Free Love's Protection (Passion Moon 3): (A Shifter, Supernatural Romance) by Renee Jordan Page A

Forrest's commands all the time. “That fucking witch! I'll tear his throat out!”
    Sirens blared behind us. Other deputies had jumped in their cars. “Are they after us?” I asked, wiping at my tears. What was I going to do? Forrest was under my father's control. It was a nightmare. How had everything gone so wrong? Why did my father have to ruin everything in my life?
    “Yes!” Vanessa snarled. “They're fucking chasing us!” The police cruiser's engine roared as we bounced down the gravel road past the cabins.
    The car fishtailed as she took the turn onto Circle Lake Drive. A huge cloud of dust billowed behind us. A car honked as it swerved onto the grassy median. Vanessa slammed on the gas as we raced down the road.
    I put on my seat belt.
    “Where are we going?” I asked. “What are we doing?”
    “I have no fucking idea! I just need to get you away from this. Forrest would want you protected, and I can't do that here. We'll fucking run as far as we have to. I can't get near him. He almost claimed me.” Vanessa shuddered. “He's fucking howling. He's calling for the entire fucking pack. It's so hard to fight!” 
    “What? I don't hear anything.”
    Vanessa tapped her chest. “In here. I've never felt it so strong. He's a beast.”
    “The barbed wire always kept his beast in check. I think...I think my father unleashed him.”
    “We are fucked!”
    Sirens blared behind us. The other deputies had just as powerful, high-performance cars as this one, and they knew how to drive just as well as Vanessa did. Hank drove the lead cop car. What happened to Penny? Hank was her guard. Did the wolves turn on her or did they ignore her?
    More tears stung my eyes. Miss Maggie had been thrown down by Forrest. “D-do you think he killed her?”
    “What?” Vanessa snarled.
    “Forrest. Did he kill Miss Maggie?”
    “Maybe.”
    A shudder convulsed me. I wanted to curl up into a ball and make myself as small as possible. When Wayne or Burt would beat me, that's what I would do. I'd curl up, squeeze my eyes shut, and try to go away. To think of something else. I couldn't take this. Forrest was dominated. What was I going to do? I buried my face in my hands. My sobs rocked my body.
    “Stop that!” snapped Vanessa. “Jesus, don't start crying on me.”
    “What?” I sobbed. “Why shouldn't I cry? Everything's gone wrong. I...I...”
    “You're not a sniveling child, Kotie. You're stronger than that. You're the only one that knows magic. You're the one that has to figure out how to get us out of this mess. So pull yourself together.”
    A shuddering sob racked my body. I struggled to breathe. My throat was swelled shut. My eyes burned. But Vanessa was right. I was the only one that could free Forrest. I had to figure out how. There had to be some magic I could use to set him free.
    Right?
    But what? I had only been practicing for three months. No wonder I couldn't defeat my father. He had decades of experience. I was just so weak compared to him. I had no chance.
    No. Stop that. Feel sorry for yourself later. Forrest needs you. I took a deep breath. I couldn't let myself backslide. I had broken free of Burt's abuse. I stood up to him when he tried to seize me. I could stand up to my father and save my mate.
    There was the power at the Moon Tear Spring.
    No. I couldn't use that. That was what my father wanted. The moment I reached the spring, he would try to steal the power from me. He wanted it. There was no way I could do that. I had to stay away from there.
    Even if it was the only way I could save Forrest.
    “Hold on!” Vanessa shouted. We reached paved road. The tires squealed as she pulled a hard left, heading away from Moonrise.
    The cops were still right behind us. Their engines roared as they raced after us. The terrain flew by us. I had to do something to stop them. But what could I do? I didn't want to hurt them. They were my friends. They didn't want to chase me. They had to. They were as much under my