by A. D. Ryan
“Bobby?” Nick’s voice was low, and a growl reverberated in his chest.
Nick and I stood quickly. He pushed me behind him, the temperature of his hand hot against my waist as he held me in place, shielding me from my brother.
“Surprised to see me?” Bobby inquired glibly.
The woods rustled all around us, and as I assessed our surroundings I saw at least five other vampires surrounding us. “Nick,” I murmured.
“I know,” he ground out through clenched teeth, his fingers curling into my hip as he held me in place. “I can smell them.” He continued to stare Bobby down before he finally addressed him. “How’d you survive?”
Bobby chuckled, shrugging his shoulders. “Guess you’re just not as good at your job as you think you are.” He began to walk, moving around us like a shark, his beady black eyes never leaving us. “You really should check to make sure all the bad guys are dead before you skip town,” he chastised. “Now, if you’ll just hand my sister over, I won’t kill you… Not today, anyway.”
It was Nick’s turn to laugh as I shifted behind him a little more, placing my hand on his arm as I peeked around him. His bicep muscle tensed beneath my touch. “Seems to me she isn’t interested in a family reunion,” Nick shot back.
“Oh, I don’t care if she’s interested, but the two of us have some unfinished business to attend to.”
“No,” I shot back angrily, “we really don’t.”
“Brookie,” Bobby drawled, making my skin crawl. “We were just starting to understand each other.”
“The only thing I was starting to understand is what a sadistic little bitch Gianna turned you into.”
Anger flashed in his eyes, and Nick took a defensive stance, eyes flitting to each of the vampires surrounding us. My arm still hurt, but even with six of them against two of us, I liked our odds. We could handle this; we’d managed before.
“Seriously, though,” I taunted. “Come and get me. Let’s see if your head comes off as easily as your whore girlfriend’s did.”
“Take her alive!” Bobby shouted, and then all hell broke loose.
The vampires surrounding us ran forward. Bracing ourselves, Nick and I stood back to back and worked together to fight them off. In all the chaos, two of them had drawn me away from Nick by a few feet. I tried to work my way back to him, but the two vampires I was up against were unrelenting, so I punched and kicked and broke as many limbs as I could in an attempt to disable them long enough to decapitate them.
The blond one backhanded me, sending me to the ground, momentarily dazed. As the other one came toward me, I kicked my leg out sideways, driving my heel into the side of his knee, and I smiled when I heard the crack as it bent in toward the other one. He went down, and I saw my opportunity, springing up and wrapping my arms around his neck and wrestled it free from his shoulders. With a scream, his body turned to ash against the snow and I looked up at Bobby, who remained in place, watching with sick delight.
I wiped the sweat from my brow, likely smearing vamp dust across my skin, and smiled smugly at him. “One down.”
Nick glanced back at me and grinned. One of his opponents ran for him while he wasn’t looking, but his instincts were so honed that he reached back, grabbed it by the jaw and flipped it over his shoulder, snapping the vampire’s neck like a whip until it dislodged. The vampire turned to embers and ash mid-air and fluttered to the ground as the other three vampires stared on in shock and horror before Bobby shouted another order to attack.
They did as they were told, but hesitantly. It was this hesitance that cost them their lives in the span of ten minutes.
As soon as the dust settled Bobby advanced on us, looking confident that he could succeed where his brethren failed. Nick and I prepared to take him on, but he stopped short, eyes flitting up to the sky…the lightening sky.
“Looks like your time’s up,” Nick jabbed. “Better get back to your hole in the ground before you fry.”
I stepped forward as Bobby stepped back into the shadows, the forest floor lightening as the sun slowly stretched across it. “Let’s not be hasty. I’m sure we could take care of him before the sun can do it for us.”
Bobby snarled, pointing a finger at me. “This isn’t over, Brooke,” he threatened. “You will come back to me. You’ll see.”
Those were his final words before he ran off in a blur. My confidence evaporated when my adrenaline exited my body, and I started to collapse again before Nick caught me.
