Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
SASHA
Itake off running through the woods. Even though I ran track in college, my legs are shorter than Carson’s.
Branches whip at my arms. My sandals slip on wet leaves, and twice I nearly go down, catching myself on tree trunks that scrape my palms raw.
Behind me, I can hear him — not sprinting yet, just a fast, unhurried lope, like he knows exactly how this ends and isn’t in a rush to get there.
That’s almost worse than if he were screaming.
Desperate not to get caught, I push my earbuds into my ears and press play. I turn and release magic from my fingers, zapping Carson and Jenny, who’s on his heels.
For some reason, I remove one earbud to listen as I continue on.
“Ah,” she screams, falling to the ground, crying in pain.
Carson yells curses as he peeks at the charred hole burned clean through his shirt, but he barely slows down.
“What the fuck? You’ve got magic? I should let my wolf go and make you give me what I came here for before I rip you to shreds.”
My heart beats faster than ever. Terror rises up my spine like ice water.
No wonder my magic didn’t affect him the same. He’s a fucking wolf shifter. How did I not know? We were together for three years.
I shove the earbud back in as I reach my car. I can’t risk Carson using his alpha bark. He’s unhinged. I’ve never seen him this angry.
As soon as I slide behind the steering wheel, I lock the doors and start the engine. He’s banging on the window, both fists, hard enough that the glass shudders in its frame.
I notice Jenny holding her stomach, hair falling all over her face as she limps toward us.
I peel off in the dirt, fishtailing as I U-turn.
Pressing the pedal to the floor, I speed down the dirt road toward Lupton, gravel kicking up behind me like buckshot, the whole car shuddering over every rut and root.
Headlights fill my rearview mirror. Then they’re closer. Then they’re right on top of me.
Thankfully, my phone connects to the car.
“Call Sheriff Asshole,” I order the phone system.
Yeah, I may not have gotten around to changing his name to Gavin.
“Sheriff Drake speaking.”
“Gavin, Carson and Jenny spotted me.”
“What? Spotted you where?”
I peek in the rearview mirror. Headlights, too close, swerving with every turn I take like they’re stitched to my bumper.
“Carson is driving erratically. He’s pointing a gun at my car.”
“I’m coming, little omega. Drive in a zigzag.”
He shouts orders to other deputies, his voice gone hard and fast in a way I’ve never heard from him, not the grumpy sheriff, not the possessive alpha, something colder and more focused than both.
The dirt road spits me out onto asphalt, and I take the turn too fast, tires screaming, back end sliding wide before I wrestle it straight. My hands are shaking so hard on the wheel I can barely feel my own grip.
“You were right about Jenny. There was something off about her. I have proof she was working with Carson. He set the entire plan in motion. He played me,” I cry.
Frantically, I wipe at the tears blurring my vision, one hand still locked on the wheel.
“We can talk about that later. I need to get to my little omega. I have to keep you safe.”
“One more thing. Carson is a wolf shifter. He wants to rip me apart.”
The impact comes before I finish the sentence. Metal shrieks against metal, and my head jerks forward hard enough to blur my vision at the edges. My worst nightmare has come to pass. He’s going to try to kill me.
Carson slams into me again.
By this time I’ve tuned Gavin out. I’m trying to survive. The road ahead splits and blurs, headlights and darkness and my shaky knuckles on the wheel, and every instinct I have is screaming at me to just keep the car straight, keep it straight, keep —
But I tug the steering wheel too hard from being rear-ended and lose control of the car.
Fear claws up my back. My life flashes before my eyes — Charleston, the gallery, Tara’s face, Gavin’s hands on me, all of it flickering past faster than I can hold on to any single piece of it.
My eyes widen as the rows of trees come into view.
“No,” I yell.
The Mercedes slams into the trees, and everything goes black.