Unstoppable

by R. L. Mathewson

  “Why don’t we bring her to the Williams mansion? They’re only a few miles down the road. We could bring her there and hand her over to the Sentinel doctor and-”

  “We’re not handing her over to the fucking Sentinels,” Kale bit out even though he knew that’s exactly what he should do.

  They’d either find a way to fix this or do something that would deliver the final blow and put him out of his fucking misery. If he managed to survive the next blow, he could wash his hands of her and collect his fee. It would be the smart thing to do, especially knowing that fee would bring him one step closer to his goal.

  Unfortunately, he couldn’t do it. No matter how much he wanted to, and god, did he fucking want to, Kale couldn’t hand her over to the Sentinels. She was his mate and-

  “Did you know that she was forty-five?” Jacob asked conversationally, drawing Kale’s attention as he sat down next to them in the shower.

  “Yes,” Kale said on a heavy sigh, only to bite back another groan as fresh pain tore through his mating mark, letting him know that she was getting worse.

  “That’s pretty fucked up. Do you think that’s why her mate didn’t want her?”

  At Kale’s questioning look, Jacob looked pointedly at the mating mark on Ashley’s small wrist, the same one that marked Kale’s wrist and was now covered by the thick leather band of his watch. If the other shifter noticed that Kale switched his watch to his other wrist, he hadn’t said anything yet.

  The only way that anyone, shifter, Pyte, demon, or vampire would be able to tell that Kale was mated is if he let her mark him and there was no fucking way that was happening. Even if she wasn’t a Pyte, and he still couldn’t fucking believe that this was happening to him, he wouldn’t touch her for one simple reason.

  She looked like a child.

  “I don’t have any fucking idea why he didn’t want her and I don’t care. She’s just a fucking job,” Kale said even as he couldn’t help but wonder when this was going to fucking end.

  “You’ve gotta admit that this is a pretty easy job,” Jacob said as he bit into his wrist. When he moved to press his bloody wrist against Ashley’s mouth, Kale stopped him. “You’ll kill her.”

  “It might be the best thing for her,” Jacob said with a pointed look at the pale little girl dying in Kale’s arms.

  She was suffering.

  As he watched tears slowly stream down her small face, long ago memories that still had the power to break him brought him back to a time when he’d been forced to watch as the little girl who’d meant the world to him suffered because he hadn’t been able to save her. Swallowing hard, Kale allowed his fangs to slide down as he brought his wrist to his mouth.

  “I’ll do it,” Kale said, knowing that he didn’t have a choice.

  He couldn’t let another little girl suffer because of him.

  “Hold her down!”

  “She keeps slapping me!” Jacob bitched as he was once again hit in the face by the small cast as the little girl continued to flail.

  “Man up!” Kale snapped, struggling to focus when agonizing pain tore through his mating mark as he pinched Ashley’s nose shut and pressed his bloody wrist against her mouth, forcing her to drink more blood.

  “I don’t understand why we can’t just tie her down again,” Jacob said as he pinned her small arms against the bed only to grumble when she managed to hit him in the side with her leg, causing the cast that wasn’t going to last another hour to split down the middle.

  “Because it was hurting her,” Kale said, trying not to think about the crippling pain that tore through his arm when they’d decided to tie her to the bed.

  “So, is this,” Jacob pointed out, only to sigh heavily when she landed another blow against his leg.

  “But it’s also working,” Kale said as he ran his eyes over the little girl that had grown at least two inches in the last hour. If that hadn’t clued him in to the fact that they were on the right path, the fact that his pain subsided every time that they managed to get blood into her did.

  “I thought that she was supposed to go into a coma for her transition,” Jacob said as Kale released his hold on her nose so that she could breathe.

  “She also shouldn’t have been born,” Kale pointed out, still wondering how this was even possible.

  Pytes were born male since the females never made it past the second trimester. No one was sure why that was, but he had a feeling that it had something to do with hormones. Whatever the reason, she shouldn’t have been born and she definitely shouldn’t have been left weak for so long, not when Pytes normally went through their transition at sixteen, which made him wonder why she hadn’t.

  “Do you think she’s an Impure?” Jacob asked as he frowned down at the little girl only to follow that up with a murmured, “I can’t scent any shifter blood on her.”

  Neither could Kale.

  He also couldn’t scent any demon blood, which really didn’t tell him anything since there were several demon species that didn’t give off a scent. She could be a combination of a hundred different things or simply a mistake.

  “I have no idea what she is,” Kale admitted, but he planned on finding out.

  “Come on, sweetheart. Open your eyes for me,” the incredibly sexy voice with a touch of a brogue said soothingly, but Ashley didn’t want to open her eyes.

  She didn’t want to do anything but fall back into oblivion so that she wouldn’t have to feel her body being torn apart again. It felt like every bone in her body was being crushed and her skin was being devoured by acid and all she wanted to do was beg someone to stop it, but she couldn’t make a sound. All she could do was lie there, praying for it to end.

  “Mix it with Coke,” Ashley heard before she felt herself moved and-

  Everything went black.