“It’s over,” he whispered, pulling me into his arms and kissing the top of my head. “It’s all over.”
I closed my eyes and clung to him, never wanting to let him go again, when suddenly I remembered something. “Cordelia!” I cried out, pushing away and looking into his eyes. “We have to find her. She could be anywhere.”
“Relax,” Nick said. “We found her hiding in a cave a few miles from here. She’d shifted and was hiding with a pack of timber wolves. Smart and resourceful.”
“And now?” I croaked. “Where is she now?”
“With Vince and Roxy. They’re laying low until we meet up with them,” he explained, smiling as he ran a hand over my hair and sighed. “What do you say we get you home?”
Nodding, I let Nick wrap his arm around my shoulder and lead me away. We made it about five steps before I had my next realization. “Jax,” I said. “He found me and told me to run while he fought off a couple of vampires. We have to go back for him.”
Nick smiled. “Jax can handle himself against two vampires,” he assured me. “He’s probably already with Vince and Roxy.”
Even though I knew Nick was right about Jackson’s ability to fight, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. Nick picked up on this, and with a sigh, agreed to double back to check on Jackson.
We ran through the woods as the sun continued to rise, lighting our way and guaranteeing our safety. I followed my scent until I picked up Jackson’s and eventually we made it to the clearing I’d last seen him in. I looked around, seeing a few drops of blood and a whole lot of ash. But no Jackson.
“He’s not here,” I stated, looking around for footprints. He was so much larger, and I could tell his tracks from the vampires’ we’d fought before I ran away and left him alone.
Nick crouched down and sniffed near some of the blood droplets. “It’s his, but it’s not enough to prove fatal. He’s alive. Look.” I looked down to find Nick pointing west. “His tracks go this way.”
I followed Nick as he tracked Jackson’s footprints, and I exhaled a sigh of relief when they turned to wolf tracks. He’d shifted. Maybe Nick was right; maybe Jackson had defeated the last of our attackers and then shifted to meet up with us. Yeah, that had to be what happened. All the evidence led to that conclusion.
Feeling a little better about Jackson’s well-being, I allowed Nick to lead me back through the woods and toward the meeting place. It took a while, and even though it was daylight, I jumped at every little sound. Nick did his best to try and calm me, but I was a wreck after everything I’d just experienced. I suspected I’d be a little jumpy until I felt safe again.
As we walked through the woods, I tried to think of all the things I had to say to Nick, starting with an apology for taking off so abruptly. Before I could say a thing, Nick brought my hand to his lips and kissed it.
“I’m so sorry,” he whispered against my knuckles, enclosing his other hand around them. “I should have been honest from the beginning.”
Stopping, I turned him to me. “No, Nick. I’m sorry. I acted like an immature brat—I always do when I don’t like something I’ve heard. I have this tendency to run away from problems instead of talking them out. I did it with David the night he died, the night I found Roxanne in your bed, and then the night I found out it was you who…who…” I swallowed the lump that formed in my throat.
“Who bit you,” he finished for me. “Baby, you have to believe me. I never meant to hurt you that night, and I sure as hell ne
ver meant to keep it from you as long as I did.” He paused, coaxing me forward again so we’d make it to the rest of the Pack. “I guess it just got easier to keep the truth from you as you accepted what you’d become. I figured it wouldn’t matter, and Jackson wasn’t quick to offer up the information.”
“Because he’s loyal to his Pack,” I guessed. “The two of you may not get along, but he would never throw you under the bus.”
Nick dropped his head, ashamed. “I know. I’m a selfish shit.”
I wanted to disagree, but given the circumstances, it was kind of true. “I can understand the need to protect me from the truth. You didn’t want to hurt me anymore than I already had been. I’d been through so much, and that would just be one more thing to come between us. I get that.”
Nick stopped again, bringing his hands to my hips and turning me toward him. “Believe me when I say I’m done with the dishonesty. There will be absolutely no more secrets between us.”
