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“Good. I see your reflexes are good,” he grinned, as he pulled away from my grasp. “Let’s do this.”

  “What about Jane? She’s in there with that incompetent human.”

  “We’ll keep an eye on her but tonight, she isn’t our main priority.”

  “She’s our mate,” I countered. “The future mother of our offspring. She is always our priority.”

  “What I mean, is that she should be able to handle herself. She’s smart. I doubt she’ll get herself into too much trouble. Besides, if we nip this problem in the bud, then everyone will be much safer for it, including her, because the second they find out that she’s ours, they are going to use that against us.”

  I nodded in agreement and we went our separate ways. I entered through the front, while he attempted the V.I.P. entrance in the back. He was much better at playing a part than I ever was, so I left all the acting in his capable hands. I knew he would have no trouble charming his way into the place.

  Inside, I was instantly made uncomfortable by the number of bodies packed together in such a small amount of space. The air was hot and sticky, and incredibly difficult to breathe. How could anyone enjoy themselves in an environment so claustrophobic?

  Focus, I told myself, as I weaved through the dance floor.

  “Why, hello there, handsome!” a redhead purred, as she grabbed me by the collar and started to grind her body against mine. She was wearing a mini skirt that was so short I could see her underwear. I tried not to look but the brightness of it was like a magnet for my eyes.

  It wasn’t lust but disgust. How could any woman allow herself to act this way? Not to mention the state of vulnerability she was putting herself in. She didn’t know who I was or what I was capable of doing to her and, yet, she was all over me.

  “Roman, what do I do?”

  “What kind of trouble have you gotten yourself into already? We only just started.”

  “I got trapped on the dance floor.” As I asked Roman for advice, I tried to distance myself from the redhead but she was persistent.

  “What’s the matter, big boy? I don’t bite… very hard.”

  “Just tell her that you play for a different team.”

  “Are you telling me that I should tell her that I’m homosexual?”

  “You want to get out of there, don’t you? You’ll never get her to leave you alone otherwise. Trust me, I’ve used that line a thousand times and it always works.”

  “Are you sure —”

  “Yes.”

  It went against my better judgment, but I decided to trust Roman and what he had told me to do. After all, he was much more familiar with this kind of scene, than I could ever hope to be.

  The woman saddled up really close, her chest pressed to mine. “What do you say you take me home and we can have some fun tonight?” Again, she used that low, sensual voice of hers that was meant to reel me in but, in truth, it was just pushing me further and further away.

  “I’m sorry but I play for a different team,” I said, trying to make it sound natural but I could tell that my tone wasn’t the right one.

  Nevertheless, she recoiled like my skin was suddenly covered in acid. “Are you being serious?”

  “Yes.”

  She cursed under her breath. “It’s always the handsome ones…” she grumbled.

  Somehow, Roman’s advice had actually panned out. Usually, that was a rare occurrence.

  “So, how did she take it?”

  “She walked away.”

  “See. What did I tell you? It works like a charm.”

  “It seems deceitful.”

  “You’ll never see that woman again. Don’t worry about it. Besides, we have Jane and as long as she knows that we’re straight, then we’re golden.”

  “Right,” I agreed.

  With the crisis averted, I continued forward and walked the perimeter, trying to locate anything that might serve to our benefit but as far as I could tell, it seemed a normal enough night club, save for the fact that there were shifters all over the place. They were easy to spot, either from the tribal tattoos that they wore, the color of their eyes, or their particular scent.

  I was cautious about keeping my distance because I didn’t want any of them to discover my true intentions. That would spell trouble for both Roman and me, and, tonight, that was something we were trying to avoid, unless, of course, we came upon the leader, in which case, I was ready to tear him limb to limb and make him suffer for what he did to my pack.

  “I think I found him. Head over to the V.I.P. area. I’ll say that you’re my plus one and a cousin of mine. They should let you in, if you just let me do all the talking.”

  Already, the adrenaline was pumping through my veins as I thought about the sweet, sweet revenge I was about to sink my teeth into. If this leader thought he would make it out of this fight alive, then he had another think coming, because I’m not the sort of man that forgives and forgets.

  Quickly, I made my way towards the back where a rather large bouncer stood, safeguarding the V.I.P. area. Roman was waiting right behind him, barely visible beyond the man’s massive bulk.

  He beckoned me forward but before I could heed his call, something surged inside of me. I listened to my instinct and turned around. Over by the bar area stood Jane, alone, the tiny man that had accompanied her here was nowhere to be seen.

  A look of fear painted her entire face. Something was wrong. Very wrong.

  “Jane’s in trouble,” I said, already moving into action. Revenge was no longer on my mind. All that mattered was getting to Jane in time to help her.

  A group of people barreled in front of me, obscuring my view.

  “Get the fuck out of my way,” I growled, elbowing my way through them.

  “What the hell is that guy’s problem?” One person commented but I ignored them. I didn’t give a rat’s ass about them or their thoughts of me.

  By the time I was able to find Jane again, she was being cornered. The man who had cornered her was a part of the enemy pack and, by the looks of him, he was definitely one of the alphas.

