I still don’t know how this man knows me. Was I rude to him at the bookstore one day? Did I cut him off in traffic? A thousand possibilities flood my brain before I reach the seating area beside the Kiki’s Cafe food stand. Jamie and the rest of the Double Double team are on the other side handing out lattes and fancy hot chocolate. There are about four people separating the man from me now as I try to catch Jamie’s eye.
I hope with my entire being that the pull between us can somehow let him know when I’m in trouble. Jamie’s form appears sporadically in the distance as people pass in front of where I’m standing, so I focus all of my attention on him.
Then, as if he’s heard me call his name, he looks up.
Chapter Thirty-Three
JAMIE
Ifeel a pull in my gut, like the universe is nudging me to get my attention, and I’m compelled to glance out into the crowd. My eyes fall directly onto Raegan. She’s standing stark still in the seating area next to Kiki’s while everyone else moves around her. She’s as pale as a ghost, and my heart drops at the clear fear on her face.
I’m racing to her before my brain has even registered my legs are moving. I have to get to her. I have to make sure she’s okay. Nothing is more important right now. But as I push through the crowd of visitors dressed in fall hues, I detect a dark spot among the colors.
A man in a black zip up hoodie is standing a few feet behind Raegan. His eyes are trained on her like a predator locking in on their prey. I can’t get a clear view of the man’s face, but all my senses tell me it’s Patrick. Though I made sure to prep my closest friends for his possible return, I hadn’t truly believed he would show up.
I should have known a man like Patrick would be relentless in his quest for revenge. Men like Patrick don’t just brush off an insult to their pride by getting even. Men like Patrick wantto win, and in his eyes, that means having Raegan. I guarantee he’s currently sorting through all the ways he can whisk her away without anyone being the wiser, but I’ll be dead before that happens.
I’m nearly close enough to reach out and pull Raegan to my side when I see Kendra approaching him. She must have spotted him about the same time I spotted Raegan, but what in the world does she think she’s doing? I didn’t want the sisters putting themselves in harm’s way. I only told them to keep an eye out for anyone suspicious. Little did I know Kendra would be brave enough to confront Patrick directly.
I manage to reach Raegan and protectively wrap my arms around her just as Kendra stares down Patrick with solid black eyes, exaggerated by the dramatic makeup. I’ve never seen them like that before, but looking at them makes me feel like I’m being sucked into an endless pit of doom. This is not the kind-hearted banshee I know and love. This is a myth from storybooks, come to life.
She starts to open her mouth, and Raegan and I hastily try to cover our ears, but before Kendra can release her ear-splitting cry, she’s shoved backward. Others around us gasp as she falls clumsily to the sidewalk, nearly hitting her head on the cobblestones if not for a cluster of pumpkins breaking the impact.
My wolf threatens to break the surface as Raegan clings to my body.Where the hell is that good-for-nothing sheriff ?
But then Aidan appears, having heard the commotion, and pops a pair of fake vampire teeth from his mouth, shoving them in his pocket before going to Kendra’s side. Then Kiki is there, helping her sister to her feet.
I was angry before, but now I’m outright enraged.
This mother fucker has got the go.
It’s then that I fully see the man’s face, and I realize I had all my fear staked on the wrong guy. It’s not Patrick standing in front of me, but Banks—the wolf Rhett warned me might try to exile me from the pack and steal Raegan.
Before I can fully process this realization, Banks pulls a knife from his pockets and lashes out. I try to yank Raegan out of his reach, but I’m not fast enough, and the blade slices messily through her sweater and the back of her forearm. Her scream of pain breaks through any shred of self control I still hold onto.
This mother fucker has to die.
One minute, I’m shoving Raegan behind me just as Aidan sweeps her away, and the next, I’m lunging for Banks’ throat.
Chapter Thirty-Four
RAEGAN
At first, I’m not sure what just happened.
I felt a quick sting of pain on my forearm, but I didn’t see where it came from. I assume it had to be from the guy’s weapon he’d been hiding, but I was moved out of the way so quickly, I didn’t get a chance to see.
Only a second ago I was tucked away safely in Jamie’s arms, but now I’m surrounded by Aidan’s cool touch. He’s pulling me backward into the crowd and away from the space that’s opened up around Jamie and the assailant. I watch in what feels like slow motion as Jamie’s back muscles tense and grow in front of my eyes.
His flannel rips in half and hangs from his arms in shreds. His back hunches as his body curls inward, all while muscles stretch and lengthen. His knees bend backward. His neck thickens. And in a matter of seconds, a wolf replaces a full grown man.
Seeing Jamie shift is shocking—scary even—but seeing the menace in his eyes as a wolf is more terrifying than anything I’ve ever seen before.
The man stands unflinching as Jamie pounces, even when Jamie’s teeth come within inches of his face. He just steps out of the way as if he’s a superhero dodging a bullet. They both move with such agile speed.
The crowd lets out a collective scream, and people start running in different directions. I don’t know which way is what, but Aidan manages to direct us to the sidewalk and out of the chaos. The tourists have all scattered, but everyone else is staring open-mouthed at the sight of a fully shifted wolf. Like me, I don’t think most of Shadow Hills’ residents have seen the werewolves in their wolf forms, so this must be a huge shock.
Jamie then catches the man by his pant leg forcing him to the ground. I fear how far he is willing to go now that he’s in the body of a predator. He has every reason to mutilate this stranger beyond recognition for what he’s done, but Jamie’s attacks feel personal. Like he knows him.
