Page 74 of Wulf's Pack
Gorgeous smirks. “Not just dead. Slaughtered. Their bodies were shredded and strung up to the fence along the pack property like some kind of gruesome warning.”
I try not to make a face. That’s exactly what it was. Samuel was sending a message to everyone he knows that this is what happens when you betray him. I’m really glad we went to Denver now and that Skylar was able to secure her freedom from him. I don’t even want to know what he would have done to me otherwise. Me and everyone I know and care about.
“Every building on pack land was burned to the ground,” Nora says. “Even the ski resort the pack owned was destroyed.”
Some of Nick’s joviality melts off his face. “A bomb. The place was blown to pieces.”
Skylar gasps again, and I go rigid. “Was anyone hurt?” I ask. “Aside from Victor’s pack? Any innocent victims at the resort?”
My stomach churns. I don’t know how I’ll live with myself if a bunch of innocent people died because of my actions. I don’tknow Samuel well enough to judge whether he would care about collateral damage, but it wouldn’t surprise me if he didn’t.
Thankfully, Nora shakes her head. “None, miraculously. There was a threat called in first. The device exploded after the building was evacuated, but before the bomb squad could get there. Whoever blew the place was careful.”
Skylar lets out a breath of relief, and her whole body sags. I know the feeling. For a second there, I couldn’t breathe.
Nora gives us a reassuring smile. She doesn’t know exactly what we did, but she knows we were involved somehow. She knows we’d blame ourselves if innocent people were hurt. “There wasn’t even any property damage aside from the resort since the building was far enough away from any neighboring businesses.”
Agents Ralston and Johnson watch us carefully. I guess our reaction was a little too suspicious. “You really didn’t know?” Agent Ralston asks, skepticism in his voice.
Skylar and I both shake our heads.
Agent Johnson scoffs and crosses her arms. “Are you really going to tell us you had nothing to do with it?”
Skylar and I shake our heads again. Technically, it’s true. We didn’t have any part in Samuel’s plans.
Agent Johnson glares at Skylar, making my hackles raise. “That’s your pack,” she accuses.
Skylar sits up stiffly and clenches her jaw. “Former pack. I escaped, and I broke the pack bond.”
Agent Ralston cocks an eyebrow. “Escaped?”
“Interesting word choice,” Johnson adds.
I ball my fists and start to shake with rage.
Skylar looks just as pissed as me. “Yes, escaped,” she snaps. “They held me prisoner, kept me in silver chains, beat me to near-death on a regular basis, and prevented me from shifting so that I couldn’t heal. Foreight years.”
Both Johnson and Ralston squirm beneath Skylar’s piercing stare. Her voice is unforgiving, and her eyes blaze with fire. She’s the fiercest, most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. I can’t help but be proud of her. My little meek wallflower gets stronger and more confident by the hour.
“Last week,” she continues harshly, “they beat me so severely they couldn’t lock me in silver without it killing me. It was the first opportunity I’ve ever had to run, so I took it.”
A thick, heavy silence settles between us all. I say nothing, letting the agents stew. No surprise, it’s Agent Johnson who eventually breaks it. “So you’re telling me,” she says slowly, “that you escaped from a pack who spent years abusing you, and suddenly that same pack is viciously murdered?”
I want to jump in and defend Skylar, but she doesn’t need me to. She shrugs and coolly says, “Appears that way.”
“That’s quite the coincidence.”
“Karmic justice.”
Nick snorts, but I’m just mesmerized. Skylar showed so much strength and courage with Samuel, and now it’s like, after having faced that, she’s a whole new woman. My appreciation quickly turns to desire. I wrap my arm around her shoulders again and start rubbing soft circles on her arm with my thumb. She shivers at the contact and shocks me when she moves her hand from her lap to rest on my thigh. The touch would be innocent, and maybe she means it that way, but when she clasps my leg, she shifts her hand as if she’s fighting the urge to start rubbing me. Her delicate fingers slip maybe an inch inward, and she squeezes. Heaven help me, but I go rock-hard in an instant. I’ve never wanted a woman so badly in all my life.
Drowning in lust, I can barely think straight as Ralston and Johnson continue their interrogation. “And you expect me to believe you had nothing to do with it?” Johnson asks.
“Like what?” Skylar asks. “I’ve got no money, no weapons, no fighting skills. Wulf’s pack is days old and less than a dozen strong with only a couple of alphas. How could we possibly have slaughtered an entire pack full of powerful alphas? Especially with something that sounds like a well-planned attack. It’s simply not possible.”
“Not to mention, we were on a plane yesterday from New Mexico,” I add, finally finding my voice through the haze of lust. “We got in last night. We’ve got the itinerary to prove it.”
Johnson sits up straight, jumping on that statement like a cat on a mouse. “Yes, we looked at your itinerary. You were in Denver three nights ago.”
