Lycan Contempt

by S. K. Yule

  He drank her cries and relentlessly stroked her through each spasm of her release until tears spiled over her cheeks.

  “Did I hurt you?”

  “No,” she whispered. “That was incredible. You are incredible.”

  He kissed her slowly. “I’m only getting started.”

  Suddenly, he froze.

  “What is it? Did I do something, Kish?”

  “Shh.”

  She waited for him to say something, holding her breath until he finaly did.

  “Get dressed.” He scrambled off of her.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Please, Georgia. Just do as I say. There wil be time for explanations later. Hurry, sweetheart.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Brady was looking out the window of the front door when Kish came into the living room.

  “You see them?”

  “No.”

  “I need you to get Georgia to safety,” Kish told Brady.

  “I can help you.”

  “No. You’re stil injured. I’ve only scented two.

  Believe me, I’m more than capable of taking care of two rogues who think they’re bigger than their britches. I need to know she’s safe.”

  Brady nodded. “What do you want me to do?”

  He didn’t want to entrust Georgia to Brady. He could take her to the shelter himself, but he’d risk a run-in with one of the rogues while with her. He couldn’t take that kind of risk with her. If he sent Brady to the shelter with her, he was confident he could distract the rogues long enough for him to get her to safety.

  As Kish started giving Brady directions, Georgia entered the living room with Lucy.

  “Take her out the side door and head north on the path. About three quarters of a mile you’l run into a falen tree that lays over the trail.”

  “Why can’t I stay here, Kish? I don’t want to leave.” Georgia’s voice wobbled.

  He sighed, went to her, and puled her against him where he kissed her on top of her silky head. “It’s not safe here, sweetheart. They may be able to get to you here. The shelter is bombproof. Nothing gets in or out unless the door is opened with the code that only I know. There is no possible way they can harm you in there.”

  “Who, Kish? Who can’t harm me there?”

  “Rogue lycan. Look, I know you are scared, but we don’t have a lot of time. Trust me, and let me take care of you. Let me make sure you are safe.” He squeezed her to him and whispered in her ear. “I need to know you are okay. If one of them were to get to you, I’d go crazy.”

  “I do trust you, Kish. But after this, you and I need to have a serious talk.”

  “Sweetheart, I’l promise you anything at the moment if you’l just do what I ask.”

  “Okay.”

  “You have to leave Lucy here.”

  “But—”

  “You said you trusted me, right?”

  She nodded.

  “If you take her, they wil be able to track you better. They wil be able to hone in on two scents better than one. Three scents would make it even easier. I swear to you that I won’t let anything happen to her.”

  Tears streamed down Georgia’s cheeks. “Go with Kish, Lucy,” she choked out.

  Lucy immediately obeyed. He kissed her on the head again then turned back to Brady. “Once you reach the falen tree, backtrack exactly ten and a half feet. To your left wil be a tree with a split trunk.

  Exactly thirty feet behind it there is a steep incline. At the bottom of the incline you wil find the door covered in branches. The code is four, eight, zero, two, seven. Once you get her there, don’t come out until I return, or in three days if I don’t return.”

  “Kish!”

  “Don’t worry, sweetheart. I plan on returning, but sometimes life kicks us in the ass.” He looked at Brady. “Can you remember that?”

  “Yes.”

  “There is a generator for the lights and enough food in there for months along with heaters, blankets, and anything else needed for survival.” He took the coat Georgia had carried out with her and helped her get it on before zipping her in. He kissed her on the forehead. “See you in a bit, sweetheart. Get going, Brady.”

  Brady went to Georgia and took her by the hand, but before he got by Kish, Kish grabbed his arm and puled him close until they were nose to nose. “If you let her come to harm, you better hope you die protecting her. If not, you wil never be safe again because I wil hunt you down and gut you myself even if it takes the rest of my life to do so.”

  Brady nodded again before leaving out the side door.

  Kish locked Lucy in the basement. It would be difficult for the rogues to get into the basement, and they most likely wouldn’t try to anyway since Georgia’s scent wouldn’t be anywhere near it.

  Kish then stepped onto the front porch and let his wolf come to the surface for a partial change. Claws burst through his fingertips and his canines slid through his gums. He knew his eyes would be glowing as wel. He sniffed at the air and within moments, had the rogues targeted. He launched off the porch and began the hunt.

  Brady tugged her along at a mindless pace. She’d tripped several times, but he’d caught her before she’d falen each time. She was a little surprised that he was able to move so quickly with his injury. She wasn’t in bad shape, but she wasn’t used to running through knee-deep snow at breakneck speed in bone chiling temperature either.

  “Brady! Slow down a little,” she huffed.

  He slowed up some, but kept dragging her along.

  “We have to keep going, Georgia.”

  About ten minutes later, her inner alarm bels started ringing. Something wasn’t right, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on what. But it suddenly, hit her. She had a great sense of direction and if she wasn’t mistaken, they had been veering slightly east for the last several minutes. Maybe Brady didn’t realize it.

  “Are we going the right way?”