  “Please, don’t,” Ashley mumbled weakly, struggling to open her eyes and biting back another sob as she grabbed hold of the sheets, but he wasn’t listening.

  “Shhh, it’s okay,” that voice that she could happily listen to forever under normal circumstances promised as she was rolled onto her back, but he was lying and they both knew it.

  “Please, stop,” Ashley whispered as she struggled to use her hold on the sheets to pull herself away, only to release a choked sob as the sheets slipped through her trembling fingers.

  “Open your mouth,” the man who wouldn’t leave her alone bit out as her lips were pried open and she felt his wrist pressed against her mouth.

  She struggled to turn her head, to beg him to stop, only to end up gagging as the hot liquid that would start the nightmare all over again filled her mouth. Ashley tried to spit it back out, but she couldn’t move her head, could barely lift her arms to push him away. She finally managed to open her eyes so that she could glare at the bastard that had broken her.

  As her world slowly came into focus and more blood was forced down her throat, and the pain that was about to swallow her whole began prickling along her spine, she focused on the pair of silver eyes glaring back down at her as everything went black.

  “No!”

  “Shhhh, it’s okay,” immediately came the soothing tones of the man that was trying to kill her, making her wonder why he was doing this to her.

  It didn’t matter how much she begged, how many times she cried, screamed for mercy, hit him, or pushed him away, he kept coming back, kept forcing her to swallow more blood, and kept lying to her, telling her that everything would be okay, he wouldn’t stop. He wouldn’t listen. Every time the pain subsided and she thought it was over, he would send her right back there and this time would be no different.

  “Please, don’t,” Ashley said on a broken sob as she struggled to turn her head away, but that only made him tighten his hold on her jaw and pull her head back so that he could press his wrist against her mouth and-

  “This is the last time,” he promised, but they both knew that he was lying.

  “Jesus Christ…” Jacob whispered as Kale stood
there, staring down at the woman that looked nothing like the little girl who’d finally gone into a coma three weeks ago.

  “She needs more blood,” Kale said hollowly as he found himself standing there, unable to look away from the proof that he’d fucked up.

  Once upon a time, he’d watched the same changes take place in the man that had destroyed everything that he loved, and now…

  He should have killed her when he had the chance.

  As Kale stared down at the incredibly beautiful woman before him, he remembered the scent of smoke and blood teasing his senses while he’d held his sister in his arms as she’d struggled to take her next breath. When he ran his eyes over Ashley’s long blonde hair that reminded him of honey, the screams for mercy played in his head. His mother begging for her life quickly followed as he took in a face that looked like it belonged to an angel. His sister screaming his name as she was-

  God, he couldn’t fucking do this!

  Without a word, Kale headed for the door. He was fucking done. He’d done his duty and taken care of her when she’d needed him and now that she’d made it through her transition, he was done. She could do whatever the fuck she wanted and he would-

  “Fuck!” Kale roared as soon as he reached his car.

  He couldn’t walk away and take the chance that she would destroy someone else’s family. He couldn’t fucking do it, which meant that he was going to have to spend the rest of his life making sure that she didn’t cross that line, and if she did…

  He was going to make sure that she never got the chance to do it again.

  Chapter 8

  That was a bad idea, Ashley decided as she squeezed her eyes shut only to end up turning her head so that her face was pressed against the pillow that smelled like it had been saturated with laundry detergent when that wasn’t enough to block out the light.

  God, everything hurt, Ashley thought as she slowly exhaled and pressed her hands that wouldn’t stop trembling against her ears when the sound of her breathing slammed into her skull. Slowly exhaling, she willed the pain to go away only to groan when the scent of laundry detergent made the migraine that was tearing her head apart worse.

  As Ashley lay there, trying not to think about how much her head hurt, she struggled to remember what happened. She remembered bits and pieces, but mostly darkness and pain. God, there had been so much pain. It had felt like her bones had been dipped in acid and her body had been torn apart as it was dragged over broken glass. Through it all, he’d been there. She couldn’t remember who “he” was, but she knew that she hated him.

  She remembered begging, sobbing, and screaming for him to stop, but he wouldn’t listen to her. Every time she thought it was over, he was there, forcing her to go through it all over again and-

  She’d walked in on her apartment being robbed, Ashley suddenly remembered on a groan only to immediately regret it when it made everything worse. She tried to remember what happened after she saw the men in her apartment and cringed when she remembered telling them to get out of her apartment before common sense kicked in and had her running. After that…

  It was all a blur.

  A pain-filled blur that she never wanted to go through again, Ashley decided with a nod only to stop with another groan when the small action caused the migraine that was slowly destroying her will to live to take it up a notch. After that, she decided that perhaps it would be in her best interest to lie there while moving as little as possible until it stopped feeling like someone was taking a sledgehammer to her head.

  That decision lasted for about two minutes until she realized just how badly she had to use the bathroom. For another minute, Ashley lay there, grinding her teeth until she was able to get her mind off the fact that she was about to-

  Damn it!

