Page 2 of Fated to the Wolf Cowboy
The thing was, our Alpha wasn’t a bad guy. In fact, Morris had helped me on numerous occasions. He tried to keep order within the Pack, but we were too big, too spread out for one man to control. A kingpin had risen quickly in recent years. He’d never officially challenged for control of the Pack, but he did what he wanted, when he wanted. Morris may still be the man in change in name, but not in actuality. The kingpin funded the Pack now and the men that worked for him were savage; more wolf than man.
All stereotypes were there for a reason, and the Wolf of Wall Street had certainly become one that arose more realistically than any human could comprehend.
My kind had roamed this territory long before the humans settled here. At first, we’d lived more like victims in hiding, but at some point, that had all changed. Deals had been struck, real estate sold, until there were those that now controlled it all—the legitimate and illegal. It had breached the edges of Pack territory and spilled out across the city. Wolf shifters were everywhere.
That meant there were eyes and ears everywhere, too.
And that also meant there was no longer a safe place for someone like me to live here any longer. I had to get out while I still could.
At the end of the alley, I stopped. Before I left the safety it provided, I stood there and listened. A howl sounded in the distance, but it was much further away now. I squatted down and felt the ground. There were no longer the vibrations of thunderous feet running on the pavement.
Relaxing just a bit, I casually peeked my head out to scan the street. Seeing nothing out of place, I turned the corner and quickly walked to the tiny hotel room I’d been able to rent for a week. I wasn’t willing to stay in any one place for longer than that now anyway.
I didn’t relax for even a second once inside the room.
It was time to get the hell out of here.
I couldn’t live like this a second longer.
Shoving the few things I still owned into a backpack, my carefully thought through escape plan quickly came to fruition.
Step by step I doubled and then triple checked the area as I proceeded to the nearest subway station.
A block ahead I saw familiar faces just as I quickly descended the stairs.
My heart was racing as I started to run, yet I tried not to draw too much attention to myself. As I got to the platform, the doors were closing.
“Shit!”
I looked around for a place to hide as my heart nearly pounded out of my chest.
Daring a look back, I saw them. Three of the kingpin’s trackers. My stomach flipped and I fought back the urge to throw up. I was stuck and fear was crippling me.
Don’t shift,I demanded as my wolf tried to surge ready to protect me.
Think, Tricia.
I looked around and saw a rat run past a man sleeping under a piece of cardboard.
Help!I cried out.
Suddenly more rats appeared. Three of them were dragging a ratty old blanket across the floor, dropping it at my feet.
I was still shaking all over, but it gave me an idea.
Blend in with the humans. Good thinking,I thought.
I threw myself to the ground and covered up with the blanket. The smell triggered my gag reflex, I knew I needed to keep my head covered. Lord knew, the odor would certainly hide my scent.
“Well? Where is she?” I heard a male ask with a growl.
“I swear, it was her. It was Tricia.”
The blood in my veins turned to ice.
They really were looking for me.
I wasn’t just being paranoid.