  Jane pressed herself against the wall, her eyes darting from place to place, trying to figure out an escape route but there was no place for her to run.

  He leaned in and his body language told me everything I needed to know.

  Rage fueled me as I rocketed forward and grabbed him by the shirt. With a violent tug, I was able to pull him off of her.

  “Landon!” she exclaimed.

  “Don’t worry, you’re safe now.”

  “You have no idea who you’re messing with, bud,” he growled, as he marched forward, like a tank ready to run me over, but I could tell that he was underestimating me because when I blocked his attack and countered with one of my own, he hadn’t been expecting it. With the copious amounts of cologne I had doused on myself, he probably thought I was just another drunken human. That assumption would be the biggest mistake of his life. “What the…?”

  He staggered but before he could regain his composure, I rammed my knee into his midsection. He groaned and tried to hold himself upright but I grabbed him by the head and this time, my knee collided with his big, fat ugly nose. There was blood everywhere.

  Someone gasped.

  A circle of people had formed all around us.

  I took Jane’s hand. “We have got to go. Now.”

  Roman appeared and we tore down a path to the closest emergency exit, as soon as we opened it, the alarm went off. It was chaos from there. People were screaming and running around like a bunch of headless chickens.

  “They are going to know that we’ve been here,” said Roman. “Did you really have to start a fight with one of the Alphas?”

  “He was trying to advance on Jane,” I said, knowing that my reason was wholly justified. “I couldn’t let him hurt her.”

  “Well, now we’ve got a war on our hands.”

  A mob of shifters came bursting throug
h the club and stood like a wall but any wall, no matter how strong can always crumble.

  “What is going on?” Jane asked.

  “We don’t have time to explain,” I said, and all of a sudden, I took her into my arms and started running.

  The police showed up, their lights blinding and a few of the shifters broke from the group and went elsewhere. Those that remained were hot on our tails but, thankfully, we were faster.

  “We have to get to our bikes,” said Roman, “and head to the bunker.”

  “Bunker?” Jane repeated. “What the hell is going on? You guys can’t be serious. I’m not getting involved in whatever you’ve gotten yourselves into.”

  “I’m sorry, Jane, but you don’t have a choice in the matter,” I said, as we continued to run, this time towards our Harleys. “If we were to leave you behind, there is no telling what they would do to you.”

  “I knew it was a bad idea getting involved…” she whispered.

  “We’ll explain, just as soon as we know that we’re safe,” I added, in hopes that it would extend her trust.

  Once we reached our motorcycles, I eased her into place and gave her my helmet. Gently, I tightened the strap but I was careful not to do it up too tightly and risk pinching her skin.

  Her eyes spoke of fear and uncertainty, and while we didn’t have much time on our hands, I took a moment to cup her cheeks against my palms. “I know that this might seem frightening to you right now but I need you to trust us and to know that we will do whatever it takes to protect you and keep you safe. That is a promise from me to you.” I dropped my hands in order to squeeze hers. “So, do you trust us?”

  She looked up at me. “I do.”

  I smiled and kissed her knuckles. “Then it’s time for us to ride.”

  Roman looked on impatiently, from his bike but he didn’t say a word.

  I started the engine and felt its powerful motor come to life. “Hold on tight,” I warned, just a second before we peeled down the street and towards the nearest highway. “And never let me go.”

  Chapter 11: Jane

  This is insane. This is fucking insane, I kept telling myself over and over. When I had imagined myself on the back of Landon’s bike, I never expected anything quite like this.

  I was holding on with all the strength I could muster because I knew that letting go would mean certain death.

  But, at the same time, mixed in with all that fear was exhilaration. There was Landon’s body pressed so close to mine, I could feel his every inch and the hardness of his muscles.

  And of course, we were riding so damned fast. I didn’t dare look at the odometer but it was obvious we were breaking the speed limit. It seemed natural to Landon, like he did this sort of thing all the time.

  That’s when I realized that Landon and Roman didn’t just look like bad boys — they were bad boys, by every definition of those words.

  All my life, I had promised myself that I would never fall for a bad boy because they were bound to bring me nothing but trouble and, yet, here I was.

  We eased onto the highway and that’s when things got really crazy. The wind factor was something I hadn’t considered. It threatened to blow me away, so I tightened my hold on Landon and pressed my cheek against his back, so that he could shield me from the impossible gale.

  “How are you doing back there?” he shouted, but even so it was pretty difficult to hear him.

  “I’m fine.”

  I saw him look in the rearview mirror and curse under his breath.

  “What?”

  “We’ve got company.” He accelerated and the motorcycle flew forward, even faster than before. We were weaving through traffic and I was sure we’d be pulled over.

  What if I end up going to jail for all of this? I thought. They would probably label me an accomplice or something and then I’d end up behind bars, just for thinking that a couple of guys were pretty cute.

  This thought haunted me but not once did I consider that the police might think of me as a victim. I would never criminalize them in that way. Perhaps I didn’t understand the circumstances but I was sure that they had a good reason for what they were doing. After all, Landon had saved me, not once, but twice now. I owed him my life. The least I could do was listen to his explanation.

