[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
.Tank peeled away the white square, revealing a raw ragged wound, still red and weeping around the clotted blood.Neat, even stitches kept the five-inch opening in his belly closed.Someone or something had twisted and yanked on the weapon, doing as much damage as possible.A human in Tank’s place would likely have been dead.“Man! Don’t that hurt?” Rick’s accented voice was laced with awe, despite the pup’s bored drawling of words.“Course it hurts you idiot.” Seth gave his pack brother a light shove, but the boy’s tone was neutral.His dark brown eyes were fixed on Adam as they waited for the alpha’s decision.He felt Bradley’s focus also shift from the strays to himself.“Tank got that when we stopped to help a human on the highway.A psychic.”The blond male looked Adam full in the eyes.He seemed to come to a decision within himself.He dropped his gaze to a more neutral, less aggressive, spot, giving the local Canis the respect of his station.“The name’s Chase.This pin cushion—” he pointed a thumb at the darker male—“is Tank.”Both males kept a close eye on the pack and Mack while managing relaxed, unthreatening, postures.Which Adam knew from past experience, was more difficult than it looked.Quite a feat for a couple of strays, bitten ones at that.“Anyway, we were at some dive, on our way out of the territory.We stopped for a beer and to shoot the breeze about where to head to next.This guy came up needing a hand with his bike.The dude reeked of psychic, so we decided help out.”“And being the helpful kind of guys you are, you just jump up to go fix it, huh?”Mack’s expression said he thought otherwise.Chase shrugged.“He was pretty rank looking.But hey, we’ve been on the other side.So what the hell?”Chase smirked as he confirmed his bitten status.Being bitten was the wolven equivalent of being born out of wedlock.There wasn’t the stigma there once was, but it still raised a few eyebrows from the old school.“Besides, there’s nothin’ more pitiful than a broke down biker that can’t fix his own ride.”The blond male grinned, obviously more impressed with his humor than anyone present.Adam shook his head, disgusted.His hand dropped away from Bradley as he turned toward his truck.“I don’t have time for this.” He turned to Mack and the boys.“It’s time to hunt.If anyone’s got a clue where to look for Diana, spill it.”He didn’t want the strays in on his pack problems, but he felt her fading.He wasn’t going to lose her like Amanda.This time if he failed, he’d lose a lot more than his pride.He’d probably loose a good chunk of his heart.“Adam, wait.Let’s hear them out.” Mack looked at the strays, but through them, as well.His voice was distant, caught between here and wherever his gifts took him.“No.We’ve got to go.” He too was torn between places.The line he associated with the female psychic was unraveling, slowly but surely.“Adam!”“Canis!” Mack and the dark stray called at Adam’s retreating back.He didn’t know where to find her.If he’d been more persistent, convinced her to accept him as a bonded mate, then he’d be able to track her now using the mate’s bond.“Canis! The human who stabbed me knew what he was dealing with.He thought to surprise me while my brother was occupied with repairs.”“Adam, it’s your girlfriend.She’s in a car with the killer.”Adam turned, suddenly furious at Mack.“You knew.You’ve been seeing her,” he accused.His fists balled as he walked back to the psychic.“Where is she? So help me God ….”The psychic should have been afraid of the angry wolven approaching him.Instead, he looked sympathetic.Damn the irritating, human, bastard.“I’ve never met her.You were courting her, so I’ve kept my distance.”“Kept your distance?” He snarled.Jealousy and impotence fueled the fires of his rage.“How the hell do you keep your distance from someone you’ve never met?”Mack was calm.“I know how to find my own kind, Adam.”The two strays growled.Mack glanced their way.Some kind of undercurrent passed between them, then the psychic focused back on Adam.“She’s not dead yet.While there is life, there is hope.”“What the hell does that mean? I need details to find her, not platitudes,” Adam growled.“Heads up, Canis [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]