Total pages in book: 63
Estimated words: 61468 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 307(@200wpm)___ 246(@250wpm)___ 205(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61468 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 307(@200wpm)___ 246(@250wpm)___ 205(@300wpm)
We’ve been dreaming about a wedding in a little chapel in the mountains—a small ceremony with just the two of us. Logan promised me the dress of my dreams.
“Even though I’m showing?” I asked him.
He smiled and stroked the curve of my belly.
“Yes, kitten—you’ll be a beautiful bride. You’re glowing, did you know that? You’re going to look fucking gorgeous in a wedding dress—not despite your belly but because of it.”
His words make me blush and nibble my lower lip. God, I love him so much! I’ve never been with anyone who makes me feel so beautiful…so loved and cherished.
Everything seems perfect.
Tonight after dinner, we curl up by the fire. Logan strokes my belly, murmuring to the babies. His big hands are so gentle as he bends close, speaking in a high, silly tone he calls his “daddy voice.” I laugh every time—it sounds nothing like his usual rumbling Alpha baritone. He’s going to be the best father in the world.
But then—Bang! Bang! Bang!
The pounding on the front door makes me jump. My heart leaps into my throat.
Logan stiffens, straightens. His body goes rigid as a bowstring.
Another round of pounding shakes the door. A voice shouts,
“Open up in the name of the Iron Fang Pack!”
Fear prickles down my spine.
“What’s going on? What do they want?”
“I don’t know.” His pale eyes flash. “But I’ll find out. Don’t worry, kitten—I’ll get rid of them.”
He strides to the door and yanks it open.
Three massive Alphas stand there, their breath steaming in the frigid air. The biggest one, a beefy man in a plaid jacket, steps forward.
“Logan Hayes,” he growls, “you’re under arrest.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Logan snaps. “I’m a Lone Wolf—you have no say over me!”
“Oh yes, we do.” The Alpha’s eyes are hard. “Lone wolf or not, when you break one of the Unbreakable Laws, the local Packmaster has to deal with you.”
He jerks his chin at the two behind him.
“Cuff him—use the silver cuffs.”
“No!” I cry, rushing forward, but it’s too late. Before I can do anything, the other two Alphas seize Logan’s arms. The glint of silver flashes in the firelight.
And in a heartbeat, they’re hustling him out the door.
48
LOGAN
The silver burns.
It bites into my wrists, sapping my strength, making my muscles ache like fire under my skin. I pull anyway—try to break free, to throw these bastards off me—but the cuffs hold fast.
I snarl low in my throat. Who the fuck told them? How did the Pack even know? I’ve kept to myself. Stayed out of their business. I’m a Lone Wolf—always have been. The only way they could know about Poppy and me is if someone talked.
I don’t have to think hard to know what probably happened. Kyle and Leroy. Those rotten fucks must have run straight to the Packmaster.
The thought makes my blood boil hotter than the silver ever could.
But what twists the knife in my gut isn’t the pain—it’s imagining what Poppy must be going through right now. My sweet little kitten, standing in the doorway, watching them drag me away. Her big eyes gone wide with fear. She’s probably shaking. Crying. And I can’t even hold her. Can’t tell her it’s going to be all right.
Goddammit.
I grit my teeth as one of them shoves me forward. I stumble, but I don’t fall. I won’t give them that satisfaction. They can cuff me, burn me, weaken me with their fucking silver, but they’ll never see me break.
Still, inside, I’m raging. My Wolf is howling, throwing himself at the invisible walls the silver cuffs press around us. He wants out—wants to rip their throats out, to end every last one of them for daring to touch us!
I want that too.
But I can’t—not like this. Not now.
I’m going to have to get through this somehow. Protect Poppy. Protect our pups. That’s all that matters.
Even if I don’t fucking know how I’m going to do it yet.
49
POPPY
For a moment, I just sit there on the couch, numb. My hands are curled in my lap, my whole body frozen. The fire is still burning in the hearth, the room still warm and golden, but it feels like someone ripped the heart right out of the house.
They took Logan.
They cuffed him with silver, dragged him out the door, and I just sat here like a useless lump, watching it happen.
The sound of the front door slamming echoes in my ears. Then silence.
No. No, no, no.
My man. My Alpha. My mate. They can’t just take him away from me—not when I need him, not when the babies need him.
I surge to my feet and slip my feet into shoes as I grab a jacket. My keys hang on the hook by the front door. My hands are shaking, but I snatch them anyway and stumble outside into the cold, dark night.