Layla Nash - A Valentine's Chase (City Shifters: the Pride) by Unknown Read Free Book Online Page B

him and held out a hand to Meadow, though something about him seemed to radiate static and gave Rafe goose bumps.
    The wolf growled as Smith did the work Rafe wanted to do, but at least Meadow slid down from the bar and leaned against the investigator. The sirens grew louder and Rafe cursed, trying to formulate an explanation. "Okay, guys. There was a brawl. College aged white dudes, probably drunk frat guys, mixed it up. We stopped them, threw them out, but the damage was done. That's the story. Got it?"
    The pack nodded and a few tried to repair chairs enough to sit down, and two retrieved the over-stuffed medical bag from the back room. Rafe wanted desperately to explain to Meadow, to reassure her, but there wasn't time. Instead, he nodded at the back staircase, past the bathrooms and storeroom, and said tersely to Smith, "Probably better if you guys wait upstairs until the cops leave. There's a couch in the living room where she can put her leg up."
    "Very well." Smith hardly blinked as he helped Meadow with the crutches, as if he saw wolf brawls every night, and they disappeared up the stairs just as the flashing lights of the police cruisers pulled up outside.
    Rafe braced himself for a long night, and tried to wipe some of the blood off his chest with a bar towel as he limped toward the barred door to let the cops in. No telling which of their neighbors called the cops. Most of the bars and businesses in the area did better when cops weren't involved. Although seeing a pack of wolves racing into the bar might have pushed the bounds of acceptability. He rubbed his temples at an odd rushing sound in his ears, tasting blood, and braced himself on the wall before he pitched face-first into the bar.
    Ruby took one look at him, at the wounds all over his chest, and shook her head. "Nope. You're going upstairs, too."
    "I don't —"
    "You're about to pass out," she said under her breath, so the pack wouldn't hear. No use telegraphing his weaknesses. Then she raised her voice and slapped his shoulder. "Go upstairs and make sure your mate is okay; we can handle the cops."
    When Rafe tried to object, she gave him the no-nonsense look he recognized from their mother, and he knew he'd already lost. So he concentrated on striding toward the back hall as some of his guys cheered and clapped, every inch of him cold and clammy with desperate adrenaline and panic. She'd almost been injured. Could have been killed. And all because of those fucking rogue wolves.
    He used the handrail to haul himself up the last few steps, and fell through the door into the shared apartment. Meadow looked up in panic as he walked in, and Smith rose from where he sat on the coffee table in front of her, clearly trying to explain. Smith frowned. "Young man, you don't look well."
    "I'm fine," he said, then the ground rushed up and everything went dark.

Chapter 8
    A fter all hell broke loose , everything got blurry and confused. It looked like wolves raced into the bar and then suddenly Rafe was also a wolf, and everyone else turned into wolves, and they fought until blood spattered everything. When one lunged at me, I tried to climb over the bar as the wolf I thought was Rafe skidded in between me and the snarling beast. There might have been a lion.
    And then Uncle Smith stood up and started glowing, raised his hands, and all the bad wolves just fell down. Everyone started turning human again and then the bar filled with naked men and a couple of women, including Rafe's sister, who had a lot of piercings. A lot .
    I definitely shouldn't have sipped that beer.
    My cheeks burned when Rafe approached, naked, covered in open wounds and blood, and I tried to focus on his face. Whatever he said passed me by in a weird roaring, even though I focused on his mouth and tried to read his lips, but nothing seemed to work. It was only when Smith took my arm and helped me up the stairs in the back hallway that I started to feel normal. By the time we reached a large