Page 100 of Healed in the Alpha's Embrace
Something within me snapped to life. Instinct took over. The self-defense classes weren’t just distant memories anymore. I sidestepped his grasp, twisted his wrist away, and pushed him back hard. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to put me between him and Ro.
“Leave us alone,” I managed to say, heart pounding, praying that whatever courage had found me would last just a little longer.
His laugh was a low rumble in the silence that followed my defiance. “Oh, Zoey.” His tone dripped with false pity as he reached inside his jacket.
My breath caught in my throat when the glint of metal revealed itself.
“Here’s the deal,” he stated, pointing the gun at me with a steady hand. “You’re going to come with me now, or I’ll shoot you in the leg.” His lips twisted into a cruel smirk. “Your choice. Either way, you’re leaving with me. On one leg or two, I don’t care.”
I stood frozen, cold dread seeping into my bones. The knowledge of Ro’s presence behind me was my only comfort, his fear a silent whisper in the tension-filled room.
Suddenly, Ro let out a low growl, his shifter instincts responding to the threat before us.
George’s chuckle sliced through the air. “Is that supposed to scare me, pup? You think you can protect her?”
Before I could respond, a deep, thunderous roar erupted from the woods outside. So powerful, it vibrated through the walls.
George’s expression flickered with the first sign of uncertainty, his attention darting toward the window, the gun wavering for just a second.
“Fuck,” George said, the curse slicing through the eerie silence. His hand shifted, the gun’s aim veering from me to Heather. “Don’t test me, Zoey.”
“George, please!” My voice cracked as I stepped toward him, palms outstretched, pleading. “Don’t do this.”
“Shut up.” The cold steel of his gaze locked onto mine. “Get the kid, and get in the car. Or I put a bullet in her head.”
Heather’s eyes met mine, green flames of defiance burning bright even at gunpoint. But my heart hammered against my ribs, raw terror for her life strangling any words I might have said.
“Okay,” I gasped out, every fiber in my body screaming against the decision. “Okay, I’ll go with you. But leave Ro here. Please.”
“No!” Ro’s shout of protest was a thunderclap. “Mom, you can’t let?—”
“Be quiet, Ro!” I turned, trying to silence him with a look.
But my son shook his head fiercely, stepping closer. “I have to protect you, like Noah would. I won’t let him take you.”
“Didn’t I already tell you to mind your fucking manners? I make the rules. Now get in the fucking car,” George snarled, the gun swinging back to point at Heather.
Taking hold of Ro’s arm, he marched him toward the car. “Don’t say that fucker’s name, do you understand me, boy? I’ll teach you to mind me.”
I watched as George pushed my son into the back of his car.
My heart pounded, my hands slick with cold sweat as I tried to pull my phone out of my jacket pocket. It clattered to the ground. I dived for the back door of George’s car to get Ro out. George was right behind me, his footsteps a menacing echo on the sidewalk. He grabbed my hair and pulled me back.
I screamed and clawed at him as he tried to push me into the car, but I fought with every fiber of my being.
Before George could get me into the car, a guttural roar split the air. A massive beast, muscles rippling beneath its fur, charged around the corner of the house.
Noah.
The sight of him, so fierce and powerful, sent a jolt of hope through me.
“Noah!” I screamed, trying to warn him as he bore down on George. “Gun!”
The sound of gunfire tore through the roar, a sharp crack that made my blood run cold.
Noah hit the ground. Blood seeped from the wound in his stomach.
George jumped into the car and pulled out onto the road.
