Page 5 of Midnight Hunt
Familiar heat spread throughout my body as she took control and began to force the change. Notallthe way into animal form, but just enough to give us an edge. My muscles swelled and hardened, stretching my skin taut. I gladly welcomed the bite of pain, knowing that I couldn’t win this fight without Sable’s help.
With another growl that ripped from my throat this time, Sable used my body to lash out at the males. A well-aimed knee to the groin sent one of them staggering back with a groan. The other one who’d followed me from the stadium managed to avoid a head butt. But when I twisted in his grip, his fingers slipped.
Sable immediately took advantage, ripping my arms free to whirl around and punch him in the throat. We stayed long enough to watch his eyes bug out in shock, then dashed away before either of them could catch us. Pausing a split second to scoop up my purse and shopping bag, I quickly unlocked my Jeep and scrambled inside.
Each movement was swift and precise, my senses firing off on all cylinders. The second the engine rolled over, I peeled away from the curb and floored it, the tires squealing loudly against the asphalt. For several minutes, I drove like a maniac, repeatedly glancing in the rearview mirror to see if I was being followed. When I reached Reid’s apartment complex, I circled the block a few times just to be sure, then hurriedly parked and all but sprinted inside the building.
Only when I was in the relative safety of Reid’s apartment did the shaking begin. It started in my fingers, then swiftly spread to the rest of my body. No longer able to stand, I sank to the hardwood floor and rummaged in my purse for my phone. With trembling fingers, I selected a number on autopilot, my breath coming in short spurts as I waited for him to pick up.
“Please, please, please,” I whispered, feeling lightheaded as the phone rang and rang. “Please, pick up. Please, pick—”
The ringing abruptly stopped, and a familiar voice flooded the speaker. “Vi? You okay?”
A sob got stuck in my throat.
“Griff,” I replied in a trembling voice. “I need you.”
2
VIOLET
I knew I wasn’t thinking clearly. Knew I’d basically just committed relationship suicide.
But all I could focus on was the need pounding through my body. A need so intense that I could barely function when Reid found me half an hour later still sitting on the floor of his apartment.
I told him about the attack, but it hadn’t made me feel any better. I knew he was worried and confused. Knew that I’d completely ruined our romantic evening by making that one call. A call I should have made tohim.
Still, all I could think about was the fact that Griff was coming. Three little words, and he’d rushed to my aid, just like he always did. I waited for the guilt to hit, but the only thing I felt was relief.
He was coming. Nothing else mattered right now.
Forty-five minutes later, my keen hearing picked up the sound of footsteps approaching the apartment. When I heard more than one pair, I leapt to my feet, ready to fight again.
Reid turned toward the door as well, instinctively putting himself between me and the threat. He knew that I’d called Griff, but he shouldn’t be here yet. The drive from Lake Placid was over four hours long. There was no way he could have—
I nearly jumped from my skin when a loud bang rattled the door.
“Open up, Vi. It’s Kolton.”
At the unexpected sound of my brother’s voice, some of my panic faded, but I continued to shake as Reid strode forward to open the door. The second he did, a tall figure barged inside, forcing him to step back.
“Where is she?” the blond male demanded, even as his brown eyes quickly scanned the room and collided with mine.
“Griff. She’s—” Reid started, but the male shoved past him before he could finish.
A second later, I was being crushed in an impossibly tight hug, one that lifted me clean off my feet.
When his spicy clove and cinnamon scent surrounded me, the desperate need that had plagued me for over an hour immediately started to fade. I gripped the back of his shirt, relieved that my hands no longer shook. Sable heaved a sigh, one that warmed my insides and chased away the last of my terror.
Finally, she whispered, contentedly settling into the embrace.
Neither Griff nor I said a word, but we didn’t need to. All we needed in this moment was each other’s touch. For as long as I could remember, it had always been this way between us. One hug, and everything bad just slipped away.
Even though our relationship was strictly platonic now, his closeness soothed my nerves like nothing else could.
“What happened?” I heard Kolton question Reid.
“She was attacked by two males on the street, both werewolves. Apparently, one of them followed her from the stadium, but I don’t recognize him from her description,” Reid answered Midnight Pack’s alpha. “I was still at the stadium when they—”
