Five For Friday – Coyote Wild
This week I’m taking a random five pages instead of the first five which I already did for Coyote Wild back HERE!
Brogan came up behind Rowan and pinched a slice of the cheese she was cutting for dinner. When he went for a second piece she smacked his hand away with the back of the knife.
“Stop it! You’ll spoil your dinner.”
“Dinner won’t be for a couple of hours and you know nothing could spoil my appetite.” He quickly snatched a second piece and darted to the other side of the kitchen.
“Brogan,” Rowan warned.
“Okay, no more I promise.” He held his hands up. His mood was light since he’d come to a truce of sorts with El. Plus, he’d made it clear she and Rowan were not to leave the house. Between now and the wedding he or his sister would find the right time to tell El about their heritage. Yes, things were starting to come together.
“Where’s El?” he asked.
“Out front.”
“What!” he yelled.
“She’s sitting on the front steps getting some fresh air.” Rowan turned to face him, an eyebrow raised.
“Outside?” His voice had lowered but would still have been heard upstairs.
“That’s where the front steps were last time I looked.”
What the hell was wrong with her? How could she have let El leave the house?
“Jeez, Brogan, lighten up. She’s just getting some air, not going on a mountain trek.” Rowan shook her head and returned to cutting cheese.
For a second his mouth flapped but no words came out, then adrenaline kicked in and the beast sprang to life.
“Rowan!” he roared.
“What? Why the hell are you yelling at me?” She raised her voice but wasn’t yelling.
“How could you let her leave the house? You both promised you wouldn’t until after the wedding.” He spun on his heel ready to charge through the front door and drag El back inside.
“For Christ’s sake Brogan, she’s just out front. Nothing’s going to happen on our own porch.”
Brogan stopped. He didn’t want to tell her but he had to now. Had to so she’d understand El couldn’t leave the house. He looked at her over his shoulder. “She’s marked, Rowan.”
“Marked?”
He nodded.
“You had sex with my best friend?” Her soft tone didn’t bode well. Any second the explosion would come.
Sure enough, the knife she’d been using sailed past his head and embedded in the wall behind him. Most would say he was lucky she missed but Brogan knew luck had nothing to do with it, she had a true aim. If she’d wanted to hit him she would have, either between the eyes or through the heart. Rowan never missed a target.
“We didn’t have sex. It didn’t go that far.”
“But you marked her!”
“I didn’t mean to. It just happened and…”
Rowan flew past him into the hall.
Oh God, Eloise!
He tore out of the kitchen after her. Quinn came down the stairs as they headed for the front door.
“Where’s the fire?” Quinn asked.
The door crashed back against the wall.
“El!” Rowan screamed.
“What the hell’s going on?” Quinn was right behind him as Brogan hit the porch.
“El came out to get some fresh air,” he ground between clenched teeth.
“What? When? Where the hell is she?” Quinn demanded.
“And when the fuck did it start to snow?” Rowan whispered.
“Where is she?” Brogan swung his head, frantically searching for El. There was no sign of her.
“I don’t know. She said she’d just be here on the front step.”
“Quinn, go in and get some gear.” He pulled his sweater and shirt off together.
“Brogan, what are you doing?” Rowan asked.
“I’m going to find her. I’ll bring her back if I can. If not I’ll keep her in place until Quinn gets to us.” He unbuttoned his jeans, pushed them down and yanked his boots off with them.
“Brogan, you can’t go to her in your coyote form. You’ll scare her to death.” Rowan protested.
“I’ve got no choice. She’ll freeze to death if we don’t get to her soon.”
Quinn came out the door, his jacket on, a pack thrown over one shoulder and El’s jacket in his arms. “She didn’t take her coat. We need to move now.” He picked up Brogan’s clothes and shoved them into the pack.
Brogan left the porch at a run as muscles stretched and bones popped. He bent forward and by the time his hands reached the ground they were paws. Shifting for him took no thought, no effort. In seconds he was sniffing the air and following El’s scent along the path into the woods.
He heard Quinn running behind him, the distance between them getting greater with each stride. Nose down, he bounded down the trail and quickly disappeared from view. How had she managed to get so far? The storm was rapidly turning into a blizzard and his keen vision was the only thing keeping him from crashing into the trees.
His fur hung limp, wet from the snow and the sweat pouring out of him. He pumped his legs, his heart racing. The strain and pull on his muscles went unnoticed as he ran for all he was worth. The fear of not getting to her soon enough rode his back, made him push harder.
He’d left the path, slowed by the density of the trees and thick underbrush. Why had she left the path? Burs caught in his fur. Brogan ignored them. He had to get to El, had to find her before she froze to death. Or worse, someone else found her.
The snow fell into his eyes, blurred his vision. His lungs burned but nothing except finding El would stop him. Her scent grew stronger, the wet conditions didn’t hamper his senses. Closer now, he slowed. She didn’t need him barreling down on her in coyote form. He’d have to approach with care, not frighten her.
Two things hit him at once, the sight of El through the trees fifty feet in front of him and another coyote between him and her.
El stared at the wild animal in front of her. Teeth bared and hackles raised, he had obviously taken exception to her being in its forest. Well he wasn’t the only one. He looked scrawny, his coat unkempt but what did she expect? A well groomed canine?
“Nice doggy, good doggy.” Hands in front she backed away.
He followed.
The grumble vibrating up his throat stopped her cold. Without moving her head, she searched the area, looking for anything she could use as a weapon to protect herself. He wasn’t big, had to weigh less than she did. If she could find something to bash him over the head with there might be a slim chance she’d get to freeze to death after all.
She tried not to think of how else she might die. Those pointy yellow teeth sent icy fear skating through her veins. Saliva dripped from his curled lips and El’s flight impulse kicked in. The urge to run, to turn and run, shuddered over muscles rigid with fear, but she didn’t move. To do so would mean certain death.
One paw moved forward as a back one followed. With infinite care he walked toward her. He snarled wider, showed more of his menacing jaws. He was stalking her and all she could do was stand there. Wait for him to get closer. She might be able to kick out with her foot if he came within reach without lunging for her throat. How far could he jump?
When he got within twenty feet his snarl turned into a gut-stealing growl, teeth mashing together as he snapped at her. His legs bent and his chest dipped and she knew this was it, he would attack her now and it would be a fight for her life.
She braced her legs apart, bent her knees and bounced on the balls of her feet. All the things she’d been taught in her self-defense class. El figured she could get a good solid kick into his throat if he jumped the right way. If not she’d plant her foot in the first thing it connected with.
The coyote leapt and all her muscles tightened, ready to spring up.
She never got the chance.
With a spine-tingling howl, another coyote pounced. At first she thought it was coming for her but when the newcomer took out the first one in a swift bone-crunching tackle she knew it was time to run. Blood sprayed across the pristine white snow and El’s stomach turned. She would not vomit.
Sprinting to the left, she took off. Trees and bushes slapped at her but she didn’t stop. Her heart pounded in time with her feet, her toes squelched in her wet sneakers and her chest burned with each ragged breath. She needed to hide. She’d never outrun the coyote if he gave chase and she was sure he would.
El scanned the area as she ran, looked for anything that might conceal her. There was only one option. The last time she’d climbed a tree hadn’t turned out well but if it was the difference between life and death, she’d do it. Spotting one that looked as if it would be easy to climb, she headed straight for it.
You can purchase Coyote Wild at ~
ELLORA’S CAVE ~ AMAZON ~ BARNES & NOBLE ~ ALL ROMANCE eBOOKS ~ iBOOKS ~ KOBO ~ SONY
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