by KJ Dahlen
When they came to a stop at the edge of the road, Wolf stopped the truck and stared at what was in front of him. For a moment, all he could do was stare. A pack of wolves surrounded something on the path to the swampy water. A dead gator was close by and a couple of wolves were feasting on its flesh.
Beast ad Wolf both grabbed their weapons but Beast laid his on the seat between them. He looked over at Wolf and said, “Do not under any circumstances take that gun out of this truck. Do you hear me?”
Wolf just stared at the other man like he was nuts. “I hate to say this brother, but those are wild animals out there.”
“I know that but Cin is friends with the leader and they protected her from the gators last night, as you can see. I have to believe they won’t hurt me. I just want to get her to safety.” Beast pushed the door open and slowly walked toward the wolf pack. Keeping his eyes on the wolf closest to Cin’s throat he spoke softly, “So you’re the one she calls Shadow huh? Thank you for protecting her until I could get here. But your job here is done now. I’ll protect her from now on, if you’ll let me.”
He stopped a few steps away from where she and the wolf were laying.
The other wolves backed away but stood on alert.
Shadow lifted his head and sniffed the air briefly then laid his head down on the crook of Cin’s shoulder one more time. Lifting it again, he gave her neck a lick then got to his feet. Turning his head, he glanced at his pack and without making a sound, he turned and led them back into the woods.
When the last wolf disappeared into the shadows, Beast carefully knelt beside his woman. He took of the blindfold first then the gag. He couldn’t help the tears running down his cheeks at the sight of her bruised face. He leaned down and kissed her gently. His hand reached for his knife to cut the ties from her wrists, noting the bruises and dried bloody flesh on her hands where the ties had bitten deep into her skin.
The fact that she wasn’t conscious was almost a blessing. It wouldn’t hurt so much as the blood rushed back to her limbs. He picked her up carefully wincing as he took note of her burnt skin. Her lips were cracked and bleeding as well. His chest hurt so badly at her condition. He cursed Ricky’s soul as he turned and walked back to the truck with her in his arms.
He got in the backseat of the truck with her in his arms and shut the door. Without looking over at Wolf, he muttered, “Take us home.”
As soon as they arrived at the compound, Wolf jumped out of the truck and opened the back door.
Beast scooted to the edge of the seat and climbed out. When Wolf held out his arms to take Cin, Beast just glared at him.
Wolf held up his hands and let the other man carry her. He opened the clubhouse door and walked behind him inside.
Everyone stopped what they were doing when Beast carried her inside.
Noelle gasped when she saw Cin’s battered and sunburnt body.
Silas and George rushed over to him and looked at the girl in his arms.
Silas gasped loudly as his old eyes filled with tears.
They followed Beast all the way to his bedroom. When he got there, he laid Cin down on the bed gently and stepped back so their Medic, Viper could take a look at her.
Noelle moved closer to the bed and looked down at the other woman. Then she went into Beast’s bathroom and retuned with extra towels.
Before he started, Viper told Beast, “You might not want to stay for this part. I have to access her injuries and get her hooked up to the IV.”
“I ain’t going anywhere... just do what you gotta do.” Beast growled.
Viper looked over at the other man. “I have to take her clothes off man and I don’t want to have to worry if you approve about what I’m doing. My concern here is not how she looks without her clothes, it’s to find out how much damage that little fucker did to her before he left her there to die.” He paused then said, “Actually, I’m surprised you found her alive after a day and a half.”
Beast turned his eyes to his brother. “Do what you have to do to save her life man, but I’m not leaving her again.”
Viper got busy.
Beast went over and shut his door as a crowd had gathered. He didn’t want anyone to see her like this.
Noelle said, “I’m staying to help.”
Beast gave her a nod but did not say a word.
After a few minutes, Jackal and the others went back to the main room. He looked over at Wolf and shook his head. “I’m surprised she’s still alive.”
Wolf went over to the bar and poured himself a stiff drink. Downing the liquor he looked over at his president and shook his head. “By all rights she shouldn’t be. He had her tied up, blindfolded and gagged almost at the water’s edge. We could see drag marks where the wolves had dragged her a few feet away.”
“Wolves? What the hell are you talking about?” Silas barked.
Everyone looked puzzled for a moment.
Wolf shook his head and began explaining what they found. “It was the damndest thing. When we got there, we saw six or seven huge wolves around something on the ground. They were protecting something, turns out they were protecting Cin. Those beasts had taken on a gator at some point. They tore his body apart and were feasting on it while the biggest old wolf I’ve ever seem was laying at her back. His head was laying on her shoulder. I thought we’d have to shoot our way through the pack but Beast took out is weapon and set it on the seat beside him. He told me not to shoot them, he said they were protecting her from any danger and that would include us if we went after her with guns. He told me to stay in the truck and he walked out there unarmed.”
The men all stared at him wide eyed.
He swallowed hard but continued his story, “He walked up to them and talked to the wolf at her back. The rest of the pack was alerted but they made no move to attack. Then the leader got to his feet and licked her neck then he simply turned and led his pack into the woods. As soon as they were gone, Beast took off her blindfold and gag. Then cut her bonds, picked her up and brought her over to the truck.” He shook his head. “I tell you I never saw anything like it.”
“Well, I just pray she survives,” Silas announced while shaking his head. “She isn’t looking very good at the moment.”
Jackal didn’t say anything but he silently agreed with the other man. Beast was on the very edge of his sanity and if the worst happened. He and his men would never be able to restrain the man unless they had some huge tranquilizer darts. He shuddered at the thought. No one had ever been able to get to Beast, not in all the time they’d served together. One time he’d told Jackal that he went into the service to get killed. He never said why, but it had been a revelation to Jackal for sure. No wonder the man never seemed to fear death and he had all those medals he never cared about.
