"He won't agree to it." She didn’t ask him how he knew; Ben seemed to have a canny knack of sensing her thoughts.
"I can't say I blame him, I would be asking him to let me put his mom in the middle of a damn dangerous situation."
Ben sighed. "I hate to say this Ellie, but I think having you in the middle will be a bigger problem for Luke."
She considered challenging this, but her step dad was too clever and she had never lied to him. "So what do I do, I am not used to considering other people's opinions."
"Look for the solution to his concerns."
*******************
As the lunch meal commenced, Ellie found herself struggling to eat which was normal before a job. As everyone ate sparingly, it seemed she was not the only one who was nervous so when that all looked towards her, she waited until Luke asked the question.
So warrior woman, when are you going to share your plan with us?"
How to do this? "It depends." He frowned at her waiting for her to continue. "It depends on if you will let me finish before you dismiss it."
"I will hear you out before I comment." Watching her face Luke detected anxiety which was unusual for Ellie although it was endearing.
"Me, your mom, and Ben go into the gully, your dad will assume that your mom has decided to obey him. You as the unassuming star can wander in just after we get there, you pretend that you have followed us and act all 'wow the jungle' blah, blah, blah. During this Vlad can teleport in and get your brother and the old man out of those damned cages."
Ellie took a breath and waited for the interruption which didn’t come so she continued. "Vlad can take them to May who can treat them if it is needed. We have Theo, and Ice coming in from the left they should be able to manage the terrain, Danny and Shaun from the right. Imogen and Vlad can teleport from the North. Now there appeared to be only one path in, but that won't stop you guys, I saw maybe a dozen shifters although not all seemed happy with the current boss."
He took a minute to consider her plan, his initial thought was to refuse. Instead, he took a moment to look at the bravest woman he had ever met, disregarding everyone else he focussed on Ellie. "Do you believe that this is the best plan?"
"Yes, if we wait for them to come to us then they will have the advantage. They will head here by the deep of night giving us time, and we need to be prepared to move before then. They will not be expecting us to come to them; they are too arrogant for that."
"Then that is what we will do." As the surprise registered on her face, it was quickly followed by this huge smile. For the first time she initiated a show of affection in front of everyone when she jumped up and kissed him.
Chapter 34
The heat was ridiculous, at this rate Ellie would have sweat away to nothing by the time they arrived at the gully, the extra weight of the weapons adorning her body drained her, but the adrenaline of the mission pushed her through it. As they neared the gully, she scouted for a safe place for May and Claire to hide when they refused to remain behind. Why Ellie worried she didn’t know, the monkeys did have their uses, one of which it seemed was to find a damn giant tree with leaves that appeared to form a canopy large enough to conceal the two of them.
With the girls settled they headed to their allocated spots whilst they waited for Vlad, Ice and Shaun. When they did arrive, Vlad also brought two other wolves and three more of his Elite Team, and in his hand was a large picnic basket.
At the curious look from her and Ben, Vlad shrugged. "A present from Albert who declared that everyone would need sustenance to keep you going, so he made you a pack lunch."
Ben nearly ripped his arm off at the mention of Albert's name, as Vlads butler he was a remarkable chef. Opening it, Ben's eyes bulged at the large, thick sandwiches, chips and drinks. "Remind me to kiss Albert, he is a godsend."
With the food shared, they quickly readied themselves. A little before nightfall it was time to move in. With a deep breath, Sandy squared her shoulders before kissing her son and following Ellie down through the path. With a squeeze of Sandy's hand, they wandered into the enemies land.
It was a woman that first noticed them; well she noticed Sandy and ran forward to greet her.
"Assandra you return." As the woman realised what the words meant she glanced round nervously before hugging Sandy. "Go, before he sees you, go."
Sandy smiled gently. "No Magda, it is time for me to stay."
Two Jaguars came running over, one slightly larger than the other, and had the black and golden markings similar to those that she had seen on TV, while the other had similar markings though the black was more prominent. Both shifted to reveal Luke's father and uncle.
