Nox Bay Pack: Complete Series Collection

by Connor Crowe

  Had they come for me when they realized I hadn’t returned?

  No, nothing as caring as that. They still needed the Eye, and it looked like they were prepared to do anything in order to get it—even attacking in broad daylight.

  A thought stilled me then. They didn’t know I was alive. For all they knew, I’d been killed in the line of duty and they’d simply sent someone else after the prize. My stomach twisted and my chest clenched. If they found me, there would be no escape. The sweet release of death would be a mercy at that point—one they would not provide.

  Nothing was worse to them than a traitor.

  But as I watched through the small, crumbling slat in the wall, operatives clashed with Nox Bay’s strongest pack members. Some of them shifted in a mess of fur and claws and teeth. Blood splattered the courtyard.

  Markus. Where was Markus?

  My heart nearly stopped as I scanned the room. He fought off two men at once, his teeth bared and snarling, as blood dripped from yet another wound on his side. The attackers, however, were not prepared for the might of Nox Bay.

  Fur and fangs flew, almost too quickly to follow. Then I noticed a third attacker, coming up on Markus from behind while he fought off the two Black Hands in front of him…

  I didn’t have time to think or reason my way out of it. Something deep inside me cried out at that moment, and I knew what I had to do. Even if it could end in my demise, I could not let any more blood be spilt on my behalf.

  I launched myself out of the alcove and rushed around the corner, throwing myself at the would-be assassin.

  “Stop!” I yelled, my voice cracking. “It’s me!”

  Everything froze in that pivotal moment. All eyes turned to me and in their faces I saw the jumbled mix of shock and confusion. Then it dawned on them. I was toast.

  One of the operatives pushed Markus to the side and he skidded to the ground with a bone-crunching thud. I stood my ground, jaw set firmly in a line and arms crossed, even though every fiber of my heart cried out to go to him.

  “Stop this,” I said, and it’s a wonder my voice didn’t shake. “It’s me you want, isn’t it?”

  Two of the men looked between each other, grins stretching their scarred faces. They muttered to themselves, but I was close enough to hear snatches of the conversation.

  “Didn’t know he was alive...”

  “If the Master finds out...”

  “We’ll be rewarded...”

  I gulped.

  “Here’s the deal,” the man I knew only by the code name Shiv said. “We take you back with us, where you belong. We take the Eye and get outta here. No one else has to get hurt.”

  “Don’t listen to them,” Markus panted, still in a heap on the floor. He’d changed back to human form now, and I couldn’t miss the wince of pain on his face or the lines of terror.

  The remaining Nox Bay guards flanked him, forming a wall between them and me. The two groups stared one another down, snarling and waiting for the other to make a move. It couldn’t go on like this, I knew that much.

  It was up to me to end it. I broke through the line, standing in front of them with my hands up.

  “I need your word, that you will not harm this pack any more.” It was a dangerous gambit, and I trusted their word not at all, but it was what I had. And right now, I needed to buy time. If more shifters heard the commotion and came running, or if the alpha could regain his strength...

  “And what do you care about these dogs? Come back home, Fox. The Master’s been waiting for you, and if we’re the ones to return his little investment? Let’s just say that will be an even bigger prize than the Eye.” Shiv’s sharp canines glinted. His eyes crinkled up at the sides, far too excited about the punishment that would be in store.

  I tried to forget about the bile forcing its way up through my throat, but it burned. Burned right through me, just like the flames of fear, adrenaline, and realization took me under their wings. I clenched my jaw so hard my teeth hurt. I’d found something here that I’d never had in all my years at the Black Hand Compound.

  Belonging.

  Even as a fox shifter in a pack of wolves, I felt safer here than I ever had with the thieves. I felt wanted, and not just for my skills or for my “value.” It was still early, and a bit hazy, but perhaps in this new pack I would be more than just a possession. Perhaps I could finally have the life I’d wanted after all.

