Reaper's Vow Read Free Page B

incredibly powerful jaws and yanking it from Cole’s grip, before dropping it to the ground and looking at him through eerily human green eyes. Common sense said his fancy was running away with his imagination, but in his gut Cole knew that wolf had known exactly what he was doing. The wolf had disarmed him as neatly as any human could have.
    â€œWhat the hell kind of wolves are you?” he asked, keeping his revolver trained on the trio who watched him with nothing akin to the fear they should have had. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.
    And again from behind him came that cough that sounded distinctly like laughter.
    Looking over his shoulder, Cole understood one thing: the chances of him getting out of this alive were dangling around slim to none. Three wolves in front and three or more coming up fast behind him, and somewhere back farther, many more. And only six bullets in the chamber. Even if he emptied his guns, he couldn’t kill them all. Addy’s face flashed across his mind’s eye. Dammit! He couldn’t die here like this. She needed him. The wolves took a step closer. Cole didn’t bother to step back. Where would he go?
    â€œCome on, you bastards.”
    As they stalked forward, moving as one, another thought came hot on the heels of the first. If he died here, his brothers would have no idea where to find him. Their knowledge of his death would only come when he failed to return year after year. Fuck. He wouldn’t wish that on anyone. Which only left him one option: staying alive.
    Behind him a wolf snarled. In front of him two of the three gathered their muscles to jump. With a lift of his lip he snarled right back. There wasn’t a Cameron born who knew the meaning of quit. And he certainly wasn’t going to give it a definition now. Fucking wolves. Drawing his knife, he leapt forward, the Cameron battle cry cutting through the air as cleanly as the bullet fired from the barrel of his revolver. The wolf going for his throat dropped midair.
    Twisting around Cole thrust upward with the knife, driving it into the gut of the one going for his unprotected back. Blood spilled over him like warm rain, obscuring his vision as he shoved the body away. Spinning on his heel, he faced the rest, heart pumping, battle fever clearing his mind of all but the fight.
    With a twitch of his fingers he invited them in. “Who’s next?”

2
    They came at him as one unit, perfectly coordinated in their attack. Four wolves, each weighing easily two hundred pounds, leapt toward him, lips drawn back, fangs gleaming. Balancing on his toes, Cole waited. At the last second, he dove under them, rolling to the left before coming up to his feet, ready to make use of the knife. He blinked. They were right there with him, stealing his advantage with reflexes as quick as his own. Maybe quicker.
    Damn.
    One with a white mask lunged, snapping at his knife hand. Cole jumped back. His boot slipped on a rock. Before he could recover, the masked wolf was on him, knocking him backward. There was no time to twist or do anything but fall. He hit hard. His breath left him in a rush as his head slammed back. Pain gouged at him as the wolf’s huge feet dug into his biceps. He blocked the sensation with the ease of practice, focusing his attention instead on the way the wolf had him pinned to the ground. How the fuck had the animal known to do that?
    The wolf’s breath hit Cole’s face like a fetid blow. Saliva dripped on his neck as the wolf lowered his head, his strangely human eyes holding Cole’s, challenging him as his jaws opened wider. Emotion and energy hit Cole in discordant waves. Hatred. Purpose. Insanity. The wolf was insane, maybe even rabid. Shit. If the damn thing didn’t kill him, he’d kill himself rather than force his brothers to do it when the rabies took his reason. Cole shifted his weight. The wolf growled long and low in his throat. Did it think a