"I see you heeded my warning Assandra, and you brought a gift for me." He motioned his head towards Ellie. "Having pondered the dilemma of your return and my acquisition of a new female, I believe I will hand Assandra to you Khan, I know he has often wondered what your soft skin feels like."
Ellie found that an involuntary shudder ran through her body, although Luke appeared at the very moment like a knight in shining armour rambling down the path. "Wow, why did you two ladies leave me? I have been wandering for hours trying to find you."
As Luke came down the path he focussed on Ellie and his mom, he had heard his father's words and the need to kill the man that created him was building quickly.
Turning to his father, he feigned ignorance of the dangerous situation in front of him. "Oh hello again, it's a charming place you have here." Luke was peering around in wonder, smiling and waving at the other members that seemed to drift a little closer.
As his father made to turn on the charm, Luke braced himself to play nice. "We didn’t get to meet yesterday, my name is Elias, and I rule these lands, let me welcome you to our little spot of paradise."
Luke shifted his hand through his hair as Ben made his way to them. "For god's sake can none of you remain still, first I had to look for you two and then bloody wonder boy here. Oh hey." Ben made to look at Ellias only momentarily before ignoring him to address Ellie and his mom.
"Now can we make our way back to the camp, I am famished."
"Excuse me." Elias focussed on Ben who decided to address him. "Don’t worry we are leaving, I need to eat."
"What exactly are you?" Elias truly looked puzzled, he was obviously sensing Ben's animal something he had not done last night, Elias seemed unable able to determine the species.
"Oh you mean my inner me, I am a wolf."
Now Elias looked insulted. "A wolf, do you realise that before you enter another animal's territory you should ask the permission of the king of the land?"
Three howler monkeys called loudly before running down the path, into the gully and then back up the path as Ben eyed Elias. Whereas previously Ben had acted annoyed with his party wandering off, Ellie saw the silver glint had formed over his pupils reminding Ellie of steel.
"As a matter of fact I do, if another animal entered my pack territory I would want them to ask permission. As the Alpha that is my right."
"As is mine, so considering you have failed to exercise good manners, I believe I have the right to deal with that slight accordingly."
Ben shook his head; both Ellie and Luke stepped closer to Ben. "Here are my thoughts, I expect that from others because I am a strong and fair leader, I give respect and expect it in return."
"Yet you have failed to do that here." Luke's father was now preparing for an attack.
"You are right; I refuse to ask permission from a leader that is a tyrant, a murderer and a torturer. I treat my pack, my wife and children with the respect they deserve."
Elias sneered at Ben. "They are harsh accusations for someone who is surrounded by Jaguars, especially when these Jaguars follow my command. I believe you must be a foolish leader to have placed yourself in territory unknown with your only protection coming from a man who has no understanding of the forest, a young woman who will soon grow to know the harshness of these lands, and a woman wh
o has returned to take her place as the pack wench."
Ben coughed before smiling. "Well Elias, I believe that you have made a rather large assumption. I am far from outnumbered and if you had respected your people rather than used them then there would have been a slight chance that you would have survived the night."
As Elias pondered these words, Vlad appeared with Assaud and Shaun, as soon as they were deposited next to Luke, he went and returned with more.
"Well hello there, me names Shaun and I am with this motley crew. For sure the scenery is prettier here than that of me home town."
Elias looked on in shock with his gaze moving between Shaun and Assaud. "What the hell."
Assaud smiled, Ellie could see kindness in his eyes and a sense of goodness that emanated from him. "Good evening father, you seem surprised to see me."
"Well son, it is about time that you took the initiative, you have proven your worth making me proud that I had one child that is capable of taking over the lands when it is time for me to step down." He was trying to get Assaud on side in the event that he was outnumbered.
"Father I do not want or need your pride, Assandra was lucky enough to get her son away from you, unlike my own mother."
