Page 57 of In Your Eyes
Not one to dawdle, I ran through the basics—soap, shampoo, shave—then I turned off the water. I was standing on the bathmat, rubbing a towel over my hair, when my skin suddenly prickled and every nerve went on high alert.
“Korban?” I said, even though I knew he wouldn’t be able to hear me all the way down in the kitchen.
For a second there was nothing, and then he was there, in my head—sad, scared, hurt, and calling for me. It was just one word, my name:Samuel.But it made me shift into my wolf so quickly that four paws hit the floor before the towel I’d been holding.
Within seconds, I was racing down the stairs with my ears standing straight up, flicking my gaze all around. My first stop was the kitchen because that was where I had last seen him, but I came up empty.
Samuel.I heard him in my head again, weaker this time.
Yipping in frustration at my inability to help him or even locate him, I returned to the main part of the house and caught a scent I hadn’t noticed in my haste through the space the first time: Dennis Keller. It was faint, but in my wolf skin my senses were sharper, so I knew it was him.
The scent originated by the front door. I leaped in that direction, realizing in midair I’d need hands to open the doorknob. I landed on two feet, turned the handle, and yanked the door open. Then I shifted back into my stronger form and dashed onto the porch.
Never before had I been able to change from wolf to man and back again so quickly and seamlessly. The power that coursed through me was stronger too. Instinctively, I knew being with my true mate was the source of those blessings. Without him, I had been a shadow, incomplete. He had changed that, changed me. And nobody would take him away. Korban was mine.
Korban!I called to him in my mind, hoping he could hear me like I had been able to hear him.
He didn’t respond.
Raising my muzzle in the air, I sniffed, hoping to narrow in on his location. He had spent enough time at the house, the surrounding yard, and the adjacent woods that his scent was strong everywhere. I rumbled deep in my chest, pleased that my mate’s presence was established in my den. But I couldn’t relish the moment because I had to find him.
Though Korban’s scent was welcome and expected, Dennis’s was not. I bolted across the yard, tracking the intruder. As I neared the edge of the forest, I picked up yet another scent: Dirk Keller. Rage infused me, my hatred for the man who killed my father rising to the surface and bubbling over. He was in my territory, threatening my mate; this time when I caught him, I wouldn’t let go until he was dead.
Korban!I called out in my mind once again as I charged forward, my paws barely making contact with the dirt. I deftly avoided the trees and brush and made up Dennis and Dirk’s lead. Within moments, I was near enough to hear them.
“Hurry,” Dirk said.
“I’m trying, but he’s heavy and it’s dark,” Dennis responded breathlessly.
They were carrying my mate. Korban wasn’t answering my calls and they were carrying him. What had they done? Throwing my head in the air, I howled in warning and increased my speed.
“Is that Samuel Goodwin?” Dennis squeaked.
“Yes.”
“He sounds close.”
“That’s why I told you to hurry!” Dirk snapped.
“How did he know where to track us?” Dennis sounded nervous. It was the first good instinct I’d heard the man exhibit. “You said he wouldn’t know. You said he wouldn’t care.”
“They’re not much further,” Dirk said. “We can reach them.”
“Did you notice that Korban smells different?” Dennis asked breathlessly. “He smells like Goodwin. Why is that, Dirk?”
He knew the answer. They both did. Even if they refused to admitit.
“There! I see them,” Dirk said moments before I broke through the low-hanging branches of the final tree blocking him from my sight.
Dirk was limping.
Dennis had Korban flung over his shoulders. My mate was in his wolf form. His eyes were closed, his legs hung down limply, and the scent of his blood permeated the air.
I growled and pounced. Both men turned on their heels, their eyes wide with surprise. Dennis opened his mouth to say something, but nobody would ever know what it was because I clamped my jaws around his throat, took him to the dirt, and ripped out his jugular.
The sudden impact with the ground had my still unconscious mate groaning. I went to him, nudged his snout with mine, and swiped my tongue over his forehead, cleaning the blood clotted on top of a hot, swollen knot. When he didn’t wake, I licked his lips and neck. I wanted him to open his beautiful blue eyes. I also wanted to kill every person responsible for hurting him.
Dirk hadn’t stopped to help his brother, choosing instead to escape. Though he was no longer in my line of sight, I knew I could catch him with ease. Unfortunately, it would require leaving Korban vulnerable and unattended. I whined in frustration, my need to seek vengeance and eliminate the danger to my mate outweighed by my desire to protect and care for him.
