Page 5 of Dane's War

“I’m such a freaking idiot,” I snap at myself, kicking the side of my car. I knew I should have had Bandit look at my car before now. The oil was just one of the things I needed for him to change. But there was also a ticking noise that just kept growing louder. I figured it would be okay for a few more days. The check engine light hadn’t come on yet. I’m an idiot for allowing it to go on so long without mentioning it to my brother. He’s going to lose his mind when he finds out about this.

To make matters worse, I don’t have any signal on my phone.

So, here I am, completely stranded, partiallyphoneless—I just needed a signal, and well totally freaking out with the sun having set. I know better than to be in the middle of nowhere without anyone knowing my exact whereabouts. There are vampires in this town, but there was a rule they didn’t feed on the town’s people unless they were willing. Not many people knew about them, but some did. I didn’t think I had anything to worry about with them, but it doesn’t mean I’m not out of the woods.

Ha. Literally. I was stuck out in the woods with only my two feet to carry me home. What the hell was I thinking, deciding to go ahead and finish up my errands now. Oh right, I wanted to get it all done and over with so I could have tomorrow to just relax and then in the evening cook my family a meal.

Sighing, I look in the direction I’d been heading to the one I was coming from. Either way is going to feel like forever to get there cause I’m in the frigging woods, for God’s sake. The only light came from the full moon. Talk about a scene from a horror movie.

All I needed now was the big bad wolf to come out of the woods and eat me.

I snort at the idea and shake my head, deciding it was best to keep walking forward. The clubhouse for the Spiked Raiders MC shouldn’t be too much farther up the road. I could swing by there. My brother mightstill be there. If he is, then I’ll be able to get him to give me a ride back home.

“Guess I should thank my lucky stars it’s not raining.” Wouldn’t that make everything that much better?

I try not to jump at every little noise I hear, but it’s hard. About ten minutes into my walk, headlights coming from the opposite direction nearly blind me. The vehicle slows to a stop next to me. I blink again to clear my eyes enough to see who it is. My stomach tightens as I instantly recognize them.

“Looky here, boys. Look who we’ve just so happened to run into,” Travis, Brady’s best friend, states, smirking. He looks back and forth along the road. “And on an empty road at that.”

“Yeah, I see that.” Roger, another of Brady’s friends, snickers, leaning forward to look past Travis. “Whatcha doin’ out here all alone, Rainy?”

It’s all I can do to shake off the fear rising inside me and start walking again. Now, more than ever, I need to get out of here. Get away before they decide to do something. Like call Brady and tell him where I am. Better yet, snatch me up and take me right to him.

I ignore them behind me, which is a stupid thing to do. I know it, but my focus is on getting down theroad to where I know my brother is. Unfortunately, not paying attention to the men is a very bad idea.

Very, very bad idea.

I get maybe a good twenty paces away from them when I find myself hauled backward by my shirt. A scream leaves my lips as I try to pull away, but they’re stronger than me. There’s no getting away, and when the fabric rips as I go back, landing hard on my butt, I know something bad is about to happen.

“You know leaving Brady was a bad move on your part,” Travis states, coming to crouch over me. He reaches for the front of my shirt and slices through the fabric. “Time you learn your lesson. Brady doesn’t take kindly to those who go against him.”

The first fist to my face rocks me to the core. I swear I see stars circling around.Still, I try to fight them off me. To get away, but the men with Travis and Roger both hold me down, touch me, and laugh right along with Brady’s best friends. They all enjoy beating on me.

My body throbs from all the intense pain they keep delivering blow by painful blow. One of them actually kicks me in the side of the head, and spots instantly take the place of the stars.

“I don’t see what he sees in her. The whores Brady fucks look a fuck of a lot better than she does,” Rogerremarks, slamming a foot in my side again. If I weren’t being held in place, I’d have curled into a ball to shield myself. “It was fun to watch him fuck her, but seriously, man, she ain’t anything I’d want to actually sink my dick into.”

“I don’t know either, man, but Brady wants her back. But he wanted her to be taught the lesson first.” Travis snorts, squats down next to me, hand in my hair, and yanks me up, forcing me to my knees as his friends let me go. “Brady says?—”

Travis doesn’t get to finish what he is about to say. In one minute, he’s with me. The next, he’s being tossed away. My body goes slack, and I fall to my side. A deep, snarling growl fills the night air. I do my best to focus on the massive wolf that’s bigger than me. Its eyes glow a chestnut brown, and in the moonlight, I can see it’s a solid brown with just the slightest amount of white around its muzzle.

The wolf looks down at me for a moment, growls, and shifts its gaze back to the men.

“That’s one big ass wolf,” Roger shouts.

“Thought it was going to rip my arm off,” Travis cries. I glance in the direction to see him clutching at his now bleeding arm. “Fucker nearly bit it off. Let’s get the fuck out of here.”

“What aboutthe bitch?”

The wolf growls again and moves to stand directly over me. Its fur is tickling my skin. If I weren’t in so much pain, I might’ve giggled.

“Leave her. If the wolf doesn’t kill her, then she’ll know what’s best for her. She doesn’t, we’ll come back and drag her where she belongs.” Travis jumps back when the wolf starts toward him.

I don’t know this wolf. Granted, while I hadn’t been around many shifters, I knew some of the ones that hung around my brother when he’d shift. Same with my parents.

The wolf takes yet another step, then another toward the men. I do my best to sit up without making a sound. I didn’t need to cry out the pain they’d caused. Nor do I need to indicate to the wolf it’s worse. Not knowing who it is, I can’t guarantee it won’t come after me next. Considering where we are, he could be one of the Spiked Raiders MC. Or a nobody at all. My brother’s club might not have a beef with the Spiked Raiders, but I heard the stories they’d tell. There’s no way I can be okay with this until I know for certain this wolf isn’t going to hurt me next.

At the sound of tires squealing, I blink a couple times and see that the wolf has turned its gaze to me.

---