Luke watched his father laugh. "Lucky, you call it lucky that she killed the damn half breed, his death was a godsend, and unlike you he would have been a useless idiot."
Ellie waited while knowing that Luke was about to make his mark. As he took a step forward she followed before he spoke she took his hand.
"Is that so FATHER."
Luke felt the nervous tension rise inside of him until it was quickly overtaken by anger, he did not feel fear he was past fear, and it was time to teach his father a lesson. Assaud came to stand on the other side of Luke. "Meet your half breed son, father."
Luke smiled and did something Ellie would not have expected, he gloated, and it was marvellous to watch. "Well father let me tell you about this half breed. I was lucky enough to have a fantastic mother who supported my dreams and gave me a marvellous life."
Luke bent to kiss Sandy on the head. "I met Assaud several years ago, and since then we have kept in contact."
Elias frowned at Assaud. "You are quite the little traitor Assaud."
"Actually father, he is a man of honour and a man of worth, speaking of worth I believe that you are pretty motivated by wealth aren’t you father."
Luke continued. "Well, let me tell you about my worth in words that you will understand. I own three rather large houses, a condo, a holiday villa, a boat, four cars and a motorbike. My bank balance currently stands at twelve million dollars."
The intake of breath and a question from Ellie broke his concentration. "How much money?" The incredulous tone amused Luke.
"Give or take a few dollars, I thought you would freak if you knew."
Luke refocussed on his father while squeezing Ellie's hand who was now unusually silent. "Anyway, this half breed is known by millions and is a pretty large deal in the Western World."
He could see the calculations running in his father's mind. "Before you progress that thought, if anything happens to me everything goes to charity and don’t look at mom, she wants nothing from me, it’s a charity she picked. Now I know what you did to mom, and I promised myself years ago that I would return to my birth land and make mom safe."
Some of the other Jaguar's had moved closer, but at least four had stepped away from his father with relief evident on their faces. "Now let me introduce some of my friends. This is Ellie, my partner and the one you decided would be yours, she would slit your throat without a seconds hesitation and enjoy it, you will never lay a finger on her. The man next to her is Ben her step father, a wolf shifter and one of the strongest and worthiest men I know. Mom you know already and Shaun is a vampire who is the friendliest guy in the world until he kills you."
Ellie watched as Luke's word's penetrated the ears of her friends and family, Ben's chest puffed up, Shaun flashed his fangs.
"If you look to your left, you missed our new visitors. Imogen's a vampire with some kick ass skills that would give you a heart attack, now the scary dude next to her is her husband; they make a formidable team as I am sure you will agree. Behind me is Ice, also a vampire yet unlike his friend Shaun he doesn’t even pretend to be nice. The guy who has just poofed in behind you is Vlad who is a thousand year old vampire that is a little pissed that he is here and not with his pregnant wife."
"Then he can leave." His father's complexion had failed a little.
"It doesn’t work like that with these people, they are both family and friends which provides loyalty and respect, Vlad is Ellie's brother in law and Ben's son in law."
Ellie cringed at the next voice. "Don’t forget us."
She turned to see May and Danny coming down the pathwith Claire following behind with Tau. "Now this here is May, her brains alone would scare the shit out of you, with her is Danny who would kill you for even thinking disrespectful thoughts about these girls. Oh and behind May is Claire, you might have heard of her. You see since we arrived Claire has been followed and coddled by animals, everywhere we go they follow her, they protect and guard her. I think you called her the 'Queen of the Forest' didn’t you Tau."
Tau nodded, and Luke continued. "I don’t need to introduce Tau do I, you see his tribe has had enough, and it just so happened that Claire came along to visit and wow she is suddenly the Queen."
His father's face changed from one of a shock to disbelief. "No, I don’t believe it; I don’t believe any of it. I would be able to sense your animal, and she can't be the Queen."
As everyone closed in on him, Luke shifted to his Jaguar's form to his father's amazement. While Luke shifted, she noticed Assaud staring at Claire before he in turn addressed his father.
