by Ella Grey
“Please be careful.” The words were spoken in a whisper, but he still caught them.
He reached out and touched her knee. There was nothing he could say that would make her happy. Her worry was thick in the air. “I will. Will you promise me that you won’t leave the car?” He wouldn’t be able to function properly if he had to worry about her.
“I promise.”
Chapter Eight
Beth’s heart was in her throat. She could barely look at David. The fear she felt was trying to override every ounce of common sense she had. She bit her thumb and waited for the moment David stopped the car. Seconds of waiting became minutes, and, for a second, she didn’t think he was going to stop. That he’d changed his mind. Damn, she wanted him to change his mind. He seemed so sure about how everything was going to play out, and she wished that she shared his confidence.
He guided the car onto the side of the road and stopped the engine. Her breath caught, and her eyes burned. Suddenly, she reached out and grabbed his arm; muscles flexed underneath her hand. Strong. He was strong and brave, and for whatever reason he loved her. That still didn’t make any sense to her. How could he love her if he didn’t know her?
It’s the mating bond. He loves you, and you love him, too. It raised an interesting question. If the bond wasn’t there, would he be doing this for her? Would they have still ended up in the same situation?
“What is it?”
She closed the distance between them and kissed him. She poured all her emotions into that moment. The fear that sat in the pit in her stomach like a rock. The future she wanted to have with this amazing man. He touched her neck, and some of the tension left her. His caress was gentle, like he might break her. After a second, he broke the kiss, and there was an otherworldly glow to his eyes, like his animal was just on the surface.
“You’re going to see something that might scare you. Just know that it’s still me, even if it doesn’t look like me.”
“Okay.”
David smiled at her and opened the door. Beth twisted in her chair and watched him lean against the side of the car.
****
The car that had been following them skidded to a halt. David waited as the men got out of the car. He flexed his fingers, and the wild energy that was an echo of his wolf swirled inside of him. It had been about a month since he let his wolf out to play. He hadn’t wanted to risk running around Harper. The town was small, and a stray wolf would draw unwanted attention. No, it was safer to keep him under wraps until he got away from very human eyes.
A shifter was larger than the average wolf, and he hoped that its presence alone would scare the men away. Ideally, he didn’t want to kill them, but his wolf had no qualms about hurting the men who had wanted to kill their mate. The men looked at each other and then walked towards him. Neither of them had drawn their guns, but David knew that they were there. Guns had a unique scent to them, one that was hard to miss.
David pushed himself off the car and walked to meet them. Kelvin glared at him. The other guy wasn’t someone he’d met before. Whereas Beth’s partner was rough, with long, black hair brushed back to reveal a cruel smile and a sharp, angular face, the new guy wore a suit, but he smelled instantly recognizable.
Someone like me.
The strange man took a deep breath and frowned. He tilted his head to the side as he studied David. There was something inhuman and very familiar about the movement. Realization dawned his eyes. “What pack are you from?” Kelvin frowned, but as he opened his mouth to say something, the man raised his hand, cutting him off. “I’m not talking to you.”
Was it possible that the shifter hadn’t known he’d been hunting his own? There were laws in place, ones that discouraged conflict between their kind. David couldn’t even remember the last time there had been all-out war. Battles could hardly be kept hidden in today’s world of smartphones and social media. The world wasn’t ready to discover the creatures that lived on the outskirts of it. There might be rumors, myths, and legends but no concrete proof. They had to keep it that way. That said, no one knew where David was right now. No one would know if he had died by the hands of a shifter. He clenched his hands into fists.
“Coldwater.”
“You’re a long way from home.”
David nodded. “What’s your name?”
“Parker, I’m from the Red Paw Pack.”
David had heard of them. Wolves from Yellowstone Park. “You’re a long way from home yourself.”
The shifter called Parker shrugged. “I was visiting family in Harper. I needed to say goodbye.” There was a real sadness in his gaze. Whoever the man lost had been important to him.
“He isn’t a nice guy,” David said, nodding at Kelvin.
“I know that, but it’s been a difficult time. I needed something else to focus on.” He glared at Kelvin, and the man went several shades paler. “He didn’t explain everything to me, just said that Temple wanted to talk to your girl, and I have a funeral to pay for.” He rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed. “Those things aren’t cheap for humans. Our process is much simpler but try explaining a pyre to the human authorities.”
“I’m sorry that you’re going through this, but you know that I can’t give her up.” David meant it as well. He’d lost a lot of men when he first joined the military, and he hadn’t seen his human family for a very long time. They all thought that he was dead. It would hurt too much for them to learn the truth.
“What the hell are you two talking about? We’re here to do a job,” Kelvin said, clearly confused, and pulled his gun.
David’s reflexes took over, his inhuman celerity allowing him to both move right in front of the hapless man and grab his hand. He squeezed. Kelvin screamed. The gun hit the ground as David felt fragile fingerbones break underneath his grip.
He looked at Parker. “I’m guessing Temple wants Beth because of the botched van robbery. Did Kelvin tell you that he was the one who fucked up?”
