by Jade Royal
“Let’s burn him,” Jayce said.
“NO!” Kellan ordered. “Leave him. I want those other hunter muthafuckers to see his body. Let’s get the fuck on before more come.” Kellan led the way back to the caves. This time they didn’t walk. They ran. Selena found it hard to keep up with them in her human form. Kellan stopped immediately and picked her up. She clung onto his back as he ran through the woods. Not until they were deep within the cave did Kellan feel any type of security.
The two new wolves met the rest of the pack. Everyone was smiling and introducing themselves, but Kellan was beyond pissed off. He couldn’t stop pacing the kitchen. Bliss sensed his anger.
“Welcome to the Phoenix Pack,” Kellan announced. Everyone was gathered around in the dining area. Kellan placed his palms on the table and leaned forward.
“Jaxson and Tristan are our enforcers. Rita and Jayce are the Beta couple, and as you know, Bliss is my mate. Do you have money or clothing besides what’s in that bag?” Kellan asked.
“No. I have about 50 dollars cash though.” Zander went to rifle through his duffel, but Kellan stopped him.
“Jayce will provide you both with money to get some more clothes and essentials for your daily living. Jaxson and Tristan will also fill you in on pack rules. There’s another pack here just strictly for refuge. We’re keeping a close eye on them.” Zander and Selena nodded in understanding.
“Any questions?” They looked at each other before looking back at Kellan.
“Nothing,” they said at the same time.
“Good.” Kellan took a deep breath before releasing it slowly.
“What’s going on?” Bliss asked.
“Humans. They know about us. And they are on the hunt.” The whole pack gasped. It was just one of those moments.
“So what does this mean? What do we do?” Kyra asked.
“I’m not sure what we do. But what it means is that we’re not safe in the woods like we used to be. Zander was nearly killed by a mob of humans. Another human randomly attacked us while we were on the way back to the cave. They have weapons that will kill us. It’s no coincidence that someone attacked us and almost killed Rita. That same person knows about this warehouse full of weapons and the hunting that the humans are doing. We just need to figure out a mode of attack and defense.”
“So what now though?” Jaxson questioned.
“I’m gonna figure it out. But until then, none of the she-wolves are to leave the cave. For everyone else, no one is to leave the cave alone. ” The males were content with his decision, but the she-wolves were flabbergasted. Gemma, however, was the only one to speak up.
“You mean we have to be trapped in here?” she spoke out. Kellan looked at her.
“Did you not just hear me say that humans are hunting us? That less than an hour ago an arrow was being shot at me?”
“I know. But how long are we supposed to not leave? I had plans on going back to that lounge to work and make my own money!”
“There’s enough money in the account to support us all until we figure this out. But unless I give permission, then I don’t want anyone leaving this damn cave.” Kellan said it as his final word. He left from behind the table, but Gemma wasn’t finished with him.
“I’m going back to that lounge Kellan. Plus I have friends who are counting on seeing me!” the room was deathly quiet as Kellan stopped in his tracks. He turned around slowly and faced Gemma.
“Maybe you didn’t hear me, Gemma, but I said no one is leaving this cave without my permission. I’m not giving you permission to go to a fucking lounge in the middle of town where there are humans hunting us.”
“Well, I’ll take my chances Kellan. I want to go back to that lounge. I have to go back to that lounge.” Besides Tristan, music made her wolf placated. And she didn’t want to lose that part of her because of people hunting them down. Surely she could blend in as a human.
“I don’t have time for this shit,” Kellan waved her off. “You heard what the fuck I said. Break my rules if you fucking want to. See what happens to you.”
“Don’t threaten me!” She snapped. Her tone of voice let Kellan know that her wolf was emerging. He tilted his head and looked at her. Tristan stepped up then and grabbed Gemma by the arm.
“Cut it out,” he snapped. “He gave an order. That’s it.”
“That’s it? So again after what we did to Maverick, we’re bound to be treated like defenseless little girls. So what? We’re good enough to fuck and cook and clean, but we’re not good enough to fight our own battles? We have to be trapped in here because he said so? When we are more that capable of handling ourselves?”
