When the Wolves Cry (Twin Flames Duet #1)

CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

TALA

The wolves are on edge today. Their usual laid-back temperament has shifted into irritability. They’re twitchy and pacing, eyes darting in every direction. It’s common for them to howl and be chatty. But today—their cries are never ending and chilling.

They’re sensing something. I just don’t know what.

“What is it girl?” I ask Echo.

The most I get is her yellow eyes boring into me, wanting me to understand their trepidation. Which in turn, makes anxiety hook its claws into my chest, ripping me open for the swarm of flies.

Void barrels in between my legs, damn near knocking me onto my ass with how big he’s gotten. “What is going on with you guys?” I ask, peering into his amber glare.

My forehead scrunches at the snarl rising on his face. I’ve never seen him show teeth outside of playing with pelts.

A hair-raising, sinister symphony sparks among the wolves, their cries plaguing my body with ice and freezing me in place. A moment goes by, then the debilitating sound of tires pounding through the gravel, kicking it back with fury, weaves into the haunting ballad resounding throughout the sanctuary.

My mouth runs dry, and my palms begin sweating profusely. A torch is lit over the flies buzzing under my skin, causing it to ripple insistently, my lungs calcifying and puffing up into ash.

Dad sprints towards the gates, bracing his hand on his pistol. I want to reach for my phone to call Jax. But I’m paralyzed. “Dad,” I drone shakily, barely able to move my mouth.

“I don’t know what this is, sweetheart! Stay by Echo and Void!” he shouts over his shoulder.

The chain link fence rattles as I back up into it, and I begin fighting to swallow down the dryness that’s closing my throat, leaving me breathless.

Eerie hums and groans come from the gates, slowly opening to a black SUV and trucks hauling large, wire cages on trailers.

No…

Reaching for my phone in my back pocket, my body shakes uncontrollably. It slips around in my sweaty fingers while pulling it out, and my arms are weak, typing the only thing I can think of.

Shoving it away, I blanch, gaping at the armed men walking through the gates like they own the place.

Including Brutus. Fucking. Tuffin.

My phone buzzes against me, but I can’t look away—or move.

Brutus saunters in with a smug smile. “Well, what do we have here?” His Southern accent is loud, dripping with satisfaction.

Dad’s hand is still on his gun, but I’m not sure how far he’d get with twelve rounds against the semi-automatics storming in.

“Can I help you?” Dad asks impatiently.

“You can. I’m sure my boys would love a set of experienced hands helping them out,” Brutus smiles. Dad’s brows furrow, and Brutus stomps a heavy foot closer to him. “I’m here to collect on what’s legally mine.”

I feel like I’m about to drift away with the ash of my lungs. The growls coming from Echo and Void are the only things keeping me tethered to reality right now.

“Have you lost your marbles, son? You need to get the hell out of here,” Dad warns gravelly.

Looking around, shaking his head in amusement, Brutus’ eyes target me—and my heart starts slamming in my throat.

Beckoning me, Brutus orders, “Come here, princess!”

“No, stay your ass there!” Dad shouts, face tight with rage.

Aiming his glare at my dad, Brutus snarls, “You must not have read the fine print, Damascus. Those papers you signed for the proceeds? … That was mebuyin’ the wolves… And guess who else falls under that? … TalaAkiraHuxley, the Wolf Princess. And since she’s legally mine, she’s under my command. So, you better come over here, girl! I won’t be nice twice!”

There’s no way to run. There’s no way to fight. And there’s no way Jax would get here in time. He’s too far.

My chest is heavy as I straighten my shoulders, snapping a stoic mask on. There’s bickering, but I can’t hear much over my steps thumping in my ears and the wolves growling at my side.

Brutus’ gaze is assaulting, eating up every ounce of my being. Licking over his bottom teeth, he looks over Echo and Void who are snarling and ready to snap. “Alright, boys, it’s time for these wolves to go to sleep. I don’t like how they’relookin’ at me.

Like I’m seeing it in slow motion, Dad whips his gun out—and a shotinstantlypierces through the air.

I blanch, and a blood curdling scream strips my throat raw, helplessly watching my dad fall dead weight into the gravel, crimson leaking out of him somewhere and spreading rapidly through the snow.

“Dad!” I wail, rushing down to him.

Hands dig barbarically into my waist, snatching me back and into the air, and a battle cry forms in the ash of my lungs, rupturing out of my hoarse throat like fire.

I suck in a sharp, painful breath, and my bottom lip quivers, getting hauled over Void and Echo both lying on their sides with pink darts sticking out of their necks.

The tears welling in my eyes hold memories, playing like an old VHS in my head. It’s grainy, the colors bleed and flash, letting me catch a glimpse of the happiness I took for granted. But then the black splotches mar the film and force me back to my life crashing down in front of me.

All of my training blows away and melts like a snowflake. I thrash, clawing into his arms and screaming with all my might, but all it gets me is a python around my ribs as he hauls me towards the SUV.

“No! You can’t do this!” I bellow.

He doesn’t care. He’s a fucking monster.

An arm unwraps from me, and I cry harder as the pinpricks of himfistingmy hair light up my scalp. My hands fly to his, desperate to break his malicious hold, and he drops me to my feet, brutally slamming my face into the SUV.

Throbbing pain flares inside my head, wiping out my vision for a beat and replacing it with stars.

I sob, feeling him roughly press into me.

“I’m sure it must beheartbreakin’. So, I’mwillin’ to give you a pass just this one time. But youwillrespect me and address me as Pyro, otherwise your pretty face will gain another hole that I’m sure my boys wouldn’t mindfillin’. And you can forget life as you know it,includin’ that boyfriend of yours.”

Through blurry vision, I watch the wolves drop like flies and get carried away. “Please don’t do this,” I cry out.

Forcing my face closer to him, his coarse mustache scratches my cheek. “Youcryin’ andbeggin’ just turns me on,” he utters sickeningly.

If my stomach wasn’t empty, I’d throw up from it turning in on itself. He’s pressing into me.Makingme feel how much he enjoys this.

He holds me in place by my hair, and a pink dart creeps into my lazy sight. “Night, night,” he whispers into my ear.

A sharp pain explodes on my neck, unlike anything I have ever felt.

My vision shakes, eyelids growing unbearably heavy, and my blood pressure drops, running my body numb with cold tingles.

I just want Jax. And the thought of him makes me cry until I start drifting off into the cold, lonely abyss.

My eyes flutter, and through splotchy vision I see tan skin and black facial hair approaching.

UncleEnzo? … Where’s Mom?

Why is he here and—