Free Wild Dream by Donna Grant Page B

right before he leapt over their trap into the air.
    Ava screamed, the sound swallowed by Kane’s growling. Lincoln dove to cover Ava. Any moment he would feel claws and fangs. Except...there was nothing.
    He turned his head to see Solomon had jumped over them and was fighting Kane once again. Lincoln sat back and grabbed his oar that had fallen overboard.   “Get moving!”
    Christian didn’t hesitate. He set down his crossbow in his lap and furiously paddled past the Bridge. Lincoln placed a hand on Ava’s back. She was still bent forward, her body shaking. He couldn’t wait to hold her in his arms and taste her lips again, but that wouldn’t happen until they were on Chiasson land.  
    He sheathed his knife and joined in paddling them forward. Lincoln glanced back at the wolves just once. It was a vicious fight. He saw blood on Solomon’s fur. Whether it was Solomon’s or Kane’s, Lincoln didn’t know.
    Another three hundred yards and Christian jumped out of the canoe and pulled it on shore. Lincoln tossed his oar aside and lifted Ava out of the boat. He set her on her feet and turned her to face him.
    “You’re on holy ground again,” he told her.
    Her eyes were wide, but she nodded. “I thought I was going to die.”
    “And I told you I wasn’t going to allow that to happen.”
    “Ava!” Olivia shouted as she ran from the house.
    Lincoln released Ava as Olivia wrapped an arm around her and steered her to the house. He watched them go, amazed that they had made it unscathed.
    “Close call,” Vin said as he and Beau walked up.
    Beau glared at the wolves still fighting. “I want to know how Solomon knew we had a trap set for him.”
    “It doesn’t matter now,” Lincoln said as weariness set in. “He kept his word.”
    Christian nodded. “Agreed. But it isn’t over. Solomon will need to get Kane into the cage.”
    “I’ll stay on lookout,” Beau said.
    Vincent slapped a hand on Lincoln’s shoulder as they turned toward the stone building. The building was partially over the bayou on stilts, and was the only part of Chiasson land that wasn’t blessed, allowing them to hold supernatural creatures when needed. “Almost done, brother.”
    Lincoln glanced at the house. He couldn’t leave Kane out there to hurt someone, but it was hard not to follow Ava inside the house and just hold her. Never in all his years of helping his family and friends had he ever been so afraid. Afraid that he would fail Ava, afraid that he wouldn’t get Ava to safety, but more than anything, he was afraid that she would die.
    When they reached the building he walked inside and leaned against a wall before he bent over, his hands braced on his knees.
    “Linc?” Christian called.
    Lincoln squeezed his eyes closed. “She almost died.”
    “But she didn’t,” Vincent said calmly.
    Lincoln heard a chain rattle, and knew Vincent was getting the cage ready for Kane’s arrival.
    “You did everything right,” Christian said.
    Lincoln straightened and raked his hair out of his sweat-soaked face. “Anything could have gone wrong. I...my God, the fear won’t lessen.”
    “And it never will,” Vincent stated.
    Lincoln met the gaze of his older brother and realized the truth of his words. “How do you do it?”
    “With difficulty.”
    “Have you ever thought of just letting Olivia go?”
    “Many times.”
    Christian scrunched up his face. “What are you two idjits talking about?”
    “Love,” Vincent said with a smile.  
    Christian backed away, lifting his crossbow to rest casually on his shoulder. “Oh, hell no. I want no part of that. I thought Vin had lost his mind, but I understood it because he’s always had a thing for Olivia. But you, too, Linc?”
    Lincoln threw up his hands in defeat before letting them fall to his sides. “I didn’t go looking for it, little brother. She walked into my life, and I had to have her. There was no thinking, just...acting on a driving need, an overwhelming hunger to