“Gemma shut up,” Tristan gritted. “Are you out of your mind? That’s the fucking alpha you’re talking to. I can’t protect you if you go too far.” Gemma’s eyes began to glow. Her pretty mouth was filled with sharp teeth.
“Get your hands off me,” she snapped at Tristan, her voice deepened. But Tristan wasn’t going to let go.
“Kellan, it’s her wolf. She can’t control her,” Tristan spoke for Gemma. But Kellan didn’t care. He was staring at Gemma like a wolf ready to fight.
“Take your little wolf and get her out of my face,” Kellan finally said.
“Little?! You’re the one that can’t protect your own pack! So who’s the little one?!” She shouted at him.
“Oh hell,” Tristan sighed. He knew that simply by that statement she’d driven the nail in her coffin. But still, Tristan took Gemma by the arm and pulled her inside the living room. He went into the nearest tunnel even as she fought to go back out and give Kellan more lip.
“Gemma you need to take back control,” Tristan ordered. But Gemma’s eyes continued to glow, and she kept snarling.
“Gemma please…” Tristan realized that she wasn’t going to snap out of it. Not even having her mate in front of her was making her snap out of her anger. There was only one thing Tristan felt he could do.
Grabbing her by the back of her neck, he pulled her close to him and captured her lips with his. She gasped, and Tristan felt her wolf swoon before he saw the image of her wolf galloping happily. Gemma melted in his arms and slowly kissed him. She wasn’t experienced in kissing, but following his lead allowed for their kiss to be decent. His lips were so soft. It carried Gemma away making it feel as if she was floating. But then he pulled away, and she slowly drifted back down to earth.
“Oh my god,” she breathed. She rubbed his biceps. “I think I need to practice that some more in your bedroom.” Tristan gave her a look.
“What?” she asked.
“You don’t remember all the things you just said to Kellan?” He asked.
“I told him that I didn’t want to be cooped up, that’s all.” Tristan realized that anything she said when her wolf took over, she didn’t remember.
“Damn Gemma,” he sighed.
“What? What the hell did I say?” Tristan watched as her mouth dropped as he repeated the things she said.
“I’m in trouble aren’t I?” she asked stoically.
“Nah,” Tristan shook his head. “You ain’t in trouble. You’re in deep shit.” Gemma slapped her forehead. What the hell was she going to do about her damn wolf?! Knowing she couldn’t escape whatever was coming to her, she led the way out of the tunnels. Kellan was still standing in the dining area with the rest of the pack. Tristan was afraid of what would happen to Gemma. Everyone knew that Kellan wasn’t like Kameron, but Tristan remembered a time where Kellan talked back to his father about a ruling that Kameron gave. Kameron didn’t take it lightly that he was being disrespected in front of the whole pack. Kameron tied Kellan’s hands to a pole with silver cuffs and gave him lashes across his back. If an alpha could do that to his son for disrespect, Tristan couldn’t imagine what an alpha would do to any other wolf.
Gemma went to Kellan immediately and got down on her knees in front of him the ultimate sign of submission.
“Kellan, my wolf, took over, and I couldn�
�t control the things I was saying,” Gemma said. Kellan didn’t speak. He just looked down at her. Tristan saw the quiet contemplation in his eyes. This was not going to be good for Gemma.
“If there’s one thing I won’t tolerate, it’s disrespect,” Kellan finally spoke.
“I didn’t mean-”
“If you can disrespect your alpha Gemma, then that means you have a problem with the pack. Are you going to challenge me, Gemma?” Regardless of gender, a challenge to the alpha was going to be a full fledge fight.
“No,” she whispered.
“Think you can survive without me?” Kellan questioned.
“I-I didn’t-”
“You’re to spend three days and two nights outside of the cave. You’ll have no resources from the pack, and you are not invited back in until those three days are up.” Kellan looked at the rest of the pack.
“No one is to make contact with her, and if contact is made with her against my orders, I’ll take that as a direct challenge. And I don’t fight challenges until you give up. I fight challenges to the death.” Kellan looked at each wolf. They all bowed their heads in respect for his decision, including Tristan. Kellan looked back at Gemma.
“Get out,” he ordered.
