gets into the driver’s seat, while Drag gets into the back seat with me. Brave dude. Or incredibly stupid.
I’m separated by the police barrier between the front and back seats, but Drag’s large body beside me is crowding me in.
Holder pulls onto the road, driving us toward wherever the hell Rockhead is. The further away I get from Pack Aberrant’s land, the more my heart hurts.
“So how’d you figure out who my master was?” I ask Drag, cutting my eyes over to him.
He cracks his knuckles. Not sure if that’s supposed to scare me, but the sight makes me roll my eyes. “Made some calls to some other packs that we do business with. No one knew much about any collared rogue bitches, though. After a while of nothin’, I thought maybe you didn’t have a real collar after all. But then we got news that a troupe master had put out a cash reward to find his missing performer. And what do you know, the description of her matched you to a fuckin’ T.”
Jordy snickers in the front seat. “The look on our alpha’s face when we told him we knew where you were... He promoted us in the pack right there on the spot, didn’t he, Drag?”
The big bald dude nods. “Sure did.”
“Hmm. It took Kaazu long enough to make his way down here,” I note.
Drag shrugs. “Probably got a hell of a lot of claims from other packs that they had you too. With the amount of money that he was offering, everyone would’ve wanted a fuckin’ piece. But Rockhead’s gettin’ it.”
“Damn straight,” Jordy comments.
I watch as Holder continues to drive, crossing back into town and heading east.
“So, how’s that cunt, Aderyn?” Jordy asks out of the blue.
My eyes snap to his profile through the metal bars that separate us. “Don’t fucking talk about Addie.”
Jordy starts laughing. “Oooh. Hit a nerve, did I? Well, you can tell that bird bitch that we’re gonna get her one of these days. I can’t wait to pluck out her feathers and snap her neck.”
My teeth grind together. “I’d like to see you fucking try. She has three predator mates who will wipe the floor with your scrawny ass.”
“Three mates?” Drag asks from beside me. “Goddamn. I always knew she was a slut. Should’ve fucked that bitch before she got her fight or flight orders. Taught her some fuckin’ respect for her betters.”
Red rage rushes over me like a stained wind, covering my vision and blowing all my fucks away. In an instant, I have my hands wrapped around his throat, completely crushing his windpipe and making it impossible for him to breathe.
He doesn’t deserve the air. This piece of shit is one of the shifters who tormented Addie throughout her childhood and teenage years, and he tried to attack her at the motel. Honestly, he was just asking to get killed by sitting back here with me.
“Not so fucking cocky now, are you?” I taunt.
Holder and Jordy are yelling, but I barely hear it, because all of my attention is on the male I’m currently choking the life out of.
He tries to throw me off, but I just move in front of him for better leverage, bracing one knee between his thighs, my back hitting the cage partition behind me.
Drag’s face is turning purple, and no matter how much he tries to claw at my hands, I don’t let go. Eyes bulging, I can see the moment he starts to really panic, because he starts bucking up off the seat, trying to dislodge me, but he’s running out of breath.
The car screeches to a stop, flinging my body forward before snapping me back again, just as Drag attempts to shift into whatever the fuck pred animal he is.
“No you don’t,” I say before using all of my upper body strength to slam his head against the window.
I’m able to do it twice more before the door is suddenly wrenched open, and both Drag and I fall out onto the pavement.
With a hand in my hair, I’m yanked to my feet and slammed against the cop car. “You fucking bitch!” Jordy screams into my face before kneeling down and checking on Drag, who’s lying motionless on the road.
Good. I hope he’s fucking dead.
“Did she kill him?” Holder asks, walking around the car to assess the damage.
Jordy shakes his head. “No, he’s breathing.”
“Well, fuck,” I say, disappointed.
I get a backhand across the face for it from an enraged Jordy, but that just