Total pages in book: 194
Estimated words: 187754 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 939(@200wpm)___ 751(@250wpm)___ 626(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 187754 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 939(@200wpm)___ 751(@250wpm)___ 626(@300wpm)
“I like you, Sunshine. A lot.”
“Why?”
“Because you’ll never stop fighting. You won’t give up like I did.”
You won’t give up like I did.
You won’t give up like I did.
You won’t give up like I did.
You won’t give up…I did.
The frozen surface of that icy moat cracks and blue flames explode from the fissure in my heart as I lift my head and shout at the gray wolf. “Fuck you!”
My injured shoulder burns when I push the branch tighter against its throat and heave my body up. I throw the wolf off me, and it skids several feet away as it scrambles to right itself. Reaching for the knife that fell when the first wolf attacked me, I have just managed to wrap my hand around the handle when another wolf lunges forward.
I can’t stop it from sinking its teeth into my arm, and I scream.
The bite of the alpha burns like acid as I tighten my grip around the knife before returning the favor. I plunge the short blade into the wolf’s black fur, and it yelps but holds onto my arms. Tearing the knife free, I stab it again, over and over, until the wolf unlocks its jaws and falls to the ground.
I forget about the other wolves as I stab their alpha over and over while it stares up at me through eyes that I realize are more golden than yellow. They feel like a mirror.
“You fucking piece of shit. You fucking bitch. You deserve this. You deserve to die. Die! Die! Just dieeeeee!”
I hear a crack in the air that pierces the howling wind and echoes through the forest. My head snaps back, and I search the gray, clouded sky for lightning but see none.
“Aurelia!”
The third attack finally comes when a heavy weight collides with my back. The gray wolf and I are limb-locked as we roll across the snow. It’s not until I hear a loud boom and the ground shudders underneath me that I notice the fallen tree.
It landed right where I was just kneeling.
I don’t even notice the weight of the wolf on top of me falling away or that it doesn’t attack until I hear it speak.
“Aurelia, what the fuck!”
Blinking, I turn my head toward the sound and see that it’s not a wolf, after all, but a man. One I never thought I’d see again.
“Tyler?”
He pauses and then says. “Aurelia, it’s me…” He says his name, but I don’t hear it over the wind.
Lifting my hand, I hold his dark cheek and smile. I barely notice that my shoulder and arm don’t hurt anymore. “Tyler,” I repeat softly. “You’re alive.”
He’s really here.
My bodyguard doesn’t respond as he shakes his head and hauls me to my feet. “Aurelia, listen to me. It’s the cold. You’ve been exposed for too long. You’re—”
A howl rents the air, and I gasp, my eyes widening as I look around for the three remaining wolves. I don’t see them, but I know they’re there.
Meeting Tyler’s gaze, I utter one word. “Run.”
The memory of the last time I saw him—when he told me to run—enters my mind as I take off in the opposite direction with Tyler and the wolves hot on my heels. I remember in vivid detail the avalanche moving fast down the hill, the cliff that marks our dead end, and the ravine below as Tyler falls into it. I hadn’t imagined that.
How is he here?
How did he find me?
It should be impossible that he’s alive, much less okay, yet he’s here.
“Aurelia!” he calls after me.
I don’t stop.
Tyler catches up to me and takes my hand, pulling me along behind him. His hands are more callused than I remember. Why that detail sticks out at me when I’m literally running for my life is beyond me, but it feels important.
Tyler’s longer legs make it hard not to fall behind, but when I look over my shoulder and see the brown, white, and gray wolves chasing after us, I keep up. The tree falling must have scared them off long enough for him to get to me, but now the wolves have grown bold again. They snap and snarl too close behind us as we race through the forest, and I’m worried for Tyler.
Somehow, I know they’ll hurt him if they catch us.
Thorin, Seth, and Khalil—they’ll kill him for trying to take me away.
“Just shoot them!” I scream. Why isn’t he shooting them? There’s a gun right there on his hip.
Tyler looks down at me and then stops. Before I can yell at him to keep going, he lifts me into his arms. “Hold on to me, Sunshine. I’ve got you.”
Warmth spreads through me at the endearment, and it bids me to trust the man who uttered it. I wrap my arms around his neck and stare into his green eyes, which I always thought were brown. When I frown, Tyler’s jaw tightens, and he begins running again.