Finally, he stopped and broke away. Aaron held her gaze, his chest heaving slightly, and brought his wet fingers to his tongue. A shiver tore through her at the sight.
Soon he came down to rest beside her again, and this time his arms were gentle as he pulled her close. Rachael clung to him. Bewilderment mixed with terrible desire muddled her thoughts. The only coherent one she had was, What was that all about?
Once both their hearts calmed, Aaron murmured, “It might be some time before we can be alone again. I hope that will tide you over.”
Not even close. If anything she tingled in her desire for more of him. Instead of saying so, Rachael nuzzled into him and kissed his sternum.
All too soon they had to untangle themselves and head for the shower. Staring at his naked body, Rachael wondered what he would do if she grabbed his cock and blew him right there.
But they had to hurry—and she didn’t think she could keep a happy face if he rejected her.
Normally Aaron might have noticed her downward shift in mood, but he was preoccupied with hurrying along. Once their quick cleansing was over, he toweled off and headed back out to change. Rachael hung behind to run a brush through her wet hair.
By the time she made it back into the bedroom and found some clothes to throw on, her boyfriend was already dressed, including a pair of polished shoes. Rachael dug into a back of new clothes they had purchased the night before. In their rush to leave the compound she hadn’t been able to take any personal affects with her, and anything else she owned was either back at Holden’s northern Nevada home or in her apartment in Seattle—if she hadn’t been served with an eviction notice by now.
They had purchased lightly, one outfit for everyone, and all she had was underwear, shorts, ankle socks, and a plain violet T-shirt. Not that she was one to complain about meager belongings, but there was a disturbing quality to how little personal possessions she and the pack could take on the run. Almost as though they should expect to be off the grid for a while.
As soon as she was decent, she looked to Aaron and said, “I’m going to check on Jackie and Eva.”
Aaron nodded, his hand on the knob of the adjoining door. “Do not take too long.”
“I won’t,” she promised before slipping into the hallway.
Rachael padded down toward the far stairs. They had been unable to obtain rooms on the same floors on such short notice. Only Nathan and Ana Sofia’s presence and Aaron’s generosity to compensate any other guests for the inconvenience had helped them get the room they had.
Four floors up she quickly located the room she needed. Rachael knocked firmly.
Within moments the door opened to reveal Eva. Her hair, too, was wet. She took one glance at Rachael and said mildly, “We’ll be ready in a minute.”
“Aaron’s getting Nathan and Ana Sofia up,” said Rachael. “I think we have a few minutes.”
Eva nodded. “Then we’ll be down in two.” She shut the door.
Rachael could see why Aaron had appreciated Eva so quickly upon bringing her into his pack three years ago. She was quick, abrupt, and to the point. It surprised Rachael that she was Jackson’s type—personality-wise, at least. Physically she was definitely his type.
Then again, she thought wryly as she made her way back, who would have thought Aaron her type? Rachael hadn’t been interested in boys very much until she met Holden. But once he’d murdered her best friend, Rachael had been repulsed by him. Inevitably his betrayal had brought her closer to his then-alpha, and... well, the rest was history.
Meandering back to the stairs—the elevator was a bad idea, Aaron had explained, as anybody who saw one of them get in could stop it on another floor and attack—Rachael was relieved to see that in spite of the early morning there were still people. Should anything go wrong, most lycans would be hesitant to commit violence in a crowd of humans.
She pulled open the weighted door to the stairwell and began to descend in silence. A peculiar feeling tugged at her chest. Rachael stopped halfway back to her intended floor, glancing up and down nervously.
Nothing. Great. Paranoia was setting in.
Yet she was uneasy as she continued her descent. The stairwell echoed its emptiness until she reached the door. Rachael looked both up and down again and, upon finding nobody, pushed the knob down and the door open.
She caught a flash of rust-red hair before a force knocked her back. The door swung shut with eerie calm for its heavy weight. Rachael grunted as her back slammed the adjacent wall. A warm, large hand clamped over her mouth—and that familiar scent. Tremors overtook her as she raised her eyes to meet the oceanic storm of blue, green, and gold before her.
