Savage (Wolf Ranch 4)

I spun on my heel and stormed off, not waiting to ask the mechanic for a ride. I doubted he’d give one to a lunatic like me, especially after the ridiculous threats I’d spouted. Several other people were watching my little tantrum, but I didn’t care. I was done. D-O-N-E.

I wanted to cry, but I was too angry. I knew I would, later, when the adrenaline wore off.

As I walked the mile to the hospital, I ate the crackers from my purse. The entire sleeve of them. I would normally have been freezing on the way, but I had my anger to keep me warm. I had no idea what the fuck I was going to do. Todd wouldn’t stop until I gave in, and that was the last thing I would ever do. I wasn’t going back to him. I saw him for what he was now.

Insane and perhaps even dangerous.

It wasn’t just me I had to worry about now. It was little peanut, too. I wouldn’t let Todd get anywhere near my child. It was only so long, though, that thick sweaters and heavy coats would hide my growing belly. If he was this crazy now, what would it be like when he found out I was having another man’s baby? Where would he stop? Slashed tire and empty bank account today. What would he do tomorrow?

8

CLINT

I couldn’t sleep. There was no fucking way I could while thinking about seeing Becky fix her own flat tire. Not just flat. Slashed. I’d respected her request that I leave, but that didn’t mean I was abandoning her. Hell no. Space, she got. She also got me, and I was going to figure out what the hell was up with her ex. It was how I could protect her. For now.

I researched the fuck out of Becky’s and Todd’s case into the night. In Helena, there was a shifter who was a lawyer and a damn good one. Selena Jennings. She was the kind of attorney humans paid eight hundred dollars an hour for. I said humans because she usually did her work for her own kind pro bono, not that I wouldn’t be willing to pay her. I’d pay her anything to make Becky happy, and I had a feeling that would start when the ink was dry on her divorce papers.

I put in a call to her to ask if she would look into Becky’s situation.

“Does Becky want my help with her divorce?” she asked. “Has she fired her own attorney?”

I cleared my throat. “No.”

I heard her huff out a laugh. “She doesn’t know you called me, right?”

“She’s my mate,” I growled. “She’s in danger. This man is tormenting her. He slashed her tire, I’m sure of it. It can’t be the first thing he’s done, and I doubt it’ll be the last.”

Selena sighed. “I understand, but there’s not much I can do without her willingly becoming my client. Do you have access to any of the paperwork?”

“I have it all right here pulled up on my laptop,” I replied, mentally thanking Kylie, council data-hacker for getting me everything.

“Send it over, and I’ll take a look,” she said with resignation in her voice.

I sighed in relief. “Thank you. Appreciate it.” I hung up and forwarded everything onto her then rubbed the back of my neck, my continued unease making my wolf growl. There was nothing I could do to nudge Selena along except harass her, which would piss her off. That was the last thing I wanted. I had to be patient, but it was fucking tough when something still felt off, even after getting someone on the legal end of things.

It was a feeling I couldn’t shove away. I stood, paced. Something was wrong, and my wolf was telling me. I had no idea what the fuck it was, but it had to be acted on. I grabbed my coat. Christ, I needed to move into town. I didn’t like being so far away from my mate’s house. Twenty miles from her was too fucking far. And if she was in danger… fuck.

I didn’t have an invitation. In fact, Becky had downright pushed me away this morning with her marriage announcement, but I had to go look in on her. Just drive by to make sure the sense of foreboding I had wasn’t about her. It was my gut talking. My Spidey sense as some people said. Whatever it was, it had saved me a time or two when tracking a rogue shifter. I wasn’t working now, which made it even worse.

I got in my truck and drove into town, cruising down Becky’s street at two miles an hour. It had been dark for hours, and this time of year, people settled inside at dinnertime and stayed in. Cars were in their driveways, the streetlights were on. In a few weeks, the front yards would be glowing with holiday lights.