After She's Terminal The Alpha Regrets (Elaine and Lucas) novel Chapter 53

Chapter 53

Harriet was still gone for the evening. Elaine changed into something more comfortable and was getting a late- night snack from the pantry. The house was cold. Colder than normal.

Setting a bowl of chips aside, she went to the thermostat, checking the temperature. As she did, she noticed Harriet’s bedroom door was open. The window just beyond that was open as well. That would explain the chill in

the air.

Elaine walked into the room.

It was dark but she moved past the bed and the dresser. Crickets chirped outside. A cool breeze drifted inward. A dog barked.

Something felt wrong.

Didn’t Harriet keep her windows locked? And why would she leave it open when no one was home?

Elaine peered out the window, glanced toward the street, then pulled back. She closed it. Locked it.

Something still felt wrong.

Unease prickled at the edges of her senses. Was that…her wolf? The only times she’d been feeling it lately were in moments of pain but this wasn’t that. Elaine pressed a hand to her chest.

If her wolf was trying to come forward now, then her feeling wasn’t just a feeling. Her wolf sensed something. Enough to try and claw its way to the forefront.

Elaine cast a quick look around Harriet’s room. Nothing seemed out of place. She crept back to the hallway, peering out and looking around. Still, nothing. Couldn’t even hear anything. It was simply a feeling. A kind of sixth sense.

She needed to get to her phone.

Or maybe the front door?

Elaine picked up a brisk yet quiet walk, heading to the front of the house. She passed the kitchen and through the living room.

Behind you!

The feeling was faint but there. Elaine whirled around. A masked man stood at the other side of the room. He had a knife in his hand. Wore all black aside from his mask, which was the mockery of a wolf’s head. She couldn’t see his eyes.

Elaine’s throat went dry and she couldn’t even seem to scream.

Not until he came at her.

Finally, sound escaped. She scrambled backward, then turned and ran for the door. He pursued. Faster than he looked.

She couldn’t reach it before he caught hold of her wrist, yanking her backward. Elaine stumbled and fell to the ground, hard on her back. He stood between her and the door, knife glinting in the light of the corner lamp.

She scrambled backward, staring up at him with wide eyes.

Shift.

+15 Bonus

She was trying.

Blaine spun, shoving off the ground and running for the hallway. Harriet’s room. The window. She could escape through there.

She sprinted down the hall, trying to shift the entire time. The man was only a few steps behind her. Closing in.

Elaine reached the threshold. He grabbed her, yanked her back.

She screamed.

His arm came around her, the knife rounding the other side. Elaine tried to shift again. To call upon her wolf. She could feel it thrashing inside, trying to draw the strength to come forward.

White-hot pain shot through her body as the knife plunged into her abdomen. Another scream tore from her throat, constricted with agony.

The man ground the blade inside.

In the same moment, the change raged to the front. Fur erupted across her skin, hands and feet turning to paws. It was over in a matter of seconds, and her wolf shape landed in the middle of the hallway, forcing the man to let go and stagger back, the blade pulling free.

Elaine faltered, her canine form, fur white as snow, now stained red at the belly. The liquid dripped softly onto the carpet beneath her.

She panted, jaws hanging open.

The man reeled back, surprised, then lunged again.