Chapter 276


    Chapter 0276


    Nichs’s wolf eyes looked at me for only a moment, before turning to Terry. A growl erupted from the


    back of his throat. Then, all at once, he tore forward, pounced, and knocked Terry away from me and


    down onto the ground.


    Julian, in human form, burst into the room behind Nichs. He rushed to my side. When he saw the


    handcuffs, his eyes narrowed. He reached into his pocket at retrieved his lock picking tools. Only then


    did I notice his hands were shaking.


    “Julian?” My voice was weak, fear making it small.


    “Give me a minute,” Julian said. “We’ll get these things off of you.”


    “Are you okay?” I asked.


    He blinked, then nced down at my face. “Am I…? How can you be asking that right now?” He


    returned to his work.


    “You’re trembling…”


    “I’m about to shift, Piper. I’m barely holding myself together. I want to rip that motherfucker’s throat out.”


    Thest words came out in a snarl. He closed his eyes a moment, breathed deeply, then opened them


    again.


    The first handcuff clicked open. I lowered my strained arm back down to my chest.


    Julian moved to my ankles next. He moved quicker now, like he was focused. Both my ankles were


    free in no time.


    Across the room, Terry shifted into his own wolf, to attempt to hold his own against Nichs. His wolf,


    light brown in color, was small than Nichs’s. Hecked both the speed and strength of Nichs’s


    alpha, but he snapped back enough for Nichs to not immediately bite his head off,


    They circled each other, snapping and snarling.


    The final handcuff clicked open. I brought it toward my chest to rub some of the pain away. Julian


    helped me to sit upright, Then he removed his jacket and draped it around my shoulders.


    I gripped it with both hands and tightened it over my chest, attempting somewhat futilely to preserve my


    modesty.


    Nichs lunged toward Terry. The attack was obvious, but Terry, even prepared, wasn’t strong enough


    to hold back the sheer size and strength of Nichs’s wolf. Nichs pinned Terry down to the hard


    ground. He brought his sharp teeth down to Terry’s neck.


    Nichs was going to kill him.


    +25 BONUS


    I wanted to stop him, but I felt frozen in ce. I couldn’t move or even speak.


    Fortunately, Julian doesn’t have the same limitation.


    “Nichs!” Julian shouted. Nichs stilled. “Don’t kill him.”


    Nichs growls, low and dangerous.


    “I know he deserves it, but how the hell would we exin it? We have to focus on getting Piper out of


    here and to safety now.”


    Those words seemed to convince Nichs. He snarled once more in Julian’s ear, then, slowly, eased


    back from him. Terry stayed on the floor as Julian guided me from the room with a strong arm around


    my waist. Nichs, in wolf form, stayed in our shadow.


    We escaped through a servant’s entrance so others, including the cameras, wouldn’t see my state of


    undress. In the dark, we walked around the side of the mansion until we reached the driveway where


    all the cars were parked.


    Nichs’s car, since we had arrivedst, was closest to the exit. Julian led me there, then helped me


    sit down in the passenger seat. He left the door open.


    Near the hood of the car, Nichs, shifted now back into human form, was pacing back and forth and


    back and forth. He was clearly agitated. I wanted to go to him, to assure him that I was okay, but I was


    still struggling to move.


    My thoughts felt clear, yet somehow disconnected with the movements of my body. Every limb was


    sluggish. It wouldn’t listen to my brain’smands.


    I was in shock, most likely. I hated it. I wanted to move, to go to Nichs so we could both feel the


    reassurance of knowing the other is okay.


    “You should have let me kill him,” Nichs said. “That asshole deserves to die.”


    “He does, but what would that mean for you, huh? Or Piper? You think they’ll just let her walk out of a


    room where Terry’s dead? You think she’ll just be allowed back into thepetition like nothing


    happened?” There was an unusual strain in Julian’s voice. It was tight with concern and rage.


    Nichs shook his head so hard, it looked painful. “We could have sorted it out.”


    “You have to sort yourself out now,” Julian said. “Calm yourself down so you can drive Piper home.


    She’s out here in her underwear, you big oaf.”


    Nichs stopped pacing. His gaze shifted to me. I watched him through the windshield.


    Something changed within him then. Some of the tension slipped away from his nearly- rampaging


    body. His eyes, wild only a moment before, settled into some of their usual


    steadiness.


    “Drive her home,” Julian said. “I’ll handle the rest here tonight. Got it?”


    Nichs nodded.


    Julian came around the car to my side again. He leaned his elbows over my door. “Go home and rx.


    There’s nothing to worry about. Nichs and I will keep you safe. Just get some rest, okay?”


    I looked at him with wide eyes. I couldn’t nod like Nichs had, and I didn’t have my back yet. Instead I


    pressed my lips together and hoped that he could ept that as the semnce of agreement I


    intended it to be.


    “Good,” he said, and I felt relief.


    He made sure my limbs were clear of the car, then he closed the door.


    voice


    At the same time, Nichs entered from the other side. He was still breathing heavy as he slid into the


    driver’s seat. He gripped the wheel tightly, like he was trying to suffocate it.


    I looked at him. When his eyes met mine, he eased somewhat. “Piper, I… I don’t even begin to


    express how sorry I am…


    I continued to look at him, confused. He thought this was… his fault? How?


    “If we had left that damn interview earlier… They kept asking us questions, keeping us there. It was so


    asinine. Maybe Terry arranged the whole thing to get you alone, I don’t know.”


    He beat his palms against the steering wheel and I flinched.


    He instantly stilled. He watched me a moment in silence, before saying, softer, “I’m sorry.”


    Reaching down to the side of the steering column, he started the car. He didn’t say one more word as


    he pulled out of the driveway and onto the street.


    “We’ll be home soon,” Nichs said.


    I knew exactly how close the mansion was to the pce. I knew he was telling the truth. Still, I couldn’t


    keep my body from trembling.


    How closely I had been to losing my virginity to Terry, that vile, vicious monster disguised as a man.


    He’d wanted to chain me up and break me, with his body and his whips, until I was broken enough that


    he himself could reshape me.


    It hadn’t mattered how hard I fought. The physical and mental defense training sses couldn’t protect


    me from the sheerck of strength I possessed without my wolf.


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    “Nichs…” I managed to say. He had always meant safety to me. His name came easier than most


    other words. “Nichs…”


    “You’ll be okay, Piper,” Nichs said. It sounded like a promise. I foundfort in that. ”