“But I-”
“Get. Out.” He demanded. Gemma looked around at all the other wolves before she got up and scrambled away. Tristan heard her soft cries as she ran out of the cave. Tristan wanted to comfort her, but there was little he could do. What Gemma did was against pack rules. That’s why everyone stayed quiet. Kellan had every right to pass the punishment that he did. Bliss rubbed Kellan’s shoulders before backing off.
“Come Selena and Zander. Let’s show you the empty rooms,” Bliss said. She led the disperse of the crowd by taking Zander and Selena away. Tristan and Kellan were the only two left standing there.
“It’s dangerous out there,” Tristan whispered.
“I’m not going to let your mate die,” Kellan grunted before walking away.
Chapter Nine
Gemma sat with her knees against her chest under a large tree as rain beat down the earth around her. It was the last night of her punishment, and she couldn’t wait until the sun had risen. She was hungry, thirsty, and cold. She was afraid to shift because of the hunters in the woods, but when her body couldn’t handle the cold air anymore, she released her wolf. The fur on her animal kept her warm through the rainstorm. Her time alone outside of the cave gave her ample time to think about what she’d done. She had to get her wolf under control. Her wolf kept calm under two circumstances, being around her mate and music. But then Tristan had tried to stop her from blabbing at the mouth, and it didn’t work until he kissed her. She had no idea why her wolf was forever mad.
The sound of a twig snapping caught Gemma’s attention. Her wolf stood and looked around. With the rain, she couldn’t smell anything, but her vision was still perfect. She saw the bushes move and someone whisper. Then there was the whizzing of arrows. Gemma ducked out of the way and started running. She wasn’t going to try and fight anyone who had weapons enough to kill her. Instead of going in the direction of the cave, Gemma went the opposite way so if they followed her they wouldn’t be in the direction of their home. Gemma ran fast, but she heard footsteps behind her. How were humans even keeping up with her?
An arrow came from the direction in front of her. Gemma skidded to a stop and ducked. The arrow caught a piece of her ear. Her wolf whined in pain but still tried to run away, but each direction she turned to run; an arrow came from that direction. A gunshot expelled in the air. Pain rippled through Gemma’s hind leg. She fell to the ground hard. Knowing she couldn’t escape on her own, her wolf lifted it’s head to the sky and let out a gut-wrenching howl. Her howl was cut off by a pained cry, and an arrow was launched into her stomach. She felt the sting and burn of the silver immediately. A lone man came from the depths of the woods.
“We got her!” He shouted. And then more humans were coming from the woods. They had all surrounded her. Gemma thought for sure she was a dead wolf,but the ground shaking and the bark that erupted from above her meant otherwise. Kellan jumped from a treetop in wolf form. He pounced at the man in the center before knocking the other two men out with his paws. In what seemed like seconds, Kellan had ripped apart four human hunters until nothing was left but their shredded clothing. Panting, Kellan turned and looked at Gemma’s down wolf. He’d been trailing her since the start of her punishment, and she had held her own until that moment. Her howl let him know that she couldn’t fight back. Whether she was on punishment or not, she was still his wolf, and he wasn’t going to let a human kill her.
Staying in his wolf form, he pawed at her and lowered his body so she could climb onto his back. She whimpered and climbed onto his back. Once she was secure, Kellan trotted through the woods back towards the cave. He went a little faster knowing Gemma was hurt. Waiting at the mouth of the cave behind the waterfall was Jayce and Jaxson. Jayce lifted Gemma’s large animal and carried her into the cave while Kellan shifted and put on the pair of jeans waiting for him. Jayce carried Gemma all the way to one of the rooms Selena had took the initiative to turn into a recovery room. She was ready for Gemma the moment they entered. Jayce put Gemma on the large bed.
“Shift back,” Selena ordered her. Gemma forced herself to the front and pushed her wolf back. She shifted on the bed clutching her stomach. Selena removed the arrow and assessed her wounds. Tristan ran into the room in a panic.
