Free Leashed by a Wolf by Cherie Nicholls Page B

Something wasn’t right. Flicking a glance over his shoulder she looked for the door. He was old; surely she could make it to the door if she had to?
    “I wouldn’t try it, human.” Then he smiled at her and Laney’s stomach sank. All she could see were two rows of strong white fangs gleaming back at her.
    “What’s going on?” Laney asked, stalling for time. She had been shadowed most of the night and no matter what Jones had said, she knew the pack wouldn’t leave her alone for long. She hoped.
    Reaching out, he grabbed hold of her shoulder and pressed down. The last thing Laney thought before the blackness took her was Heath is going to be pissed.
    * * * *
    Laney’s ears were ringing when she finally started to come around. Taking stock of her body, she was relieved to see she didn’t seem to have any real damage, nor was she tied up. She was face down on what felt like dirt and leaves. Slowly she moved her hands under her and pushed up.
    “Ah, you’re awake, good. I was worried I had pressed too hard.”
    Shaking her head, Laney forced her eyes open to glare at Christophe.
    The man sat on the other side of the clearing with his back against a large fallen tree. Overhead the canopy of trees was thick, but Laney could see the moon high in the sky. Clearly she hadn’t been out too long as it was still dark.
    “You realise that you just made huge errors in judgement don’t you?” she asked as she moved to sit back against a tree trunk.
    “And how did I do that, human?”
    Laney watched as he stretched his legs out in front of himself, seeming to get more comfortable. There wasn’t much space between them, less than five feet total.
    “Let me list them for you.” Laney raised a hand and started ticking off on her fingers. “You just took me from what can only be described as a large group of human sniffer dogs.” She casually glanced around the small clearing he had taken her to. She couldn’t see any landmarks so she wasn’t sure how far they were, but from the unhinged look on his face she didn’t think they had gone far.
    “That is something I’m counting on. Marsterson is a pretentious upstart not worthy of the Alpha title. He stole it from me and I aim to get it back.” Christophe ended his words with a sneer.
    “Two. I heard he kicked your ass from here to the town border.” Laney shrugged. She gave herself a silent cheer as the smile faltered on his face.
    “I assume you have more on your list?” he asked with a dismissive wave of his hand.
    “You seem to have forgotten that I come from a family who really doesn’t like their baby sister messed with.” She pulled down another finger.
    “You seem to think I should give a damn about some pointless humans who will be dead long before they realise you are missing.” Christophe sighed.
    He threatened everyone she loved. She prayed Heath and his pack would get to her before Christophe could make good on his promise.
    Laney narrowed her eyes as she looked at him. He may be a wolf shifter who could kill her with a swipe of his claws, but he had made one fatal mistake. She felt a dangerous calm settle over her.
    “Do you want to know the biggest mistake you made?” Laney asked as she gave him the sweetest smile she could muster, the smile Duke called her “viper look.”
    “Please share with the class.” Christophe smiled back at her. Laney sat forward, pulling her knees up so she could wrap her arms around them.
    “You took me, ” Laney growled before she launched herself at the shifter. Part of her mind was frozen in shock at the action, clearly screaming and asking her what the hell she thought she was doing? He was going to kill her! The other part of her mind—the part that had grown up with older brothers—calmly reminded her that she only had one chance at this and if she got it wrong she would be dead.
    As she closed the small space between them, she grabbed the sides of his head. Taking handfuls of hair in each she smashed