming patrons as he attempted to understand the chaos.

“Listen, we think they’ve been drugged or under some other kind of influence,” Aric continued. “But we don’t know why they would have targeted Embraced. That’s too specific, and we need to figure out what drove them here.”

The worddroveflashed through his mind, reminding him exactly why he drove to Embraced himself.

“It’s Kim,” Claude yelled. “She’s also here, somewhere. She has to be behind this.”

“Fuck, of course, it is,” Tristan said, practically growling.

“How the hell is she controlling a pack of wolves?” Nathan yelled.

“Where is she? Can we find her and make her stop this?” Aric asked, looking desperate for an affirmative answer.

But Claude shook his head. “I know she’s around here somewhere, but I haven’t seen her yet.”

Aric looked despondent, and the vision made Claude feel like he was choking on something sharp.

“That only leaves us with one choice,” he said. “If it’s the drug we think it is, then there’s no cure for this. My father’s been trying to find one for years. All these wolves have reached the threshold. They’re rabid, and need to be taken down.”

“No,” Claude said instinctively. “No, Leigh is one of them.”

“I’m sorry, Claude, we all are,” Nathan said, readying himself to fight.

Claude took a step back and surveyed the club. Everywhere around him was destruction: broken glass, ripped furniture, and worst of all, blood was spilled all around him.

He couldn’t hesitate any longer. People’s lives were on the line.

“Do what you have to, I’m evacuating everyone else,” he said before turning on his heel and rushing toward a group taking shelter in a corner booth with the table flipped on its side. He offered his hand and helped them, one by one, jump out of their makeshift fort and run for the door.

Claude’s self-imposed job turned out to be easy with the Wolfe brothers taking all the attention of the attackers. But as he escorted the last group of bystanders to the door, he caught sight again of Leigh.

He watched her thrashing, foaming at the mouth, looking crazed and confused. It was wrong, so utterly wrong, and nothing like the classy woman he’d fallen for. She never would have taken drugs of her own free will, so someone must have drugged her.

Kim.

“No,” he said one last time as he marched into the fray and zeroed in on her. She lunged at him again, and he tackled her to the ground.

Cure or no cure, he wasn’t going to lose her. Not like this.

“Leigh, please!” he pleaded over and over. She squirmed against his grip, gnashing her teeth, but he didn’t give up. “I know you’re still in there, you have to fight this. Leigh!”

Slowly, Claude felt their mate bond begin to open up. A feeling like a warm embrace engulfed his senses, drowning out everything else around him.

Hunger, he heard Leigh saying in his mind.Hunger. Blood. Food. Hunger!

No, he answered her,you’re stronger than this. You’re more than the hunger.

I’m so hungry, Claude!she called out, making real sentences.

It drove him on further, realizing he was getting through. He drove in deeper, reaching as far as he could until he found a scared, sobbing bundle of humanity crouched deep inside the wolf.

“Come back, Leigh,” he begged one last time. “Come back to me.”

The wolf stilled, panting, and deep within his mind, Claude heard a cry of anguish.

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