Parker smiled, and it wasn’t a particularly nice one. “No, that wasn’t the story he told Temple at all. I knew I smelled something odd, but it wasn’t my place to say anything. Hard to explain the whole being able to sniff a lie to a human.”
“Let me go,” Kelvin screamed. David shook him, and the man went limp, his senses stunned from the pain.
“I’ll let you both go, but you know if you go after her, I’m going to kill you. I don’t want to.” He looked at Kelvin, whose eyes were closed, and he shook him again, waking him up. “Well, I couldn’t care less about you, but if we fight.” He looked at Parker. “You know that’ll end in a war.”
“She’s just a human woman. Would you risk war because of something so trivial?” There was something in his gaze, a challenge.
David stepped towards him, not backing down in the slightest. His wolf wanted out, and he growled. He could take him. It wouldn’t be easy or pretty. Hell, it could get messy, but if he took him down, Beth would be safe. That was all that mattered to him. “She isn’t just some human woman. She’s my mate.”
Understanding seemed to dawn in Parker’s eyes, and he glared at Kelvin. “God, you’re an idiot.” He smiled and raised his hands in surrender. “Only a madman would come between a shifter and their other half. What are you going to do?”
“Take her back to my pack. Temple will never have to see her again, and we won’t go after him. Deal?”
Parker nodded. “What about you? Are you going to be a problem?” He nudged Kelvin. David dropped him, and he landed with a thud.
The man held his destroyed hand to his chest. “I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about, but if I go back without her, Temple will kill me.”
“From what I can tell, you’re the one who screwed up. Which means you should be the one punished for it, not her.” Parker looked down at him. “I won’t have an innocent woman’s blood on my hands.”
David glanced back at the car. Beth was watching them. He caught the moment her eyes went wid
e. The other shifter said something, a warning before he turned around again.
Kelvin was suddenly back on his feet again. The gun was now back in his hand, and he aimed it wildly. David shifted, his body working on instinct. The gun went off once, twice, but none of the bullets hit him. David’s hand became a claw, and instead of changing into his wolf form, he stopped mid-shift.
Kelvin looked up, his eyes wide. “What the hell are you?”
In the half-wolf form David towered over him. His mouth was now more snout-like, and he roared. The smell of urine reached his nose, and he noted the dark puddle spreading out underneath the now terrified man’s feet. David swiped at him, and his claws ripped into his throat. His mouth opened, and three thin red lines appeared before the wounds spread out and blood gushed out. It made the black t-shirt he wore shiny and slick, and he collapsed to the ground, holding his throat as if he thought it might stop the flow.
David smiled. He knew that it wasn’t the greatest last sight for a dying man. If anything, it was probably horrific. David had seen the sight once in a mirror when he’d been curious. Kelvin collapsed onto his face, and blood spread out, staining the dusty ground.
Back at their car, Beth screamed.
Chapter Nine
Beth opened the car door and fell out onto the sand. She could barely breathe. Her chest hurt to the point in brought tears to her eyes with every rise and fall of her chest. David was suddenly next to her with the man who’d been in the car with Kelvin. David looked different, but it was hard to make out his features through her blurred vision. It was like trying to look through water. The pain was unlike anything she’d ever felt before, and the worst thing she’d experienced up to now was stubbing her toe.
“What happened?” he asked, leaning forward and touching her face.
“I don’t know. My back hurts.” The other man turned her around and touched her back. Beth screamed again.
“She’s been shot.”
“I can’t breathe.” She managed to get the words out before her vision went completely dark.
****
David shifted back into his human form. Beth was becoming paler, and Parker had removed his jacket. He folded it up into a square and placed it underneath her back. A small sound of pain escaped her lips, but she didn’t open her eyes. They were too far away from a hospital. David had wanted to make sure there was plenty of distance between them and anyone else to make sure that nobody got caught in the crossfire.
“She’s fading fast.”
He knew that. The beat of her heart slowed. The bullet had hit something vital. David glanced up at the skies. What was he supposed to do? The rules were there for a reason, but only a devil could have planned that it would end this way. It was too cruel.
“David, what are you going to do?”
He brushed the dark strands of her hair away from her face and leaned down, his lips close to her ear. “I’m sorry, Beth.”
And without another thought, he bit her. She didn’t even flinch. And when her blood filled her mouth, he bit hard down on his tongue. The blood mingled together. She tasted sweet against his tongue, and it didn’t take long for his self-made wound to heal. He picked her up and awkwardly laid her out on the backseat. She barely moved. There was no telling how long it would take for his blood to take effect. There was a chance it wouldn’t. She’d lost a lot of hers, but he had to try. Either way he looked at it, he’d changed her life completely. He hoped that she could forgive him.
“Where are you going to go?”
“Back to my pack. I’ll either be burying her there or introducing her to my world. I could use some help keeping an eye on her.” He looked down at Beth. She looked small and vulnerable. She’d always looked that way to him. A human. How could he have fallen for her so completely? Their worlds were so different. At least they had been.
Parker looked surprised. “Are you serious?”
