Total pages in book: 42
Estimated words: 38466 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 192(@200wpm)___ 154(@250wpm)___ 128(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 38466 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 192(@200wpm)___ 154(@250wpm)___ 128(@300wpm)
His paws ate up the distance as he followed the tangy, metallic scent that saturated the air. If he was stronger like his younger brother, Thayer, he could have kept his beast at bay, but it had been so very long since he had sensed such an intoxicating aroma.
Lifting his nose to the air he breathed in deeply. A rumble of need left his chest, and he ran faster, taking a sharp right and then a left. The trees flew past him in a blur of earthy tones, then he was upon her.
The side of the car was bent around a massive elm. Metal and glass littered the ground around the carnage. He crept closer, making sure to keep all angles around him in his senses.
The driver side window was broken, and strands of her dark hair billowed out of the wreckage, the wind swaying it back and forth. The smell of blood was so overpowering he hissed in need.
Blood and adrenalin pumped through his body, tightening and engorging his muscles as he stalked closer. When he was near enough to see her face everything inside of him stilled. His animal became alert yet calm.
A sound behind him had him crouching and ready for the attack. A bird flew into the protective covering of the trees. Turning back toward the woman, he moved closer until strands of her hair brushed along his nose, causing it to twitch.
Deacon could smell the faint aroma of green apples drift off of her, and even in his animal form he leaned forward, wanting to drag more of it into his lungs. Rising onto his hind legs, he braced his massive front paws on the door and scanned her body.
He could see a large gash on her forehead, the source of the blood that filled the air. Another low rumble left his throat. Something inside of him shifted, calling out to his animal and the need to protect this frail, still woman.
He had never felt this way about another person. He had never felt this all-consuming pull to make sure she was protected and safe, to make her his. He didn’t like it, didn’t like the way he felt off-balance because of it. Deacon could have turned around, hunted down that buck and put her behind.
He could just turn his back and resume the solitary lifestyle he had grown comfortable with, but he couldn’t. His animal clawed for freedom, roared to take her with him. He shook his big head and dropped back down to all fours.
No, he couldn’t leave her. She would no doubt die, and that thought had his gut tightening. He would take her back to his home, let Thayer mend her.
Thayer was good with shit like that. He was the gentle one, the calm one. He would take care of her, and then she would be sent on her way. Then he could get back to his life.
Deacon turned and headed into the trees. He had supplies stashed throughout the forest, an extra precaution in case some shit happened and he or Thayer couldn’t make it home.
Even with the heavy snowfall he knew where their supplies were. If he was going to shift into his human form and carry her back to his cabin he’d need a change of clothes.
He dropped his nose and inhaled deeply. He dug in through the frozen ground using his razor-sharp claws until he spotted the bag that held the lifesaving essentials. Moving back a step, he let the shift overtake him. Bones broke, muscles stretched, and feet and hands formed.
The arctic air hit his nude body, and every part of him tensed at the contact. He grabbed the pants, sweater, coat, socks and shoes and quickly donned them.
He didn’t know how long the female had been unconscious, and the sooner he got her back to the warmth of the cabin the sooner his animal would calm the fuck down and quit acting like some possessive asshole.
Deacon’s beast growled, and he smirked. They may be one and the same, but there were times when his animal tried to take supremacy, tried to make the man in him submit.
Maybe that was why he was so fucked up in the head, because he felt like there were two beings inside of him, always waging war and fighting for dominance?
The thick, thermal blanket lay amidst the items, and he grabbed it and threw the bag over his shoulder. He quickly made his way back to her, having no problem finding her since his senses were highly acute and the scent of her blood still filled the air, traveling with the wind.
A part of him didn’t want to think about what other animal could have found her first. There was no doubt in his mind that if that had been the case she wouldn’t be alive right now. The winter months were hard, especially this high in the mountains.