Holden pinned her to the wall with his other hand, squeezing her throat. Rachael gasped but didn’t try to scream. She already knew she couldn’t.
How did he know we were here?
He stared at her for a long moment before a strange smile curved his lips. “You know, Ray, you should have a talk with Aaron about his strategies. They’re pretty predictable.” He sniffed and then grimaced. “Plus, that. Geez, you guys are on the run and you still reek of him. His sense of consequence is slipping. Do you still find that attractive?”
She glared at him.
“Look,” continued Holden with chilling ease. “Lacey’s furious with me. And quite honestly, I’m pissed with you, myself. No matter what else happened, Sage was still mine.” His fingers tightened around her throat until Rachael coughed into his hand. Holden hardly seemed to notice. “She was of my pack. And I’d already lost Nadine. I thought you’d be more sympathetic than that.”
Sage and Lacey had plotted to kill her literally behind Holden’s back. Not that she could tell him that with his iron-like grip on her neck.
Holden sighed. “Lacey wants me to kill you. And I get it. You’ve been a weakness for me, Ray.” His eyes flared. “God damn it, but I still love you. I don’t know why. I want to kill you when I think about poor Sage, but then I remember you when you were younger and I have to wonder: is that Ray still there?” He leaned close until their noises almost touched, and his breath washed a sickly warmth over her face. “Is Aaron’s ‘little ray of sunshine’ still in there?”
Rachael focused more on trying to get a proper breath than answering.
With a shake of his head, Holden murmured, “Guess it doesn’t matter. Point is, Lacey wants you dead. And while I don’t disagree, I just can’t do it. Besides, she’s been a frigid bitch lately. She thinks she can call all the shots, but I am the alpha.”
The coldness his tone took on frightened her more than his fury. Holden had always been one to lose his temper, so on the occasion he went icy it scared her on a more primal level.
“But then I had this idea,” continued Holden with a playful grin. “See, I clearly can’t take on Aaron. Not directly, and not right now. He’s too strong. He has too much, and I have too little. So I have to make him weaker.”
Rachael mumbled. Holden finally appeared to realize he was hindering her ability to speak, and he lifted the hand from her mouth.
“What was that?” he asked softly.
After drawing in a thin, reedy breath, Rachael choked out, “So hurry up and kill me.”
Sympathy softened his features. Holden toyed with a lock of her damp hair. “No, Ray,” he said quietly. “That’s too easy—for both of you.”
She stared at him in bewilderment.
Holden inhaled deeply, as though just looking at her saddened him with nostalgia. The gold in his eyes glittered as he said, “I guess the only question after this is, will Aaron come after me to finish me off once and for all, or will he stay behind for you?”
Then, to Rachael’s horror, the bones and tendons in Holden’s face began to crackle and snap. She attempted to scream but he just shoved his hand harder into her neck until she couldn’t breathe at all. Rachael’s head began to swim, and her vision darkened with dancing butterflies as she fought against him.
Nothing she did cou
ld stop Holden from sinking jagged wolf teeth into her shoulder.
Ͼ
A foreboding sensation swept over Aaron. He checked his watch and frowned. Rachael shouldn’t have been gone more than five minutes, six tops, and yet she was pushing seven in her absence.
Shortly, he said, “Ana Sofia, help Nathan pack. We leave in two minutes.”
“Sí, Hermano.”
Leaving the children to their own devices would be a terrible idea—if they were human. But they were lycan, and the only human in their midst was suspiciously absent. Aaron strode out the door and allowed it to fall shut behind him. His upper lip curled; the hall was filthy with varying stenches of human.
But he could still smell Rachael. That was both helpful and concerning.
Before he could follow her, two familiar figures entered his periphery. Aaron turned to Jackson and Eva, dimly approving of the single gym bag Jackson had slung over his shoulder. Without a word he nodded to his door. Jackson nodded back and knocked. Soon it cracked open, and he and Eva slipped inside.
