Page 71 of Saving Stella

“Fuck!” He pounded his fist on the armrest, causing his seatmate to glare at him. But he ignored the tired-looking businessman and instead, unbuckled his seat.

“Sir?” The stewardess shot him a bewildered look as he shot to his feet. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” Now that he finally got his head out of his ass, he was great. “I’m leaving.”

“Leaving? The flight?”

“Yeah—”

“But you can’t! We’ve already—sir!”

Rushing off the plane, Cliff’s heart burst with a mix of emotions—excitement, joy, and fear—as he stepped off the bridge and into the terminal.

Stella was nothing like Madelyn. Correction—she was not Madelyn, not even close. Stella was kind and sweet, and everything he ever wanted in this life and the next.

And it was time he stopped punishing her and himself for the past.

His heart lodged in his throat the entire time he sat in the back of a cab as it raced back to Stella’s house. He tried calling her, but it went straight to voicemail. He dialed Jacob next, but his call went unanswered.

His instincts immediately went on alert. He’d understand if Stella didn’t want to talk to him, but Jacob not picking up while he was on duty was unusual and alarming. His instinct told him something was very wrong.

Still, without any information, he didn’t know what to do. Should he go back to her house or to the casino? He’d given the cab driver Stella’s home address, figuring that if she and Jacob hadn’t checked out yet, they’d be on the way there.

But his gut told him to go back to the casino.

“Change of plans,” he said to the driver. “Panorama Hotel, please.”

Cliff practically jumped out of the cab the moment they reached their destination. After stopping at the front desk to confirm that Stella had checked out of the room, he made his way toward the garage. Jacob had rented a car from the airport and told him that he’d parked in the basement. After dashing through the casino, he burst out into the parking lot. When he saw the crumpled figure a few feet ahead, pure terror made his blood turn to ice.

“Jacob!” He rushed to his cousin, kneeling down next to him. “Are you okay? Where’s Stella? What happened?”

“Fffuuccck.” Jacob rolled onto his back and rubbed his jaw. “Got kicked in the face.”

“By who? Where is he?”

Jacob opened his mouth, but the deafening growl reverberating across the parking garage and bouncing off the walls answered his question.

“Motherfucker!”

Cliff dashed toward the sound, which was coming from somewhere by the exit gates. Fear spiked through him when he saw the red sports car with the side completely ripped out, but he swallowed it, thinking about Stella and how he was going to get her back.

“Cliff!” Jacob, who had somehow managed to catch up to him, shouted. “Over there.”

He swung his head around toward the row of cars to his left and saw two massive wolves at the far end circling each other.

Stella!

One of the wolves had to be her. His wolf ripped out of him in an instant, and the animal rushed toward the two wolves. However, it skidded to a stop, confused. Having never seen Stella shift, it didn’t know which wolf was her. Both looked similar, almost identical really.

One of them lunged, sending them both rolling across the concrete floor. Cliff’s wolf hesitated, not knowing which one to help. Eventually, one managed to gain the upper hand and swiped its paw at the other, sending it flying back, the sickening sound of its skull hitting the wall making Cliff’s stomach turn. Then the victorious wolf began to stalk toward the unconscious form.

No!

Cliff’s instinct screamed that the collapsed wolf was Stella. Gathering all its strength, his wolf leapt forward, knocking the other wolf away before it could reach her. It let out a pained bark as it flew across the air and slammed against the side of an SUV.

His wolf padded over to the she-wolf and nuzzled at its neck, the familiar scent of lavender and sage filling their senses. Cliff’s relief was short-lived as he saw the blood on the blonde wolf’s shoulder where its opponent had sunk its claws. But his wolf, perhaps having been kept inside him too long, refused to let go of their body and continued to nudge at the unconscious she-wolf.

I can help her, he pleaded to his wolf. Please.