Howl (Monster Boyfriends #1)

Chapter 33

Chapter Thirty-Three

JAMIE

I feel a pull in my gut, like the universe is nudging me to get my attention, and I’m compelled to glance out into the crowd. My eyes fall directly onto Raegan. She’s standing stark still in the seating area next to Kiki’s while everyone else moves around her. She’s as pale as a ghost, and my heart drops at the clear fear on her face.

I’m racing to her before my brain has even registered my legs are moving. I have to get to her. I have to make sure she’s okay. Nothing is more important right now. But as I push through the crowd of visitors dressed in fall hues, I detect a dark spot among the colors.

A man in a black zip up hoodie is standing a few feet behind Raegan. His eyes are trained on her like a predator locking in on their prey. I can’t get a clear view of the man’s face, but all my senses tell me it’s Patrick. Though I made sure to prep my closest friends for his possible return, I hadn’t truly believed he would show up.

I should have known a man like Patrick would be relentless in his quest for revenge. Men like Patrick don’t just brush off an insult to their pride by getting even. Men like Patrick want to win, and in his eyes, that means having Raegan. I guarantee he’s currently sorting through all the ways he can whisk her away without anyone being the wiser, but I’ll be dead before that happens.

I’m nearly close enough to reach out and pull Raegan to my side when I see Kendra approaching him. She must have spotted him about the same time I spotted Raegan, but what in the world does she think she’s doing? I didn’t want the sisters putting themselves in harm’s way. I only told them to keep an eye out for anyone suspicious. Little did I know Kendra would be brave enough to confront Patrick directly.

I manage to reach Raegan and protectively wrap my arms around her just as Kendra stares down Patrick with solid black eyes, exaggerated by the dramatic makeup. I’ve never seen them like that before, but looking at them makes me feel like I’m being sucked into an endless pit of doom. This is not the kind-hearted banshee I know and love. This is a myth from storybooks, come to life.

She starts to open her mouth, and Raegan and I hastily try to cover our ears, but before Kendra can release her ear-splitting cry, she’s shoved backward. Others around us gasp as she falls clumsily to the sidewalk, nearly hitting her head on the cobblestones if not for a cluster of pumpkins breaking the impact.

My wolf threatens to break the surface as Raegan clings to my body. Where the hell is that good-for-nothing sheriff ?

But then Aidan appears, having heard the commotion, and pops a pair of fake vampire teeth from his mouth, shoving them in his pocket before going to Kendra’s side. Then Kiki is there, helping her sister to her feet.

I was angry before, but now I’m outright enraged.

This mother fucker has got the go.

It’s then that I fully see the man’s face, and I realize I had all my fear staked on the wrong guy. It’s not Patrick standing in front of me, but Banks—the wolf Rhett warned me might try to exile me from the pack and steal Raegan.

Before I can fully process this realization, Banks pulls a knife from his pockets and lashes out. I try to yank Raegan out of his reach, but I’m not fast enough, and the blade slices messily through her sweater and the back of her forearm. Her scream of pain breaks through any shred of self control I still hold onto.

This mother fucker has to die.

One minute, I’m shoving Raegan behind me just as Aidan sweeps her away, and the next, I’m lunging for Banks’ throat.