Mae POV
I try to pull my arm away from Francesca, but my shoulder is still out of place.
"Let me go, Wench," I say through gritted teeth.
"Never," Francesca hisses in return.
Raven's wolf is growling angrily at Francesca. Foam is dripping from her muzzle as she steps toward her.
I let myself glance in Francesca's direction, and she is sweating. She clearly fears the Luna Queen, but for some reason, she isn't willing to let me go. Perhaps she knows I am the only thing keeping Raven's wolf from attacking her.
'Mae,' Raven's voice enters my mind softly. 'You have to break free.'
'I can't,' I whimper through the mind link. 'My shoulder is dislocated.'
'We have to get out of here,' Raven responds impatiently. 'I can't let humans see me.'
As soon as Raven's voice leaves my mind, the sound of a car door slamming shut catches my attention. I turn my head back to the road and see a large truck pulled up behind my dad's car. There is significant damage to the front end of the truck and I realize it must be the truck involved in the accident.
A large man is walking toward us with a shotgun in his hand. "What the fuck is going on here?"
Francesca pulls me closer to her, and I cry out in pain. "My daughter is disturbed," she tells the man. "She is suicidal and threw herself from the car."
I scoff loudly and try to wiggle away from Francesca, but she is refusing to let go.
The man steps closer to us, and I can see the shock in his eyes. He aims his shotgun and points it right at Raven's wolf.
"No one move," he whispers. "There is a large wolf behind you."
Raven's wolf snarls in his direction, and the man shucks his gun.
"Run!" I scream at Raven's wolf.
I lunge at the man, and my hand slips out of Francesca's hold. I try to grab the barrel of the gun, but I am not fast enough. I manage to knock the gun to the left, but not before the man fires off a shot.
Raven's wolf whimpers loudly, and I spin to look at her. There is a massive gunshot wound in her shoulder. She is limping as she tries to make her way to me.
"Run!" I shout at her again.
The man takes a second aim, ignoring my pleas for Raven's wolf to run. A huff leaves her muzzle, and Raven's wolf limps into the darkness of the forest, leaving a trail of blood behind her. I know as long as the bullet wasn't silver, Raven will heal, but I don't know how long it will take her to.
I let out a sigh of relief when Raven's wolf disappears amongst the trees, but the man seems determined to not let her get away.
"Where are you going?" I yell at his retreating body.
"Did you see the color of that wolf?" He says excitedly. "I can't let a kill like that get away."
I know I have to do something to stop the man from following the trail of Raven's blood into the forest.
"Don't leave me alone with them," I cry. "She is trying to kidnap me."
The man pauses mid-stride and looks back at me. He looks me up and down and grimaces. The side of my face is stinging where I hit the road, and my clothes are ripped to shreds. I hope I look desperate enough that he will believe me.
He looks longingly back at the trees before he pulls out his cellphone.
Francesca laughs nervously. "I told you she is not well. She would say anything to get away from her family."
"You are not my family," I snap at Francesca.
"Of course, I am your family," she replies in a sickening voice. "I am your stepmother."
The man cocks his head to the side and stares at us. "I think I will call the cops."
"That isn't necessary," Francesca's voice is shrill. "We were just taking her to the hospital for a psychiatric hold."
"Then you won't mind if an ambulance takes her," he says gruffly.
Even in the darkness, I can see Francesca roll her eyes. "We don't have time for this."
I watch in horror as Francesca's claws extend from her fingertips. She is going to kill this man. Visions of Jameson's lifeless body fill my mind.
"It's okay," I say desperately to the man. "I will go with my family. No need to call the cops."
But the man's eyes aren't on me. He is looking at Francesca. His hands are shaking as he tries to point the gun in her direction.
Francesca swipes the gun out of his hand without hesitation, and it misfires as it hits the ground. The man clutches his abdomen and drops to his knees. Blood is seeping through his clothes and fingers.
Pressing her foot against the man's chest, Francesca pushes him back onto the ground. The man falls back and hits the ground with a thud. His body is lying awkwardly in the middle of the road.
"That makes things easier," Francesca grins.
"What do you want with me?" I growl as she drags me back toward my father's car.
"You are a means to an end," Francesca reminds me. "Alpha Kieran won't live long without his second chance mate."
"I still don't understand," I say as I dig my heels into the ground. "I thought the recusants were after the Luna Queen?"
"Kieran deserves to die for betraying us," Francesca growls as she throws me into the backseat of the car. "And then the Luna Queen will be next."
I land on Jameson's dead body, and I cringe as the smell of blood hits my nose. My eyes adjust to the light, and I can see blood covering the backseat of the car. All of it came from Jameson. I push myself off his body and sit on the seat. It is sticky and moist.
My father is no longer in the driver's seat. He is holding his head, resting against the passenger side window.
"Dad," I whisper. "Are you okay?"
He doesn't answer me, and my heart breaks a little. No matter what he has done, I have always been a Daddy's Girl.
Francesca pulls the bumper off the front of the car and tosses it into the road. She gets in the driver's side and turns the engine. The engine sputters several times before it eventually turns over.
"Don't even think about jumping out again," Francesca warns me. "If you do, I will kill your father next."