196 Grace: Unwanted Interruption
196 Grace: Unwanted Interruption
But now I’m forcing every extra step. Running for thirty seconds? Doable. A minute? Sure. Three minutes straight? Torture. D
My blood freezes. This isn’t just bullying or intimidation anymore. The gleam in her eyes tells me everything I need to know–Ellie has completely fucking lost it. Cuckoo and bonkers, but with the ability to kill someone and hide the evidence if she so
wishes.
Something hot and electric pulses under my skin, building with my desperation, and I snap, “Get off me, you psycho bitch!”
Her eyes narrow dangerously. “Don’t lie to me, you wicked little bitch.”
When I’m afraid, I don’t notice things like how my thighs ache and I have a stitch in my side and how my breathing’s getting too short and shallow. Adrenaline takes over and I just go until I can’t go anymore.
Behind me, there are shifters shadowing my every move, probably not even breathing hard. They’ve been following me since I burst out of the camper, probably watching my every move to feed gossip to the pack. Or maybe wait until I’m even farther and more isolated to bully me to tears.
Seven minutes. That’s all I have left.
I can’t help but flinch when she raises her hand again, but I meet her gaze squarely. “I haven’t pulled any tricks.”
“Shut up! I know what you are. You filthy little whore. What tricks have you pulled?”
A contemptuous laugh bubbles from her throat. “No? Then explain how a worthless human like you caught not only my mate’s attention but the Lycan King’s as well?” Her voice drops to a silky purr. “Don’t worry though. Once I’ve mangled their precious little human–maybe taken a limb or two–they’ll both lose whatever ardor they hold for you.”
I pull again, fighting back a wince as her grip tightens. “Why do you care? I’m not going after your precious mate, so you don’t have to worry about that.” She can have Rafe in all his disgusting glory.
11:40
<196 Grace: Unwanted Interruption
Her face contorts as she demands, “What did you say to my father?”
Not quite as strange as how she’s acting, though.
“Let me go!” I snap, trying to wrench free.
But my heart beats traitorously as I wonder what she means when she says she knows what I am. Does it mean Ellie knows about the App? About Anchors and Chaos and all the crazy shit still making my mind twist into pretzels to understand?
Her body flies backward, slamming into a parked car with enough force to dent the door. She crumples to the ground, momentarily stunned, her face a mask of shock and
rage.
“Let me go!” I scream, true panic flooding my system. She starts dragging me across the ground toward the alley, and I swear I can feel my shoulder socket straining. My free hand claws at the pavement, fingernails breaking.
There’s a crack like thunder in my ears. A flash of blinding light. And Ellie is suddenly airborne.
She starts dragging me sideways, toward a narrow alley between houses. For the first time, I realized her hair’s a mess instead of neatly brushed, and there are dark purplish bruises on her arms and legs.
The back of Ellie’s hand connects with my face so fast I don’t even see it coming. My head snaps sideways, and I hit the ground hard, my knees scraping against the pavement. Blood fills my mouth as my lip splits open. Still, she doesn’t release my arm, and I’m left dangling awkwardly from her grip.
“It all started with you, and I’m going to end it,” she mutters, and I flinch.
A hand clamps onto my arm, yanking me backward with enough force I nearly topple over. The world spins as I’m whirled around, meeting vicious green eyes.
Had I known this was going to happen, I would have started working out days ago. Maybe trained like I was going to enter a marathon.
Too bad. There’s a scary little app in my phone far more terrifying than the shifters I grew up with.
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