  She didn’t miss the instant hesitation in Brady’s grip on her hand or the way he tried to hide the momentary pause, which proved her suspicion that something wasn’t right. He didn’t say anything and kept tugging her along. Finaly, after a few more moments, she puled back hard, which resulted in Brady losing his grip on her hand and her tumbling to her rear.

  “What did you do that for, Georgia? We have to keep going.”

  Brady grabbed her hand, but before he tightened his grip on it, she puled away again. “We are going the wrong way. Kish said we were supposed to go north. We’ve been slightly veering east for a while now.”

  Brady didn’t answer her and the silence became unnerving.

  “Brady?”

  “Goddamnit, Georgia. I’m sorry.”

  Her stomach fluttered, and her throat tightened in fear. Something was terribly wrong.

  “Sorry for what exactly?”

  “They have my sister, and the only way to save her is, is . . .”

  He trailed off and the unnerving silence was back with a vengeance. Then it dawned on her.

  “You’re going to give me to them, aren’t you? You are going to trade me for your sister.”

  “Don’t make me feel any worse than I already do.

  I have to do this or they wil kil her.”

  “What wil they do to me?”

  “Son of a bitch. You have to understand, Georgia, that when they demanded this of me, I had no choice.

  I didn’t even know you then. I don’t realy know you now, but I do know you enough to realize that you are a kind, generous, caring person. You have no idea how bad this is eating me up inside. I don’t want to do this, but I can’t lose her, Georgia. She’s the only family I have.”

  Georgia let out a long sigh in resignation. She’d never forgive Brady for what he was about to do, but she wasn’t sure she could completely blame him.

  They would kil his sister if he didn’t bring her to them. But would she be able to trade one life for another? If the situation was reversed and the rogues already had her
and made a deal with Kish for a trade, she was certain Kish would find some other way to save her. She could never believe the man she fel in love with would trade one innocent life for another.

  Yes, she understood—to a point—but she didn’t condone or agree with it.

  “Why didn’t you ask Kish for help instead of lie to him? He could have helped you get your sister back.”

  “He’d never have let me trade you for her. I’ve never claimed to be a genius, but I’m not that damned naive.”

  “Of course he wouldn’t have, but he would have figured out a way to get her back nonetheless. You didn’t have to lie to us, manipulate us both. Al we did was help you, and this is how you repay us both?”

  She shook her head. “Wait. Were you even realy hurt?”

  “Not badly, but yes. I definitely made it look worse than it was.”

  “Do you realize what Kish wil do to you once he finds out what you’ve done?”

  “Yes. I don’t care. As long as my sister is safe, I wil gladly forfeit my life.”

  “For someone who’s just claimed to not be naive, you sure are a stupid, stupid man.”

  “Get up! We have to go.”

  “I’m not making this easy on you, Brady. While I can kind of see the choice you made was in desperation and you felt you had no other choice, and I certainly don’t want any harm to come to your sister, neither wil I be a wiling lamb to slaughter.”

  “Fine. I’l carry you then.”

  “Damn it, Brady. Take me to the shelter and wait for Kish to return. He wil help you get your sister back and then you can both be safe.”

  “They have an ambush set for him. They know he’s coming after them. He isn’t going to return.”

  Fear ripped through her and she stood. She turned and started running in the direction from where they’d come, back to Kish. She had to warn him. But before she’d made it any distance at al, she was tackled gently from behind and tumbled to the ground.

  “What the hel are you doing? Are you crazy?”

  “Me? Crazy?” She panted. “I have to warn Kish. I love him. I can’t let him get hurt . . . or worse.” Tears slid down her cheeks.

  “You are blind, Georgia. You can’t run off in the woods. You’l get lost and die.”

  She snorted. “Why do you care?”

  He groaned.

  “Brady, if you have any decency in you at al, you wil not let them kil him. Please. I’m begging you. If you save him, if you stop them from hurting him, I swear to you, I wil go with you. I wil wilingly let you trade me for your sister.”

  “Just like that?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I love him. Much like you love your sister. My life is worth giving up if I can save him. If one of us absolutely has to die, I’d rather it be me.”

  Brady roled beside her in the snow and let out a long, exasperated breath. “Damn it! Why did you have to be such an incredibly selfless, giving woman?

  Why couldn’t you have been a completely shalow bitch?”

  “Sorry.”

  He laughed. “You’re sorry? How in the hel did I let myself agree to something like this?”

  “You love your sister. You were out of your mind with worry. You made a bad decision in a stressful situation. It happens.”

  “Stop being so understanding. I’m a complete asshole.”

  “Yeah, but I think you might be able to redeem yourself. If you want, that is.”

  She heard him get to his feet then he tugged her up by the hand. “Let’s get you to the shelter so I can help Kish. And pray to whatever god you believe in that he wil be able to help me save my sister.

  Because if he can’t . . .”

  “He’l be able to.”

  “Kish better realize exactly how special of a woman he has in you because I swear if he ever hurts you, I’l kick his ass.”

  She laughed. He puled her slightly back west, and the running began again.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Did the little fuckers think that he was born yesterday? It was completely obvious that they’d set up an ambush for him, and the smartest and quickest way to end this charade was to walk right into it. Kish smiled. Wouldn’t they be surprised when they realized he was an ancient and that they were about to get their asses handed to them on plates?

