Wolf's Hunger (Mafia Monsters #5) - Atlas Rose Page 0,32

fuck!” He grasped my arm and turned it.

I whimpered at the movement, and grabbed hold of his arm as the pain made my head swim. Behind him on the rise, the Unseelie’s black Explorer came to a sliding stop.

I heard her before I saw her. Commands were being barked before the door was flung open and my best friend leaped from the car.

“Chase!” Walker roared, her dark hair streaming out behind her as she raced toward me.

“The Wolf that did this…is it dead?” Phantom growled.

“No.” Church shook his head. “But the bastard is damaged.”

“This isn’t the Wolf that did this,” I denied, just as I was hit by Walker.

Her arms went around me and she pulled me close. “Jesus fucking Christ, Chase,” she barked, hugging me against her. “You really know how to scare a woman to fucking death, you know that?”

She shoved me back and stared into my eyes. Her own were filled with terror and relief as I turned to Phantom. “The Wolf who did this was the one I saw before. Finis is here…and he came for me.”

9

“What the fuck did you just say?” Phantom glared at Walker before he settled that focus on me.

“Jesus, Chase.” She lifted my arm and turned it over. “What the hell did this?”

She examined the gash as the driver’s door of the Explorer opened and the Unseelie, Mojin, climbed out. But it wasn’t the moody, malevolent Immortal that drew my stare. It was the pale young male who climbed out of the back seat after Mojin and lifted his gaze to mine.

This Wolf looked haunted and unhinged. A mass of white scars savaged the base of his throat, and those big dark eyes swam with the look of someone close to breaking. Wry. My heart thundered as his name rolled through my mind. Tormented, Phantom’s words followed. Unstable.

I flinched at the sight. One dangerous-as-hell Unseelie and an unstable Wolf. What the hell was Walker doing with them?

“What happened?” Mojin jerked his gaze toward a howl as it tore through the air in the distance.

“Rogue. Pack. Attack.” Church sucked in great gulps of air and swept fingers through his hair, eyes searching the trees. “Took us by surprise.”

But it was Phantom who pushed Walker aside to grasp my injured arm. “Carina, answer me.”

“It was Finis.” I winced from Phantom’s grip and met his stare. “I’m sure of it. He was just the same as I remember, cold, chilling…and he wanted me dead.”

A deep, chilling sound rumbled in the back of the Alpha's throat.

I looked down, finding his fingers. He wasn’t hurting me, he was helping me, stemming the flow of blood even as he lifted his gaze to Church. One nod from his second, and Phantom was releasing his hold and turning away.

“What’s going on?” I licked my lips. “Talk to me.”

“I want you to stay with Mojin and tend to that wound,” he commanded, and glanced at Wry as he took a step closer. Something passed between them; sadness, regret…and distrust from both sides as someone crashed through the trees.

Vitold and Arran strode out, both men covered with blood, and with identical savage looks of rage.

“We lost them,” Vitold reported. “Three took off over the rise.”

“They’ll be back,” Phantom glanced at me before he continued, “if Finis is leading them.”

Arran’s steps stuttered, smacking his boots against the ground as he swung his gaze to mine. “Finis is here?”

There was no answer from the Alpha. His silence said all they needed to know.

“Jesus Christ.” Vitold looked at Church, but Arran’s gaze was fixed on me as he took in the blood on my arm. “Carina?”

“I’m alright,” I answered. “It’s just a graze.”

“It’s not just a graze, Chase,” Walker snapped. “It’s deep. Probably damaged a tendon or two. You’ll need stitches at the minimum, and I didn’t bring my damn bag.”

“Who the fuck are you?” Arran demanded, stepping closer with a possessive gleam in his eyes.

“Her goddamn friend,” Walker snarled at him, and took a step toward him, fury rippling from her in waves. “The only one who’s looking out for her, it seems. Goddamn Wolves, you just can’t leave her alone, can you?”

Arran just growled and curled his lips, baring his teeth at the remark, then jerked his gaze to the Fae.

“Don’t blame me.” Mojin lifted his hands in surrender. “This one was at the goddamn club, screaming at the top of her lungs about that one.” He stabbed a finger toward me and cut me an unflinching share. “Your doctor was