  For now, all I could do was pray that we would reach a point of safety sooner rather than later.

  Holding my breath, I looked over my shoulder and saw that the men from the night club were gaining on us. To my surprise, none of them carried a gun. If this was somehow gang-related, then wouldn’t bullets be flying right now?

  “Uh… Landon?”

  “On it,” he said and following Roman’s lead, we spun into the median and started down the opposite side of the highway. This threw our assailants for a loop but not for very long. Through the rearview mirror, I saw them turn around as well.

  Beep!

  I nearly jumped right out of my skin as a nearby car honked.

  Landon jerked on the handlebars and we took a terrifying lean towards the ground. We were so close to it that my hair brushed against the asphalt.

  By some miracle, Landon managed to get us back to an upright position but he lost most of his boot heel in the process. The whole place smelled of burnt rubber and we left tire skids in our wake.

  “You’re going to get us killed!” My voice shook. I was so damned close to shitting my pants. I know I said that I trusted this guy but he was really pushing the envelope. All I wanted to do was get off that death machine. Part of me thought that maybe all this was one of my crazy fucked up dreams but I knew that it wasn’t. My heart’s erratic heartbeat was much too real. At this point, I feared it might explode right out of my chest.

  Up ahead, Roman nearly crashed against a giant semi. He only managed to escape certain death by squeezing between two of them. I was holding my breath the entire time, praying that he wouldn’t get squished like a spider between the pages of a book.

  “Thank Heavens…” I whispered, when he made it safely out of there.

  To my horror, we were headed in the same direction. “What the hell are you doing?” I wailed, because as far as I was concerned, these guys had absolutely lost their minds. I had to get myself out of this mess before I found myself on the inside of a casket, looking like a chunk of roadkill.

  We were shooting the gap, when I loosened my grip in hopes of reaching the phone I kept tucked away in my bra. It was the most convenient place to store the thing when my dress didn’t have pockets and I couldn’t be bothered to carry a purse.

  “Don’t,” Landon’s hand tightened around mine, making it impossible for me to let go.

  Not only was he shooting a gap but he was doing it one-handed. Oh, yes, this guy was definitely going to send me to an early grave. I no longer had any doubts on the matter.

  “Watch out!” I screamed. There was a car right in front of us and at the speed we were going, we were sure to crash right into it.

  I don’t know how he managed to do it because my eyes were squeezed shut but, somehow, we avoided a collision.

  One of our followers wasn’t nearly as lucky.

  Crash!

  Debris flew in every direction.

  A body slammed into the ground and skidded into the middle of the highway. Thankfully, no other cars were involved in the accident but whoever had flown off of that motorcycle was never getting back up again.

  My stomach churned. In a way, I felt responsible for that death. All this was happening because I had agreed to go to that stupid night club with Homer. If I had just stayed home then that creepy guy wouldn’t have hit on me and none of this would have happened. But as much as I wanted to change the past, I couldn’t.

  All we could do was keep on riding.

  From the looks of it, there were only three guys still chasing after us and by the way Landon was driving, he was determined to get rid of them.

  We got off on an exi
t and weaved through some unknown town. Red lights were blown. Pedestrians were narrowly avoided.

  How in the hell we managed to get away with all this shit is beyond me but at some point, we ended up on the backroads. They were empty and it was just us against the goons that still chased us.

  Roman doubled back and tried to create a diversion that would throw them off their game but instead of working, it backfired.

  One of the members of the night club crew seemed to slash at his tires, with his… bare hands!

  Roman went flying off his bike but, somehow, he managed to land on his feet. There was a killer smile on his face. “I guess this is where we tango.”

  Landon came to a halt, the back tire nearly coming off the ground with the suddenness of it.

  “I want you to stay here and if Roman and I seem to be losing, I want you to take this bike and get the hell out of here. Do you hear me? You can’t go back home. You’ll have to find someplace new.”

  “What…?”

  “Please.” He begged me with his eyes before joining his partner in crime. They stood back to back and as athletic as they were, there was no way they would beat the group of three. They looked like literal giants.

  Call the police! I reminded myself as I fumbled for my cell phone, hands shaking.

  I was about to dial 9-1-1, when something happened that made me do a double-take. All the men had been replaced with giant dire wolf sized creatures. Hell, a dire wolf would be nothing more than a pup compared to these beasts. Even Landon and Roman had been replaced by them.

  “What the fuck…?” Was all I could manage to say.

  I couldn’t even grasp my mind around what had just happened, before they were at each others’ throats. The fastest wolf of them all had a sleek black coat that reminded me of Roman’s hair.

  He always said he was a wolf… my subconscious reminded me.

  No. This can’t be happening. Werewolves don’t really exist… I tried to convince myself but the battle unwinding right before my eyes was not something I could so easily ignore.

  The biggest wolf lunged towards Roman. Unable to avoid the attack, he ended up being thrown into a nearby tree. The trunk of it rattled and snapped right in half, falling with a great big, BOOM! I could see the claw marks on his side and the way the blood was pouring, matting up all of his fur into one big mess.