Page 59 of Midnight Mate
He was crazy.
If I’d ever had any doubt before, I knew it now. Travis was a psycho, and he’d brought me far enough away from civilization that he could get away with whatever he had planned.
Fear struck, harder than before. This time, nearly choking me.
I blinked, trying to stay focused and sharp, but my stomach twisted with the knowledge that I was at Travis’s mercy now.
I’d ignored the signs.
The harassment. The threats.
I’d been an idiot not to be more careful. And now, I was going to pay for it.
“Travis, listen. Let’s talk about this, okay? Let’s be reasonable. You can’t force me out of my apartment in the middle of the night and expect me to just go along.” I tried to keep my voice as even as possible.
“I wouldn’t have had to resort to such tactics if you’d just made time for me earlier.” His hand on my shoulder tightened. “Is it that mutt? The one who interrupted us?”
“East?”
“He’s the reason you’re avoiding me.”
“He’s my friend. And he’s respectful of what I want. You’re not being respectful, Travis.”
“Bullshit. You’re mine,” he spat. “That piece of shit mutt won’t come near you after I’ve claimed you.”
I tensed.
Shit.
I knew enough about werewolves and mates to know what claiming meant. He’d bite me—and then I’d be his. Not something my human side would care much about, but if the rumors were true, it would let his wolf bind itself to me. He’d be able to track me anywhere, forever.
“You can’t claim someone who doesn’t want to be claimed,” I said, fear clogging my throat as I prayed my words were actually true.
Travis leaned in and let his teeth graze the hollow space along my throat. “You’ll want it,” he whispered, his hands beginning to roam now. “When I’m done with you, you’ll beg for it.”
18
Easton
Twice I was forced out of the woods and onto the street in order to find her trail again. My wolf’s mate claim allowed me to track her scent, but without the bite to solidify a bond between us, it was faint. Trying to follow what was clearly a vehicle masking it made my progress slow. No one was on the roads, but even so, exposing myself was a risk. One I’d gladly take again and again if it meant getting to Cat before she was hurt. I’d scented Travis too, and my wolf wanted his blood spilled. If that asshole was crazy enough to take her out of her own bed, who knew what else he’d do to her.
Worry drove me to hunt faster.
Following their scent, I found myself in the darkest part of the woods, and still the trail led on, higher and higher, until the road became dirt and I knew I’d left the borders of the pack’s boundaries.
The road narrowed until it was nothing more than a dirt path, overgrown on both sides from years of neglect.
They were isolated out here.
Completely alone.
I ran faster, lungs burning, beast straining. I had to get there before it was too late.
Rounding a copse of thick trees, I slowed as a beat-up pickup came into view. Just beyond where it was parked, my wolf’s eyes picked out the frame of a cabin. Its walls and roof sagged with age. One of the windows was broken.
From inside, I caught her scent.
And his.