  I opened my mouth to speak when a loud, rumbling roar shook the ground at my feet. I stumbled back and looked up, realizing with a sinking sensation that we’d been played. All of us.

  A tall, hooded man strode out from the shadows, holding a teal-blue sphere aloft and laughing.

  Shit. I should have known, should have warned them...

  They’d used the attack as a distraction, and where I’d failed, they’d succeeded.

  “Stand down,” Shiv commanded the line of guards flanking Markus. “Unless you want us to unleash the Eye’s power, you will stand down and let us pass.”

  The guards bared their teeth. Clenched their fists. Even from here, their skin rippled with the need to shift.

  “Face it,” Shiv taunted, joining the man holding the Eye. “Resisting now would only destroy you.”

  Another growl. This time, it came from Markus. He was standing now, the guards only barely holding him back from jumping into the fray once more.

  “You’ll pay for this,” Markus growled. His eyes flickered from brown to gold and back to brown again as he fought with his wolf. His pain crossed over our bond, raw and sharp. The sensations hit me so suddenly that I staggered back a few steps as well, clutching my temple.

  How had he done that? I tried to meet his gaze, to promise him everything would be okay, but I heard only one voice in my mind, so loud it blocked out everything else.

  “Run!”

  I swerved past the operative running at me and ducked into a roll. An arm swiped out to catch me and I just missed it. I skidded across the dirt and my omega senses kicked into over drive.

  My mate was hurting. My mate was in danger. But if I didn’t get out of here, both of us would die.

  So I reached down deep, called out to my fox, and shifted right there in the courtyard.

  I didn’t have the time to undergo the usual process of transformation—no time for that. My body broke and rebuilt itself in a matter of seconds without time for the pain receptors to respond. I cried out, clenched in on myself, and landed on all four feet, this time with a fox’s-eye view and just enough clearance for an escape.

  At least, that’s what I thought. Everything happened so fast after that.

  I touched down on the dirt with my paws, a pained growl came from behind me, and a terrible mechanical ‘click’ sound pierced the air.

  “Run!” Came the voice again, and this time I didn’t stop. I bounded over the fallen bodies of my comrades, keeping my eye on the escape, when the whole ground shook beneath me once more.

  A savage, rushing wall of water slammed into me and knocked me off my feet. I tumbled end over end, the world spinning out of control around me. Which way was up? Which way to the surface? My limbs flailed about and caught only water and dead air. I was floating...flying...

  I was dead.

  As water poured into my mouth and burned my lungs, I had only one thought before blackness surrounded me. It didn’t make any sense at the time, just the chattering of an oxygen starved brain, but I’ll remember those words for the rest of my life:

  Please let the baby be okay.

  11

  Felix

  Cold, icy water splashed over my face and jolted me into consciousness.

  I jerked upright with a ragged gasp that turned into a moan as I realized I couldn’t move.

  I’d failed. They’d captured me.

  That was the only explanation.

  The events of—god, how long had I been out?—flashed back through my mind.

  Pain. Sacrifice. My alpha wailing in defeat as the Bla
ck Hands surrounded him. And on top of it all, the all encompassing, ear splitting roar of water.

  They’d taken the Eye, I realized with a shock. They’d actually done it.

  That could have been me. I could have been on a beach somewhere right about now, with a new life and a new name.

  Instead, here I was: a captive of the only family I’d ever known.

  Silk fell away from my face and the room came into focus. I squinted against the glaring lights, but I knew where I was immediately. We were back at the Compound. Didn’t know how I’d lost myself in the torrent from the Eye and ended up here, but my stomach did more than a few somersaults at the idea.

  And then the final thought I’d had before passing out returned.

  The baby.

  Shit, was I pregnant?

  The thought hit me like a truck. I went over the events of the last few days. I hadn’t been in heat when Markus and I had mated, I knew that much. Didn’t think omegas could get pregnant at other times, but then again, he had knotted me...

