Page 85 of His Three Wolves
Was it possible this was real?Was it possible… If it was, then this was the kind of thing that only happened in the really bad straight rom-coms where someone breaks up, finds the love of their life, has unprotected sex for heavens know what reason, and then ends up raising a kid in a small town while really blossoming into the career they always wanted.
I sucked on my lip and tried to remember if that was actually the plot of any rom-com I had ever watched.It had to be, right?It wasn’t like I wanted to have a…a little werewolf baby.With blue or green eyes.
I felt light, as if I might float away.I’d only considered that kind of family in the darkest, most secret corners of my mind.I’d always known it wouldn’t ever be anything Steven would go for, adopting a kid, and I had no idea whether I was the right kind of person to be a parent to begin with.
My fingers flexed to reach for my phone so I could research what ultrasounds were supposed to look like, but then I realized I didn’t have it on me.I mentally retraced my steps, and realized it was probably still in Linc’s office where I’d zoned out before…the nap.Did pregnant people nap?I was getting old.I was going on thirty.Aging could totally be the reason behind the napping.A blue- or green-eyed werewolf baby probably wouldn’t let me nap at all.
I almost missed it.I wasn’t really paying attention to what Ell was doing, but then he jerked.It made no sense.I thought he was turning toward me at first, but then I saw the lines going into his arms and legs, saw the small wounds.Red bloomed against the blue of his scrubs.It almost looked like flower print.
My door was ripped open.I jumped.Steven was poking his head in the car.
“Took you long enough to leave that house, Marc.Come on, let’s get going.”
He was wearing a stupid-looking camouflage hat and a camo shirt and pants combo as well.It was as if he was auditioning to be an extra in a boring war movie.
“What’re you—the fuck?!”
He grabbed my arm with one hand, reaching to release the seat belt with the other.
“We have to move, Marc.They can smell you, follow your scent.”
His body leaning into the car, the smell of his sweat, made me pull back and grimace.“Let go of me!”
I yanked, but I was slow.Steven had the better angle.He managed to pull me out of the car, and by that time, his grip on my arm was painful.
“Don’t be a little bitch now, Marc.”
I looked over the hood of the car.Ell was on the ground, the unknown wolf’s eyes wide and his hind legs trembling as he sniffed the air.Ell was trembling too, but it looked different.Tasers.They had tased him.People came out of the woods on either side of the road, three of them, dressed like Steven, and holding Tasers.I saw one of them still pushing the button.
“Hey!Stop that!What’re you doing to him?”
I tried yanking my arm free.The shifted wolf looked at me.His eyes were void of any emotion.
“Marc—fuck it.Marc, you’re embarrassing me in front of the guys.”Steven pulled on my arm so hard I yelped in pain.His mouth was close to my ear, his breath sticky against my skin.“I told them what they did to you—that they kidnapped you and raped you.Don’t make me look bad now.I know you know what they are.You like the real kind of doggy style, huh?I won’t tell anyone, but don’t make me look bad in front of the guys.”
This was the second time in a day that I’d had trouble believing what I was hearing.Did he really believe that?More importantly, did he really believe I was going to keep my mouth shut after everything he’d done?
“Let me go!”I tried punching him with my left hand, but I had no idea how.I grazed his chin with my knuckles though.
Steven sneered and grabbed my wrist with his other hand.He twisted it hard, and I screamed in pain.
“Oi, shut him up and let’s move out of here,” one of the other guys said.I barely heard it with the pain shooting up my arm.
“Right.Come on now, Marc.”
Black spots were dancing in front of my eyes, and my legs trembled.I could see them taping Ell’s arms and legs.It all happened so fast, and then they started carrying him, his knees dragging against the road.
“Ell…Ellis!”I breathed in a gulp of air.“Help!We need?—”
The pain in my left arm nearly made me black out.Something cracked as Steven twisted it once more.
“Shut the fuck up and move.”
I didn’t want to move.I didn’t move.My arm hurt so much.
Hissing out a curse, Steven dragged me along, off the road and into the forest.My eyes were watering and my ears rang.I couldn’t catch my breath, and before too long, I wasn’t even sure where we were in relation to the road or the house.
I was in the woods without Ell, Linc, or Dom to make sure I didn’t get lost.I’d accidentally broken my promise.Ell was here though.I looked around, suddenly terrified they would shoot him like they’d shot that wolf Dom had talked about.
