Tied With a Bow

Valiant, primpy, girly Ashley with her artificially colored locks, her fake nails and girlish innocence. The pride of the coyote packs, and everyone’s little sister.
    Emma was beside her, weak, but still valiantly trying to stem the blood pouring from her sister’s chest wound as she sobbed with heartbroken fear.
    “Ash . . . Ash please . . . Please don’t leave me, Ash . . .” she was crying, her voice weak, dazed and in shock as Malachi and Rule slid to their knees beside her.
    “She won’t wake up, Mal,” Emma whispered, turning her face to him as Rule quickly began assessing the wound and Stygian raced to them with a med-kit.
    What the phone display hadn’t shown was the other side of Emma’s head. Her hair was coated with blood, dripping with it as she stared back at him with eyes nearly black with shock.
    “We have her, Emma.” Gripping the coyote female’s shoulders he quickly ran his gaze over her as the room began to fill with Breeds. “Where is Isabelle, Emma? Did you see where he took her?” He was screaming at her. Panic and terror were clawing at his guts with razor-sharp talons.
    Emma shook her head, obviously trying to fight off the dizzying weakness of her wounds. “He smells like motor oil,” she whispered haltingly. “Isa cried for Ashley, but he hit her because she knocked the gun out of his hand. It’s under the bed. He hit me first, took out Ashley then grabbed Isabelle. Isa took your shirt.” She lifted her gaze to him again. “She’s only wearing your shirt.”
    “Let’s move.” Malachi was on his feet, his gaze slicing to the tracker Rule had brought with them.
    Braden Arness was one of the best they had, and the woman at his side, his mate, a Navajo empath that could find a fucking needle in a haystack.
    Braden grabbed Malachi’s shoulders, but he was expecting it. He stood still, the animal inside him snarling for action as the Breed inhaled the scent just beneath his ear and again at his lower neck.
    It was there that the mating scent was strongest during the first stages of the mating heat. It was from there that Braden would have the scent of Malachi’s mate, as well as the scent the shirt would carry.
    Releasing him, Braden turned but his mate, Megan, was already hurrying for the door. “I told you something wasn’t right,” she reminded her mate furiously as they headed from the door. “I knew the pain I felt was tied to this. God, Braden, I should have looked further.”
    “We’ll find her,” Braden promised. “It’s okay, honey, we’ll find her.”
    And Malachi could only pray the tracker was right, because God help him if he lost his mate. Still, the howl that tore from his throat and echoed through the corridors of the hotel was haunting, filled with rage and grief. A coyote’s mate was in danger. God help the bastard responsible because now death was his only option.

Chapter Ten
     
    You held my heart in your hands.
I felt its warmth, its power, and its promise.
     
    “Holden, don’t do this, please.” Fear crawled up Isabelle’s back as she fought the sickening pain caused by the grip he had on her wrists as he dragged her down the stairs with him.
    She couldn’t believe this was happening. She couldn’t believe he would have lost his mind to the point that he thought he could shoot one of the few coyote Breed females, and kidnap her and get away with it.
    “You’re hurting me, Holden,” she cried as the dagger-like sensations stabbed at her wrists at every point that his flesh touched hers.
    “Do you really think I give a fuck, you stupid little whore?” he screamed furiously as he dragged her down another flight of stairs. “You and those fucking bitches up there have just about ruined everything. All you had to do was be your usual stuck-up bitch self and stayed there alone after that Breed left. That was all you had to do.”
    He gave another hard jerk at her wrists as though in retaliation for the perceived slight.
    The harsh tug as she made that first, stumbling step to a landing caused Isabelle to lose her balance and twist her ankle. She went down hard, fighting to catch herself to lessen the chances of serious injury.
    Holden refused to release her wrists as she went down. The lack of support and her inability to hold herself up had her falling down the next step, her hip colliding against the edge painfully.
    “Fuck! Keep it up bitch and I’ll leave you to bleed out like I did that whore Breed.”
    Isabelle screamed