Free Between Two Wolves (BBW Paranormal Shapeshifter Menage Werewolf Romance) by Catherine Vale

narrowed and Jericho whined. I guessed
Weatherly had added a knife to the mix to back up his promise to break my neck.
    The world was really going black now, the
ranger's voice getting faint. My head fell to the side, and through half-closed
eyes I saw Colt on the other side of the fire. Jericho stood by his side. Their
expressions were identical, anger mixed with fear, mixed with confusion. Those
weren't looks that instilled confidence in me.
    But I couldn't blame them, didn't blame
them. I tried to tell them that, tried to talk, tried to send telepathic
messages. I was leaving the conscious world and the last thing I wanted them to
feel was responsible. Silly thought...
     

Chapter Five
     
    I jerked awake. My neck hurt and I tried
to lie still until the zings of pain in my body stopped, not sure what, if
anything, was broken. I tried to open my eyes, then realized they were open,
but I couldn't see. For a really long horrible moment I thought I'd died and
this was purgatory, that I was stuck in a place where I was unable to see or
hear or speak. But then I realized I wouldn't have this much pain if I were
dead. Slowly bits and pieces came back to me: the fire, of Colt and Jericho —sex—the
ranger. Weatherly. It occurred to me that I finally knew his name. I was on
something more or less soft, and something was stuck in my mouth. So I was
blindfolded, gagged, and lying on a smelly mattress. And I was alive .
    “Hey, you're awake.” The voice was close,
sounding absurdly happy about the fact.
    I jerked again, another wave of pain
shooting down my arms. My hands were tied behind my back, but I could wiggle my
fingers. They worked. The pain meant I was alive, and that even if I was
injured, I wasn't paralyzed. It might have been a small thing, but I was
suddenly very happy to feel pain.
    But why Weatherly had me, and what he
intended to do, that I wasn't very happy about.
    “Let's get better acquainted.”
    Hands touched me, my face, pulling my
hair hard enough to make my eyes water. I grunted...I was pretty much over
reveling in pain now. All I wanted was to see and to be able to sit up. The
blindfold came off. I looked up at Weatherly.
    I wanted to laugh, which was impossible
with the gag. Weatherly looked far worse for wear than I felt. Whatever
happened before they tumbled into the clearing, Jericho had gotten in few good
scratches and bites. Weatherly's uniform was shredded in places, the edges
caked with dried blood, torn skin visible beneath a few of the bigger tears.
And if he smelled bad before, he smelled even worse now. Sweat, old and new,
dirt and blood. And I sensed the sharp tang of fear on him. Not a pleasant
combination. But what the hell did he have to be afraid of? I was the one
tied up and gagged, not him.
    Weatherly wrenched the gag out of my
mouth, pulling my hair again, my scalp aching. I glared up at him, mustering up
as much bravado as I could.
    “Listen…Weatherly…I don’t know what your
game is, but I’m pretty sure Colt and Jericho aren’t going to just let you take
me. They’re probably on their way here, right now.” At least I hoped they were. How much loyalty did an-almost stranger garner?
    “I’m sure they are. And that’s just fine
by me. The more the merrier.”
    “What do you want with me?” The whole
disjointed conversation by the fire, the part about Jericho and Colt - all that
could wait. I wanted to know what my part in this was. And I wanted him
talking, so I could find a way to get my hands free, or get him to untie me. I
wanted to take a swing at him so bad I could taste it.
    “I don’t want you…or I didn’t. Until I
saw you on the path. But then that damn wolf showed up.” He loomed over me for
a minute, then must have decided it was awkward bending over to glare at me.
Grabbing my shoulders, he yanked me upright. I had no balance, wavered from
side to side. And then fell backward, my head hitting the wall. I closed my
eyes as a new pain added itself to the