Page 67 of The Wolf's Surrogate

His irritated growl hardly sounded intimidating. “I told you I was framed.”

“No, you just got away with things because you’re a smooth talker.”

I blocked his jabs and darted right, predicting another lunge. Given our history together, I knew exactly how he fought when he was angry with me. That gave me an edge on this fight that I knew I wouldn’t have had in the past. Two years ago, I would have been on the ground already, cowering, covering my head and begging him to stop.

My jaw clenched as I put all my weight into a right hook that I aimed at his kidney. Phil gasped as he stumbled toward the awning, putting us back in our original positions. Back to the beginning.

And this time, I wouldn’t cower. I wouldn’t beg.

I would win.

“You bitch,” he snapped. “You came here just to hurt me, didn’t you?”

“No, I came here to record your confession so I would have hard evidence of you lighting my damn building on fire.”

He flailed at me, each swat just missing my face as I recoiled. “Stay still, Anita!”

“No!”

I blocked another jab but missed his left hook. His fist landed on my right shoulder, knocking some of the wind out of me as I stumbled to the left. I rubbed the sore area, a thousand memories coming back of his power and influence. It would have made me scared at one point, but now it just made me angry.

He grunted furiously as he lunged toward me again. I dipped out of the way and tried to head back to the fountain. Something caught my sneaker on the sidewalk, and I fumbled forward, a hard hit from Phil landing on my other shoulder. My muscles screamed from the pain as I tried to sprint away.

But Phil caught my wrist. He twisted my arm. He bowed me forward like he was about to slam my face into the ground.

This was it. This was his signature move. If I ever dared to fight back, I would usually end up in this position. Things wouldquickly spiral from here, especially if he was in a particularly vindictive mood. I squinted at the shadowy sidewalk, listening to the sound of the fountain spouting water as Phil panted behind me.

“You never learn, do you?” he spat. “You just never learn.”

The bushes nearby rustled. A guttural growl vibrated the air, a familiar sound that lit my heart up like fireworks in the night sky. I turned to face the sound, embracing the intimacy of it as my ex-boyfriend loosened his grip on me.

I yanked my arm away. Soreness resonated through my arms. But I didn’t even care. I knew who was hiding in those bushes. I knew who was stepping through the shadows toward us.

Liam stood in his animalistic glory as an auburn-brown wolf with glowing eyes and a dripping maw. He pawed the ground a couple of times, lowering his head like he was preparing to tackle Phil. My ex-boyfriend didn’t seem to be worried about me anymore now that he had a predator staring at him head-on.

“What the fuck?” He patted his left hip, searching for something. “Aw, hell no.”

Liam snarled as he toed forward. His movements were slow and elegant, highly calculated. Seeing him in action like this was incredible, a sight I never thought I would get to witness, since he was usually in his human form around me. Even as I admired his supernatural incarnation, I knew I would have to apologize to him later.

How he’d managed to find me was a mystery that also needed solving.

Later.

Phil whipped something from his pocket. The way it clicked made Liam point his ears into the air. His eyes widened as he froze on the spot, going completely silent.

My mouth dropped open as I recognized what it was. I helplessly reached out, straining my muscles to interfere.

It was a gun.

And Phil was pulling the trigger.

Chapter 21 - Liam

A single shot cracked the air. Anita released a bloodcurdling scream that shocked my system. Snarls broke the silence following the gunshot—my team comprised Fred and Kylie, the only two people I would trust to join me on this mission of retrieval.

Warm blood trickled in a tiny sliver from the right side of my snout. That was where the bullet had grazed me. Phil was just one puny human with a weapon. So many people had been in his position in the past. Those same people found out how useless it was to face down a wolf of my caliber with a measly gun.

Frantic to defend himself, Phil turned the gun to Fred on my right, then Kylie on my left. He hissed while taking a few steps back. Anita had her hands on her face, a weak smile on her lips as she stared at me.

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