Page 133 of Hawke

“How about we check the phone?” He jutted his chin out with his bloodied beard. “Make sure that woman is alright?”

Cheese and crackers, I almost forgot.

I patted Bram’s shoulder before racing over and tripping over Shane’s leather shoes. I must have tripped wrong because then my body was jolted with an electrical searing pain. It was like thousands of tiny fire ants under my skin trying to poke through every little pore.

Hawke, making his way back from the open door, rushed to me and caught me in a gentle embrace before I could fall to the floor. His hand softly cupped my head, and I heard the steady beat of his heart as he drew me to his chest. His loud purring was like a lullaby, calming the pain to a manageable level, but I still felt uneasy.

The muscles were pulsing with the pain radiating to each ligament of my body. I felt the bones in my body bending. Bones can’t bend!

They aren’t supposed to bend right?

“You’re hurt. When did you get hurt? And why are you running?” Hawke’s panic came hard and fast through our bond.

My wolf whimpered, unable to manage the force of his emotions.

“The maid? I need to see if she’s okay?” Hawke’s arms caught me as my knees gave out, and I felt myself being carried across the room and laid down on the lone couch. Luckily, there was no blood, just the soft cushion and Hawke’s firm body keeping me close.

The pain was subsiding, but I felt like exploding. Like my skin was too small for my body.

My wolf—she was just mingling at the surface. I could feel her.

“Come out,” I whispered. “I want her to come out. I think that’s what she needs to do.”

Hawke patted my hair. I felt the nervousness on his side of the bond. “She’s scared, Sunshine. She’s scared to shift.”

Hawke’s eyes followed Bram’s movements as he trudged through the pools of blood to our side of the room.

Please tell me having bodies all over shifter’s homes wasn’t the norm?

“Do wolves get scared to shift their first time?” I asked.

My body contorted into the fetal position, and I gripped Hawke’s arm, piercing his skin, but he let me.

I needed to feel close to him.

Bram stood closer, sitting on the other side of the couch. He grabbed my ankle, and Hawke let out a growl in warning.

“Easy, now,” Bram said. “Let me see what’s going on here. Why don’t you find out about the maid?”

Hawke cleared his throat and reached over to the phone that laid on the floor. He wiped the screen that was splattered with blood.

“Dede, it’s just a picture.” He tapped the phone several more times with his thumb. “It isn’t a live feed. It looks like a picture from a security feed.”

My lip quivered. She couldn’t be dead.

“Shane isn’t a liar. I know that. She’s alive. We have to go get her,” I demanded.

Hawke nodded, petting my sweaty forehead.

“We will get her, Sunshine. I believe you. Switch will hack the phone. We will get a team up there. I don’t know how, but we will.”

“W-what do you mean?” Another shock of warping bones made me gasp. My fingers dug into Hawke’s leg, and his purr grew heavier.

I kept the sounds of pain inside me, not wanting to upset him but I believe he felt it. He was whispering harshly to Bram, but he shook his head, unable to give him any encouragement about what to do.

As the pain waned, Bram continued to rub his thumb over my ankle until he sighed audibly.

“I hate to admit failure, and I’ve been doing a lot of that lately, failing,” Bram said, rubbing his forehead.

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