  With a silent groan, Ashley carefully turned her head just enough so that she could crack one eye open, only to close it quickly when the sunlight streaming in through the windows sent sharp pain through her head. Slowly exhaling, she risked another quick peek and when she didn’t see anything that resembled a door, she blindly reached out with a trembling hand and searched for the edge of the bed.

  When she found it, Ashley took a steadying breath and tried to move closer to the edge, only to realize that she couldn’t do it. Her body wouldn’t stop trembling and her muscles felt heavy. When she woke up a little while ago, she hadn’t been able to do anything more than just lie there. Wondering how long she’d been out, Ashley slowly exhaled and tried again. She kept trying until she was finally able to shift her body closer to the edge inch by inch.

  When she finally reached the edge, she-

  Ended up falling off the bed and hitting the floor with a pained groan when she overdid it on that last pull. With a sigh, Ashley spent the next few minutes pushing herself up on her hands and knees before she reached up and grabbed hold of the bed and risked another peek. When she spotted what looked like a bathroom on the other side of the room, Ashley moved to stand up only to decide that was a bad idea when her legs refused to cooperate and settled on crawling to the bathroom.

  It took longer than she’d thought it would and ended with her bumping into the bed and a wall, but she eventually made it to the bathroom. With another peek, she spotted the toilet, sighed with relief as she prayed that her bladder wouldn’t burst, and made her way across the bathroom. When she reached the toilet, she cracked open an eye, nearly sighed with relief as she closed it again, pulled herself up onto the toilet, shoved what felt like a pair of oversized boxers down and relieved herself.

  While she sat there, Ashley gently rubbed her temples as she willed her headache to go away. When the throbbing pain eventually began to subside, Ashley risked another peek and when stabbing pain didn’t accompany the move, she opened both eyes and found herself wondering where she was. As soon as she woke up, she knew that she wasn’t in her bed for the simple fact that there hadn’t been any rusty bedsprings digging into her side. One look at the unpainted walls told her that she wasn’t in a hospital or a hotel, which meant…

  God, she didn’t even know what it meant. The only thing that she knew was that her head hurt, every muscle in her body ached, she was tired, hungry, and thirsty. At least she could take care of one problem, Ashley thought as she turned her head and took in the small sink next to her. Licking her parched lips, she absently grabbed the roll of toilet paper off the floor, tore some toilet paper off and quickly wiped herself as she focused on that faucet, imagining just how good cold water was going to feel sliding down her throat.

  Never taking her eyes off that faucet, Ashley finished what she was doing, flushed the toilet, and yanked the oversized boxer shorts back up before she reached over and grabbed hold of the bathroom counter and managed to pull herself up onto her shaky legs. As soon as she reached the sink, she grabbed the yellow bar of soap and washed her hands. When she was done, she cupped her hands and began greedily drinking the cold water rushing out of the faucet.

  A groan escaped her as the cold water made its way down her throat, cooling her dry throat as she stood up and-

  Found herself staring at a stranger.

  It took her a moment before she realized that she was looking in a mirror and when she did, Ashley felt her stomach drop as she took in the woman staring back at her through matching green eyes. For several minutes, Ashley could only stand there, staring at the mirror as she tried to wrap her mind around what she was seeing. When she shifted to help ease her aching legs, the woman in the mirror did the same, making Ashley release a shaky breath as she dropped her gaze to the bathroom sink.

  Slowly exhaling, her grip tightened around the bathroom counter as she tried to make sense out of what she saw. She was dreaming. That was the only thing that she could come up with to explain this, Ashley told herself as she closed her eyes and-

  Prayed that this wasn’t a dream.

  Please let this be real, Ashley chanted in her head over and over again as she slowly exhaled and forced herself to op
en her eyes and-

  Felt the air rush out of her lungs as she stared at herself, noting all the changes. Her hair was longer, slightly darker, with blonde highlights running through the wavy strands. Her face was larger, her green eyes brighter, and she no longer looked like an adorable ten-year-old girl, but a beautiful woman in her twenties.

  Licking her lips nervously, Ashley carefully released her hold on the bathroom sink after making sure that her legs weren’t going to give out first so that she could see what else had changed since she’d slept. Releasing a shaky breath, she pressed one hand against the wall to help steady herself as she reached down and pulled the oversized shirt up and found herself staring at large, teardrop-shaped breasts in the mirror.

  Ashley stared at herself for another few seconds before she dropped her shirt as she tried to make sense out of what was happening, only to decide that she didn’t care. The only thing that she cared about was that it finally happened. After years of crying herself to sleep at night, wondering what was wrong with her and trying to convince herself that she didn’t care, it had finally happened.

  She watched as the first tear rolled down her face as her vision suddenly turned red and a pair of sharp fangs slowly broke through her gums, finally confirming her suspicions.

  She wasn’t human.

  But that’s all she knew.

  Her mother’s Pack had never told her anything more than she was a mistake, one that had caused her mother’s mate to banish them. After that, her mother hadn’t said much to her. She’d been too busy trying to keep them alive to do anything more than make sure that Ashley had food in her stomach and somewhere safe to sleep to tell her much of anything.

  And when they’d found them…

  Her mother had refused to tell them anything.