Betrayed
Sandrine Gasq-Dion Dedication
To my family
Jenjo, Kim and Jen My LRO readers and the
newest ones
Kenneth Carter for the cover © Copyright 2012 This is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or business
establishments, events or locales is coincidental. All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. WARNING: This book contains material that maybe offensive to some: Violence, graphic language, homosexual relations, and adult situations.
~PROLOGUE~
~~CHAPTER ONE~~ ~~CHAPTER TWO~~ ~~CHAPTER THREE~ ~~CHAPTER FOUR~~ ~~CHAPTER FIVE~~ ~~CHAPTER SIX~~ ~~CHAPTER SEVEN~~ ~EPILOGUE~
~Prologue~
“Jesus!” Logan shouted, swinging his long sword just in time to hit the rogue that was about to land on him. “What the hell?”
“There’s a lot more of them than we thought!” Tristan spun around, his short swords passing through the neck area of another rogue.
“Ya don’t say?” Jacob snarled.
“How many more?” Seth crouched down, avoiding another rogue trying to kill him.
Locke eyed the cave; he couldn’t be sure how many more were coming from the long tunnel that connected with what seemed like a maze of tunnels.
“We won’t know for sure until all the tunnels have been searched,” Locke said.
“Watch your back!” Logan hit the floor, rolling under the rogue that had jumped at him. He sliced through the rogue’s neck.
They’d come to Arizona on the tip that a rogue’s nest had been found in the many mines that spread beneath the desert. What they had found had been a nest all right. More than twenty of the damned things had attacked them upon entering the darkened cave. He, Locke, Tristan Miles, Jacob Steele and Seth Ralston had been killing rogues for months.
This particular nest was extremely nasty. The fighters all wore the same gear for the fights: karate pants and tank tops. But the one accessory that was an absolute must was the gear they wore from hand to elbow. It was what divers used to swim with sharks, and it protected them from rogue bites to the hands and arms.
Logan spun around and was back to back with Locke as five more rogues ran out of the shadows.
“I hope you ate your Wheaties,” Jacob grinned.
The fight lasted another thirty minutes. Logan exited the cave to the Arizona sun beating down on them without mercy. He looked at his comrades, wiping his forehead.
“Well that was —” Logan stopped and his mouth dropped open. “Locke…” Logan nodded behind the guys.
Locke turned to see a man running from the caves. “Hey!” Locke shouted.
The man turned for a spilt second, but it was all Logan needed to identify him. It was a man his friend Chance thought was dead: Pierce Barnes. Two rogues ran up next to the man snarling at Logan and his team.
“What the fuck?” Logan whispered.
“You’d be smart to stay away from us from now on. Next time, we won’t be so forgiving,” Pierce shouted.
“He’s a fucking werewolf,” Jacob snarled.
“With excellent hearing,” Pierce shouted. “Last warning: Leave us alone.”
“Not going to happen, asshole!” Seth shouted back.
“Well then,” Pierce cocked his head to the side. “Until we meet again.”
And with that Pierce and his rogues disappeared. Logan turned to see Locke in the same shocked state as himself.
“I thought he was dead. Chance said—”
“He is dead, Logan. He’s with the rogues now.” Locke bit off. “Both of us know what happens when you’re bitten; it may not happen right away, but in the end…”
“How do we tell Chance this? It’s going to kill him.”
“We don’t,” Locke sighed. “We both know that he’ll want to help Pierce and he’ll get himself killed in the process. No. We keep this to ourselves.”
“Locke…” Logan ran his hands over his face.
“He’s right,” Jacob nodded in agreement. “If you tell Chance that Pierce is alive, it won’t matter to him if he’s rogue or not, he’ll want to save him.”
“We can’t keep going this route, we need help.” Seth stretched his arms out.
“I’ve heard a rumor,” Tristan began. “There’s a pack in Denali; the alpha is a created one.”
“No shit?” Locke’s eyes went wide. “I thought that was all fairy tale shit.”
