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“Madd, I…”
“Don’t,” I choke, shaking my head. “Don’t say that was a mistake.”
Her brow furrows. “I wasn’t…”
“I like you, Sloane,” I blurt, not letting her finish. I’ve gotta get this out before I lose my nerve. “I like you as more than a friend. I have for a while.”
I hold my breath, watching as her lips curl up into a soft smile. “I do, too.”
I flinch back in surprise. “You do?”
“Well yeah, I just didn’t want to ruin the friendship, ya know?” She chuckles softly, lifting a hand to cup my jaw. “I like you, but I wasn’t sure if you felt the same way, so I didn’t wanna risk it,” she admits with a sheepish grin.
My heart stutters in my chest, tripping over its valves to catch up.
Is this really happening?
“Okay, I’m feeling really awkward right now, so I’m gonna need you to say something or kiss me again or-”
I dive in to capture her lips before she can finish that sentence, kissing the hell out of her. And though that first kiss was magic, it doesn’t hold a candle to the second one. I lift her into my arms, holding her body tight to mine as I ravage her with my tongue and lips and teeth, not coming up for air until I’m on the verge of suffocation.
“Damn, well I guess that settles it. I can’t believe you’re my girl,” I say incredulously as I struggle to catch my breath. “Mine.”
“And you’remine,” she replies, grinning smugly as she bops the tip of my nose with a fingertip. “Don’t you dare forget it, Maddox Kessler. It’s me and you.”
“You and me,” I agree, staring at her in awe as my whole world shifts on its axis, all the jagged pieces finally fitting together and making sense.
She squirms against me and I relinquish my grip, allowing her to slide down my body and find her footing in the snow. “Well since that’s out of the way, now what?” she asks, shoving her hands into the front pocket of her hoodie and tilting her head in question.
A low chuckle rumbles in my chest as I reach out for her arm, dragging one of her hands back out of her pocket and clasping it in my own. “Now let’s go stir shit up like we always do,” I say, waggling my brows. “From here on out, we’re the duke and duchess of fucking mayhem, baby.”
2
Present Day
My heart pounds as I sprint through the forest, mud squelching beneath my paws. A storm rolled through here earlier, and now the wet terrain of the forest floor is slowing me down.
Hopefully it’s slowingthemdown, too.
I can hear them behind me in hot pursuit. I’m running as fast as I can, chest heaving and lungs burning from the effort, yet it still doesn’t seem fast enough. I’m lagging with exhaustion, and they’re starting to catch up on their ATV’s.
Gunshots pop off, the deafening sound of each one echoing through the forest around me like a death knell. One whizzes past my ear, so close that I can feel the heat of the bullet before it embeds itself into the trunk of a tree just ahead, bark splintering from the impact.
Too close.
They’re too close, and the foliage around me is starting to thin. There’s a clearing ahead. If I get caught out there in the open, I know I’m done for.
A shriek pierces the air- the sharp, pained howl of another wolf. One I recognize all too well. As soon as I hear it, something inside me breaks, a wave of pain searing through my limbs and causing me to stumble. My body seizes in agony as the bond between us severs, feeling like it’s being physically torn from my skin.
My mate.
He’s dead.
The realization slams into me as another shot pops off, the heat of the bullet tearing through the flesh of my thigh. The burning agony is so intense that it’s momentarily blinding, a high-pitched yelp escaping me as I try and fail to find my footing.
Then I see them.
It’s too late.
