Unstoppable

by R. L. Mathewson

  “D-Dad?” Marc said, licking his lips nervously as he moved to come closer and left her with no other choice but to release Charlie’s collar and try to stop Ephraim before it was too late.

  “Dad!” Marc screamed when Ephraim moved to grab him only to release another vicious growl and stumble back when Indie did the only thing that she could think of, which unfortunately for her, was probably going to get her killed.

  She jumped on his back and held on for dear life as she screamed, “Run!” before Ephraim grabbed hold of her arm and sent her flying across the hallway, knocking the wind out of her as she slammed into the wall before she fell to the floor with a pained grunt. Struggling to pull air into her lungs, she watched as Marc finally snapped out of it and moved to run back to his-

  “Marc!” came the excited baby squeal that had him stopping in his tracks and swallowing hard when he spotted Jessica quickly making her way past Eric before the large Sentinel could stop her and headed straight for Marc with a huge smile on her face that slowly disappeared when she spotted Ephraim.

  When Ephraim spotted the little girl, he bared his fangs as he turned around and-

  “Oh, my god…” came the weakly mumbled words as Izzy managed to stumble into the long hallway and spotted the Pyte lost in bloodlust heading straight for her little girl. Indie watched as Izzy tried to go to her little girl before it was too late, only to end up stumbling as her legs gave out, dropping her to the floor with a pained groan. Screaming her little girl’s name, Izzy pulled herself up onto her hands and knees and moved as fast as her destroyed hip would let her, which unfortunately for Jessica, wasn’t fast enough.

  Ignoring the pain shooting through her arm, Indie pulled herself up just as Marc pushed away from the wall and ran past his father, whose focus was still on the little girl beginning to cry and grabbed her, pulling her into his arms and kept running while an unholy roar shook the house as Ephraim went after them. Not knowing what else to do, Indie went after them as Charlie locked his jaw around Ephraim’s ankle, slowing him down long enough so that she could stumble past them. She quickly put herself in front of Marc as he dropped down in the corner and curled his body around Jessica’s tiny one while he did his best to protect the little girl crying for her mommy.

  Indie barely managed to turn around when Ephraim was there with Charlie desperately trying to pull Ephraim back, but he simply ignored the dog, Izzy’s screamed demands to stop, and focused on them.

  “Please don’t do this, Ephraim,” Indie whispered as she dropped down to the floor and pressed her back against Marc’s, hoping that it would be enough to keep them safe, only to sigh with relief when she spotted Samantha’s brother, Nathan, as he made his way up the stairs and headed straight for them.

  She watched as the large Sentinel moved to pull his gun from its holster only to rethink the move when he saw them. With a vicious curse, he dropped his hand away and kept moving.

  “Hey, asshole!” Nathan snapped, managing to draw Ephraim’s attention and-

  Ended up being slammed into the wall, destroying it on contact as Ephraim tightened his hold around Nathan’s neck and did it again, tearing a pained grunt from the Sentinel as he struggled to get free.

  “Run,” Indie whispered, shifting away from Marc just far enough so that he could move past her and get Jessica out of there before it was too late, only to end up pressing back against him when Ephraim’s attention suddenly focused back on them and-

  “Dad, stop!” Marc screamed as Ephraim moved closer.

  She’d never seen Ephraim lose control like this, Indie thought numbly as she desperately looked around for somewhere to run, only there was nowhere to go.

  They were trapped.

  “Ephraim, please stop!” Indie begged, struggling to keep her eyes open when all she wanted to do was squeeze them shut and-

  “Mine!” came the vicious growl as Ephraim was suddenly pulled back and dragged away from them.

  Swallowing hard, she watched as Ethan’s silver eyes locked on her just before Ephraim turned on him. One second, Ethan had Ephraim by the back of the neck and the next, he was fighting for his life while Indie sat there, feeling helpless as she watched Ephraim grab hold of his arm and-

  Oh, god…

  “Shit!” Nathan bit out as he pulled himself back up only to stumble as they watched in horror as Ephraim tore Ethan’s arm off and tossed it aside.

