Imprinted By The Alpha (BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance) (The Marked One - Book 1) (18 page)

Lil raised the shotgun, pointing upward, and fired. Everyone in the bar ducked under tables and some cleared out, heading for the patio to avoid the men lurking in the doorway. “Bar’s closed!” she shouted. “Everyone out!” Ava didn’t turn from glaring at the man, but he hadn’t even winced when she fired the shot, completely unaffected and without fear.

He moved closer, his limbs moving loosely, and Ava finally unglued her feet, trying to bolt around the bar. She wanted to put space between them so she could run for the hall and Lil’s office. But she wasn’t fast enough, and she was weightless for a split second before the wind was knocked out of her, her body slammed into the wall like a rag doll.

She felt a formidable grip on her neck, like a vice, and the man had her pinned almost two feet off the ground. His enormous frame stood more than six feet tall, and his icy blue eyes bored into Ava’s as she stared down at him, unable to breathe.

His head turned so he could stare at Lil. “Put her down,” Ava heard Lil say with a warning tone. Ava saw her point the shotgun at the man, cocking it and ready to fire.

Ava felt like he was choking her, and she gagged as she tried to catch one small breath. The edges of her vision were blurry, but she could see Kelly cowering, trembling, and as she struggled against this man’s strength, she saw all of his friends phase to wolves. They rushed forward, and Lil growled, ready for the attack.

The leader smiled, showing perfectly straight white teeth. “Come on, sis. This is no way to welcome your brother back in town.” His voice was deep and smooth as brandy.

“Put her down, Blaez, or I swear I will blow you to hell and back.” Lil’s growl was feral, and yet, her voice sounded so far away. Blaez’s grip tightened around her neck, and she tried in vain to pry his fingers from her throat as her vision clouded with white spots. From her angle, she could only see a glimpse of Lil and Kelly, and she worried for their lives. She had enough sense left as her vision faded to realize that this was her vision, and she hated herself for not understanding.

As she passed out, her last thought was,
I’m sorry, Caleb. I should have known.

******

L
il faced off against the entire pack, keeping her human form but letting the monster out. Her eyes glowed, her teeth grew long and sharp and she raged at the group, brandishing the shotgun as they closed in.

“Drop her!” Lil cried, and she barely even noticed Kelly jump at the sound of her deep, determined voice. She fired, and one wolf went down, the others gnashing their teeth in rage. She fired again, and a second dropped with a dog’s whine.

But three of them hit her at once from the side, knocking her to the ground, and two of them phased back to human, pinning her to the wall. She saw another three pacing around Kelly, who whimpered, and Lil roared at being powerless to help her.

Blaez chuckled and bowed at his sister. “Sorry, Lil, this one’s mine.” Lil watched in horror as he dragged Ava behind him, gripping her by the hair, calling over his shoulder on the way out of the bar, “Grab the gun, boys, and let’s get out of here. And Lil, tell my baby brother I said hi!”