  My cock twitched at the thought. Could it really be possible? Had the alpha bred me in the midst of our passionate night together?

  To be honest, the thought didn’t scare me as much as I thought it would. Was it unexpected? Sure. But the thought of having a little one? Sharing my life with another and watching them grow and blossom into an adult? It had kind of a nice ring to it.

  And especially if I was getting out of the criminal life, this could be my first step toward a new future. My one night with Markus had opened my eyes to what the future could be like, if I only let it.

  I tried to move my hand and cup my stomach instinctively, but couldn’t. My hands were bound and the restraints only dug into them further when I tried to move. I gritted my teeth and wondered if shifting would get me out of this.

  No. No good. They knew better than that. An organization that preyed on orphaned shifters? They’d know how to keep us in line just fine. I couldn’t shift here with the shackles on, and they knew that. Wanted to keep me docile. Keep me harmless.

  Well, they had another thing coming. My shift was not the only thing I had at my disposal. I had my wits, my cunning, and if what I felt in my heart was true? The power of Nox Bay behind me.

  But only if they knew where I’d gone. Only if they’d survived...

  My throat closed up when I thought about the flood. Had they been able to escape, or had the waters taken them as well? Were they here, trapped alongside me in this very compound? There was no way to know, at least not from this stupid cell.

  Footsteps clattered behind me and I tried to crane my neck and see who was there.

  “So the rumors were true. The Crimson Fox lives after all.”

  I knew that voice. Would recognize it anywhere. It was the man we knew only as The Master. And that meant he knew about me. That meant that he was here to deliver my ‘sentence.’ I gulped and clenched my fists behind me, thinking again of the life growing inside me. Now that I’d acknowledged it, the pieces fell into place. I was pregnant. I knew it, deep in my heart and soul.

  And that changed everything. I didn’t just have myself to look out for anymore. The Crimson Fox was no longer a lone ranger only out for himself. I had a child inside me, and I would do anything to keep him or her safe.

  “What do you want?” I spat.

  “Why, I thought that much would be obvious, Felix.” I froze. That was the first time I’d ever actually heard him use my name. “I want you.”

  I didn’t want to know what that meant.

  “So what?” I called out, trying to keep my voice even. “You’re gonna kill me now? Torture me?”

  A deadly, vicious laugh. More footsteps. He placed a hand on my shoulder and I flinched away, but couldn’t go far. “Oh no, dear boy. Nothing so gruesome as that. I have a rather more enticing proposition for you.” I couldn’t see it, but I knew the greasy grin he wore. I knew that whatever came next would likely be worse than death.

  “You’re carrying a child, Felix.” He stepped around to face me and bent down to look me in the eye. I tilted my head away, trying to escape his gaze, but he grabbed my chin with a rough grip and forced me to look at him.

  “Or should I say...wolf fucker.” He spat the last words so hard that flecks of cold spittle ended up on my cheeks. I didn’t flinch away, though. Wouldn’t give him that satisfaction.

  “You wouldn’t hurt a pregnant omega,” I taunted him, hoping that I was right. They were cruel, but surely not that cruel...

  I couldn’t bear to think of the alternative.

  “Don’t you see, Felix? You’ve actually done our organization a great service. New blood for the Black Hands is always welcome.”

  The gravity of what he was suggesting sunk in. If The Master had his way, the cycle would begin anew. More children born into service, never knowing what the outside world was like.

  I couldn’t let anyone else go through what I’d survived. They’d have to take my child from my cold, dead hands.

  “The pack will be coming for you,” I snarled, fueled by the protective drive in my heart. “I’ll die before I let you take anyone else.”

  Master huffed out a laugh, amused at my discomfort. Then he swung his arm back and let it fly, a smack echoing across my cheek and blooming into a cloud of stars and pain. I blinked up at him, tears welling up in my eyes. How had I not recognized it before? I knew life was hard, but I didn’t understand just how much there was out there. And now that I’d had a taste of freedom, I saw how toxic this evil organization really was.