That taken care of, Aaron strode with purpose to the furthest stairwell. He flung the door open and initially saw nothing. Then he glanced to his left and saw her sitting propped up against the wall, her eyes closed. Her chest rose and fell with shallow, uneven breaths, and blood smattered her shirt.
Cursing was never more appropriate to Aaron than in that moment. He hurriedly knelt beside her and pulled her torn shirt aside to inspect the damage.
His heart sank upon recognizing the lycan bite.
“Rachael.” She stirred but didn’t wake. Aaron bit down on his impatience and fear. If he shook her he might just hurt her worse. “Rachael!”
Finally, her eyes opened. They looked hazy and distant; no surprise, as the infection began to take hold. Suddenly she cried out and scrambled as though to bolt up, but her legs buckled. Aaron swiftly caught her and attempted to hold her close, which Rachael made difficult with her struggling.
“No, no, no,” she moaned, slowly going limp again. “Holden....”
Blind, white-hot rage swept over him at the name. It took everything Aaron had not to leave her there and hunt down his former charge.
How had he missed Holden’s scent? Once she said his name, Aaron realized the stench was everywhere. He’d been so focused on Rachael all else had fallen to the wayside.
He was slipping. Aaron ground his teeth and forced his mind to focus.
If he went into the hall with Rachael in this state, and any humans saw, the police would be notified. Even if it was an enormous city, the cops in Reno weren’t likely to drag their feet on a call describing a young woman covered in blood carried by a scary-looking man.
Instead, Aaron gingerly set her back on the floor before unbuttoning his shirt and removing it. He draped it over her bloodied shoulder and stooped to pick her up. Rachael’s ragged breath cooled on his neck as he locked one arm beneath her legs so he could cradle her. Somewhat awkwardly, he used that hand to pull the door open. He then stepped into the hallway and carried her back to their room. For the time being they probably looked like a couple returning from a wild night out.
He hoped.
Aaron kicked at his door. Almost immediately it flew open to reveal Jackson. The young man’s eyes widened and he hurried to allow Aaron in before swiftly shutting the door behind him.
“What the hell happened?” Jackson demanded in a rising voice.
Aaron ignored him and placed Rachael on the off-white sheets of the hotel bed. She flopped limply. Her skin began to flush with fever, and beads of sweat dotted her forehead.
The adjoined door swung open and almost immediately a keening wail met his ears. “Miss Rachael!”
Ana Sofia joined Nathan in the doorway. Her small, dark eyes widened. But when Nathan tried to rush forward she grabbed his wrist and held him still.
Nathan glared at his friend. “Let go!”
Softly, Ana Sofia said, “Cálmate.” Her glare juxtaposed her tone, and for some reason was enough to root Nathan to the ground beside her. The boy’s face reddened but he stayed in place as he stared at Rachael, his expression tumultuous.
Jackson rushed to his sister’s side to check her pulse. Once he found it, he breathed out harshly and turned confusedly to his alpha. “Boss, what the fuck?”
“I do not know. I found her in the stairwell,” said Aaron with far more calm than he felt.
Jackson stared at him incredulously. “But we took the stairs. Right after she left. We couldn’t have missed her.”
Beside her husband, Eva closed her eyes briefly. “She took the furthest flight,” she murmured. “We should have thought of that and split up.”
Yes, you should have, Aaron wanted to snap. But assigning blame wasn’t going to get them anywhere. Instead he stared down at his girlfriend’s body.
He needed to amend their strategy. Originally his plan had been to get them to the Sierra Nevada, but being out in harsh outdoor elements would only hurt Rachael. Until the transition was complete, she was effectively still human—albeit fighting a terrible, oft-times life-threatening illness.
Aloud, he said, “There is no use considering what could have been done. Focus on what comes next. We shall have to remain here for some time.”
“But we’ll be found,” pointed out Jackson.
Aaron closed his eyes briefly, and then shone a sardonic smile at his charge. “What a brilliant observation, Jackson. You are correct: if we remained here we would be found.”
Jackson reddened as he realized his error.