David opened the car door and looked at him over the top of it. “Do you have anything tying you in Harper? Come with me now, and then you can go back to your own pack if you want to. I need someone to keep an eye on her as we travel. Just in case she gets worse.” Damn, he really hoped that she wouldn’t get worse. There were a lot of miles between them and the nearest town. Besides his blood there wasn’t much he could do, and sometimes even supernatural blood was not enough
“Have you ever changed anyone before?”
There weren’t many rules that shifters lived by, but one of the big ones was infecting humans with shifter genes, specifically not changing them. Not everyone survived the change. He only hoped he’d been quick enough. “It’s dangerous, but I didn’t have a choice.”
****
A forest. A moonless sky but filled with stars. Where’s the light coming from? Beth glanced from side to side. There were tall trees, with what seemed like endless shadows between them. The grass was cold and wet underneath her now-bare feet, and she wriggled her toes. Beth frowned as she found herself walking down a stone path. There was nothing familiar about the place she was in, and she had no clue to where that was. She walked without purpose. At the end of the path something shimmered on the floor.
A pool of water. She stopped in front of it and knelt. Her fingers trembled as she reached out to it. The tip of her fingers broke the surface. Warm. Thick to the touch. Blood? Flashes of memories hit her. The man who had more secrets than she did, with a mouth filled with teeth. Kelvin’s body on the ground. It hadn’t been the two of them. Kelvin had a partner, a man that she had never seen before.
Every part of her hurt. Even in her dreamlike state she could feel it. It was unlike anything she had felt before. Like hot lava being poured through her veins. Burning her. A million wounds that nobody else could see but she knew they were there.
What’s happening to me?
Nobody answered her. The silence was deafening. She clutched the side of her head and started to rock. The whole situation was hopeless. Stuck in an unknown place. David had vanished, and all she had was herself and her thoughts.
A howl ripped through the air. Beth glanced up. On the other side of the pool of blood a wolf stood, watching her. Beth scrambled back, shocked by its sudden appearance. Blue eyes framed by black fur studied her, and Beth scuttled further away from it. It stepped through the blood. Each step fell heavy as it moved without urgency. Like it knew Beth couldn’t get away from it. As it moved out of the pool it left bloody footprints. Beth tried to move away again, but the wolf growled, a low rumble in the base of its throat. She froze. It was probably a bad idea to make eye contact with an animal that was looking at her with hunger in its eyes, but Beth couldn’t look away.
It was only when it got inches away from her that Beth closed her eyes. The seconds ticked passed. The killing blow didn’t come. Something damp nudged her knee. Beth opened her eyes again, now bewildered. Her stomach was in knots, but stopped short of voiding its contents, this time.
“Hello?” She reached out. Her hand shook, but she touched the side of the wolf’s neck. The fur was soft underneath her fingers, and some of her nerves left her. The wolf closed its eyes and leaned into her touch. “You’re beautiful.” The words left her in a whisper, and she had no clue if the beast understood her, but it did make a noise that sounded a lot like a purr. “I didn’t even know wolves could purr.”
The wolf lay down at her feet, resting its large head on her toes. It chased the cold away. A bond formed between them, and suddenly Beth came to the realization that she wasn’t lunch. No, she was something much more than that to the creature curled in front of her. Something that shouldn’t have been possible.
She recognized a part of herself in the wolf’s gaze.
Very carefully she reached down and rubbed a spot behind the creature’s ear. “I know you, don’t I?”
A feeling spread through her. Acceptance. Beth was aware, somehow, that it wasn’t from her own mind. The wolf accepted her, and for some reason that was incredibly important. It got to
its hind legs and leaned forwards; Beth kept herself very still as it rested its forehead against hers. The fur tickled her nose, and she fought against the urge to sneeze.
“Can you help me get out of here?”
All you must do is accept me as part of you. The voice wasn’t hers. It was rich, almost velvety against her skin.
Beth kept her eyes closed even as her heart raced. “Where am I?” It was madness to talk to the wolf, but she talked to her first.
In your mind. In the real world you’re still in the back of the car.
It was a dream? Beth had never had one so vivid before. “And if I accept you?”
Then you’ll wake up.
Was that the only thing that was stopping her? What would it mean to accept that the creature in front of her was a part of her? How was that even possible?
Because of David. There’s something different about him. He did mention he was a shifter. That he could change into a wolf. Did the wolf in front of her have something to do with him?
“Okay, I accept you.”
I accept you, too.
Chapter Ten
David knew the precise moment when Beth woke up. The atmosphere in the car changed completely. They weren’t far away from Coldwater. Maybe another half an hour, and, oh boy, had the last four hours been the longest of his life. Parker kept his promise and rarely took his eyes off his mate, but David had been acutely aware of her breathing. The change was different for everyone. David didn’t remember the precise moment his wolf accepted him, but then his change had been traumatic.
“How are you feeling?” he heard Parker ask, behind him.
David kept his eyes on the road, but he tightened his grip on the steering wheel. The urge to stop the car and look at her, to pull her into his arms and promise everything was going to all right, nearly overwhelmed him. It was more than that; his wolf wanted to claim her. Parker’s presence was the only thing stopping him from pulling the car to the side of the road and doing so. That was the last thing that she needed. The kisses they’d shared before stoked a fire inside of him, teasing them both with what it would be like between them.
