Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 69098 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 345(@200wpm)___ 276(@250wpm)___ 230(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69098 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 345(@200wpm)___ 276(@250wpm)___ 230(@300wpm)
“Think I can heave this rock all the way into the river?” Jace asks, a round stone in his hand. “CJ, come on, let’s bet.”
CJ shakes his head. “You used to play baseball. Not falling for it.”
Jace, not one to be stopped, rears back his arm and then sends the rock sailing. It hits one of the trees near the river with a loud thunk and then goes straight down.
I bark out a laugh and then nudge CJ. “Should have taken the bet!”
CJ grumbles but picks up a different stone. He throws his, but it doesn’t go quite as far. Jace is about to throw another one when he looks at the rock, brows scrunching together.
“Who names rocks in the middle of the fucking forest?” With a shrug, he throws the one in his hand, this one making a splash in the river.
My blood runs cold at his words. I whirl around and notice the rocks they’ve been throwing—and continue to throw—are those of a grave. Or several graves to be exact.
“No!” I cry out, smacking a rock out of CJ’s hand. “Stop! You have to go get them. Right now!”
CJ frowns in confusion. “What? Why?”
“My aunt,” I blurt, “lost several babies. Those are their graves.”
CJ’s eyes widen in horror and Jace frowns like he might be sick. Guilt has my stomach twisting painfully. I may hate Wild, but his mother is awesome. I love Aunt Eve. Knowing we disturbed the grave of her many unborn children makes me want to throw up.
“Hey,” CJ says, clutching my wrist gently. “It’s okay. We’ll get them and put them back. We didn’t know.”
I nod, swallowing hard. I catch Destiny also frowning, her bottom lip wobbling. Carter doesn’t say a word, just tries to stay out of the way.
Something moving behind a tree has me stalling in my effort to collect the rocks that were thrown. The hairs on my arms stand on end. It’s the growl—deep and threatening—that makes me completely freeze up.
Bear.
“Shit,” Jace hisses. “Is that a fucking bear?”
I whimper and give him the briefest of nods. To my absolute horror, Destiny is the closest to the bear that’s standing on its hind legs to appear more menacing.
And it’s a huge female grizzly—at least seven feet tall and around four hundred pounds if I had to guess. Destiny is dwarfed by the beast’s massive stature.
“I’m scared,” Destiny cries out and then takes off running.
As she blindly darts past me and slams her shoulder into a tree that sends her flopping to the forest floor, the angry bear begins its chase. Mage howls, scampering off into the trees, away from the predator. All I can do is stare at the grizzly as it rushes us, snarling and growling in fury. It rises up on its two hind legs again when it’s near and then swipes at the person closest to it.
Carter.
The kid goes flying, the bear’s claws shredding through his backpack and emptying the contents in one fell swoop. Still, I can’t move my feet, and from the looks of it, neither can Jace or CJ.
We’re all going to die.
Grab your knife, dummy!
My knife, sheathed at my belt, remains untouched because I can’t move.
The bear sinks its teeth into the back of Carter’s leg, making him scream in pain. The bear stands on its two hind legs once more, drawing Carter off the ground, letting him dangle by where it has him captured in its jaws.
We have to do something!
Boom!
The echoing sound of gunfire has me crying out in surprise. The bear makes a pained sound, dropping Carter to the ground before turning around.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
With each shot, the bear jerks, but it’s the one to its face that ultimately sends it crashing to the ground. Then, more shots ring out.
Someone is screaming.
Me. It’s me. I’m screaming.
The scene begins to clear around me. One big bear is dead. Several small ones up ahead are now dead too. And Rowdy emerges, holstering his .45, wearing a murderous expression. His hair having come loose from his man bun and overgrown beard make him look like a predator too, but this one loves us and just killed these animals to protect us.
I know we’ll be in trouble for this, but I can’t find it in me to care right now. Snatching Destiny’s hand, I jerk her up and we both run right into our oldest brother’s waiting arms. We both sob uncontrollably, letting him assure us that everything’s all better now that the bears are dead.
Our crying calms down, but that’s when I realize someone else is crying.
Carter.
Crap.
“He’s hurt,” I choke out, pulling away from Rowdy. “The bear bit him.”
Jace and CJ are kneeling beside Carter, one holding his hand and speaking in soothing tones while the other is trying to apply a tourniquet to his thigh.