Tristan shook his head. “Nope, I got a heads up from an old friend of mine. His pack is asking to merge.”
“This could solve a lot of problems,” Locke said, glancing at Logan. “We should do the same.”
“Let’s get this area cleaned out first, and then we can worry about merging,” Tristan said, looking at the setting sun. “Jackson will be expecting a report.”
“So, next week’s card game still on?” Logan grinned.
“Bring the beer and you’ve got a deal,” Tristan slapped him on the back.
~~Chapter one~~
Two years later…. Logan’s arms burned with pain as he pushed himself to his limits. They were going out again to hunt rogues and he needed to be at his best. Wayne’s lupine blood coursed through his veins, making him stronger and faster than he’d ever been. Having the blood from a created one had made a difference. He’d worked hard to get his body in its best physical shape. Taking martial arts for years had helped with his agility and now he killed with lightning-fast speed.
Logan spun around, taking another rogue head off of a target with his long sword. The plan had been to fight the rogues in human form instead of wolf; there was less chance of being bitten. They still wore their gloves at every single fight.
Logan concentrated on the next target, envisioning Pierce Barnes’ face on it. He took the head off with one quick flick of his wrist. Chance thought Pierce was dead and, God help him, Logan had wanted that to be true. After spending months in Chance’s company, Logan had come to realize he was in love with the warlock. It had taken him by surprise, to say the least. His previous relationships had been with females, the last one being a woman named Shana.
Logan closed his eyes, thinking about the woman he’d had to kill. She had turned rogue thanks to her addiction to drugs. Always looking for a fix, Shana had gone into the wrong neighborhood and run into the wrong dealer. Logan had finally found her in an alley, bite marks on her neck and a needle in her arm. He’d tried and tried to help her, but Shana’s feral side had been constant from the moment she’d been bitten. She’d tried to kill him and in that moment he’d taken her life. Now it seemed that love had bitch slapped him in the head again. Chance Christianson, warlock and fellow werewolf, was all he could think about.
Chance was sweet and had one hell of an infectious laugh. They liked the same movies and TV shows, they even liked the same beer. Chance was everything he’d ever wanted in a woman, wrapped up in a man.
Logan had to chuckle: he was attracted to man. What were the odds? He knew that as a werewolf you were given a mate, someone who typically loved the same things you did and had a lot in common with you. He’d hit the jackpot with Chance, and they weren’t even mated.
Now they were part of the same pack. Locke Renfro had been friends of his family for years, and when Logan’s parents had been killed by rogues, Locke had taken him in. They’d met Tristan and his pack when their alpha Jackson Murphy had brought them to Boston. To say he and Locke had been surprised to smell werewolves at Jillian’s - a billiards bar - was an understatement. They’d been playing pool when both tables stopped and stared at each other. Locke had introduced them and he and Jackson had agreed to work together.
He and Locke had formed a tight bond f
rom the beginning and when Chance had wandered into their lives, they’d adopted him. Now the feelings he had for Chance were getting stronger by the day; he’d had to fight touching the younger man on a daily basis. Chance wasn’t over his exboyfriend Pierce, not by a long shot, and Logan wasn’t about to be someone’s second choice. So he’d wait….and suffer.
~~ Chance stood and watched Logan train. The rounded training complex held a massive amount of weapons, but Chance knew the only weapon Logan needed was his long sword. He watched as Logan spun effortlessly, lopping off the heads of the many targets sporting rogue heads. The muscles contracted as Logan’s lithe body moved with a fluidity Chance could only hope to have one day. Sweat flowed freely down Logan’s muscular chest, dipping into the waistband of his cotton pants. The biceps flexed and Logan’s strong hands held the sword tightly. Chance could watch Logan all day.
When he’d moved in with Locke and Logan he’d had no idea what ‘training camp’ meant until he’d wandered the spacious property and come across the training complex. It had once been used to train horses, now it looked like the Roman Colosseum.
