Page 143 of Shadow City: Silver Wolf

Griffin turned toward the man focused on the angel and shot him between the eyes. The last guard in black dropped.

Do you know how damn anxious I’ve been?Griffin ran back to me and pulled me into his arms.That blood. Are you injured?

His unique scent of leather and myrrh filled my nose, easing a part of me now that I was back in my mate’s arms. Just minutes ago, I hadn’t known if I’d see him again or feel his skin on mine once more. I rubbed my head against his chest, needing him close. The fight wasn’t over—not yet—but I needed to take a moment for my own sanity. Being in human form would have been ideal right about now, but if I shifted back, I’d be completely naked, and I wasn’t comfortable with that.

“We’ve gotta get out of here in case what he said is true,” Rosemary said as she marched toward Julius again.

I begrudgingly pulled away from my mate, but I needed to shift back to human form.I need my extra set of clothes.

Griffin nodded. “I’ll be right back.” He jogged off in the direction of the car as Killian came into view.

Killian’s warm, dark-chocolate eyes lasered in on me, and his jaw relaxed. He rushed over, his cappuccino hair flapping in the wind. He stopped when he reached me and looked me over. “Next time, I’m with Griffin. This was way too stressful. I can’t do that again.”

My head nearly came to his shoulder tonight as I nuzzled against him, letting him know that I was fine. Nothing bad had happened—well, except for everyone we’d had to kill.

Before Griffin reached the tree line, Sierra stepped from between the cedars and redwoods and passed him with a black duffel bag hanging from her shoulder. Her gray eyes sparkled as if all the stress had left her body. Her sandy-blonde ponytail bounced with each step she took as she raced toward me, with Griffin following close behind.

He reached for the bag, and she turned, leaving him to grab air. She winked at me and threw the bag in front of me. “He’s pouting,” she said. “He wanted to bring you your clothes, but I was coming back with the bag already. I saw you shift and figured you might need this.”

I nodded and took the bag in my mouth, then ran into the trees. I quickly shifted back to human form and dressed, listening to Griffin get louder while talking about Julius. “You expect me to just let this asshole walk away after he planned to kidnap my mate? She almost died—yet again—because of him!”

“We can’t kill him,” Rosemary said, upset. “I’m supposed to protect them.”

“You just punched the shit out of him, girl.” Sierra chuckled. “I’m thinking that doesn’t count as protecting him.”

“Well…I didn’t kill him,” Rosemary retorted. “I mean, I wanted to do much worse, and if he doesn’t tell us all he knows, then I might make an exception.”

“I can’t stay here.” Julius tensed. “I have to go with you.”

“Nope,” Killian growled, sounding almost as upset as Griffin. “He can’t be trusted. We leave his ass here for someone to find him.”

“No!” The word was out before I could take it back. But I couldn’t let anything happen to Julius. The two of us were connected, and I wanted to understand why. What if he really was my brother and had been kidnapped at birth? It wouldn’t be his fault that he’d wound up like this, if that was the case. I locked gazes with Griffin.He saved me.

So he could give you to the asshole who wants to control you, Griffin growled, and his jaw twitched with rage.

Maybe, but he and I can mind-link.He had to understand that this was important to me. That if Julius was hurt, I’d feel his pain, too.My hands are tied.

Griffin closed his eyes and rubbed a hand down his face.This keeps getting better and better.

“Look, if I don’t go with you, I’m dead,” Julius slurred from behind a fat lip. “One of them called their alpha and ratted my ass out while I was preoccupied with Sterlyn. Besides, I know how these guys work, so I can be an advantage to you.” One of his eyes had swollen shut. “Backup will be here within thirty minutes. The farther away we get, the safer we all will be.”

“We?” Killian laughed maniacally. “You think you’re actually going with us?” He walked over to Julius and clenched his fist.

It was time for me to do something before things got out of hand.

CHAPTER TWO

I steppedin to stop Killian before he punched Julius and made things worse. Since my friends and I weren’t all one pack with mind-links, no one but Griffin realized that Julius was the only reason I wasn’t dead. “Stop, please.” I winced, preparing for his inevitable reaction. “He saved me from being hit by a bullet.”

“So he could hand you off to God knows who!” Killian didn’t budge. “This asshole better be glad that you and Rosemary want him alive, or I’d rip out his throat right now.” He turned to Julius. “Who is after Sterlyn?”

I understood why he was reacting this way. He was the first person I’d met in this group. He’d found me floating on a log in the flood-swollen Tennessee River, asleep after nearly drowning while running from the men who had decimated my pack. He’d pulled me out and taken me in. We’d become close in that short amount of time while we were pretending to be a couple; he felt like a missing part of my family I’d never known about until that fateful day. Because of him, I’d met Griffin, my fated mate and the love of my life. “Look, he’s a silver wolf, which means I’m not alone.” I didn’t want to spill my guts in front of Julius, so I was choosing my words carefully. “But I agree.” I spun around to Julius. “Who are you working for?”

Julius glanced at me, and something unreadable crossed his face. He knew we had a connection, but I didn’t want him to know how much that affected me. He said, “If you take me with you, I’ll consider telling you.”

“Not good enough,” Griffin rasped as he punched Julius in the eye and dropped him back to the ground. “We want to know everything you know. Now!”

“Girl, this asshole doesn’t care that he’s silver.” Sierra shook her head, looking disappointed. “They’re still coming after you, and he’s helping them. Don’t go making me think you’re not as smart as I thought. I’m not sure my heart can take it.”

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