Winter (Rise of the Pride, Book 2) (21 page)

A hand clasped over her mouth; her scream
muffled by a strong hold. Searing pain flashed across her face from
the touch of a male that wasn’t her mate. It felt like a million
bee stings against her flesh, and she screamed again, not from
fright, but from the contact.

Her heart thundered in her chest and she
kicked out, making contact with a shin, but her captor didn’t
release her. His other hand grasped her upper arm, tightening his
hold. Her eyes watered from the pain. He was going to break her arm
right above where she had the cast, sending more pain through his
touch.

“You’re mine now, you fucking bitch,” Perry
spat.

Oh, God! No! Winter!
She screamed
inside her head, but knew it wouldn’t do any good. Winter couldn’t
hear her. Her only hope was that he’d come home soon and find the
back door ajar. He’d come investigate. If she was a panther, she
could shift to protect herself. As it stood, she was helpless
against this werewolf.

She fought and struggled as he started to
move out of the yard, heading for the surrounding woods. Winter’s
home was farther away from the property line than most of the
homes. If Perry was planning on taking her to a car, it would be a
long walk with her struggling.

Nova kicked out again, this time making
direct contact with his leg. Perry gave a grunt, moving his hand to
clasp around her throat. She couldn’t scream because he cut off her
air. Each time he touched her in a new spot of bare skin, it felt
like she was being set on fire. She tried to hit him with her
casted arm, but missed all together.

“I’m going to kill you after I fuck you,
bitch,” he laughed, sounding like a demon. “Then I’m going to leave
you for your cats to find.”

Her mind tried to shut down, but she fought
against it. Knowing he had more power than she did was enough to
almost give up. But her daddy had taught her how to protect
herself. She was nothing but a human…a helpless female, but what
she lacked in strength, she made up for in knowledge. Perry would
do everything he said if she didn’t at least try to get away from
him.

Using her casted arm, she shoved it straight
up between her left shoulder and his forearm, knocking his hand
away from her throat. She didn’t have time to enjoy the quick
intake of air she received before she spun out of his hold, the
broken branches biting into her bare feet.

She wasn’t going to let him hurt her this
time. When he snarled, lunging for her throat again, Nova took a
chance, ducking low and throwing her weight into the punch that
landed right between his legs. Perry yelped and dropped to his
knees. She turned to run back toward the house and finally got
enough air into her lungs to scream.

“
WINTER!
” she cried out.

The sound of tearing fabric had Nova looking
over her shoulder. She hoped it was Winter, but from the hazy
yellow eyes staring back at her, she knew that Perry had shifted.
She turned and ran toward the light at the back of the house,
praying she could make it in time.

The sound of the wolf running after her sent
Nova’s heart into her throat. She looked again and saw the dark
gray wolf gaining on her. She’d just stepped into the light of
Winter’s backyard when an unearthly roar sounded in front of her.
Tears sprang from her eyes when she saw a huge black panther racing
off the wooden deck, with another panther quickly on his heels.

The fur of the first panther touched her leg
as he raced past, but Nova wasn’t concerned. She knew that panther
would protect her with his life. The moment she climbed on the
porch, her legs gave out. Her knees crashed to the ground and she
curled in on herself, crying out from the pain in her face, neck,
and arm. She could feel the blood dripping from the cuts on her
feet, and she knew she needed to get inside, but walking wasn’t an
option.

Roars and howls echoed through the woods
behind Winter’s house, pushing Nova to get to safety. With some
unknown strength, she was able to crawl over the threshold. Once
inside, Nova slammed the door. She laid out on the kitchen floor,
pressing her face to the cool tile, hoping for some relief. She
cried harder when there was none.

Winter and Talon had followed Nova back to
the house, but stopped along the way to talk about heading out the
following night to search for Perry. He could see the light from
his front porch, so he wasn’t too far away from his mate.

Nova’s scream of terror sent Winter’s
panther into a snarling frenzy. Talon ripped his shirt over his
head as they rushed toward the cabin. Winter’s panther took over as
he also shed his clothes, his hands turned into deadly claws and
his vision changed, bringing the darkness to light. His panther
eyes scanned the front of his home and saw nothing. As his legs hit
the front porch, Winter’s body shifted, the rest of his clothes
shredding into pieces that fell away as his panther crashed into
the front door, splintering it into pieces. By the time he reached
the living room, his shift was complete.

Nova’s scent was everywhere, but it was the
open back door that his panther raced toward when the scent of wolf
drifted into his home. He heard Nova before he saw her, panting
heavily as she ran for her life away from a huge gray wolf who was
no more than twenty feet behind her.

Winter’s panther roared and rushed past his
mate, his fur grazing her leg. That small touch would have to be
all he could give her at the moment. His only thought was to get
his teeth into that wolf’s neck. It was time to end his life. He
felt Talon at his flank, his leader letting him have the hunt for
their enemy.

Perry had to be weak. It’d been a couple of
weeks since the pride had killed the wolf’s alpha. By now, any
shifter without a leader would be starting to lose their strength.
Winter’s panther licked his lips as he tasted an easy victory on
his tongue.

The wolf dashed through the dead leaves and
limbs. Winter scented Nova’s blood as he ran, his panther getting
more agitated as they chased after the enemy. The wolf turned
right, heading for thicker vegetation, and he heard Talon chuff
behind him. His alpha broke off to come around and try to cut off
the wolf.