Ever since he arrived, it had been a slow road getting over Pierce’s death and Logan had helped a lot in that department. Always the kind, caring friend, he had all the time in the world to just sit and listen to Chance as he cried about his loss. It had been over a year now and Chance had felt longing in his heart once again, a longing he never thought he’d feel again.
Logan stopped, crouched in attack position and wiped his brow with his forearm.
“Hey, I didn’t know you were out here,” he said with a grin, spotting Chance.
“You know,” Chance motioned to Logan’s sword. “You only perpetuate the “Highlander” rumors by fighting with that thing.”
Logan grinned again. “Yeah?”
God, that smile. “Um, yeah.”
Logan stood tall, twirling his sword in one hand. “I am Logan MacLeod.”
Chance took his cue. “There can be only one.”
“Damn straight,” Logan laughed.
“So I take it you’re getting ready to leave again?” Chance asked, with more than a little bit of apprehension in his voice. It couldn’t be helped though; he worried about Logan every time he went out on rogue hunts.
Logan flipped the sword in his hands and threw it; it pierced the hay bale off to the side of one of the targets and bobbed up and down.
“Yup. Seth and Jacob are on their way and Noah and Ross will meet us out there.” Logan grabbed the towel hanging from the wooden wall surrounding the complex.
“Are you guys ever going to let me go?”
Logan stopped mid-wipe. “Chance…”
“Don’t say I don’t know how to take care of myself,” Chance demanded.
Logan wiped the rest of the sweat from his face and hair. “Look, let me work with you, okay?”
“You’d do that? Like, train me?” Chance asked.
Logan eyed Chance. He wasn’t the bodybuilder type; he was more the athletic type. The blond hair was cut short in the back with length at the top, and the pale blue eyes complemented a smooth complexion. Chance’s face was one of sensuality and beauty. He had high cheekbones with an almost regal nose and a small dimple on his chin, but the dimples that appeared when he smiled were what sealed the deal. Logan loved Chance’s smile.
“Well, yeah. When I come back we could do movie night again, too.”
Chance’s nose twitched. “Let me guess, ‘Highlander’?”
Logan put his hand on his hip and narrowed his eyes at Chance. “You know you love that movie.”
Chance sighed in defeat. “Yeah, I do.”
“So, it’s a date then?” Logan threw the towel over his shoulder.
Chance sighed; if only it were a real date. Their dates consisted of sitting in the living room of their house with a bucket of popcorn while watching ‘Highlander’ and not touching. Oh, and Locke sitting in the recliner across from them.
“Sure,” Chance mumbled.
Logan turned to look at Chance. He looked…upset?
“Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, sure.” No. I want you to kiss me and hold me and - shit, are my thoughts turned off? Chance held his breath and searched Logan’s face. It was a blank. Thank God.
“Okay, well I should be back in two weeks. We’ll get started on the training as soon as I’m back.” Logan started for the main house.
“Logan?”
Logan turned to see Chance scuffing the dirt with his sneakers. “Yeah?”
“Um, be careful, ’kay?”
Logan grinned, giving Chance a wink. “I always am.”
Chance smiled back, trying to hide the blush he knew was coloring his cheeks. Logan went back into the house and Chance let out a loud sigh of frustration. His cell phone rang, bringing him out of his lustful thoughts about Logan MacLeod. He looked at the caller ID and smiled; it was Nikolai Markov.
“Hey, asswipe,” Chance chuckled.
“Uh huh,” Nikolai smirked on his end. “What’s up? You left me a message?”
“I did, can you come visit? I’ll take you out for cheesecake.”
Nikolai’s stomach growled at the mere mention of cheesecake. “Yeah? I’ve got a couple days of R&R; I can come over and rock your world.”
Chance rolled his eyes. “Oh, puh-leeze.”
“Dude, fucking with my macho points.”
Chance had to laugh. He and Nikolai Markov had formed a friendship when they’d gone to Ireland to rescue Wayne’s now husband, Conner. They were roughly the same age, Chance being twenty and Nikolai nineteen.
“You coming or not?”
“Depends on your style, sweetie; I like it rough.”
“Slut.”
“Prude.”
