Page 54 of Little Red and Her Creatures of Chaos
“Thank you for coming to check on me.”
“No worries.” I smile at her, and she returns it. I take her inside the house and gesture toward the bathroom. “You can get changed in there.”
She goes that way, and Margie steps around the corner with a smile. “You’re a natural.”
“I don’t know,” I laugh. “I feel like I’m dreaming.”
“It will feel like that for a little while. Is she okay?”
“I think so. Some big rogues had her pinned down.”
“So it’s starting,” Margie says, running her fingers through her hair.
“Yeah,” I say sadly. I haven’t met everyone here yet, but I already feel protective of them. “Bryce should be getting back soon.”
Margie checks her watch, and I see the worry lining her eyes. “Luther and them should be back by now. They aren’t answering their phones either.”
I grab her hand in support. “Mason said they took the long way around, so they might not have a signal.”
We hear a loud commotion outside right when Ava walks into the living room. A huge wolf comes barrelling into the house, and Ava screams so loud that I flinch.
“Get her out of here!” I yell, shoving them toward the backdoor.
“You have to come too!” Margie argues, pulling on my arm.
We get to the door, but he grabs my arm. I spin back and have to look up to see his face. He grins. “Omega.” He sniffs the air loudly and jerks me toward him. I struggle against his hold, and he digs his fingers into my biceps. “Someone is waiting for you.”
“Go get help!” I call out to Margie as he drags me through the house. I let my natural instincts take over and shift. I have a better chance like this than as a human. It stuns him enough that I can get a head start. I bust through the front door, and there’s chaos surrounding me. Wolves are fighting everywhere, and cabins are on fire. My first thought is Nash and Mason, so I take off that way. When I get to where we found Ava, and there’s blood on the ground, a pained whine escapes.
“Nash! Mason!”
“Run, Little wolf!”
With pounding paws, I loop around the closest cabin and head back toward Grandma’s property. Heavy steps are right on my heels. I check over my shoulder, and the wolf who grabbedme inside is right behind me. I see a flash of black and drop to the ground. Mason comes flying over my head, and when he hits the other wolf, it sounds like a thunderclap.
“Come on,”Nash says, running up beside me. I fall into step behind him, and he leads me the rest of the way to Grandma’s. “Go inside.”
“No!”I argue.“I’m not leaving you out here.”
“You don’t know how to fight, Radley. Now, go.”I fight against the command this time because I’ll be damned if I leave them to go down on their own. Nash growls under his breath and pushes me with his nuzzle toward the house.“Now.”
“I can’t leave you.”
I can feel his exasperation through the bond, but he jerks his head for me to follow.“Stay right behind me.”That’s a command that I can handle. We move back toward Mason and the other wolf, and they’re locked in a vicious fight. Teeth are snapping, claws are swinging, each of them trying to get the upper hand. The big wolf finally knocks Mason back a step and goes straight for his throat. Nash takes off and pins the other wolf down, ripping at his neck. A pained howl leaves the big wolf, and then he goes completely silent. When Nash turns around, he has blood dripping from his teeth. Did he…just kill that guy?
Mason limps toward me and bumps his head against mine.“Are you okay?”
“Are you? You look hurt.”
“I’ll be fine. It will heal. Why are you out here?”
“Because she wouldn’t listen,”Nash answers. I didn’t think wolves could roll their eyes, but Nash just proved me wrong. If it weren’t under these circumstances, it would have been hilarious.
“Why isn’t Bryce back yet?”I ask, ignoring the anger radiating from Mason.
“He is. He’s back at the camp.”
I fall into step behind them and then stop.“Are you lying to me just to get me back there?”