I smiled up at him and brought my hands up to cradle his jaw. “You promise?” He nodded, and I stood up on the tips of my toes and kissed him once. “Then take me home so we can move past it and figure out what to do about my sadistic brother.”
“Deal,” he said before kissing me again, this time a little harder as he lifted me off the ground.
It felt good to be in his arms again, free from my prison of the last couple weeks. I almost hated that moment when he set me back on my feet and led me along our path again.
About an hour passed before we entered a clearing. I was growing exhausted from hunger, but I knew we had to keep moving. I could eat at the manor. Hopefully it wouldn’t be too much longer.
As Nick and I made our way through the snow, I heard a high-pitched howl. I looked up to see a sleek black wolf barreling toward us. She was smaller than the other two flanking her, and I recognized her as Cordelia the second I registered her scent. She leapt up, colliding with me as her giant paws rested on my shoulders.
I released Nick’s hand to run my fingers through her fur. She couldn’t speak in this form, but she didn’t have to; her gratitude was obvious in the way she rested her head against mine. I saved her life when I broke us out of that hellhole. She may not have been scheduled to die today or even a year from now, but she would have died in that compound at some point or another. I saved her from that and was going to return her to her family. She knew that, and I could sense the whirlwind of emotions that was swirling inside of her. She was happy and nervous, but beyond all that, she was grateful.
Knowing I’d done something so meaningful for her was enough to get me through any of the horror I’d just escaped and the stress I knew was sure to follow.
Smiling, I looked up and saw Vince and Roxanne approaching, eyes shining with relief and happiness. It was good to see them again. They were proof I was on my way back to my pack. My eyes scanned the clearing, smile faltering when I noticed one wolf was still missing.
Jackson.
Chapter13 | home
I couldn’t shake the feeling that something had gone wrong after I left Jackson, but Nick told me that he likely took the scenic route back to the manor without us. He wasn’t really much for crowds if he could help it; that much I’d learned. I figured Nick was probably right, so I grudgingly followed.
When we reached the truck that they had left a few miles away, Roxanne and Vince shifted back and got dressed. Cordelia remained in her wolf form, likely due to a lack of clothing and quite possibly because she felt comfortable and safe like this. The fact that Nick was fully clothed meant he either hadn’t shifted while he searched for me, or he had found a way to carry his clothes with him—perhaps by mouth. Whatever the explanation, I was glad to have him walking with me as we approached the vehicle. It had been far too long since I’d held his hand or taken comfort in his embrace. I needed that now more than anything.
Roxanne, Vince, and Nick sat up front. They were a little cramped, but Nick recognized that Cordelia was most comfortable with me, and allowed her the space she needed. She lay across the back seat with her large wolf head on my lap, eyes closed and breathing deeply.
When we arrived at the edge of the property around dusk, Roxanne took Cordelia into the brush to attempt to shift back. I happily went with them when Cordelia looked up at me with her big puppy-dog eyes and helped Roxanne coach her through it.
Having succeeded after a half hour of struggling, I asked Nick for his sweater. It was much too long on Cordelia, but it was clothing, and none of us wanted her reunion with her parents to be in the nude.
With every step up the driveway, I heard Cordelia’s heart speed up. I could smell her sweat as her nervousness spiked. She stayed a couple steps behind us, and Nick and I were barely through the front door when two sets of arms wrapped around me, holding me tightly. The way they held me reminded me of my reunion with my parents, and I closed my eyes, hugging them back.
“We’re so happy you’re okay,” Miranda said, giving me another little squeeze. “When we heard you’d gone miss—” She paused, her posture going rigid in my arms, and then she inhaled a shaky breath as she slowly pulled away, extracting her arms and grasping Marcus’s upper arm tightly. When I looked at her, I noticed her eyes weren’t on me, but staring past me…at her long-lost daughter.
“Oh,” I said softly. “I think I may have found someone who belongs to you.”
