Chapter 3

The light faded from my vision as a large figure bled into view. Not a second later, a heavy thud echoed against the brick wall. Dwane’s fingers went entirely limp around my throat, and we fell backward onto the dirt together.

I tried to break my fall, but the dizziness was so overwhelming the attempt was useless. I barely landed on Dwane’s motionless body before a low whistle sounded, and strong arms scooped me off him.

I was suspended between slipping into unconsciousness and fighting the person carrying me, my panicked brain assuming this was just another attempt on my life.

The more I aimlessly tried to push away, the tighter his grip became. “Hey, I’m trying to help you here. Knock it off.” The voice was calm, clear, and carried a mischievous edge. “Any reason our Alpha’s Beta is trying to strangle you?”

I recognized that tone. My mind flashed back to a memory of getting a face full of mud pie in middle school.

“Holy shit, it is you,” the guy said, stopping his pace for a fraction of a second. “You definitely grew up. A lot.”

My eyes flickered open, meeting a pair of warm butterscotch eyes and a familiar, handsome face. I muttered a weak curse. “I still hope you fall off the monkey bars.”

Jace Blaine chuckled. “Oh, you do remember me.”

“It’s hard not to know the people in your own pack,” I rasped, shaking my head to clear the spots in my vision. “Snake Eyes… He tried to…” I couldn’t bring myself to say it out loud. The sting of the betrayal felt like a fresh cut to my lungs.

“Yeah,” Jace replied, his expression hardening as he kept moving. “I saw. What the hell was that about? I thought he was practically family to you.”

“I thought so, too.” I wriggled against his chest. “I can stand on my own, thanks.”

“No can do,” another voice cut in from beside us. It was low, sharp, and entirely cold.

I lifted my chin to peer at the stranger keeping stride with Jace. He looked vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t place him. I certainly would have remembered a face like his. He was easily as attractive as Jace, but where Jace radiated light, this guy was pure shadow. Jace had messy, honey-colored hair and a bulky, tanned build; this guy had pitch-black hair with a thick crimson streak, a lean, muscular frame, and skin covered in tattoos and piercings.

As his ice-blue eyes cut down to mine, my chest tightened. “We can’t waste time,” he muttered, breaking our locked gaze to stare straight ahead. “We’ve already wasted enough rescuing your damsel in distress.”

My jaw went slack. “Excuse me?”

“Screw you, Hunter.” Jace playfully nudged Hunter with his elbow while keeping his arm locked securely around my back. “If we can help people on our way out—”

Hunter shot him a lethal look. “You mean if you can save a girl with perky tits on our way out, you might get lucky tonight.”

That was it. I dug my nails into Jace’s forearm and violently kicked myself free. I stumbled onto the grass, my boots skidding as Jace cursed.

“I’m trying to keep you alive here!” Jace exclaimed.

Hunter kept walking, never once looking back as I straightened up and nearly toppled over from a fresh wave of vertigo. I cursed under my breath.

Jace’s hand shot out, steadying me by my shoulder. “Ignore him. He’s got a stick up his ass. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” I snapped, pulling away. “I just want to go home.”

Jace nodded, adjusting his jacket. “That’s the plan. Your dad needs to know his own wingman just tried to put you in a body bag.”

I nodded toward Hunter, who was already sliding into the driver’s seat of a sleek, black sedan across the gravel lot. “Are you sure about him? He doesn’t exactly look like the helpful type.” I glanced at Jace. “Can we just call my dad directly?”

Jace frowned, watching the car’s headlights flip on. “Hunter’s already patching through to him.”

“Oh.” I crossed my arms, staring at the car. Part of me wanted to run the other way, but the gunfire was still echoing faintly in the distance. I looked back toward the main street where the race had started. “It’s quiet. Why is it so quiet over there?”

“The local enforcers are handling it. Things are under control.” Jace motioned toward the passenger side. “Come on, let’s get you out of here before the Snake wakes up.”

A cold shiver raced down my spine. I still couldn’t process it. Dwane, a man I considered an uncle, had just tried to end my life.

I forced myself to follow Jace to the vehicle. I reached for the rear door handle, but Jace caught my wrist, shaking his head. “You’re sitting in the front.”

I stared through the glass at Hunter’s rigid profile. “Yeah, no. I’m perfectly fine in the back, thanks.”

Jace stepped closer, leaning down slightly. “One, it’s good manners to let the guy who carried you choose where you sit.”

A faint snort echoed from inside the car. I glared at the windshield as Jace continued. “And two, the local packs are going apeshit right now. If we get followed, a tail car is going to open fire on our rear windshield first. The front seat has the engine block and airbags protecting you. If you’re smart, you’ll get in.”

“Just get in the car,” Hunter barked through the open window. “We’re going to get tracked because you two are taking your sweet time eye-fucking each other.”

Jace rolled his eyes with a knowing smirk, and I shot Hunter a venomous look before opening the passenger door. I wanted to argue, but my body was too exhausted to fight. I climbed into the leather seat and pulled the door shut.