  “No!” Marc yelled, grabbing hold of her arm to stop her when she moved to help Ethan.

  “I’ve gotta help him,” Indie mumbled weakly as she watched his poor arm turn gray seconds before it slammed against the wall and shattered, scattering ash everywhere.

  “Please!” Marc said, putting everything into that one word as he tightened his hold on her arm as Jessica’s cries seemed to set Ephraim off even more, making him desperate to get to them. This wasn’t happening, Indie thought numbly as she placed her hand over Marc’s as she watched Ethan struggle to hold Ephraim back with one arm while Nathan pulled his gun free only to get sent flying back into the wall before he could pull the trigger.

  “Protect my family!” came the shouted demand that pulled her attention back towards the stairs as Drew came running down the hallway, shifting mid-run into a large werewolf before he jumped over Ethan and landed on Ephraim, moving in to tear Ephraim’s throat out only to find himself thrown off and slammed into John as the Sentinel came running up the stairs to help, sending them both flying over the railing and onto the marble floor below.

  “Please stop crying,” Marc whispered urgently only to mumble, “Oh, god,” when Ephraim came for them again as his hand trembled in hers and-

  A gunshot had them both flinching as they watched Ephraim suddenly drop to the floor as a pool of blood quickly formed beneath him. Swallowing hard, Indie looked up to find Kale standing there, holding a gun as he leveled a cold glare on Marc.

  “Next time, run.”

  Chapter 39

  Who was Izzy? Ashley found herself wondering for the hundredth time since Kale left, only to tell herself that she was being an idiot because it didn’t matter.

  They’d made a mistake, one that wouldn’t happen again, Ashley told herself with a firm nod as she finished frosting the cake that she’d made to get her mind off Kale and-

  God, she was pathetic, Ashley thought with a sigh as she dropped the spoon back in the bowl of frosting and found herself watching a very large bear press his face against the window and felt her lips twitch when she realized that he was pouting. At least, she wasn’t the only one that was pathetic, Ashley thought as she glanced from the bear that was definitely pouting to the large bowl of frosting and…

  “It’s just that,” Ashley said, sighing heavily a few minutes later as she scooped up more frosting and held it out to Cuddles, which she’d named the pouting bear since he didn’t seem to appreciate her calling him Fluffy, so that he could lick the spoon clean, “everything I do seems to piss him off.”

  When Cuddles finished licking the spoon clean and nudged her hand for more, Ashley took that as his agreement that it would be best for everyone involved if she forgot about everything that happened between her and Kale and pretend that the thought of never kissing him again didn’t break her heart. She just…

  Wanted to know why he hated her so much, Ashley thought, only to realize that she was most likely about to find out as she watched the man in question drive up the long driveway and parked his black SUV off to the side and climbed out. When he saw her, his eyes flashed silver in warning as she realized something important.

  She couldn’t keep playing this game with him.

  “What’s going on?” Ashley asked, getting to her feet only to sigh when Cuddles grabbed the bowl of frosting from her hand and dropped down on the porch next to her to devour it.

  Other than muttering, “Asshole,” when he saw Cuddles, Kale didn’t say anything as he headed inside, leaving her with no other choice but to follow him.

  “Could you please tal
k to me?” Ashley asked as she followed Kale as he made his way to the basement door.

  When he ignored her and kept going, she considered letting it go and waiting for him to calm down, but…

  She was an idiot, Ashley told herself as she headed downstairs only to immediately wish that she hadn’t when she spotted the long row of cells lining the right side of the room. Everything was metal from the ceilings to the floors, and she didn’t have to ask to know why. She remembered the cells that her stepfather had built in the basement for the nights of the full moon when the Pack couldn’t leave the property to shift, but it was the cell that had been tucked away in the corner that she remembered most.