  If they thought they’d waltz in on his land and threaten his female, they were about to get a dose of reality. He watched the young rogue lying by the tree.

  Every once in a while he’d give off a yelp of pain.

  Fake pain. Hel, the blood they’d used for the fake injury wasn’t even lycan. It was rabbit blood. He wondered if the second rogue, the one hiding, no doubt waiting for Kish to take the bait, honestly thought Kish wouldn’t scent his closeness.

  They’d done some half-assed attempts at concealing the scent of the second rogue, but Kish wondered how any of these rogues survived if they thought these poorly executed, il though out ambushes worked. A split second before he revealed himself, another scent hit him.

  Brady.

  Anger engulfed him. Why hadn’t he stayed with Georgia? Had something happened to her? The fear slid over the anger at the thought of her being hurt. He backed away with the silent ease of an ancient predator. The young rogues never knew he was close or that he’d just retreated.

  “What the fuck are you doing here?”

  “It’s a trap.”

  “No fucking shit. You think I’m an idiot?”

  “There’s more. I was in on it.”

  The claws grew even longer from his fingertips and curled against his palms, and his fangs ached to pierce Brady’s throat. Instead, he punched him in the nose hard enough to enjoy the satisfying crunch of cartilage.

  “What the fuck are you talking about? And you better explain quick before I kil you.” Kish clenched and unclenched his fists, aching to take another shot at Brady.

  He couldn’t deny that the determined and quiet way Brady had taken the punch that had been hard enough to knock him back a couple of steps had effectively conveyed Brady’s sincerity in making amends.

  “Those bastards took my sister. They told me they’d trade her for Georgia.” Brady raised his hands and stepped back when Kish came toward him. “I won’t lie. I was going to folow through with it until only a while ago.”

  “And why should I believe you? If you fucking hurt her—”

  “I didn’t. She’s safe in the shelter. She’s the one that made me change my mind. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t let her get hurt. She told me if I saved you, she’d wilingly give her life to save my sister. No matter how bad I want to save my sister, I can’t let Georgia die because of me. She has a lot of faith in you. She swears up and down that you can help me save my sister without trading her.”

  Georgia had faith in him? Now that was a new one for him. No woman had had faith in him before, and it felt damn good. This was the first time in his life he felt like puffing out his chest with pride. His woman had faith in him. Was it possible that Georgia realy could love him for him? Was it possible that she could be the one he’d waited for his entire life, the one that looked at him and saw him not a bunch of scars?

  “Do you know where your sister is?”

  “No. But if we contain those two rogues, I’m sure we can come up with some creative ways to make at least one of them squeal. I’m fairly certain that they are the only two involved in this fucking charade, but I can’t be one hundred percent sure. If there are more, we can’t risk letting one of them get away to raise a warning. They want Georgia. They’l be pissed when they figure out they aren’t getting her. They wil kil Krista if they make it back to her.”

  “Won’t happen. But I might just kil you when this is al over with.”

  “I wouldn’t blame you,” Brady muttered.

  “If you fucking double-cross me—”

  “I won’t. I know that doesn’t mean much at the moment, but I won’t.”

  Kish looked do
wn at Brady’s injured leg and frowned.

  “Yeah. I’m an asshole, but I was scared they’d kil Krista. I was injured. Just not as bad as I let on.”

  “I’l deal with you after this. But right now, here’s how this is going to go down.” Kish explained his plan to Brady, and Brady nodded in agreement.

  “Let’s go kick some ass.”

  “Don’t mind if we do.”

  Kish walked into the clearing and stood about thirty feet from the rogue. The silver fur of the wolf was matted with blood on the side to make a good show of the fake injury. Kish stuck to the plan and went closer, playing right into their hands. Or so they thought. When he reached the silver rogue, he bent to get a closer look.

  “What the fuck happened to you?” He reached out, knowing ful wel what would happen next, knowing that the pain was going to piss him off more than he already was, but he did it nonetheless. If for some reason Brady fucked with him again, he was confident he could take al three of them if it came to it. He was sure Brady was aware of that fact as wel, which brought him some measure of comfort that the man was not going to double-cross him, or would it be triple-cross him?

  Just before he touched the silver fur, the rogue leapt up and clamped onto his arm. He screamed out in fury and pain. This little fucker was going to get a serious ass-kicking as soon as his sidekick was under control. He could have easily tossed the weaker rogue aside, but he put on a show of struggle to lure the other rogue in with a false sense of confidence.

  He didn’t want the asshole to run, didn’t want to risk him getting away. Smal risk it was, but stil a risk.

  Within moments, the other rogue came into the clearing just as planned. This rogue was stil in human form. A smug smile lifted the corner of his lips, and Kish couldn’t wait to see that smugness turn to pain.

  They took Brady’s sister and wanted Georgia in trade? Yeah. He was going to kil them both. He wondered if Brady truly understood the nature of rogues. Obviously not, for if he did, he’d realize there was little chance that the rogues would have kept to their end of the bargain.