Reese (Pack of Misfits #2) - Raven Kennedy Page 0,16
escape. I’m stuck in here, and she’s blocking my only way out. All I can do is evade her, but for how long?
She strikes right in front of my feet, and I barely manage to stop in time before her jaws snap shut.
Cheese and mice, that was close!
I’m not gonna be that lucky again.
Sure enough, she hisses and rears back to strike again, but before she can, a hand is suddenly yanking her out of the cage. I’m so stunned I’m not being eaten alive right now that all I can do is blink at the space the snake was just in. Twitching my nose, I look over and see none other than Lug Nut tossing the snake onto Addie’s bed.
“Zoey! What are you doing? Shift back,” he tells her.
The snake rears up like she’s trying to meet his height and hisses at him. She’s shaking the end of her tail like crazy, but I guess this rattlesnake is minus a rattle, because it’s not making any noise.
“Knock it off,” he tells her.
She spits venom at him instead, making it land on his face.
Making a grossed-out grunt, he swipes at it to wipe it off. “Gross, Zoey.”
Me? I’m using this distraction to get the hell out of here. No way am I staying trapped in this cage in case she wants to go for round two.
Unfortunately, my rat’s flight instinct isn’t the smartest. Every prey shifter knows that you don’t run from a predator—it just makes them want to catch you even more. But apparently, I forget that survival instinct, because I scramble out of my cage and then race for the open bedroom door. I’m not even half way there before the snake’s attention snaps back to me, her damn tongue smelling me again.
I swear, she gets off the bed and is on the floor faster than what should be possible. I didn’t know snakes could slither-sprint like that. I’d be impressed if she wasn’t trying to eat me.
I squeal-scream and race forward, but I feel her fangs snapping at my tail. She misses me by a friggen hair.
Lug Nut shouts at her, but she isn’t listening, and I’m not fast enough. I’m not gonna make it.
The only way I’m gonna save my ass is if I shift. I have to try.
As I keep running, I try to force the shift into my bones and muscles. I haven’t done it for years, but it should be like riding a bike, right?
Wrong.
I push and push and push, but it won’t snap over. I’m stuck, like a coin that’s glued to a sidewalk. I just can’t pry myself off and flip over to my other side.
She strikes again, and this time, she scrapes my ass with the edge of her fang and manages to yank out several hairs. The move trips me up too, and I go flying towards the open door, only to fall headfirst into a foot.
The sight of Addie and her alpha standing in the doorway makes the snake stop in her slithering tracks.
Addie snatches me up in her hands while the alpha scowls. “What the hell is going on here?” He points at the rattlesnake. “Shift, Zoey.”
Even though the order isn’t directed at me, I feel the power rippling out of him, and it makes my tail twitch.
In a quick shift, the rattlesnake jerks and grows, and then I’m looking at a five-foot female in her human form lying on her belly on the floor, face planted into the rug and buck naked.
Lug Nut grabs a blanket from the bed and places it over her. “Thanks,” she mumbles before getting to her feet and wrapping it around her form.
“Zoey, what the hell happened?”
Her lip wobbles. “I’m so sorry, Alpha. I don’t even know what came over me. I came into my room, but my snake just snapped when I smelled an outside shifter. I couldn’t change back.”
“We weren’t expecting you back today, or I would’ve warned you,” Addie tells her, while I stay safe inside her hand.
Rattlesnake Zoey looks down at me. “I am so sorry. I’m such an ass. I could’ve killed you.” Her eyes fill up with tears, and I smell genuine sorrow and shame emanating off her skin.
“You didn’t know,” Alpha Hugo reassures her, his gentle tone contradicting his hardened biker vibe exterior he has going on. “My fault. I should’ve made sure everyone was aware of our guest. We’ve just been careful with this one since we don’t know her past, and she