Free Cloaked by T.F. Walsh Page B

The filth squeezed one of my breasts hard.
    “Shame you were such a busybody. Maybe I could keep you as a pet. I could take you back to the house and have you entertain my buddy and me.”
    I swallowed back the rage frothing at the back of my throat. “Sure, I’ll entertain you guys.”
By ripping your throats out.
    He tsked and released my breast. “Except, I’d rather cut things.” The knife pinched my throat, and a trickle of warmth ran down my neck.
    A crunch of fast approaching footsteps sounded from the direction of the house.
Please be Connell.
    The blade eased and pulled away. Sam probably stared out in the direction of the house.
    Without another thought, I bucked my hips upward. His weight swayed to the side. Yanking a hand free, I reached into the darkness between us for his knife. Grasping his wrist instead, I pushed against it and bucked again, trying to free my other hand. But a fist collided with my cheek again, the sting pounding my skull.
    A chorus of howling wolves sang nearby, and my muscles tensed.
Fuck this.
As a moonwulf, I sure as hell wouldn’t allow this fool to hurt me.
    Wrenching my other hand free from under his knee, I used both hands to push against him.
    Footsteps, louder, closer.
    “Ted, is that you?” The strain in Sam’s voice deepened.
    “Stop! Police.” Connell’s voice was the sweetest sound I’d heard all night.
    Sam scrambled off me, the sound of foliage snapping nearby. I rolled in the opposite direction and landed on the goggles.
Score.
    I slipped them on as I attempted to push myself to my feet, but the world kept spinning beneath me. My cheek throbbed, my throat stung, and something trickled down my chin. I tasted the metallic tang of blood on my lower lip.
    With the goggles on, the world was muted in shades of green, except for Sam and Connell, who glowed in yellows and reds. Up on my feet, I took a deep breath.
    Connell was running through the woods toward us, gun in hand. He wore goggles, too. Smart.
    To my right, Sam was stumbling deeper into the woods and tripped over a dead log. Despite the nausea settling in my gut, I staggered after him and kicked him in the ribs. He groaned, dropping his knife.
    “That’s for being the fuckin’ devil.” Another two hits to his side. “And for stealing the cubs and touching me.”
    “Enough, Daci,” Connell said, about ten feet from our position now.
    Sam rolled onto his side, attempting to get up, so I drove my foot into his groin. He moaned and started crying.
Baby.
    I lurched toward Connell, unable to hold back the smile of seeing him.
    “Are you all right?” His voice held a ragged edge I hadn’t heard before. He took me into his arms, my face nestled in the curve of his neck. The warmth of his skin and the repetitive thump of his heartbeat were reassuring and calming.
    I pulled back, and the tenderness of his caress across my cheek reaffirmed he liked me.
    As the wind rustled through my hair, I caught a whiff of wolf. Dog smell mingled with fresh soil. I recognized the odor—Sandulf, my alpha. I jounced around, scanning the woods.
    His massive wolf figure pounced out from the bushes behind Sam. Sandulf snatched Sam by the ankle and bolted, dragging the man after him.
    “Fuck!” Connell pushed past me, his gun raised.
    I shoved myself into Connell, standing in his way, blocking his aim at my alpha. “Don’t. You. Dare.”
    What was Sandulf doing here anyway? Had he been observing Sam and his atrocities, or was he following me? I didn’t care to uncover which, because I was on my
rohang
and intended to enjoy every last minute in the city and away from the pack. I’d deal with any issues once I returned home. If I returned home. After all the shit that had just gone down, I wasn’t ready to contemplate that decision yet.
    Sam’s blood-curdling screams reverberated around us. When I whirled around, his body bounced against the forest floor, growing smaller in the distance. Within seconds, they vanished from