The last thing I remember is those witches arriving and knocking me unconscious. They must’ve taken my girl while I was out.
Fierce determination eclipses my fear, and I feel alive for the first time in weeks. Everything fades away except for the need to find my girl and ensure no one hurts her again.No one.
The wolf growls, capturing my attention, and I turn towards the grotesque creature in surprise. The intelligence in its beady yellow eyes…
“No fucking way,” I breathe, shock and horror mingling inside me. “You’re one of Grac—I mean, Izzy’s wolves, aren’t you?”
One of her mates, though I don’t say that word out loud. I know it’s true, but I don’t want to admit it—not even to myself. I would prefer to pretend these fuckers don’t exist and that Izzy is mine and mine alone.
The wolf releases a strange yipping sound that I take as a “yes.”
“Which one are you?” I frown as I study his pink, hairless body.
I’ve done extensive research into all of the fuckers sniffing around Izzy—dog pun unintended. This wolf isn’t nearly as big as I imagine Reid’s is, and he doesn’t have that cocky arrogance I’ve come to expect from Ashton. So that means…
“You’re one of the twins, aren’t you?”
Another yip.
“Emery?” I guess, speaking the first name I can think of.
I think he’s the one with tattoos? Or do they both have tattoos? I’ll admit, I didn’t pay too much attention to their physical appearances aside from locating areas they could be stabbed if the situation called for it.
The wolf shakes his head with a low whine.
Shit. What’s the other wolf’s name? It starts with an E.
Engle? No. What the fuck type of name is Engle?
Elvis?
No…
The wolf gives me an annoyed look, as if he’s questioning my intelligence, and the name comes to me.
“Ethan,” I say.
The wolf nods his huge head.
I sift through everything I know about Ethan. He has a twin named Emery. He was arrested by the shifter Council after driving his car through a fellow wolf’s house. He spent a few months in rehab before being released. Apparently, he’s smart. When I looked up his school files, I found that he was at the top of his class and in the running for valedictorian.
He’s also smart enough to know who I am and what my relationship is to Gracie. Does he suspect that I’m her mate as well? I suppose it doesn’t matter. Nothing matters besides getting her back.
“The damn witches took her,” I growl out, feeling my fangs elongate a fraction of an inch.
They don’t make a complete appearance, however. They can’t. Not without blood in my system. Still, it’s a testament to the anger rampaging through me that they’re able to materialize in the first place.
“There were dozens of them. And the Trinity.”
Ethan growls, his wolfy face distorting in anger. It’s strange to see. I never would’ve thought animals to be expressive before, but I can see every inch of fury painted across his face—from his bared teeth, to the malicious gleam in his eyes, to the flaring of his nostrils.
“The bitches knocked me out,” I continue, forcing myself to my feet. I’m grateful when my legs don’t shake. That would be fucking embarrassing. “We need to get her back.”
Ethan releases another high-pitched yipping sound and begins to prance around me. It takes me only a moment to realize that he’s trying to get me to follow him.
But there’s no way in hell I can go to where the other shifters are. I’m still dressed as a gunman. They’ll kill me on sight, and I can’t even blame them.
Ethan must see something on my face because he stops walking. Sits down. Cants his head to the side curiously.