Marcus and Miranda both looked at me, then at Nick and back at their daughter. Their shock kept them paralyzed in place for a beat before I stepped out of the way and held my arm out toward Cordelia, inviting her forward.
“It’s okay,” I told her.
She stepped forward, bypassing me completely and running straight into her mother’s arms. “Mama!” she cried, wrapping her arms around Miranda’s waist.
Marcus had tears in his eyes when I looked his way, and as he folded his wife and daughter in his arms, he glanced up at me and said, “Thank you.”
Watching their reunion brought tears to my own eyes, and Nick wrapped an arm around me, pulling me close and pressing a kiss into the top of my head. I circled my arms around him and rested my head on his chest as we watched Miranda and Marcus reconnect with their child.
A shrill cry of surprise made me jump. Growling, my entire body was tensing for some kind of attack. It wasn’t until I heard the thundering footsteps on the stairs ahead of us and saw both Colby and Corbin sprinting toward their family that I relaxed.
I was still so jumpy, and I hated it.
Empathetic as always, Nick picked up on my increasing anxiety and led me toward the stairs. “We’re going to go rest. It’s been a long trip home,” he announced, accepting Marcus’s handshake.
Before I even hit the first stair, Marcus pulled me back into a strong embrace, kissed my cheek, and expressed his gratitude again and again.
“I would do it all over again if it meant making your family whole, Marcus,” I told him. “Now, go and have a good evening with your family. Perhaps a private dinner. I’m sure the rest of us wouldn’t mind fending for ourselves for an evening. We can do a big family sit down in the morning when everyone’s back.”
With that, Nick and I headed to our room, and once the door was closed, he pulled me against him and crushed his lips to mine in a kiss that left my legs weak and my head dizzy. Desperation seeping from him, his hands splayed across my back, pulling me against his body, eagerly tugging at the too-big shirt I still wore. His fingers crept beneath the hem of the shirt, inching their way up over my waist and toward my breasts. I welcomed his touch, exulted in it, but when his left hand reached my ribcage, his lips froze before he pulled back.
Brow furrowed, he lifted my shirt. The more skin he exposed, the deeper his eyebrows dipped. I knew what he saw, but the minute his fingers brushed the scars that covered my upper torso, I pulled away and tugged the shirt back down.
“What did they do to you?” he asked, trying to keep the anger from his voice so as not to frighten me.
Th
ere was no way around his question. If I didn’t answer now, he’d ask again and again until he had all the facts. I knew the truth would upset him, and that was the last thing I wanted, but he deserved to know what happened to me, and I needed to be upfront about it in order to make peace with it all.
“Brooke?” he urged gently. “Baby, what?”
Taking a deep breath, I perched myself on the edge of the bed, sandwiching my hands between my knees and slowly meeting his gaze. “Every day, they’d take us to a room.” Nick’s nostrils flared, but he listened without interrupting. “Some days, they just left us alone. Observed us. Other days, they’d remove our collars—”
“I’m sorry,” he interrupted, holding up a hand. “They collared you?”
Nodding, I explained. “To keep us in line, they had these collars that kept the wolf at bay. The slightest rise in temperature released a silver nitrate mist into the air, forcing the wolf into submission. If, by chance, we were able to shift regardless of the silver, the collars were fitted with silver spikes that were in line with our carotid arteries. As our neck’s thickened, the spikes would kill us instantly. Cordelia warned me of them the day I woke up in my cell. I almost shifted, but she stopped me.”
Nick shook his head, unable to wrap his head around all of this, but he urged me to continue.
“On the days they’d remove the collars, they’d try to force our change. Cordelia told me that her change was often immediate because they would keep her collar on for weeks or months at a time, so she wasn’t often allowed to shift. Me? I refused, and they surrounded me. I panicked and shifted.”
“And the scars?”
“There was another room where they tied me to a chair. They interrogated me like a prisoner of war. Tortured me for no reason other than their enjoyment and to see how quickly I healed.”
