Perfect Mate (A Werewolf BBW Shifter Romance #2)(15)

"Eh." He shrugged. "No skin off my pads. He's better off as a loner anyway. No pack would want him."

"I suppose you're right," Julia said, not wanting to give away any information they didn't already know. She wondered why Kyle had told them he was alone.

The SUV turned through a curve and headed back downhill, picking up speed.

"There we are," the blond man said, pointing just ahead to where a small cabin lay at the end of the dirt road. A large bonfire illuminated the front of the cabin, flickering shadows behind it onto the dark trees. Above them Julia could just make out the stars in the night sky.

"You think I can't see it?" the driver asked, swatting the hand down from in front of him as they sped toward the cabin. Now. Julia had to act now, or it was all over.

Taking a deep breath, she unbuckled her seatbelt and leapt forward in one movement to the steering wheel. Leaning over onto the driver, she jammed her feet forward on top of the driver's like a child sitting on an adult and pretending to drive. She pressed the gas pedal to the floor while trying to keep the shifter's other foot off of the brake.

"OW!"

"Get off of him!"

The engine whined as the SUV picked up speed. The blond man had his hands on her, pulling, and she held tightly to the steering wheel for dear life as the car accelerated toward the cabin. She knew in one more second they would have control again, but perhaps it was enough. The driver yanked the steering wheel to the right, and Julia clung on, pulling back the other way and aiming directly for the small cabin in front of them. The SUV lurched onto two wheels, then dropped back down with a thud that shot lightning bolts of pain through Julia's head. The shock knocked the blond man into the dashboard and he lost his hold on her. The driver had his foot on the brake now and the whine from the engine pierced her bones, but the car still skidded straight ahead.

Julia clenched her teeth and braced for impact, but the driver jerked the wheel so that the SUV clipped the side of the cabin and slid sideways into a roll. Julia hit the roof of the car and heard the crack before she felt the sharp stabbing pain lance through her arm. The SUV, still upside down, skidded to a stop. One headlight flickered into the forest.

Her head spinning, Julia crawled with one arm out of the broken window and onto the forest floor, her hands sinking into the soft layer of leaves. The blond man had been thrown from the window when the SUV rolled and was lying motionless under a tree not far away, the dim light of the bonfire casting an eerie red glow over his body. She was almost out of the car when a hand grabbed her ankle and she kicked back, turning to see the driver holding onto her leg through the window.

"Get... off of me!" she said, using her other foot to kick his arm into the broken glass.

"Ahh!" The glass sliced his arm, leaving him bleeding rapidly.

The shifter let go and fumbled at his seatbelt, and she shoved herself back out of his grasp, struggling to get up on two feet. Gasping for air and holding her broken arm, she stumbled backwards and into something hard.

"Hello, Julia," a voice said. Julia shrieked as she spun around to see what she'd run into. A huge man stood in front of her, his arms crossed over the muscled chest bulging against the fabric of his shirt. She lifted her eyes to his face. He had dark red hair haloed by the light of the bonfire, and his eyes glittered like emeralds.

"Welcome home."

Julia turned to run into the darkness of the woods, but she had only taken one step before his hand reached out and grabbed her by the hair. She'd had her braids pulled in kindergarten by the boys, but this was a thousand times more painful. She screamed as he lifted her onto her tiptoes by her hair. Desperate, she clutched his arm with one hand and felt her broken arm drag down along her side. In the corner of her eye she could see the driver of the SUV clamber out and vomit on the ground.

"You did quite a number on my wolves," the man said, letting her down just enough so that she had most of her weight on the balls of her feet. Her scalp burned.

His eyes swept down her figure and she flushed as she realized she'd left the house without being able to put on a bra. One eyebrow arched over his disapproving face. A rage of shame and anger rose in Julia. He had no right to do this. No right at all to take her like this.

"Not much of a figure," he said. "But we'll get you in shape in no time."

Julia spat in his face.

Letting go of her hair, he whipped the back of his hand across her face. Bright lights flashed in front of her eyes in an instant of unbearable pain. Then he was dragging her by her arm, the one that wasn't broken, back to the cabin. There was someone else waiting in the doorway, and Julia realized as they came closer that it was a woman, her muscles bulging almost as much as those of the men that had taken her. She peered down at Julia with dark, slitted eyes, the flames of the bonfire reflected in her pupils.

"Trax, should I call the others and let them know we have her?"

"Not yet," the man said. Trax. Julia moaned, her legs kicking helplessly, as he brought her inside and threw her against the wall. She crumpled into a heap on the floor, her fingers scraping against the rough wood planks as she brought her injured arm up to her chest. There was a single lantern on the table, and she retreated from it instinctively, seeing the dark like a wounded animal.

"If you want reinforcements—"

"We'll be fine," Trax said. "The kid should be here soon, anyway. And I want to make sure she's the real thing before we get the pack all excited."