Page 13 of Marked By Love

The alpha froze. His eyes slid up from the dog in his hands to Theodore’s face. His nostrils flared.

“Dr. Abbott!” Margarette’s scream snapped Theodore to attention.

Without realizing it, he’d raised the scalpel mid-way to the alpha’s chest. His hands were trembling, and his skin was clammy with sweat.

“Set the dog on the table. We’ll take care of it,” Gerald coaxed the dog from the alpha’s arms, then Margarette ushered him outside. Theodore faintly heard her asking him who the dog belonged to and a variety of other questions. When the alpha was out of Theodore’s sight, his thoughts snapped into place, and the heated flush left his skin. He began instructing Gerald on what they needed to save the canine.

Find the source of bleeding. Stop it. Stabilize. X-rays. Scans for internal injuries. They had a long way to go until this dog’s fate was secured.

His feet dragged, and his eyes drooped. He and Gerald had managed to save the mutt, and they’d stayed late to get through the full list of spays and neuters. Despite the bone-tired pull dragging him down, he couldn’t rest.

Not only did Theodore know it would be futile, but he had to run.

He hated leaving the pets from Elk Cove in a lurch, but if this alpha was working for him, the whole town was in jeopardy by Theodore’s presence.

Scurrying around the cabin, he seized the few items that had been removed from his bags and shoved them away. Piling his duffle bags and backpack atop the mess of blankets on the couch, he decided to take those too. He hadn’t had a chance to get paid enough to buy new papers and secure a hotel room. He’d have to sleep in his car.

He’d found the largest quilt and planned to tie everything into a bundle.

Something behind him moved.

Theodore froze, hand moving to his hip bag. He could feel the hard outline of his .38 inside. Ever so slowly, he eased the zipper open. His heart hammered, his palms started to sweat.

His fingers clutched the cold steel. When it was secure in his hand, he whipped around to face the kitchen. Outlined in the back door, a figure lurked. Messy caramel waves cascaded down massive shoulders as the alpha entered the cabin.

“Who are you?” the alpha growled.

Theodore eased his finger to the trigger and squeezed.

“Fucking hell!” the alpha dropped to the ground behind the kitchen island as the bullet missed him, lodging into the back wall.

“Did he send you here?” Theodore screamed.

“He? He who?”

“I won’t let you take me to him! You’ll have to kill me, and I’m not going down without a fight!”

Theodore panted, his whole body shook, yet he felt brave. How was that? He was utterly terrified. He was going to die here, he knew that. Nevertheless, he was confident enough to yell and fight back. Perhaps it was the knowledge of his impending death; it didn’t matter if he sassed off and the alpha got angry. He was dead anyways.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the alpha called from behind the kitchen island.

“You’ve been casing my cabin for days! I’ve seen you, wolf. And then today, you hit that dog. You almost killed it so you could storm the vet clinic without looking suspicious. You ID’d me, and now you’ve been ordered to take me back to him.”

When the alpha didn’t respond, Theodore kept yelling. Now that he’d started screaming, he couldn’t seem to stop.

“You’re disgusting. Working for him knowing what he is. And I won’t let you take me. Show yourself, you coward! You dog-killing, trafficking, piece of trash!”

In a flash, the alpha bolted from behind the island. Theodore squeezed the trigger. The alpha rolled across the floor, got his footing, then sprang.

“NO!”

Theodore screamed and yelled as the alpha’s hard body collided with him. They fell to the ground in a heap. Theodore thrashed and wrestled, trying to aim his pistol. The alpha pinned him down using his knees, then he wrapped both hands around Theodore’s wrist. He twisted.

Theodore cried out, the alpha was going to break his arm if he didn’t stop. He dropped the pistol and immediately tried to scratch and claw at any part of the alpha he could reach.

“Hold still, damn it,” the alpha demanded. “I don’t—”

Theodore jerked upward, his forehead colliding with the bridge of the alpha’s nose.