Page 77 of Never Submit

Liabilities don’t last long in this world. Especially not when they are so frail and easily broken.

“I’ve got this covered, Carrigan, it’s fine,” Red says. She forces a smile to her face but the edges are lined and terse. “Please just bear with me for a bit longer.”

“She’s not going anywhere.” I step toward the human, growling, my shoulders stiff.

The woman, Carrigan, gawks at me. “I just don’t understand why he’s naked!” She cocks her head to the side and stares at me but my dick isn’t showing any signs of deflating. Not anytime soon. “You were in my house. You tried to kill me!”

I flash her a vicious grin.

“This is very weird for everyone, I get it.” Red places her body between me and her friend, blocking the bloodied blond man from view. “I know it’s pretty fucked up.”

“He’s naked and he’s sporting a woody that would make an eggplant jealous. He changed from a wolf to a man.” Carrigan says it like she’s ordering her thoughts and coming up short in the equation. “I’m pretty sure I get it, but I’m also pretty sure that means I’m going out of my mind.”

“I promise you that I will explain everything, but notright now.” Red steps up to her friend and takes Carrigan by the biceps. “Hey. Hey! It’s going to be all right.”

“Ren, I’m sorry. She’s seen us. She knows about us. There’s no way for her to go back to her old life now. Not to mention your scent is on her, and Andras will inevitably come for her too. It’s only a matter of time.” Flora is gentle and everything I’m not.

She’s also stepping out of line.

I growl at her, expecting her to back down, but she only juts her small chin out further in a display of dominance she hasn’t earned.

“I don’t want to come with you. I won’t tell anyone,” Carrigan insists.

The anxiety in her tone grates on my fucking nerves. My dick twitches, deflating a little, and I groan. “I’m getting bored.”

“Ren is in danger, and because she cares for you, you’re in danger as well,” Flora replies. “The best thing for you to do is come with us, and we’ll explain everything on the ride. Come.” Flora nudges Carrigan toward the street end of the alley. “You’ll be safe.”

What lies. What stinking, brutal lies, made all the more terrible for the kind way they’re delivered.

Explanations aren’t going to solve anything. Humans generally don’t do well when they discover the truth about our kind. It’s a fact of life.

Red sinks in on herself, her shoulders caving forward and her hands clenched around her friend’s. She pauses only a beat before she draws the woman into her arms in a quick, fierce hug. “It’s going to be fine,” she tells the girl again. “I promise. Okay?”

Carrigan looks like she wants to argue, and the low growl continues to burn the back of my throat. “We havebusiness to take care of,” I say. “Get her in the truck, now.”

Flora jolts into action, hustling Carrigan toward the main street where Flora’s truck is parked. Before I have a chance to follow them, Red steps into my path.

“Don’t say anything.”

“What would I say? That this is a mistake? That she is better off dead than whatever waits for her?”

“Hey, you. Mr. Eggplant.”

The woman’s got guts, I’ll give her that. Carrigan points at me with a warning finger.

“If you hurt a hair on her head, then I’ll come for you with a baseball bat and make you wish you were never born,” she tells me, her Southern twang deepening with each word. “Trust and believeI’ll hurt you.”

“No doubt, little lioness.” Okay, maybe I misjudged her.

I dip my head in her direction to placate her, the fire in her eyes amusing. But her affection for Red is real and that’s something I can respect and appreciate.

The city is stifling, and I need to go. To run. To get out of this prison of metal and glass and find someplace wild to roam. Where the forest is alive and the feeling of dirt and ice beneath my feet matches the thrumming in my blood.

Red lets out a breath, and I bend down to grab Blondie.

“Where are we going?” she asks in an undertone.

“Back to Mathis.”

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