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“You’re safe,” I tell him, raising my hands. “Weare safe.”
I could shift…but I think that would set off warning bells in his mind. I try to stay calm, knowing if I get too scared that at least a partial shift will be inevitable.
Then he takes a big step toward me, hunkering down, and shifting stops being a choice.
I turn, my back hunching as I get on all fours, my claws coming out and my jaws elongating. It’s been so long since I fully shifted that it feels weird and wonky, the adrenaline the only thing keeping me sane.
But it seems to work on Javi, because he cocks his head at me and stops snarling.
I pad toward him, wishing I could still talk…but it’s worth it to do this, because the bond crackles to life. I feel his fear, his confusion, and I realize with a start that he has no idea who I am.
He just knows my scent—mate, protect,child.
I close the distance between us and rub my face against his coat, nosing at his ribs. His wounds are healing, but he still hurts, open wounds on his muzzle and chest. I lick them in some semblance of comfort, monitoring the bond.
The static grows and swells.
He collapses.
Convulses.
I guide him down to the floor and whine as he loses control of his body once again, struggling for life. He’s still in the thick of it—the kraken must still be in his system. His eyes are glazed and he’s trapped in this form, and it seems to be getting worse.
Then he’s back to it—panting, staring out into nowhere. I curl up beside him and try to comfort him, but he doesn’t respond at all.
So I go back to waiting—for Javi to recover, for the Austin Pack to come and find us, for Gideon to inflict some new, horrible punishment.
And I hope I won’t have to wait long.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
?
PEACHES
Night falls…time passes…I keep waiting.
Javi doesn’t come to. My pack doesn’t arrive. It’s radio silence from Gideon.
I shift back to my human form and huddle against my mate.
I’m left alone in stasis, fending off nausea that I can’t determine the source of—anxiety or pregnancy.
It’s got to be well past midnight when I get the first sense that something is different about tonight. A shout sounds from outside, floodlights suddenly blaring in the direction of the docks. I go to the window and watch for a sign of my people or at least Ephraim. All I see are running Gulf Pack alphas, all heading toward the dock.
This can’t work. They can’t have thought a full-on assault of the dock would work…right?
Someone pounds on the door and I snap my head toward it, gripping Javi’s fur. He doesn’t move a muscle, the wolf’s green eyes staring straight ahead, his chest rising and falling rapidly. I get up slowly and move toward the door, afraid of what I might find on the other side.
It could be Gideon, here to lock us away somewhere we can’t escape.
Or it could be the Austin pack, here to bring us home.
Another loud, desperate knock comes at the door and I finally get the nerve up to open it…
…and my heart swells.
“Peaches!” Soledad breathes. “Holy shit—you’re alive, oh my God.”
