But still I hesitated. I hated him. I wanted him gone. But I didn’t want his blood on my hands. To carry that with me into my future. He’d already taken so much.

My hesitation cost me. My father knocked me off him, into the dirt. He grabbed a handful of dirt, throwing it into my face. My eyes stung. I blinked, trying to get my vision back.

By the time I could see again, Angus had regrouped. He grabbed me by the throat, hauled me off my feet, and slammed me up against the barn door. Somehow, we’d fought away from the original circle. Wood bit into my back as he slammed me again. And again. The back of my skull cracked against the wood. Sparks filled my vision. He got both hands around my throat. I couldn’t breathe.

His face was mostly in shadow, the fire pit lighting him from behind. Everything hurt. I clawed at him, trying to get pressure off my throat. He had me pressed tight against the door. I couldn’t get the leverage to throw him off me.

“You had me, pup.” His lip curled in a sneer. “That’s the difference between you and me. It’s what makes me an alpha and you a piece of shit. I have the guts to finish it.” His teeth flashed white in the darkness, his grin feral.

That would be my last sight. My father would kill me.

He wasn’t even hesitating now, he was savoring.

I clawed harder, digging at pressure points. He grunted, and his chokehold loosened enough for me to suck in a breath.

“I thought about this a lot in prison, you know.” He leaned in so close to whisper it, we were almost touching. “Years of visualization about to come true.”

I ignored him. What was he to me? Nothing. But Lou? My pack? They deserved my final thoughts. I sent them love, joy, everything I had in me to tell them how much they meant to me.

My father pulled back his fist.

And then the world exploded as a pickup truck barreled through the barn doors. They splintered, shattering around me, and I flew through the air. I soared toward the fire pit, and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it. A weight crashed into me from the side and we rolled into a pile of hay. I looked up to discover I was being held by Will. He’d tackled me out of the air and then curled to take the blow. Behind me something crashed.

He smiled. “Lucky catch.”

“You really do give the best hugs,” I wheezed.

“I do,” Will said. “You look like shit, and you’re bleeding all over my favorite shirt.” Will gently patted my cheek. “But I forgive you.”

My father started screaming. Vanessa and Bay appeared above me, hands out to help us up. Once I was on my feet, I saw what would have happened if not for Will’s lucky catch. He’d saved me from the bonfire.