The blood of Jeremiah’s betas dripped from my teeth onto the floor below as I snarled at him, the splinters of his shattered door beneath my feet.

His hands were on my fated mate’s thighs!

I should have taken a moment to plan, but my rage made that impossible. I leapt straight for Jeremiah, slamming into his chest before he had a second to shift. I bit down here wherever I could.

My teeth found the flesh of his chest and he cried out in pain as I tore at his flesh.

“Ah, fuck!” He shouted as his blood spurted into my mouth. He kicked up at me, catching me on the chest and knocking me back. I crashed through the table and scrambled to my feet, spinning around to face Clarence, who looked absolutely terrified.

My heart screamed out, run!

He must have understood, because instantly, he was on his feet and racing for the door.

Jeremiah tried to get to his feet, and I knew he was seconds from shifting. I kicked off the floor and slammed my head into him, sending him sprawling into the wall.

I heard Clarence behind me as his feet crunched across the splinters of the door. He was outside. It was only a matter of time before the rest of the motel was alerted to what was going on, and that would mean more of his beta stooges would be after us.

I nipped him hard in the ankle, and felt a tendon tear. He howled in pain as I whipped around and dashed for the door.

Clarence was already sprinting through the shadows, but he had no idea where to go. I raced up beside him and shifted back to human form, not even breaking stride.

“This way!” I shouted, taking him by the hand.

I could hear the panic in his breaths as I pulled him away from the motel toward the back parking lot where I kept my bike.

Someone shouted behind us. They must have found the betas I’d killed – or Jeremiah.

“Shit!” I swore as we raced into the dirt parking lot. “We’ve got to go.”

The sounds of commotion from the pack rang out through the night as I reached my motorcycle, a 1985 Harley Superglide. I leaped on and started it up.

“Get on!” I shouted at Clarence as the sounds of the pack grew nearer. I glanced in the direction of Jeremiah’s cottage and saw them, shifted, racing toward us through the shadows.

Clarence looked shocked behind me, and stood frozen in place.

“Get on!” I roared, breaking him out of his stupor. Quickly, he got himself onto the seat behind me, but the pack was already on us.

I hit the throttle and the bike roared to life, kicking up dust and rocks like a tornado. A beta leapt at us, but I ducked and he soared over our head into the shadows.

I hit the clutch, kicking the bike into gear and aimed it for the road. More wolves closed in on us, nipping at my ankles as I gunned it.

Another wolf shot out of the darkness and sank his teeth into Clarence’s thigh. He howled in pain and I felt the bike lurch to the side from the extra weight.

“Shit!” I shouted, bringing my fist down on the wolf’s snout, snapping its jaws open with the force of the blow. With a whimper, it fell off the bike and hit the ground hard, rolling as we tore away.

The bike jumped as we hit the pavement of the main road. I kicked it into a left-hand turn, sending the back wheel skidding out, searching for traction. Clarence’s arms were like a vise around my chest as I gave the old Harley everything she could take.

The engine blared like a banshee as the headlight cut a path through the darkness.

I had to get him out of there, but I had nowhere to take him. I lived at the motel with the rest of the pack, and I didn’t have enough money on me for a motel room. But as I took a sharp turn and felt his arms tighten against me, I had an idea.

I checked my fuel gauge.

Just enough to make it…hopefully.

“Hang on, Clarence,” I shouted over the sound of the wind. “I’m going to get you to safety. But it’s going to be a long ride.”

* * *

Five hours later I wheeled my bike to a stop in the parking lot of a dive bar where my buddy worked as a stock boy, unloading trucks, doing inventory, bitch work mostly. I hadn’t spoken to him in months though, so it really was a crap shoot whether or not he would still be there. But it was our only hope.

“Is it my imagination?” Clarence asked behind me. “Or did we pass a sign that said Welcome to Maine back there?”

“We did,” I grumbled, rubbing my hands across my thighs, which were more than sore from the long haul up here to Northern Maine. “Gotta get you as far away from Jeremiah as possible.”

I turned to look at him and saw him staring up at the sign of the bar with an odd look on his face.

“The Love Knot?” I heard Clarence say behind me. “Sounds like a classy place.”

“Shifter bar,” I told him, shaking out the stiffness in my legs. “My buddy works here. At least, he used to. I’m hoping he can put us up for a bit while we get our feet under us. But if he’s not here, I dunno what the fuck we’re gonna do.”