Rescued by the Pack

by Leah Knight

  Allison and Michael left the cave and found Luke and Logan arguing outside. They turned to Michael and blanched at the sight of his grave expression.

  “What’s wrong?” Luke asked.

  “No time to explain,” Michael said. “We’ve got to go. They’re coming.”

  “How did they…” Logan started to ask.

  Michael didn’t answer. He simply shifted, and Allison jumped upon his back, ready to go. Luke and Logan followed suit, and off they went.

  Suddenly, Luke and Logan froze. Michael, sensing they’d stopped, immediately turned his head and barked something. They returned with a short, sad yelp, and Michael immediately turned in go back in the direction from whence they’d come with Luke and Logan on his heels.

  “Where are we going?” Allison begged, but the three wolves simply sprinted at top speed in the direction of Victor’s cabin.

  Allison’s stomach churned and twisted in knots. She’d no clue what they’d spoken of. All she knew was they’d suddenly decide to go back to the place that put them all in such danger.

  Before long, Allison detected the scent of smoke in the air. It grew stronger and stronger, and eventually it was nearly suffocating. Allison coughed and squinted through the ever thickening haze of choking smoke, her eyes beginning to burn and water.

  Michael lurched to a stop, nearly throwing her from his back. She quickly scrambled down, and the three wolves shifted back into human form. Allison barely noticed their nakedness, now. It had become so familiar.

  Michael burst through the front door as flames gushed out explosively around him. He disappeared into the dancing orange and yellow fire and emerged moments later carrying a limp Lydia, who had obviously been worked over quite badly before the fire started.

  Luke and Logan shifted back into wolf form once more, and Michael laid Lydia’s lifeless body across Luke’s back. Then Michael too shifted, and Allison quickly jumped aboard.

  They raced back to the house and found it miraculously standing. As soon as Allison dismounted, Michael shifted and snatched Lydia from Luke’s back, bursting through the cabin door and laying her limply on the same bed Allison had found herself shackled to when she’d first come to in their den.

  “Lydia,” he said gently, tapping her face.

  Luke and Logan entered and stood solemnly beside the bed, watching anxiously for any sign of life.

  “Lydia!” Michael shouted, slapping her squarely.

  Her eyelids fluttered, and the brothers inhaled sharply. Her eyes opened, and she coughed.

  “Get her some water!” Michael snapped, and Logan dashed into the kitchen returning with a glass jar full of tap water.

  Michael snatched it away and held it to Lydia’s lips. She took a small sip and weakly pulled her head away.

  “Lydia, what happened?” Michael asked.

  She took his hand in hers and looked deeply into his eyes. Her lips parted, and she tried once… twice… three times to speak. Then she sighed and closed her mouth, swallowing hard.

  Michael leaned his ear as closely to her mouth as possible, and she finally managed to croak, “Simon.”

  Her eyes closed and her hand went limp, slipping from Michael’s and flopping lifelessly onto the bed.

  “Lydia, no!” Logan wailed, kneeling beside the bed and taking her hand in his, pressing it to his forehead.

  “Goodbye, sister,” Luke said, his hand gripping the bedpost fiercely.

  Michael turned to the others and said, “She said Simon. That can only mean one thing. He’s back.”

  “Oh, Jesus,” Luke said. “You don’t really think… you don’t think Simon’s really back here, do you?”

  “I’m afraid so,” Michael answered. “And that means none of us are safe. We need to leave town, and quickly.”

  “Who’s Simon?” Allison asked.

  “Logan, pack a bag of food right away,” Michael said, and Logan kissed Lydia’s hand and wiped the tears from his eyes, disappearing into the kitchen. “Luke, get to the safe and put every dollar we have in a backpack, now!” Luke dashed upstairs.

  “Who’s Simon?” Allison repeated.

  Michael carefully lifted Lydia’s body and headed for the door. He turned to Allison and said gruffly, “Stay here.”

  “Michael, who’s…” but her words went unheeded as Michael disappeared.

  Just as he returned, Luke and Logan also came back from their tasks and Michael said, “Let’s go.”

  “Who is Simon, and where are we going?” Allison demanded.

  “I’ll explain when we get there, now let’s go!” Michael shouted.

  Outside, they shifted rapidly, and Allison lifted the backpack onto her shoulders and hefted the bag of food onto Michael’s back in front of her. And off they dashed.

  Want More?

  Book Two in the Pack Instincts series is coming soon! Be sure you check out the other steamy romance reads by Leah Knight!

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