Total pages in book: 120
Estimated words: 113406 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 567(@200wpm)___ 454(@250wpm)___ 378(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113406 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 567(@200wpm)___ 454(@250wpm)___ 378(@300wpm)
“Oh, for the love of God, will you give it up already?” Madisyn burst out. “I ain’t telling you shit. The end. Your threats are nothing but boring at this point. As for your allies? Pfft. We all have connections. You might want to think about that before you start courting more trouble.” Seconds ticked by as Archer stared at her, his expression unreadable. She returned the stare, unwilling to back down.
“We’re done here,” stated Bracken. “You will leave. You will not linger. You will not come back. You will not bother Madisyn ever fucking again. We clear?”
Archer’s nostrils flared. “She has information I need.”
“We’re not clear.” Bracken took a threatening, predatory step toward the asshole. “You know my family was killed. You know what I did to avenge them. Now imagine what I’d do to someone who laid even the tip of their fucking finger on the one person in the world who means anything to me. Imagine what lengths I’d go to just to be sure that my mate was safe and protected and completely secure in that protection.”
Tension in every line of his body, Archer echoed, “Your mate?”
“My mate.”
Archer’s gaze danced from Madisyn to Bracken, studying them hard. He swore under his breath. “I’m not interested in harming her. I just need to find—”
“Still not giving a fuck what you need. That won’t change.”
“I can’t walk away, Slater. Not from this.”
Bracken smiled. “I was hoping you’d say that.” He shrugged off his coat and tossed it on the hood of Madisyn’s car. “I guess we’ll have to battle it out, right here, right now.”
Shocked, Archer stared at him. “Are you forgetting that I’m an Alpha?”
“You’re a born alpha, but you’re nothing close to a true Alpha.”
Archer exhaled heavily, aiming to look bored, but he didn’t pull it off. No, his wariness was clear. “Don’t want to fight with you, Slater. Like I said, I respect you.”
“I can’t return the sentiment.”
A muscle in Archer’s cheek ticked. “All right. You and I will battle this out. Copper and Ink will watch over your mate,” he added with a smile. The message was clear: while Bracken was distracted, they’d attack her.
“She’ll kill them if they touch her.”
“She won’t have to,” said a female voice to their far left. Dawn. “We’ll do that.”
Seemingly out of nowhere, dozens of shifters stepped out of the trees that bordered the parking lot. Bracken figured that they were staff or residents of the shelter.
Dawn flicked him a brief look as she said, “I called Nick. He’s on his way.” She went back to glaring at Archer. “And he’s not at all happy to hear that two of his pack members are being threatened—especially on land that’s under his protection. So if you have any sense in that thick head of yours, bear, you’ll leave right now and stay the hell away.”
Bracken knew why the female would rather they flee. She didn’t want violence occurring near the shelter; many of the residents had run from violence, and it was important for them to feel safe there. Plus, sponsors might not want to be linked to a place that engaged in war with other shifters, and they might withdraw their funding—it had happened after a wolf pack had invaded the place. Nonetheless, Bracken didn’t want the Alpha to leave. He wanted to fucking obliterate him.
Clenching his fists and grinding his teeth, Archer stared at him, clearly struggling with the need to back down. Bracken prayed that he wouldn’t, but that prayer went unanswered. Finally, eyes hard as stone, Archer signaled his enforcers. “Let’s go.”
“I meant what I said,” Bracken called out. “If you ever so much as bother Madisyn again, I won’t just destroy you, I’ll wipe out your entire clan. It’ll be as if you never existed.” Just like the compound of extremists—the words went unsaid, but they were heard.
Without a word, the Mavericks headed to a cluster of motorcycles. Moments later, they were whizzing out of the lot.
Dawn let out a relieved breath. “Let’s hope the bastards let this alone.”
Bracken doubted that they would, which meant there was an ongoing threat to his mate . . . who didn’t seem in the least bit remorseful for having ignored his warning. Rage a living, breathing, hissing thing in his gut, Bracken turned to her. “I told you on the phone to go back inside.”
“You did,” she said, unfazed by the menace in his tone. “But you had to know I wouldn’t.”
“Madisyn—”
“If I’d retreated into the building, he would have interpreted it as fear. Showing weakness to a predator is just plain dumb. Besides, it was best just to get the conversation over and done with.”
Bracken advanced on her. “Over and done with? Like he’ll just walk away after a little talk?” Looming over her, he growled, “I saw how badly he wants the sow. He’s not gonna give up easy.”