Chapter 10
599 Words
The first wolf reached Liam a heartbeat before the second.
One came high.
The other aimed low.
Liam blocked the first punch, but the second man crashed into his side. The force carried all three of them into a table. Plates flew through the air. A bowl spun across the floor before smashing against the wall.
Customers screamed and scattered.
"Everyone out!" Sal shouted, waving them toward the front door. "Move! Don't stop!"
A woman grabbed her daughter and ran. Another customer pulled an elderly man to his feet. They stumbled over broken chairs, slipping on the wet floor as they fought to reach the exit.
I pushed myself up, biting back a cry when my ankle protested.
Sal was only a few steps away.
"Go!" I shouted.
He looked at me instead.
"I'm not leaving you."
"You have to!"
A heavy body crashed into the counter behind us. Cups bounced onto the floor, breaking one after another.
Liam drove his elbow into one wolf's ribs. The man folded over with a groan, but the second wolf caught Liam across the shoulder before he could turn. Liam lost his balance for a moment.
The leader saw it.
"Don't give him space!" he roared.
Two more wolves joined the fight.
Four against one.
My stomach twisted.
"Liam!" I yelled.
He heard me.
For the smallest moment, he glanced in my direction.
The distraction cost him.
A fist slammed into his cheek.
His head snapped sideways.
The sound made my heart lurch.
The leader laughed.
"So this is the Alpha everyone fears?"
Liam wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand.
"I was hoping you'd hit harder."
The leader's grin vanished.
He rushed forward himself.
This time Liam met him halfway.
Their shoulders collided with a solid thud that shook the counter beside them.
Neither man gave way.
The leader drove a knee toward Liam's stomach.
Liam twisted just enough to take the blow on his hip, then shoved him back.
Both men stumbled.
Neither stayed down.
Behind them, one of the wolves spotted me.
"There she is!"
He broke away from the fight and charged.
My heart pounded.
I searched desperately for something—anything.
My fingers closed around a metal coffee pot that had rolled beneath a chair.
The wolf grabbed my arm.
"You're coming with—"
I swung.
The pot struck the side of his head with a dull crack.
He cursed and loosened his grip.
I didn't wait.
I shoved him with everything I had.
He slipped on the spilled coffee and crashed into a table.
For one second, I couldn't believe it had worked.
Then another hand caught the back of my jacket.
I was jerked backward so hard that I almost fell.
"Thought you were getting away?" another wolf snarled.
He dragged me toward the broken kitchen door.
I clawed at his wrist, kicked with my good leg, and reached for anything I could hold onto.
My fingers caught the edge of a counter.
The wood groaned.
"Let... go!" he barked.
"No!"
The word tore out of me before I could think.
The counter rattled as he pulled again.
Across the diner, Liam heard my voice.
He turned.
For the first time since he walked into the diner, fear crossed his face.
Not fear for himself.
Fear that he was about to lose me.
The leader saw it too.
A slow smile spread across his face.
"Now," he shouted.
"Take the girl!"
Three wolves broke away from the fight at the same time and rushed toward me.
- Writer