Winter’s panther leapt over downed trees,
using his claws to climb when needed. His powerful hind legs burned
as he ran and his heart thundered in his chest. The usual sounds of
the forest quieted, only the sound of heavy paws could be heard.
Winter focused on where his alpha was, sensing him coming up on the
wolf.

Talon’s panther plowed into the wolf’s side,
sending him rolling down an embankment. Before Perry stopped
rolling, Winter was on him. The wolf growled and snapped at the
panther, but didn’t get a chance to attack. The panther unleashed
his claws and raked them down the belly of the wolf, his skin
filleted open, blood spilling out in a hot shower against the brown
leaves on the forest floor. The wolf howled out in pain, but his
sound was cut off when the panther’s mouth closed over his
throat.

This is for Nova, you son of a bitch!

One snap of his mouth and Perry’s life was
over.

Talon nudged him, tossing his head toward
the house, telling Winter to get back to his mate. He didn’t know
what condition he’d find her in when he returned, but as he ran,
his panther receded and his human form came rushing back. By the
time he stepped on the porch, Winter was human.

“Don’t touch me,” Nova cried. “Please don’t
touch me.” Winter snarled as he kicked open the back door, finding
Nova curled up on the kitchen floor, Talon’s brother Kye hovering
over her protectively.

“I was going to move her since I know my
touch won’t hurt her,” Kye defended, standing up slowly and holding
his hands in the air defensively. Winter knew the kid wasn’t old
enough to cause a female pain with his touch because he hadn’t hit
his full power yet, but he was thankful that the kid knew to back
away carefully. Winter was on edge, and if Kye had touched her in
any way that caused Nova to cry out from pain to an injury, he
could’ve mistaken it for an unmated male’s touch and killed the
kid.

“Nova,” Winter whispered, squatting down so
he could scoop her up into his arms. The moment he made contact
with her skin, she released a breath Winter didn’t even know she
was holding.

He wanted her in his room…in their bed. His
instincts took over, and all he wanted was to take her somewhere
safe and know that she was loved and protected. She didn’t say
anything as he placed her on the bed. He covered her and slid
beneath the sheets, his naked body molding against her side.

“Where did he touch you?” Winter asked.
“Talk to me, baby. I have to know so I can take away your pain.” He
never understood the need to keep his mate safe and protected until
now. The thought of this man touching her sent a foreign feeling
through his body like a million ants were crawling all over
him.

“Arm,” she gasped, raising her casted arm to
rub her exposed fingers at her throat. “My throat and my
mouth.”

Winter slid his arm behind Nova’s shoulders,
rolling her onto her side so he could press her face against his
neck. He buried his face into her hair and bit back a snarl of rage
at scenting the dead wolf on her body. A rumble bubbled out of his
chest as he rubbed his face against her skin, trying to transfer
his mating scent back into her hair and skin.

“Winter?” the healer announced at the door.
“May I give aid to your mate?”

“Please,” he answered, but still didn’t
release Nova.

“My feet are bleeding,” she yelped, as if
she’d just remembered the injuries.

“It’s okay,” Winter cooed.

“I’m getting blood on your bed,” she said,
wiggling slightly, but she must’ve been so tired, the effort was
minimal.

“It’s our bed,” he corrected. “And you just
stay where you’re at. Harold will look at your feet first.” Winter
had seen the red marks coming up on her throat and knew she’d
probably wear those bruises again, but he wasn’t ready to let her
go yet to see exactly how bad they were. Her voice was scratchy
already, but at least she wasn’t screaming anymore.

“I’m putting on gloves, Nova,” the healer
announced. “My touch should not harm you, but if you feel pain, you
must tell me.”

“Okay,” she nodded, hiding her face back
into Winter’s neck. His heart raced when he felt her press a soft
kiss where his mating mark would’ve been if she were a panther.

“It looks like some small cuts,” Harold
said, snapping off his gloves. “I would suggest letting your mate
help you bathe, and then I will leave some gauze and tape for him
to cover the wounds for a day or two. Now, let me take a look at
the rest of you.”

Winter reluctantly released her, rolling out
of the bed to grab a pair of lounge pants from the dresser. His
eyes never left hers and Nova only answered the direct questions by
the pride’s doctor.

“Did he touch you anywhere else?” Winter
asked, standing at the edge of the bed. All he wanted to do was
kick the doctor out so he could clean his mate and care for
her.

“No,” she replied. When she touched her
throat for the third time, reminding Winter of what had happened,
he wanted to go find that wolf’s corpse and kill the bastard all
over again.

“Where’s my sister?” Liberty shouted,
running down the gravel road that led to the cabins just behind the
alpha’s house. Talon rushed forward and took her into his arms.

“Calm down,” he ordered, pushing out his
alpha powers to ease his mate. She was in distress and from the
glowing amber eyes that were wet with tears, he knew her panther
was agitated as well. “My cub doesn’t like his mother upset.”

“Is she okay?” Liberty asked, her voice
calmer.

“She’s going to be fine,” Talon promised,
and hoped like hell he hadn’t just lied to Liberty. In fact, he was
sure her sister was alive, because if she’d been in any danger,
Winter’s panther would have called out for him already. “Harold is
in there now.”