  They were predators, plain and simple.

  My skin throbbed from Master’s assault and tears flecked my cheeks, but still I clenched my teeth. Narrowed my eyes. “Capturing me is just the first step,” I growled, leaning forward as far as my restraints would let me.

  “In what?” Master asked in a lazy drawl.

  “Your downfall.”

  12

  Markus

  “So that’s what the Eye does.” Arric coughed up a mouthful of water and wheezed. “I’d heard the stories, but never seen it in action till now…”

  I bit off a retort, knowing that my anger was not directed at him. He and his men did the best they could. We all did. And in the end, it was our own folly that had led to not only one, but two shocking defeats: the loss of the Eye, and the loss of my fated mate.

  I swallowed. I’d planned to tell the pack about Felix as soon as possible and hope for their blessing, but I never expected everything to hit us so fast. Literally.

  “Yes, Arric,” I said finally, scraping a hand across my tired face. “This pack has protected the powers of water for centuries. Until now.” I grimaced and crouched down, pulling away a sodden canvas to reveal a sack of grain—also soaked now, of course. I sighed and dropped it, straightening again.

  “Is nothing salvageable?” Arric asked, keeping in step with me.

  A snarl curled across my lips. “They knew right where to hurt us, that’s for sure. Clever distraction tactics, not to mention they knew how to use the Eye…we’re looking at a much greater threat than we originally thought.”

  “Tell me about it.” Arric kicked aside a broken tree branch and kept walking. “What happened to that omega?”

  I stiffened. “What omega?” Not even I could pull that off with a straight face, though. Arric saw right through me.

  “You know which omega, Red. The thief. The one we captured. He one of them?”

  Them. He didn’t need to specify. I remembered all too well the insignia on their cloaks. The jet black tattoos on the back of their wrists.

  I guess there was no getting around it. I’d have to tell the pack sooner or later, and I might as well start now, with my second in command.

  “That omega,” I started, choosing my words carefully. “His name is Felix. He’s a fox shifter.”

  Arric’s eyes widened. “I thought I saw a fox run off during the battle, but everything was moving so quickly…”

  �
��And yes,” I sighed. “He was part of that organization. Or is. I don’t know.”

  We walked a few more paces in silence. That was fine with me. I still couldn’t figure out what had happened. Had Felix betrayed me? Had he led them to our lair all along?

  “Do you think he was a spy?” Arric asked gently.

  I shook my head. “I don’t think so.” The thought made my wolf nervous, pacing around inside of me. “They’re…not the best kind of people.”

  He barked out a laugh. “That’s one way to put it.”

  My stomach clenched. If Felix was in danger, it was all my fault. I was too distracted by the damn Eye to save my mate. If I’d done something different, maybe we could have avoided all of this. Maybe he’d still be with me.

  Arric stopped and gave me an appraising glance. “Red. Friend to friend. Something’s bothering you.”

  I stared at the ground for a few seconds more, then sighed and shoved my hands in my pockets. “You always know how to read a man.”

  “This…Felix,” Arric started. “Did something, um, happen between you two?”

  “This is gonna sound crazy.” My voice shook, but I couldn’t deny what I felt any longer. “But I think he’s my mate.”

  A few seconds ticked by, my heart thudding painfully in my chest as I waited for his response. When it finally came, it was quiet. Almost reverent.

  “You mean like…your fated mate?”

  “Yeah. Crazy, right?”

  “Shit,” he breathed. “Talk about bad timing.”

  I gave him a sad smile. “I know as the Pack Alpha I have certain expectations and duties. I intend to fulfill them and protect this pack and this family until the day I die. But do you think…there’s a chance…” I trailed off, losing myself in the memory of his soft fur.

  Arric clapped a steadying hand on my shoulder. “Fate works in mysterious ways, my friend. And as for the rest of the pack? I’ll kick anyone’s ass that speaks ill of my Alpha, or his mate. You have my support.”