His eyes flicker with regret. “For what it’s worth, I didn’t mind that guy. When I got rid of Zoe, at least I felt like she deserved it. Cheating quat.”
Rage hisses through me.
He raises the gun.
I brace myself, ready for the shot. I have no illusions. This is it.
I see his finger lowering onto the trigger, a nanosecond away from squeezing it, when there’s a flash of movement.
A white blur. Faster than the bullet in Hawkins’s chamber. It bursts from the underbrush behind us with a growl that reverberates through the night.
Hawkins’s shot goes off, but it’s wide, the bullet whizzing near my ear. I stagger to my feet trying to make sense of what’s happening, blinking as the blur takes form and I realize what I’m seeing.
It’s a ridgehowler.
Myridgehowler.
The white wolf crashes into Hawkins and sends him falling to the ground. The gun drops from his hand, lying useless on the dirt, and I catch a glimpse of piercing yellow eyes, gleaming with bloodlust, before Prince’s jaws sink into Hawkins’s throat.
The patch of red fur around his eye looks like dried blood, shades darker than the actual blood pouring from Hawkins. The wolf’s sleek body thrashes as he rips into my would-be killer.
I stand there, frozen. I don’t call off the ridgehowler. I just watch, breathing hard, as Hawkins’s screams fade into gurgles.
Finally, I force my gaze away. With shaky hands, I pick up the discarded gun. But I won’t need to use it.
In the deafening silence that follows, Prince releases Hawkins’s bloody throat and backs away. His muzzle is stained red. When he looks at me, I swear he’s asking for approval.
I nod weakly. “Thanks, boy.”
He shuffles closer to me, brushing his soft head beneath my hand. I reach down, my trembling fingers running through his fur.
With a soft yip, he nuzzles my palm, then disappears into the shadows.
Still shaking, I fumble to get my comm out of my back pocket. I want to reach out to Gray, but I can’t erase his look of revulsion when he discovered the truth about me. I contact Saint instead.
Get to the bluff. Right now. Come alone.
He shows up faster than I expect, stopping in his tracks when he finds me standing over Hawkins’s body.
“What the fuck?” Saint snaps.
Yeah, sounds about right.
“What happened?”
The words spill out in a torrent I can’t contain. I tell him the whole story, from overhearing Kallister’s plot to corrupt innocents, to watching in terror as Hawkins incited Mako to his death, to the ridgehowler coming out of nowhere and mauling Hawkins.
“A ridgehowler did that?” Saint’s gaze fixes on the other man’s injuries.
“Yeah.”
“And it didn’t attack you?”
I shake my head. “No. He’s sort of, ah, a friend, I guess.”
“You made friends with a ridgehowler.” I can’t tell if he’s more perplexed or amused.
“It’s a long story.”
