Page 96 of The Denver Alpha

Another condition of Cole agreeing to me coming here was that he’d be close by just in case. He’s waiting for me right out front, but every person in the thick crowd is an obstacle. Shoving my way through will only slow me down and give Gavin and his goons a chance to catch up. I need to find another way out, and fast.

My heart pounds as I glance around wildly, searching for an alternate escape route. I spot a door on the nearby wall marked with a glowing red exit sign above it and quickly change course, pushing through the throng of bodies to reach it. All the while, I can feel the threat behind me looming, growing ever closer.

I’m ten feet from the exit door.

Five.

Two.

I shove against the metal push bar and it swings open, dumping me out in the side alley of the building. The cool night air washes over my skin, bathing me in a sense of relief as I turn and run as fast as I can in my heels, toward the front of the building where Cole’s waiting for me.

Footsteps pound on the pavement behind me, but I’m almost there.

Almost…

A piercing shriek leaves my throat as pain like I’ve never felt before hits me out of nowhere, consuming every inch of my skin like a lightning strike. Electric pulses flood my body and I drop to the ground, asphalt ripping open the skin on my knees and palms when I try to catch myself in vain.Try, because my body doesn’t even feel like my own- every muscle seizes, my teeth chattering, a mechanical clicking sound registering in my ears.

I’m trembling on the ground as Gavin approaches with a taser in hand, a sickening grin on his face. “I came prepared this time,” he says proudly, and I cry out in pain as he hits the button to tase me again, liquid fire scorching my veins as current flows through the barbed electrodes stuck to my skin.

Darkness bleeds into my vision from the edges, clouding inward until it’s all I see.

38

The shrill scream that pierces the air makes my blood run cold.

I was just thinking that it was taking Juliet way too long to come outside, but I wouldn’t allow myself to jump to the conclusion that something had gone wrong.

Then that scream…

Something primal deep within me knows right away that it’s her. My wolf thrashes within my chest, biting and clawing to get free. My body trembles with the effort it takes to keep him contained as I throw open the door of the Camaro, leaping out and abandoning my vehicle on the curb.

I take off in a dead sprint around the dark building beside Club Atlantis, guided by the sharp tug of the mate bond being pulled taut. Even though we haven’t sealed it yet, the bond snapping into place on the night of the full moon is strong enough to guide me to the side alley between the buildings. Just as I round the corner, I hear Juliet cry out in pain again, and the sound of it is enough to send my wolf hurtling forward again, my shift imminent.

It’s a miracle I’m able to restrain my wolf from breaking free when I round the dumpster obstructing the mouth of the alley and see Juliet lying on the ground, curled in on herself in the fetal position with Gavin and two of his men standing over her. He’s smiling in glee as he presses the button on a taser in his hand, and Juliet…

She’s thrashing, convulsing, and suddenly, the air around her body begins to shimmer.

The snap of her bones echoes off the tall walls of the buildings, the fabric of her red dress shredding from her skin as white fur sprouts.

She’s shifting.

It can’t be intentional- Juliet would never be that reckless. The importance of keeping our secret is ingrained in all shifters from birth. It has to be her body’s defense mechanism in response to the taser; the electric current must’ve set off some sort of reaction inside or prevented her from restraining her inner animal.

Juliet’s wolf has come forward to protect her, at the risk of dooming us all.

Gavin blinks in shocked disbelief as he takes in Juliet’s wolf form, his jaw going slack, the taser tumbling from his hand and clattering onto the pavement below. He stumbles backwards, wide eyes brimming with fear. “What… the…”

His panicked gaze lifts to meet mine, and I immediately know what I have to do.

I won’t pretend that some part of me isn’t pleased. I wanted to kill Gavin when he delivered that thinly-veiled threat in the restaurant that night. I wanted to kill him when he tried to kidnap Juliet. I wanted to kill him when he trashed my club.

Up until now, I’ve restrained myself. Murder is messy. It’s bad for business and could draw unwanted attention my way. We had plans to take Gavin down through evidence of his shady dealings that we stole from his phone, but now… he’s left me with no choice.

He can’t live, knowing what we are.

Neither can his comrades.

Time seems to move in slow motion as Juliet’s wolf rolls from lying on her side, tucking her legs beneath her and pushing to stand. She faces Gavin and his men, the fur on the back of her neck standing on end, her sharp teeth bared in a snarl.

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