His Trouble Maker

Chapter 143

JESSICA

“We have to run-*

No. No. No....I didn’t mean to.

Theo is dead and I killed him!

“Jessica-Jess, we have to move-"

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| flinch when Riot grabs my arm. My claws cup before | think. | almost slash him. | almost made it worse. He

jerks back like | burned him, and | don’t blhim-I would too.

“I didn’t mean-" My voice breaks. “I didn’t-he cat me-I just-"

My wolf's screaming now askingto shift, to let her out once more so we can finish everyone.

Riot’s eyes are wild, staring atlike I'm skind of monster. Maybe | am.

“Jess, you're losing it,” he says, backing up another step. His voice is calm, but his hands are shaking. “We need

to go. Now.”

“I can’t—" My wolf's snarling in my head, demanding control. My claws dig into my palms, sharp and unforgiving.

“She wants out, Riot. | can’t hold her back much longer.”

“Then try harder,” he snaps, his tone harsher than he probably means it to be. “You're not an animal, Jess. Don’t

let her win.”

“She's already winning,” | hiss, and it comes out more guttural than human. My teeth feel too sharp, my skin too

tight. | can feel the shift clawing at me, tearingapart from the inside.

Riot’s jaw tightens, and he moves closer, slow and cautious. “Jess,” he says, softer this time. “Listen to me.

You're stronger than this. You've got to breathe.”

“I'm trying,” | snarl, but it’s half a growl. My vision blurs, colors bleeding together. Theo's dead. Dead because of

me. Because | couldn't control it.

“Keep trying. Focus on me. Just me.”

“No.Riot...you have to go!”

“Look at me,” Riot snarls, stepping in like he’s not afraid to lose a hand, eyes locking on mine so hard | feel the

muscles in my neck tighten against it, dark and hot and dragginginto him. “You're not her. You're Jess.

You're in control.”

“Am 1?”

I'm backing up, heat pounding down my spine, my wolf hammering inside my ribs like she’s ready to split

Chapter 143

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“Theo's dead because of me. You get it now? I’m not-" my voice drops to a growl, “-anything but a fucking

monster.”

“You're not,” he snarls right back, voice gone feral, all edge. His hands slam to my shoulders, grip iron and heat,

holdinglike he’d hold a thrashing dog-thumbs digging down, not lettingtwist away. “Stop letting her drag

you under. Fightinstead.”

“Let. Go.” My claws scythe up, catching the fabric over his ribs, almost taking flesh, and he rolls with it, leaning

in, close enough that my breath fogs the hollow of his throat.

“Jess-"

“I said LET GO!” It rips out oflike a death-cry, snapping my head back, the shift splitting my muscles, skin

crawling over bone, vision flashing gold.

And then his mouth crushed mine and i couldn't breathe couldn’t move couldn't fucking stop him, heat slamming

up under my ribs so fast it felt like a hit, like a break, like my body cracked open and the wolf poured straight

through my throat clawing for him like she knew him like she wanted this like she didn’t care i was choking on it.

| shove at him, claws curling in his shirt, his hair, meaning to tear him off-and he bites my lower lip just enough

to steal the fight from my chest.

The wolf jerks inside me, startled, furious, hungry. My head tilts despite myself, opening to him, breath spilling

hot between us, and he takes it like he owns it.

Don’t stop don’t stop don’t you fucking stop.

“Stay-" he breaks the kiss only long enough to growl it against my lips, still close enough to bite, “—with me.”

My breathing’s ragged, the wolf pacing but quieter now, chained by his hands, his mouth, his body. My knees

give just a little, and he catchesbefore | drop, holdingagainst the wall like | belong there.

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“We have to get out before they find us,” he says, low and sharp, but my breath’s still gone. ” Before the others

find us.”

Others?

I'm breathing like I've run to ground, chest slamming against his, every exhale caught in his mouth until I'm

shaking too hard to fight it.

“What others?”

| push against him, but he’s already moving, ripping his shirt over his head in one violent snap of motion, the

scent of him breaking over- hot, blood-slick, wolf-deep. He tears the fabric down the middle, jaw tight,

doesn’t even glance atwhen the sound rips sharp through the air.

“What the fuck are you-" | start, but he shoves one strip between my teeth so | bite that instead of him, shoving

the other high around my arm where the wound'’s still leaking heat.

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Chapter 143

“Hold still,” he growls, jerking the knot tight until my pulse bucks hard under his fingers.

| spit the cloth, breath hot with the taste of him. “I'm fine.”

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“No, you're bleeding like a stuck deer and your wolf's too close.” His palm presses over the wound, pinningin

place, eyes flaring gold like he’s daringto lunge. “Shift now and you bleed out before | drag you ten steps.”

“Letgo.” My claws twitch, the wolf inside already shoving for the surface.

“You want to die here?” He leans in, his mouth brushing the edge of mine, heat spilling into me. “Or you want to

walk out breathing?”

| bare my teeth. “You don’t get to-"

“I do,” he snaps, and the sound rakes my spine like claws. “Until you're clear, you're mine.”

His grip yanksforward, forcinginto his stride, my shoulder slamming into his ribs, his scent filling my

lungs so deep the wolf shivers under it. “Move, baby.”

“Stop callingthat,” | growl, but I'm already matching his pace because he’s haulingwhether | want it or

not.

“Then stop acting like her.” His hand tightens on the tied arm, pullingclose enough | can feel the rumble in

his chest when he says, “Or I'll remind you which one of us has teeth on the other's throat.”

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