Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 109705 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 549(@200wpm)___ 439(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109705 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 549(@200wpm)___ 439(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
Abruptly, Roni stopped and growled at Quinn. “They’ve been here. I can smell them.”
The Beta suddenly dove at Marcus, his claws unleashed, just as the female enforcer launched herself at Roni. It wasn’t an attack, but an attempt to subdue them—Marcus saw that right away. But no one was subduing either of them.
Confident Roni could take care of herself, Marcus concentrated on the Beta. He gripped the wrist of the arm reaching for him and sharply bent it sideways; a growl of pain mingled with the sound of a bone cracking. Marcus pinned the arm behind the Beta’s back and head-butted him hard enough to make him sway on his feet. Then he shoved the male backward, who landed on the sofa. Quinn sprang from his seat, heading for Marcus, and—
“I’ll snap her neck, I swear to God.”
Everyone froze at Roni’s words, surprised to find Quinn’s enforcer whining on the floor and Lola in a headlock. Hands raised in surrender, Quinn immediately backed off. Taking his cue, the Beta and the enforcer also submitted, but Roni didn’t release Lola.
Marcus smiled. “Now, maybe we can actually—”
The door burst open and two male wolves darted into the room. Quinn’s “No!” had one of them skidding to a halt. The other, however, made a grab for Roni. Totally unruffled, the pretty little wolf used her free arm to deal the male a fast, hard blow to the jaw that sent him sprawling on the floor, out cold. Calm as you please, she then turned back to Quinn.
Marcus and his wolf loved her viciousness, and Marcus had to admit to being totally turned on. He sighed sadly at Quinn. “I was hoping it wouldn’t come to this.”
“Let her go. Just let her go.” When Roni didn’t loosen her hold on Lola, Quinn moved toward her.
Marcus quickly blocked his path. “You don’t touch her. Ever.” Quinn’s dominant vibes suddenly slammed into Marcus, smothering him like an oppressive desert heat. It was an attempt to intimidate him, to force him to submit—an insult that could get him killed by Trey. Marcus shrugged off the vibes. Maybe if Quinn were a born alpha, it would have worked. Unfortunately for the Alpha, his level of dominance didn’t exceed Marcus’s. “Are we done playing?”
Wide-eyed in shock, Quinn stepped back, licking his lips nervously.
“You want to get to your mate. I understand, I do. I know Nick was in the same state when he heard that Shaya was battered and bruised after the crash that I’m sure you heard all about. Roni’s also Nick’s sister, so you can imagine how she feels about it, particularly since she was also in the crash.”
Quinn licked his lips again, his eyes darting from Lola to Marcus, wrestling with the decision of what to do.
“Where are they, McGee?” Marcus demanded.
Quinn’s gaze met Marcus’s determined one. “Marcus . . .” But he said nothing more.
“You’re scared of them,” Marcus realized. “Aren’t you?” This wasn’t about protecting the jackals at all. Quinn didn’t answer. Then Lola squealed.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” said Roni. “Did that hurt? My bad.”
Marcus stepped forward, repeating, “You’re scared of them, aren’t you?”
The Alpha swallowed hard. “Yes, and you should be too.”
“Why?”
He stumbled over his words. “They’re not . . . normal, Marcus. They fear nothing. Lives mean nothing to them. They’ll hurt, and they’ll kill, but they won’t care.”
“Where. Are. They?”
“You’ll find them at snm.com.”
As they sat in the Toyota while Marcus reported everything to Trey over his cell phone, Roni found herself unable to stop staring at him. In a word, she was stunned. Totally and utterly stunned. In the short time she’d known Marcus, Roni had sensed three things: he could be playful, he could be charming, and he could be dangerous. But she hadn’t guessed just how dangerous he could actually be.
Faced with an Alpha who had attempted to suppress Marcus with his dominant vibes, Marcus hadn’t buckled. In fact, he’d withstood the power—which was no little thing. He’d been assertive, forceful, and commanding. And she was totally turned on, to her horrified fascination.
She now understood what Trey had meant when he said that Marcus had a way of getting people to talk. It wasn’t how powerful he was that spooked them, it was that he’d originally hidden it. By nature, shifters were brash and bold, particularly dominants. They wore their power like a cloak, warning away any would-be challengers.
As for those who very unnaturally downplayed their dominance like Marcus, the quiet ones . . . everyone knew to be wary of them. They were comfortable being quiet for a reason: they weren’t afraid to be challenged and even welcomed it—often because they were a little crazy. As Eli had once said, “They would soon as cut your throat than look at you.”
Ending the call, Marcus returned his cell phone to his pocket and started the engine. “It all comes back to that fucking website. Rhett’s almost cracked its security, so everyone’s going to reunite back at my territory.” Frowning at her odd expression, he asked, “What?”