Cherished: True Mates Book 5 (BBW Wolf Shifter Romance) (A Craggstone Paranormal Romance) Read Online Free PDF Page B

foot as hard as I could.
    It connected, smashing straight into his groin, something I didn’t think I could have done again even if I tried.
    As though in slow motion the man sucked in a great breath, his eyes rolling back until only the whites showed, his hands cradling the now tender flesh as he crumpled to the ground.
    “Ouch! Good aim,” Oliver said from behind me.
    I spun around. “You can’t stop me! I won’t go without him!” It came out a wild shriek as I backed away from him, grinding to a stop when I remembered the wolf behind me.
    “Sean.” Oliver looked over my shoulder, nodding at the wolf. “I’ll take care of her, if you’ve got him?” He tilted his head to the man I had downed with one kick.
    I waved him away when he took a cautious step forward. “Take care of me?”
    He sighed, shoving his hands into his pockets.
    I wasn’t fooled. He was trying to look harmless.
    “I need to go see how they’re doing and if they need any help. It looks like I can’t trust you to stay put anyway.”
    “So, you’re saying—”
    He took another step forward and this time I didn’t back away. “You must promise to stay close to me and do exactly what I tell you.”
    “I promise.”
    His lips twisted in a scowl. “I’m going to regret this, aren’t I?”
    Without waiting for an answer he grabbed my hand and jogged toward the dormitory.
    As we neared the building, the sounds grew louder, crashing and banging accompanied by snarls and growls.
    A wail cut through the noise, quickly silenced.
    Not Josh, not this time.
    Oliver grabbed me and pulled me to him, staring down at me with piercing blue eyes that flickered with silver at the edges. “You stay behind me, got it? I won’t let anyone touch you, but I have to know where you are.” He paused, his mouth still open, an internal struggle obvious in his eyes. Eventually he continued, “I don’t think I’ll be able to focus if I don’t know you’re safe, okay?”
    It seemed like a big admission, and by the look on his face, and the twist of his lips, I guessed it was. It hadn’t escaped my notice that he moved with the smooth grace and precision that spoke of military training, or something similar. My brother was in the military, or at least had been before I had been taken, and I knew that focus and control was everything to him.
    “I gave you my promise,” I whispered, then unable to resist, stretched up onto my tiptoes and laid a gentle kiss on his cheek, his stubble prickly under my lips. “Thank you.”
    He reached up and touched his cheek, the unconscious gesture causing a strange tugging in my chest. “For what?”
    “Everything you’ve done and everything you’re going to do.” It was simple. I trusted him to get Josh out, I didn’t know why—I just did.
    “Then let’s go.”
    Striding up the steps, he shoved open the door, keeping me tucked behind him with his free arm.
    I peered around him, then squinted as my mind struggled to take in what my eyes were seeing. Four of Bert’s men were sprawled on the floor, a fifth fighting with a determination that reeked of desperation, a knife slashing out in front of him, slicing through the air in jagged paths.
    Before him stood a tall man, exceptionally well-built, with white-blond hair. I narrowed my eyes. The man looked like he belonged on the front of a magazine or gracing a catwalk, not in the middle of a fistfight. He also didn’t look bothered by the knife the man furiously jabbed at him, shifting out of the way in smooth measured movements, his expression bored. I sucked in a breath, recognition slamming into me. It was Jacob! Was this all a lie?
    Oliver grabbed me, his brow creased in concern. “What’s the matter?”
    “That’s Jacob.” It was all I could force out, my hand pointing at the man.
    He shook his head sharply. “No. That’s Jason, his twin brother. He’s one of the good guys.”
    Twin? I squinted, trying to get a better look. He looked like exactly Jacob.