Page 122 of Cowboy Bull's Promise

My vision tunnels, the edges going black as the Bull takes over.

I roar, the sound blasting out of my throat with a guttural fury that shakes the walls.

It’s not human.

Not even close.

The customers in the bar will hear it and run. I don’t give a fuck.

Zeke skids in behind me, takes one look at the scene, and his eyes go full Dragon, purple and glowing with rage.

“Call the Crew!” I shout, my voice shredded with panic and power.

“What’s going on?” he asks.

“Arliss. They have her. She’s gone.”

I don’t wait for his response.

I turn and charge out the back door, fists clenched, heart thundering like hooves.

Nothing will stop me.

Not the night.

Not blood.

Not the motherfucking Rut.

Because my mate has been taken.

And the last thing those bastards will ever see is a Bull on a warpath.

Chapter Twenty-Six-Arliss

My head is pounding, a slow, sick rhythm that matches the rumble beneath me as I start to come to.

Where the hell am I?

The air is sharp with the stench of gasoline, sweat, and something else—something animal.

It’s muskier than anything I’ve ever smelled, rank and wild and wrong.

Like a soiled litter box that’s been sitting in the sun.

The metallic tang of blood mixes with cheap aftershave and motor oil, and it makes my stomach roll.

The van I’m in feels like it’s doing a hundred down a bumpy back road, each jolt rattling my bones, making the ache in my skull bloom into something worse.

I try to move, but I can’t.

There’s something stuffed in my mouth.

Cotton or cloth?

I don’t know. I can’t tell.

But it’s damp with saliva and pressing painfully against my tongue. Tape is strapped tight across it, pulling at the skin around my lips.

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