Page 221 of The Alpha's Second Chance Mate

My body was no longer my own to control now that gravity had me, and she was a goddamn bitch. With each spin, roll, and tumble, I slammed into a rock, branch, or hard-packed earth. Nothing felt broken, but my breath was ripped from my lungs when I crashed against a severely rotten tree. Rather than stopping me, the termite-eaten pulp shattered into a billowing cloud of wood dust that choked me. My side throbbed from the impact.

As I hit the bottom of the embankment, I could taste blood in my mouth where my teeth had cut into my cheek. Every inch of my body screamed at me to stay there, to catch my breath and recover. But my pursuers were still coming.

“Get up,” I mumbled to myself, heaving air into my lungs. Digging at the dirt with my fingers, I clenched my teeth. “Get up!”

Against my body’s wishes, I managed to get to my hands and knees, and a moment later, I was sprinting again. My head rang from what might have been a concussion from the fall, but the fear pushed me, washing away the pain and disorientation. I was close. I had to be.

Putting on more speed, I tried to ignore the shouts behind me. I glanced through a break in the woods and saw a street sign. Holy shit, Iwasclose. That wasn’t just wishful thinking. I was parallel to Stormy’s street. A little farther, and I’d be there.

Behind me, one of the men slipped and fell. I heard him let out a canine growl before the sound of padding paws returned. A bit more. Less than a hundred yards now. I could see Stormy’s house through the foliage. Could see the sunlight glinting off her windows. I was within striking distance now. Once in her yard, I’d start screaming for her, shouting for her to call the police, to call Cole, to open the door. She’d do it, we’d slam it shut, lock it, and wait for Cole to arrive. I could see it all happening. I only had to get there.

A hand closed on the back of my t-shirt and yanked hard. The collar of my shirt dug painfully deep into my throat, making me gag and throwing me off-balance. My head and chest went backward, my feet flying out from under me. I crashed to the ground with a brain-rattling thud. An explosion of painshattered what little thoughts I had left as a hand came down on my cheek with a crack. More blood filled my mouth as my lip split.

“Fucking whore!” Chad spat on my face. A warm, gelatinous glob of mucus splattered onto my cheek. Had I not been in so much pain, I would have retched at the hot slime oozing down my face.

“Let’s get this over with,” Jamal said.

I blinked, eyes fuzzy with pain, as Jamal lowered the white cloth and pressed it to my mouth and nose. That astringent scent I’d caught earlier overwhelmed me. Each breath I took burned as the chemicals filled my lungs. Chad pinned my arms, preventing me from struggling, but it wasn’t necessary. All the fight had left me. My body was exhausted.

I glanced to the right and watched in horror as, through the trees, Stormy came out, holding Shiloh. Unaware that her best friend was struggling for her life mere yards away, she plucked a flower and ran it across Shiloh’s face. Shiloh giggled loud enough for me to hear it. The faint, musical sound of her laugh broke my heart. Help was so close, yet they might as well have been a million miles away.

A moment later, the world went dark.

52

COLE

“What happens at midnight tomorrow?” Trent asked.

“I have no clue, but we’ve got to be ready,” I said.

After I’d read the note, it took several minutes for it to really sink in. Someone was trying to help us from the inside. Unless Dallas had taken to wearing women’s heels and wigs, it meant that someone other than my brother was helping as well. Regardless of what Dallas had done in the past, after our conversation, I believed he really did want to keep Ashton safe. If two people in Kyle’s inner circle were ready to flip on him, our odds of success were exponentially better than they had been a day ago.

“Where the hell is Langston?” I asked, glancing around the hospital.

We’d waited to hear if the second wolf had been cured, and Milbanks had updated us a few moments before. The other wolf was completely cured, just like Kolchak. I was itching to leave, but Langston wasn’t around.

“Said he wanted to try a Hail Mary. Not sure what he’s working on, but he’s down that hall on the phone.”

As Trent spoke, my phone began to ring.

“I kinda like the sound of that,” I said. “Maybe someone else can help?” My heart was hammering like mad. The note, along with my meeting with Dallas, had lifted my spirits and made me truly believe that we could succeed.

“Could be,” Trent said with a shrug.

The phone was still ringing. I sighed and pulled it out. Avery. On another day, I’d be excited to hear her voice, especially after our fight, but there was too much to do, too much to plan.

“Avery, now’s not a good time. Can I call you back?”

“Cole, you don’t understand, I’ve got something important?—”

“Avery, something big is happening. I can’t explain over the phone, there’s too much. Hang tight, and I’ll be there soon. Are you at your place?”

“Is it about Ashton?” The hopeful anxiety in her voice tugged at my heart.

“I’ll see you in a little bit and explain,” I said, hating that it had to be this way, but I didn’t want to do this over the phone. I wanted to be with her. “It’ll bewayeasier in person. Are you at home?”

Langston came walking down the hall, a shit-eating grin on his face. He looked excited about something.

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