Page 118 of Rogue Wolf Hunter

A wave of breathtaking joy rushed through her.

“I should have told you every time I’ve been with you before.”

“I feel the same,” she whispered, joyful tears pooling in her eyes, before she kissed him again.

Everything between them had happened so fast, but it didn’t matter. It was real.

Theywere real. The truth of that hummed through her.

They lay there like that for some time, collapsed on the studio floor together, united as one, until finally, Jace whispered, “We still have a killer to catch.”

“You’ll beat him,” she whispered back. “We’llbeat him,” she corrected. “Together.”

They pulled apart, righting themselves and their clothes.

“Let’s go get Allyson,” Jace said.

Frankie nodded her agreement. “I’ll just be a minute while I close up here.”

Jace nodded, but made his way out the door to where he’d no doubt parked the Chevelle nearby. The sound of the door closing behind him shivered through her. They’d need to form a plan, work together, her, Jace, his division, and her pack as a group if they were going to defeat Robert, save Allyson, but she knew that together, they could do it.

Resolved, Frankie quickly jogged up the stairs to the studio apartment to retrieve the coat she’d left there. She was just about to head back downstairs toward Jace before she quickly realized she wasn’t alone.

Before she knew what was happening, Robert came at her full force. He pinned her against the wall and held his knife against her throat. The blade cut into her skin, and a thin line of blood trickled down her collarbone.

Robert sneered. “Nice to see you again, packmaster.” He spat the last word and looked down at her as if she was nothing more than a pathetic dog.

Frankie pressed herself as tight against the wall as possible and fought to slow her breathing. Calm. She needed to be calm. “What are you doing here?” She barely managed to choke out the words.

“Retrieving you. You see, I kidnapped one of your little pack members. But apparently, she wasn’t important enough for you to come save her.” He grinned. “Turns out that she isn’t a wolf at all. First time I’ve ever tortured a faerie. But I have to say, so far I’m finding it quite amusing. Who knew iron was such a useful weapon?”

“You bastard,” Frankie growled.

He leaned more weight on the blade and the cut deepened just enough to exponentially enhance her pain. “Enough with the insults, my dear. Dirty mouths aren’t appealing on women, even canine whores.” He dragged the tip of the knife down her collarbone, stopping inches away from her breasts.

She hissed from the sting. Blood gushed from the tear in her skin, and pain seared through her.

“I’d absolutely love to take my blade to that beautiful chest of yours.” He trailed the flat part of the blade over her right breast. “But we’ll save that for later.”

She glared at him, though she couldn’t fight the shivers running down her spine. “You’re a sick freak.”

With his blade safely away from her throat, she kneed him hard in the groin. He crumpled over exactly as she’d expected. She brought her elbow up and slammed it down into his spine. He toppled to the floor, but he managed to grab her ankle in the process.

He was strong, and when he pulled on her leg she slammed to the floor. She scrambled to her feet, but not before Robert regained his footing, too. He grabbed her shoulder, his knife at the ready. Spinning out of his grasp, she unleashed a roundhouse kick that hit him square in the face.

With a loud curse, he stumbled back, clutching his bloodied nose. Before he could retaliate, she punched him straight in the solar plexus. Gasping for air, he fell to his knees. Now was her chance. She bolted for the door, but before she’d run even five feet, Robert stabbed the blade of his knife through her blue jeans and into her calf.

She screamed in agony. Pain shot up her leg and radiated through her entire body, but she didn’t stop. She stumbled toward her door, moving as fast as she could. Blood gushed from her wound, leaving a crimson trail. She reached for the knob of the open door, and she used it to steady herself.

Without warning Robert tackled her from behind. He caught her off balance and slammed her into the wall.

“Back off, you filthy piece of shit.” She clawed at his face with her fingernails, scratching anything she could reach.

He clutched both hands around her throat. Lifting her off the ground, he choked her as he pinned her against the wall. “I said, No. More. Insults.”

Frankie clawed at his hands, trying to escape. She kicked her feet in hopes of hitting him in the groin, but it was no use. Black spots clouded her vision as she felt herself start to slip into darkness. The last thing she saw was Robert’s twisted grin.

“Sleep now, little packmaster. You can rest until the fun starts.”

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