Satisfied he now understood, Aaron said, “We cannot leave Reno. She cannot handle long treks, and she must be kept as comfortable as possible.”
Both Jackson and Ana Sofia nodded solemnly. Their transitions were recent enough that they could recall them with clarity. Eva appeared doubtful but kept her thoughts to herself, and Nathan....
As much as his younger brother’s adoration of Rachael unsettled Aaron, in that moment he could utterly empathize with Nathan’s agonizing concern.
Quietly, Aaron said, “I am going to see what other arrangements I can make. Nathan, Everest, remain with Rachael.” Eva grimaced at the use of her full name, but didn’t argue. “Jackson and Ana Sofia, you are to be with me.”
It seemed disrespectful, even a tad gruesome, but Aaron removed his shirt from Rachael’s still form. A small smear of blood dotted the inside of his collar. He slipped into it anyway, quickly fastening the buttons so the stain remained hidden.
“Understood,” said Jackson. He looked as though he didn’t want to leave his sister’s side, but by his expression toward his wife, he felt just as comfortable leaving them together. He kissed the top of Eva’s head, who endured it with mild discomfort in front of the others.
Before they could leave, Nathan stopped him just inside the door. The boy lowered his voice so only Aaron could hear, and met his eyes solemnly as he said, “Why are you leavin’ me with her? You know I....” His voice trailed off.
Aaron stared down at his brother, into eyes so similar yet so much different than his own. Part of him hoped Nathan never lost his open, loving quality as Aaron himself had.
Mutedly, Aaron said, “That is precisely why I trust you to take care of her.” They both understood what that meant, given Nathan’s past transgressions and how he’d infected Ana Sofia behind Aaron’s back.
Nathan hesitated, but then nodded with stern determination.
“If anything happens, get her out of here. I do not care when,” said Aaron louder, so Eva could also hear, “only that you call me once you are all safe.”
The two nodded. Nathan left his brother’s side to be at Rachael’s.
An odd sense of jealousy coursed through Aaron. It should be him who stayed with her.
But he was the alpha. It was his job to take care of everybody, and even in this situation he couldn’t afford to play favorites. Right now it was his responsibility to ensure the safety of the pack.
He could
only hope Rachael made it through the infection in the long run.
Chapter Four
Holden hadn’t felt so powerful in weeks. As he drove back to Wells, he reveled in the sensation.
His meager pack couldn’t stay in their tiny house, he knew. They had been left alone thus far, but after what he’d done, Aaron was certain to seek revenge. Fortunately, Holden had planned for that inevitability. He already had Lacey looking for new space closer to Reno, though he hadn’t told her why. When he’d left, she had remained oblivious to his plans—and to the fact he had screwed Laelia.
He knew it was wrong, but Holden felt savage satisfaction that he’d gotten away with it. By the time he’d reached Reno, he had already decided he needed to have a sit-down with his girls and explain that he was abolishing the position of Primary. Lacey would be enraged, he knew, especially once his and Laelia’s copulation came to light.
But that was going to be her decision, he decided. If Lacey wanted to leave, then she was free. If she wanted to stay, then she had to accept that Holden held no Primary.
He was an alpha. Not a hostage.
While a lot of his plan had banked on Aaron remaining behind with Rachael, a part of Holden was disappointed his former alpha had not chosen to hunt him down in the heat of anger. Props to him, he supposed, but it would have made things simple. Aaron rarely, if ever, lost his cool. Taking him on in the midst of a rampage likely would have made Holden’s life a lot easier.
Oh well, he thought. C’est la vie.
He drove into Wells close to noon, and after passing it by found the turn-off to his lonely home. Perhaps it was not so lonely now. Though in the middle of the desert with the nearest form of human life over four miles away, he had come to think of it as his standalone fortress once more.
It was a shame he’d have to get rid of it.
Holden hummed to himself as he pulled in front of the house, kicking up dust behind him as he came to a halting stop. He exited the car without bothering to lock it, unable to keep a grin off his face as he walked through the front door.
Pact of the Pack Page 4
