Fated Magic (Claimed by Wolves #1) - Callie Rose Page 0,69
his eyes, but he just leans forward and kisses me. “Let’s get out of here. Climb on my back.”
Before I can respond, he shimmers with the change once again. He gives a short, sharp bark, and the other three wolves finally leave the door behind which my uncle is hiding.
Then we run from the house, the wolves dashing up the stairs single file as I cling with all my might to Archer’s fur.
The sirens grow louder as we burst out into the cool night air, and the wolves wheel in the opposite direction of the noise, paws thundering over the ground as they run flat-out.
I don’t look back. Not once. I don’t want to see the white house that holds too many of my nightmares.
I hope to God that was the last time I ever have to see that awful place.
29
Sable
Archer moves swiftly and gracefully beneath me as we race out of town. I clutch his fur and keep my head down, though I can’t help but steal glances at our surroundings as we run.
I don’t know this place, even though I lived here my whole life. My whole world was narrowed down to the house I was kept in, where each room might as well have been its own continent and my only real connection to the outside world were the books and movies I occasionally got my hands on.
We pass a barber shop, a movie theater, and a bank, the latter of which is obviously closed for the night. The buildings are old but well kept, mostly stone and connected by alleyways, and there are planters full of flowers everywhere. Everything is so normal, like a quaint little movie set used for a romantic comedy.
How did I come to live my own personal horror in a town this cute?
I gasp as I see people coming out of a corner grocery, talking and laughing among themselves in the light pouring from the windows. A group of teens carrying soda bottles and cigarette packs. Every single one of their jaws drop at the sight of the four giant wolves racing down Main Street.
Fuck.
Burying my face in Archer’s golden fur, I focus on taking a couple of deep breaths. I’ve come this far without a panic attack; I refuse to give in now. It can’t be good that people are seeing me and the men like this. Shifters have stayed hidden for so long on purpose, to protect themselves from human fear.
But… my wolves came for me anyway.
It still doesn’t feel real. I don’t know how Clint found me in that remote cabin, but it doesn’t matter. Because all four of the shifters came to save me. Thank God I opened up to them about my life and told them about where I was raised. Regardless, I have a feeling they would have found me even if they had to tear apart the countryside piece by piece.
They came for me.
I recall standing on the edge of Ridge’s village, weighing my options after I raced away from the elder’s shack. Archer promised me that if I stayed, if I went to the cabin with them to give the mate bond a chance, I would be the safest I could possibly be.
He obviously didn’t lie either.
Because they came for me.
The thought keeps repeating over and over in my head like a mantra. I grip Archer’s fur tighter, pressing my face into his neck. I relish the power of his body beneath me, and how his scent is wild and musky. He’s panting loud enough that I can hear him over the thundering of his giant paws, but he doesn’t slow. None of the men slow down as we leave the village behind and disappear into the wilderness.
These four men will protect me no matter what.
Time passes. We run so far and so long that my legs grow tired from clenching around Archer’s ribcage, and my fingers get weak from gripping his fur. By the time we slow to a stop, the moon is high in the sky and the inky blackness above is dotted with a million pinpricks of light.
I raise my head from Archer’s neck to find the now-familiar mating cabin visible between the trees ahead of us. It looks calm and serene in the dark night, like a place of safety and solace.
God, I hope that’s what it is.
Would my uncle come back here? Would he try again to find me and drag me back home after seeing what he just