“She’s gonna be fine,” Selena said to him immediately knowing he was full of worry. He let out a deep breath and stayed back to allow Selena to heal his mate. She was looking at the wound carefully. After assessing it, she took a deep breath then bent over and placed her mouth around the wound. She made a sucking noise as if she was sucking the blood out of Gemma. Gemma winced and groaned in pain as Selena continued to suck at her wound. After sucking as much as she could without breathing, Selena picked her head up and inhaled. Eye’s glowed as she ran her hands over Gemma’s wound. Before their eyes, Gemma’s wound stitched itself together.
“There you go,” Selena said patting Gemma on the stomach. Gemma sat up slowly.
“Thank you,” Gemma whispered. She looked at Kellan but quickly averted her eyes. She couldn’t face him knowing the things she’d said to him. Kellan was always nice to her as she was growing up and knowing he had to do something like banish her to be alone for three days let her know how much she’d fucked up.
“Your three days are up,” Kellan said to her. “Would you, however, prefer to follow my rules or to go out there on your own?”
“I’ll follow your rules,” Gemma mumbled.
“Good.”
“I know sometimes the rules aren’t what you always want,” Bliss spoke up. “But you have to just let it go and follow them. Be grateful for what you have Gemma, because without Kellan; those hunters would have killed you.” Gemma finally looked up. She stared right at Kellan who was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.
“Why didn’t you let them kill me?” she asked.
“You’re still part of this pack Gemma. Even if you pissed me off, I’ve sworn to protect you. Besides, you’re one of my best friend’s mates. I’d never let anyone hurt you.”
“I’m sorry Kellan. And I promise I will work on my wolf.” Kellan just nodded at her. He took Bliss’s hand and walked out of the room with her. Everyone else smiled at her before leaving the room. Tristan came over to the bed and smoothed her hair from her face.
“You look a hot mess,” he teased her. Gemma chuckled.
“You try staying out in the woods alone without a shower or clothes.” Tristan scooped her up in his arms and carried her in the direction of his bedroom. She couldn’t help but rub her cheek against his clean, trimmed beard. She’d missed his touch for three days, and she hadn’t heard his voice either. No doubt Kellan had forbidden anyone to make contact with her.
“You smell so good,” she sighed envelo
ping herself in his scent.
“You smell like leaves and rain,” he smiled down at her. “But I love it.” He took a long sniff of her hair before sighing in pleasure. Going into his bedroom, he closed the door with his foot. Again, he was placing her on his bed softly.
“Go on and take a shower,” he told her. Gemma didn’t object. She longed for a shower the first night she spent out there alone. It also pleased her wolf to be in Tristan’s bathroom. His scent was heavily captured in those walls, and it made her shower even more enjoyable. She spent about 45 minutes in the shower scrubbing the dirt from her nails, washing her hair, and scrubbing her body clean. When she emerged, Tristan was setting up a platter of food for her. He smiled at her the moment she came out of the bathroom. He handed her another one of his t-shirts.
“I know you’re hungry,” he commented. Her stomach growled in response. She pulled on his t-shirt and climbed onto the bed. He set the platter in front of her.
“Have at it,” he said.
“Have you eaten?” she questioned.
“Yes don’t worry about me. You need to eat.” Gemma didn’t question him. She devoured the steak and potatoes.
“You better eat those greens too,” he ordered as he rested back on the pillows and scrolled through his cell phone.
“Yes daddy,” she teased him.
“I’m sure you’ll be calling me that again when I’m busting your guts out,” he commented. That took Gemma for a surprise. She coughed on the greens and hurriedly swallowed them down before she choked. Tristan only patted her on the back casually. She whipped around and looked at him.
“What’d you just say?” she asked after she regained her breath.
“You heard me,” he shrugged. He winked at her then before looking back at his phone. Gemma just shook her head. Why was her mate so damned sexy?
She finished eating her food quietly, her mind going crazy with thoughts about the comment he’d just made. She was both curious and aroused at the same time. The more she thought about it, the more her imagination soared, and that meant her breasts got heavy, and her nipples began to thump. When her food was finished, Tristan took the platter from her and left the bedroom to return it to the kitchen. Gemma rested back on the pillows feeling heat gather at her core. What was he going to do when he returned? Was he going to spread her legs and finally make love to her? Just the thought of it had Gemma about to burst out of her skin. She felt her heat coming on, and her cycle wasn’t even due back for now.