“Whatever, I’ll see you soon?” Chance asked.
“Yup, tomorrow. Be good and use lube.”
“Fucker,” Chance laughed, hanging up.
He had two weeks to fill without Logan and Locke and work wasn’t going to be enough. Working at the fire station provided him with a way to blow off steam, but in the sex department, he’d been dry for a long time. Chance looked at the Boston sky and sighed. He still missed Pierce now and then, but Logan had filled his thoughts for some time now. It sucked having a crush on an older man. Even though Logan was thirty, he looked twenty; boy did he look twenty…
“Chance.”
Chance turned to see Locke staring at him. “Hey.”
“We’re leaving; you have the emergency numbers if anything comes up.” Locke walked to Chance and gently lifted the younger man’s chin. “Are you going to be okay?”
Chance smiled. “Yes, Nikolai is coming to visit.”
Locke frowned. “Don’t blow anything up.”
“That only happened one time!” Chance laughed.
Locke searched Chance’s face. “I worry about you.”
“I can say the same for you. When are you going to ask Mitch out?”
“You know why —”
“Pffft…please. Stop using the rogues as an excuse. You’re scared of having your heart broken. The guy is your mate, Locke, and it’s so obvious he has feelings for you.”
“I do worry because Mitch is human. If the rogues get wind of me having a mate, they will go after him as revenge.” Locke looked at the younger werewolf; it had become quite obvious to him that Logan had fallen hard for Chance. He only hoped Chance could someday return Logan’s feelings. “Besides, we live on opposite sides of the country.”
“Not for long,” Chance reminded Locke. The pack was moving to Arizona, and Mitch had gotten a job there with Riley FlynnEsposito’s company. “You ’re going to have to deal with Mitch one way or another, and it’s become obvious your feelings for him are already strong.”
“As fun as this conversation is…” Locke motioned to Logan, who had just come out of the house. “We need to get going.”
Chance took Locke’s hand. “Just promise me you won’t
count it out. You’ve been alone for a long time, Locke. Please?”
Locke sighed at Chance’s pleading blue eyes. “All right, I won’t count it out, okay?” Locke mussed Chance’s hair.
“Good.”
~~ Chance paced the living room waiting for Nikolai to show up. He had a lot of spells he wanted to test out and Nikolai had volunteered yet again to be the magical guinea pig. He’d found witch Salina Gabarou’s books and had been going through them. He didn’t like using black magic and had tweaked some of the spells to work in his favor.
Thankfully, when they had arrived at her ransacked apartment after rescuing Conner, Chance had cast a finder’s spell and the books had revealed themselves.
Being a warlock did have its entertainment perks. So far, he’d accidentally given Nikolai wings, turned his hair bright orange and made him an inch tall. All wonderful photo opportunities. Chance chuckled.
The sound of a Harley in the driveway made him grin. Nikolai Markov had arrived. Chance ran out the door to see the younger Markov sliding off his hog. The leather pants hugged a tight ass and slim hips. Nikolai wore a black tank showing off his massive biceps. The helmet came off and jet-black hair was revealed in perfect condition. How Nikolai managed to always look like a superstar had Chance confused.
“Hey, you,” Chance grinned. “Honey buns!” Nikolai put his arms out. “Come give daddy some sugah.”
Chance chuckled, running to Nikolai. He was enveloped in strong arms and squeezed hard. “How was the trip?”
Nikolai put his helmet on the back of the Harley and turned his attention to Chance. “Short; I was in Rhode Island.”
“More rogues?” Chance led the way back to the house.
“Nah, hot college guy.”
Chance stopped and looked at Nikolai. “I thought you were going to try and ask Colin Greystone out?”
“Gone for the summer, Ireland I think. Besides, he made it clear what he thinks of me.”
Chance furrowed his brows. “Since when has that stopped you?” Chance searched Nikolai’s face. “He’s affected you, hasn’t he? You’re afraid of getting rejected again.”
Nikolai rolled his eyes. “Please, like I can’t get any man I want.”
Betrayed Page 1
