Page 12 of Cold Foot Curse

That was Cash. That was Cash! That snowy owl was Cash, and he had Changed so fast! He’d got her out of the way. He was here to help. He was here to help her, right? Her mind was racing as she yanked the front door open. The rhino had pushed Connor’s bear right through the outer wall and into the living room, and it was pure violence.

No time! The back side of the house was collapsing, and she needed her locket!

She bolted up the stairs, screaming as the polar bear flew across the stairwell and cracked through the railing. He roared and charged the rhino, and that had been so close! He could’ve swiped her with his massive paw if he’d noticed her here!

The house was being absolutely destroyed, and the rest of the Crew would be here any second. She shoved her bedroom door open and ran across the room, fell to her knees, and skidded to a stop in front of the back wall. She pried the loose baseboard off the wall and reached into the space she’d cut years ago. She pulled out the little velvet jewelry pouch and shoved it into her pocket just as the frame of the house buckled. She yelped as the floor she was sitting on dropped by three feet suddenly. Her stomach dipped with the movement. The stairwell would be gone. She looked around the room frantically for anything else she would need, because Derek would take all of this out on her. He would. He would make this her fault. He always needed someone weaker to blame, and she’d been weak for so long.

The floor dipped again and angled toward her door steeply. She fell on her stomach, but clawed her way toward the window, pulled herself up to it, and pushed it up. It shattered with the next buckle of the house, and she flung her arms over her face to protect it. When she opened her eyes again, she was barely able to register the snowy owl, his wings outstretched, trying to slow down, his talons reaching for her.

Jess didn’t think. She just reacted.

The floor was collapsing, and she pushed herself out the window and reached for the owl as she fell.

He caught her by the upper arms.

A cuss whooshed out of her lungs as she was saved from colliding with the earth and launched upward. From up here, she could see what was happening below. Others in the Sister’s Edge Crew had reached the backyard and were Changing. The rhino wasn’t fighting Connor anymore. Was he dead? Instead, Kade was charging right for a pair of grizzlies. That was the last she saw before she was whisked back down toward a black pickup truck parked down the street.

The owl dropped her by the passenger door, and frantically, she yanked the door open, climbed inside, and slammed the door beside her. She shoved the jewelry pouch even deeper into her pocket for safekeeping and averted her gaze as a very naked Cash slid behind the wheel.

He started it up, threw it into drive, and hit the gas.

Panting, she turned to see some of the Crew were sprinting their way. Miles Changed into his wolf and immediately started gaining on them.

“They’re going to kill us.”

“They won’t.”

“You don’t understand. Yes they will! If anyone leaves, it’s only with the blessing of the Alpha.”

“Well, you aren’t going back there, lady! That dude broke a glass door over you. He didn’t care if you were hurt. Even if you wanted to stay out of some abuse-victim loyalty to this place, Kade won’t allow it.”

“Kade doesn’t have anything to do with me!”

“Tell that to Kade, who went berserk the second someone drew blood. From you.” He jammed a thumb to the back window. “You want to have a sit-down with him now?”

She looked back, and Miles was running neck and neck with Kade’s enormous rhino. He slung his head, and the werewolf went flying into a neighbor’s yard.

This was definitely going to make the news.

“You’re bleeding.”

She took her attention off the powerful animal gaining on them just long enough to witness the concern on Cash’s face.

“I’m fine.”

“Can you make that stop?” he asked, pointing to her arm.

Confused, she looked down at the sleeve of her hoodie, but it was soaking wet, and warm. “Shoot,” she murmured as she twisted to look at the back of her arm. There was a huge piece of glass lodged into her arm.

She gritted her teeth and pulled it out with a grunt, then dropped the dripping glass on the floorboard by her feet.

“Sweet, that was disturbing and now I’m traumatized,” Cash griped. “Now can you heal it faster or something?”

There was a duffel bag in the back, and she turned in the seat and rifled through it, then pulled out a T-shirt. “I don’t heal fast.”

“Come again? You’re a shifter, right?”

“Kind of. I lost the animal, mostly.”

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