  While the rest of the cells had metal bars reinforced with steel secured to the stone walls with drains in the cement floor, the cell on the end had been completely encased in metal with several grates built into the floor to make it easier to hose off the blood after the bodies were removed. If there was any doubt in her mind what this room was used for, it was quickly destroyed when she saw all the weapons lining the rest of the walls.

  There were knives, guns, religious tools, chains, and things that she had no idea what they were, secured to walls and laying on top of the tables lining the walls, but they all looked painful. Swallowing hard, Ashley forced herself to shift her attention to Kale, who was standing at the back table, loading weapons into a duffle bag and-

  “Jacob’s going to keep looking in on you. If you have any problems, call him,” Kale said as he grabbed a gun off the table and added it to the bag.

  “When will you be back?” Ashley forced herself to ask when all she wanted to do was beg him to stay.

  Every time he left, it felt like a part of her was missing and she hated it. She hated that she reacted to him like this, knowing just how much it was going to hurt when this was over. She never should have-

  “I’m not coming back,” Kale said, not bothering to look at her as he continued packing his bag as she stood there, trying to remember how to breathe as a hollow feeling formed in the pit of her stomach and she found herself finally asking the one question that she’d been wondering about since this whole thing started.

  “Why do you hate me so much?” Ashley asked, forcing the words out of her mouth as she watched him go still.

  “Go upstairs,” Kale said softly after a brief pause.

  Shaking her head firmly, Ashley said, “Not until you tell me what I did to make you hate me this much.”

  “Go upstairs,” he said more firmly as she watched him grab onto the edge of the table, the muscles in his arms straining with the move, letting her know that he was pissed.

  Good.

  “No,” she bit out, furious with herself for letting it come to this, for letting herself believe that anyone actually cared about her and for letting herself start to…

  It didn’t matter.

  “You don’t want to do this with me right now, Ashley,” Kale bit out.

  “Really? Because I think this is the best time to do this, especially since you’re never coming back again,” she snapped, crossing her arms over her chest as she watched him nod slowly and then-

  She never saw him move.

  One minute, he was standing across the room, and the next, he had her pinned against the wall, his silver eyes boring into hers as he said, “I hate every fucking thing about you and do you want to know why?”

  “Yes,” Ashley whispered, feeling her heart break for him when she saw the pain in his eyes.

  “Because you make me want to forget,” Kale said, his expression softening as he reached up and traced her jaw with his fingertips.

  “Forget what?” she asked, reaching up to touch him when he stepped away from her.

  “Everything,” Kale bit out as his eyes flashed silver in warning, letting her know that it was time to let this go.

  But…

  He was lying.

  She knew it by the way that he looked at her, the way that he touched her like she was the most precious thing in the world to him, and she knew that if she walked away right now that she would never see him again.

  “Tell me that you hate me, Kale,” Ashley said, pushing away from the wall and moved closer to him, watching the way that his jaw clenched tightly and his eyes flashed brighter as he glared down at her.

  “I hate you,” he said evenly, not quite meeting her gaze as he forced the words out.

  “Liar,” Ashley said, shaking her head slowly as she moved closer, watching as he took a step back, putting space between them as though that was going to make this easier. “You want to know what I think?”

  “I don’t give a flying fuck what you think,” he snapped, taking another step back when she moved closer.

  “No? Then tell me that you hate me again,” Ashley said, following him as he retreated.

  “I hate you,” Kale bit out angrily.

  Nodding, she said, “Better. Much more believable this time, but I’m still not buying it. You know what would probably help? If you could look me in the eye when you said it.”

  “Is that what you need?” Kale asked in a deceptively calm voice as he met her gaze.

  “Yes,” Ashley said, telling herself that he couldn’t do it.

  Nodding, Kale leaned down and said, “Why don’t I show you instead?”

  Chapter 40

  “Wait! What are you doing?” Ashley demanded as he threw her over his shoulder and headed for the nearest cell, deciding that it was time that he showed her exactly how he felt about Pytes.