The lock clicked automatically. I turned to Hunter immediately. “Did you talk to my dad?”

Hunter ignored me, twisting the ignition. He shot Jace an irritated look in the rearview mirror as Jace climbed into the back. “It’s on your head if this goes sideways.”

“Yeah, yeah, drive,” Jace drawled, leaning forward between our seats.

As the sedan slid out of the dark parking lot, I stared out the window. “You didn’t happen to see a neon orange Buggy peeling out of here earlier, did you?”

The two men exchanged a brief look in the mirror.

“No,” Jace replied with a frown. “Why?”

“Never mind,” I sighed, pressing my forehead against the cool glass.

I still couldn’t believe Loren and Lucas had left me. I couldn’t wrap my head around any of it. I had almost died twice in less than twenty minutes. I shot a cautious glance at Hunter’s sharp profile, praying I wasn’t walking into another trap. I was shaking, trying desperately to hide the tremor in my hands, and utterly spent.

“Don’t worry, you’re safe now,” Jace murmured softly, as if sensing the panic spiraling in my chest. “We’re taking you straight home. Your dad probably already has an execution order out for those attackers and Dwane.”

Hunter cleared his throat, rolling his shoulders as he gripped the steering wheel. He didn’t take his eyes off the dark road ahead. “Actually, we’re heading to the central police station.”

My head snapped toward him. In the back, Jace sat up straight, his eyes bulging.

“Are you out of your mind?” Jace choked out. “We already have a massive target on our backs with the guys in blue. If we walk in there, they’ll cuff us on sight.”

I frowned, wondering what Jace could have possibly done to be on the radar of human law enforcement. He didn’t seem like the type to tangle with the legal system. Girls, absolutely. But not detectives.

“That’s why she’s going in alone,” Hunter countered coldly.

Hunter, on the other hand, looked like the type of guy who would commit arson just to watch the sparks fly.

“The hell I am,” I retorted, turning around in my seat to glare from Hunter to Jace. “My dad handles pack business, not the human police.”

“Your dad is the one who gave the order,” Hunter replied, his voice entirely flat. “He wants you under federal protection while he cleans up the turf war. Once the dust settles, Syndicate lawyers will bring you home. No big deal.”

There was a tense silence in the car. Finally, Jace slumped back against his seat. “He makes a point, Elise. You didn’t do anything wrong. You’ll be fine.”

“I was at an illegal werewolf street race,” I countered. “You think the cops are just going to pretend that didn’t happen?”

“The humans don’t know shit about the race,” Jace shrugged. “Your dad likely told them you were in the wrong neighborhood at the wrong time when a riot broke out. You know the Alpha. If there’s one thing he’s an expert at, it’s erasing a paper trail. You’re his daughter—he’ll pull every string he has to keep your slate clean.”

I stared at the dashboard, processing the logic. My father wouldn’t abandon me. He couldn’t.

“I guess you’re right,” I murmured.

A gentle hand rested on my shoulder from behind. Even without looking, the warmth of the touch told me it was Jace. A sudden, traitorous tingle spread across my skin, making me question my own chaotic hormones.

The drive felt agonizingly long, and a wave of relief washed over me when the neon sign of the police precinct finally cut through the darkness. Hunter kept his eyes glued straight ahead, completely freezing me out, while Jace climbed out and opened my door to help me onto the pavement.

“So, this is it,” Jace said, flashing a grin. There was something lingering in his eyes, and I suddenly wondered if Hunter’s crude comment about him trying to get lucky had a grain of truth to it.

I tore my eyes away from him, looking up at the glass doors of the station. “Thank you. For saving my life.”

“Anytime,” he replied. An awkward silence stretched between us. “So… I guess I’ll see you around the territory?”

“Yeah.” I offered him a genuine smile, making sure my tone stayed strictly platonic. “I’ll make sure my dad knows exactly what you did for me.”

Jace rubbed the back of his neck, his cheeks flushing slightly. “Yeah, that’d be great. Thanks. It was no problem, really. Uh—”

“Jace!” Hunter barked from the driver’s seat, slamming the car into reverse. “Move! Cops!”

I spun on my heel. Five human police officers were sprinting out of the precinct doors straight toward us, three of them with their service weapons drawn and aimed at my chest.

Instinctively, I threw both hands into the air. In my peripheral vision, I saw Jace dive into the backseat of the sedan just before Hunter slammed on the gas, the tires screeching brutally against the asphalt as they tore out of the lot.

Great. Just leave me here.

I kept my hands raised, assuming the officers would lower their weapons once they realized I was the victim here.

Instead, two massive officers slammed me face-first into the freezing concrete.

The impact knocked the wind right out of my lungs. Heavy knees pinned my spine, and the cold metal of handcuffs ratcheted brutally around my wrists.

“Elise Cartwright, you are under arrest for commercial trespassing, possession of illegal narcotics, and underage consumption,” a voice barked above me. “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney…”

The words blurred into background noise as the rough concrete scraped against my cheek.

Well, shit.