Winter (Rise of the Pride, Book 2) Read Online Free

shift.”
    “Same,” Winter growled. “I never saw him in
the bar when I was there.”
    “What about the other Guardians?” the
sheriff asked.
    “I already told her not to date that loser,”
Winter snapped.
    “You know him?” Liberty frowned.
    “No,” Winter replied. “But he was probably a
loser. You sister could do better.”
    Liberty smiled softly and walked around the
other two men, Talon close on her heels.
    “By the way, Sheriff,” Winter said as he
walked out of the room. “If the other Guardians had seen this guy,
I would’ve known everything about him.”
    Liberty made her way down the hallway,
searching for the room number she’d been given. A nurse looked up
as she exited the room, a soft smile playing on her lips.
    “Ms. Raines?” she asked. The nurse was
around his age. Her blonde hair was pulled up into a bun and her
green eyes were kind. Winter felt a bit of ease around the nurse,
which he thought was odd, until he realized the human woman was
with young, although she wasn’t showing. He didn’t think he’d ever
get used to the feeling of peace when around a pregnant female.
    “Yes,” Liberty answered.
    “My name is Carol and I will be your
sister’s nurse,” she replied. “Nova is resting comfortably right
now. The doctor will be in first thing in the morning to talk to
you about her care, but I can give you a rundown of her
injuries.”
    “Please?” she asked.
    “She was beaten and choked.” The nurse
paused, composing herself. “Her left arm is broken and she has road
rash on that same side. Nova has a lot of bruising and cuts all
over her body. The worst part is the fact that she has a very bad
concussion. We are keeping her comfortable right now.”
    “Does she know what happened?” Talon asked.
“Has she said anything?”
    “No,” Carol replied, shaking her head.
“She’s been sedated since she arrived.”
    “I’m going in,” Liberty said, obviously
ready to see her sister.
    The moment Liberty entered the room,
Winter’s heart squeezed from the cry of agony that came from the
alpha’s mate. The moment his eyes fell upon Nova, another deadly
snarl of rage left his lips. Liberty moved quickly to the right as
Winter fell to his knees at Nova’s bedside. He didn’t know what
came over him, but he had to be close to her.
    Her face was battered, her left eye black
and swollen. Her scent was there, even though it was almost
overpowered by the cleaning chemicals in the hospital. Winter
raised his head, inhaling deep, in hopes that he could get Perry’s
scent off of Nova’s body. He needed it to track the son of a bitch
when the time came to teach this human a lesson. He was
disappointed when he found no other scent.
    She had several stitches over her left eye
and at her hairline. Her left arm was bandaged in a thick beige
covering. The tips of her tiny fingers were mangled, her nails
broken and jagged. The white blanket covered her body, hiding any
other injuries from his view. She was already small, but looked
like a child laying in the large hospital bed. Winter’s heart
broke, knowing he could’ve prevented this from happening if he’d
only followed her home so he could’ve met this asshole. He would’ve
sensed this man’s malice toward Nova.
    “I want a blood oath,” he choked out,
fighting back tears.
    “What?” Liberty asked, looking toward her
mate in confusion. “What the hell are you talking about?”
    “A blood oath?” Talon asked, his voice deep
and solid. “Are you sure?”
    “One of you better answer me,” Liberty
growled. Winter didn’t reply, just turned back toward the bed. His
eyes assessed Nova as Talon explained to his mate the meaning
behind a blood oath.
    A blood oath was a singular request made to
the alpha to allow a Guardian deal out justice without the consent
of his leader. In other words, Winter could break away from the
pride to find and kill the man responsible. Being a rogue shifter
was dangerous. Without an alpha,