  “Giving you exactly what you asked for,” Kale said, trying to ignore just how good it felt to touch her as he headed for the cell.

  “This isn’t what we discussed!” the little pain in the ass frantically pointed out as she wriggled in his arms, forcing him to tighten his hold around her and-

  Fuck!

  He couldn’t do it.

  He didn’t want her anywhere near those fucking cells, Kale thought, shooting the cells in question a glare as he turned around and carried his squirming mate upstairs. He needed to figure out what to do with her now. He didn’t want her left here all alone and he sure as hell didn’t want Jacob to be the one that got to hold her at night, which meant that he no longer had a choice.

  He had to turn her over.

  “Where are we going?” Ashley asked conversationally as he ground his jaw, telling himself that this was the best thing for her.

  For a moment, he considered handing her over to her brother, but after today, he didn’t want her anywhere near another fucking Pyte. He wanted her kept somewhere safe where he wouldn’t have to worry about her and as much as he hated to admit this, there was only one place that could keep her safe.

  “You’re going upstairs and packing a bag and once you’re done, I’m driving you to Manhattan and turning you over to the Sentinels to keep you…” Kale started to explain, barely getting the word Sentinel out when he scented it, a spike of fear that had his words trailing off and-

  Grunting when the little pain in the ass suddenly took him by surprise and managed to squirm her way free. That was followed by her taking off running up the stairs, where she stumbled, tripped, and fell with a grumbled, “Stupid stairs,” before slamming the door shut behind her and took off running all while frantically mumbling, “Shift!” to herself while he stood there, trying to figure out what just happened.

  He listened as she ran to the front door, muttered, “Damn it!” closed the door shut, ran back to the living room as she continued muttering, “Shift!” before running to her room, closing the door only to apparently rethink that decision, ran back into the living room only to slow down and tiptoe past the basement door where he stood, dumbfounded, and as soon as she reached the stairs, took off running again, skidded to a stop in what sounded like in front of his room, stumbled inside, closed the door, and had him fucking sighing when he heard the unmistakable sounds of her diving beneath his bed.

  For a moment, Kale stood there, wondering what the hell j
ust happened, only to find himself heading upstairs, sighing heavily as he tried to tell himself that he didn’t care, but the problem was so much fucking worse than that.

  He loved her.

  He was in love with a Pyte and it was tearing him apart.

  For so long, he’d held on to his anger, using it to push him harder, to keep him focused on his goals, and now…it terrified him to let it go. The need to hold on to that hate was killing him, but the thought of losing her was hurting him more.

  He couldn’t do it.

  He couldn’t let her go, Kale realized as he made his way upstairs. He needed her and there was no fucking way that he was going to let her go, but it didn’t change the fact that she was a Pyte and he had no idea how he was supposed to handle that. He was going to have to find a way, Kale decided as he walked into his room and dropped down in the chair in the corner as he tried to figure out how he was going to fix this.

  “Couldn’t shift?” Kale asked, only to feel his lips twitch at her disgruntled grumble.

  God, she was so fucking adorable.

  “We’ll work on that,” Kale murmured absently as he tried to figure out a way to fix this. He thought that he’d had this under control and was able to handle the fact that she was a Pyte, but when he saw her eyes…

  “I never should have told you that I hated you, mo ghrá. You just took me by surprise when I saw your eyes and I…I reacted badly,” Kale said, having absolutely no idea what else to say.

  Nothing.

  “Can you tell me why you reacted the way that you did when I mentioned Sentinels?” he asked, throwing a hopeful look at the bed, but other than sending off another spike of fear, she didn’t respond.

  “I’m not going to send you away, mo ghrá. This is your home,” Kale said, hoping that would be enough to get her to talk to him.

  It wasn’t.

  “I’m so fucking sorry, mo ghrá,” Kale said, terrified that she was never going to talk to him again. He couldn’t lose her, which meant that it was time to start talking, Kale realized, releasing a shaky breath as he tried to figure out where to start.