"It appears that it is time for you to step down before you are taken down father."
Elias was almost balking at the prospect particularly as he was now flanked by the only four of his men who had chosen to stand beside him. "You think it honourable to do this Assaud, you bring other species to elicit fear and panic and think that is honourable."
Luke was back, and the fury was in his eyes and then his voice as it hardened in anger. "You want to talk of honour, you raped my mother, you killed Assauds mother, you imprisoned an old man and my brother, you rule through fear. The only person here that you need to fear is me!"
Now Elias laughed. "You want me to fear you; you think you can defeat me. Well let's do this son."
Ellie watched as Elias shifted at the same time as Luke. Assaud moved back grabbing Claire's arm, Ben grabbed her and pulled her away as the two colossal cats faced off with loud growls. Luke was a little smaller than his father and Ellie was now utterly terrified.
When Ben let her go she prepared her spear. As Luke followed his father's movements, she kept Luke in her sight following him from a distance. If his father hurt him, she would take him down within seconds. Elias' followers shifted prompting Ben, Danny, Theo and Assaud to shift as well. The vamps came closer to the other Jaguars waiting for any sign of foul play. Ellie ignored them all and kept her focus on Luke.
As he moved in a circle, she readied her spear and kept pace with them as she waited for either of them to initiate an attack while she anxiously readied her aim. It was Elias who went in for the attack aiming for Luke's neck, but missing when Luke moved forward. Within seconds, he had spun and jumped on Luke's back digging his claws in. She went to move in, but the wolf in front of her blocked her way. Damn Ben, he didn’t need to be a man to make his point, he wouldn’t let her get involved unless Luke needed her to.
With her heart in her mouth, she shouted to Luke. "Run to the house and ram him."
Ellie was relieved when he listened, thank god, running full pelt with Elias on his back he turned at the last minute and rammed Elias against the wall. Elias let go of Luke before dropping to the floor with a whine.
Immediately Ellie saw Luke about to take a step back
. "Don’t you dare Drakos, if you think you are strong enough to protect me then PROVE IT." He was too genteel to finish this which was Ellie's fear.
Her words had the desired effect; Luke lifted his large, heavy paw, and swiped at his face drawing blood. As his father growled at him, Luke stepped back and allowed him to stand, amid lots of roaring, she saw someone come in from the side. Not taking the time to think, she threw the spear at the Jaguar that was leaping for Luke. Her aim as always was deadly; so she saw it pierce before the Jaguar stood unsteadily and turned to her, the intent obvious. Pulling her knife, she returned the offered eye contact as the animal stalked towards her, suddenly Luke launched onto its back rolling it until its neck lay open to him. With a bite, she watched in awe as Luke tore into his neck.
"LUKE, LOOK OUT." His father had risen and started stalking towards Luke with his belly low and death in his eyes. Ellie went to lift her knife finding that she didn’t need to, Luke turned to face his enemy and launched forward at the same time as his father, the roar was deafening as they met in mid-air. When they hit the floor, Ellie was aghast when she saw blood flowing down Luke's chest, both Jaguars lay on the floor not moving, she made to run forwards only this time she was not held back.
Falling to her knees in front of her big, strong Jaguar, Ellie let the tears fall as she felt his soft fur that was now matted in wet, sticky blood. He was hurt yet she didn’t know how hurt, her heart was pounding as she cried his name feeling for injury.
Soft fur turned to tight skin as the animal shifted back to the man. "Luke no, don’t go, come back to me."
"I'm still here warrior." His soft green eyes focussed on her.
"There's so much blood, and you….you just laid there, my god I love you." She wrapped her arms around him holding him tight, she no longer noticed anyone around them, and she was centred on him.
His breath was as heavy as her heart. "It's not my blood I am a little winded and I may have a broken rib."
"Oh thank god, never again will I watch you do that. There's a reason you’re a star."
Taming the Warrior Page 23