Gunner came out of the security room and went over to Jackal whispered into his ear. Jackal glanced at him for a moment and growled. He looked at the other men in the group. “Well it seems we have even more visitors to deal with.”
“More visitors?” Cobra asked.
“Yup, seems Ricky’s new friends are coming to see what happened to him.”
“How many?” Wolf asked.
Jackal shrugged. “Gunner says it’s about a dozen or so.”
All the brothers got to their feet. They knew what to do and how to do it. Three of them went upstairs and the others went to the weapons’ room to collect what they would need to defend their clubhouse. They had done this before and were well trained.
One by one, they disappeared.
Gunner went back to the security room to keep track of what was going outside.
Silas and George just watched.
Finally, George had to ask, “What’s going on?”
“The men are getting ready for battle,” Jackal calmly told them.
“Battle?” George asked.
Jackal nodded. “The three men that went upstairs are our snipers. They are going to the highest spot to watch over the others. They all have com
s in their ears to keep connected. Gunner will be able to tell them where the enemy is located. They won’t start the shooting but they will defend their lives and this place.”
Silas and George looked stunned as they paused to look at each other.
“Holy shit,” George mumbled.
Jackal walked down the hall and tapped on Beast’s door. When he answered the knock, he informed him, “Might be some shots fired, Ricky’s friends have come calling.”
“You want Noelle with you?” Beast asked.
“Not if you need her here with Cin,” Jackal offered.
“I’ll watch over her and keep her safe. Her being here seems to calm my woman right now.”
Jackal peeked in the room. “How is she?” He could see Noelle sitting on the edge of the bed holding Cin’s hand as she fought against the pain from Viper’s care. He could see the other man struggling not to hurt her but he had to do what was needed.
“She’s awake anyway. He’s giving her fluids and taping her ribs. That bastard kicked the shit out of her, broke three ribs.” Beast looked enraged as he spoke, “That man is mine. I’ll deal with him when I know she’s safe and on her way to getting better.”
Jackal nodded.
“Oh, and don’t give him any food or water until I get to him,” Beast decreed. “I want him to suffer the same way she did.”
Jackal just stared at him for a moment. “Do this for justice brother, not revenge.”
“Revenge would be ripping his skin off strip by strip and watching him bleed out slowly,” Beast told him in a cold voice. “Revenge would be taking a blowtorch to his skin and watching it burn like hers is. It would be putting him tied up and blindfolded with a gag in his mouth, helpless within a gator’s reach. Him going without food or water for a few days isn’t fucking revenge.”
Jackal nodded slowly. He knew better than to argue with the man just now. He wondered what he, himself might do and refused to go there. Insanity would be a light word for what would happen if anyone dared to do this to Noelle.
He quietly turned and walked back down the hall.
Chapter Thirteen
Beast closed the door and turned to go back to the end of the bed.
Cin had woken up when under Viper’s guidance, Noel had begun to bath the dirt and debris off her skin. She screamed as the cloth touched her sunburnt skin but after the initial scream, she hadn’t uttered a sound. She met his eyes again and they stared at each other in silence until Noelle was finished.
Her skin was raw and blistered but clean now. Noelle winced but did as she was asked to do. Then she reached for a tub of Aloe Vera gel. Lathering it on her burnt skin Cin almost groaned as the coolness of the gel soothed her skin. Next, she took out some lip balm and lathered her cracked lips.
Cin moaned. “That feels so much better.”
Beast finally spoke, “Ladies, there might be some shooting but don’t worry about it. Ricky’s friends are here but the guys won’t let anything bad happen.”
Cin nodded and Noelle looked a bit nervous. Cin squeezed her hand. “The men got our backs,” she whispered in a hoarse voice. “Don’t you worry about that.”
Noelle took a deep breath and nodded. Then she calmed down and patted Cin’s hand. “I know they do, I just hate violence.”
“Me too,” Cin admitted in a whisper. “It’s never a good thing. But these guys aren’t going to let some strangers take what’s theirs.”
Beast’s heart swelled at her words. He knew she had no reason to trust them yet but her words told another story.
When the shooting started, it was him that jumped. Everyone looked at him and his face flushed. His eyes held hers while the shots were fired.
The gun battle lasted about ten minutes and when the shooting and the screams stopped, everything got eerily quiet.
Cin looked over at Viper. He seemed to be done with her and she smiled. “Thank you but I think you should go check on your brothers. Some of them may need your services. I’ll be fine.”
Viper stared at her. “I’m not quite done yet. I want to check your bruises again.” Viper looked at her for a moment then gave her some pills. “This is just aspirin for the pain.”
Noelle helped her to drink some water and swallow them.
“I’m ok. I hurt, but that’s a good thing. The pain means I’m still alive. The men might need you,” she insisted. “I got Beast to watch over me and Noelle, I’ll be fine.”
Viper then looked at Beast. At Beast’s nod, he wrapped things up. “I learned a long time ago to never argue with a woman, so I’ll leave but I’ll come back to check on you.”
Cin nodded. Everyone watched him leave and Cin closed her eyes.
Noelle brushed a strand of hair away from her head and asked softly, “Are you ok? Really ok?”
“Not in the least but the men might need him. I’ll be ok eventually. I think I just need to rest.”
“Ok, I’ll just leave you to rest then.” Noelle patted her hand. “I’m sure the big guy can take care of you.”
Cin chuckled then groaned as she pressed her hands against her side. “Don’t make me laugh it hurts.”
Noelle grinned and got off the bed. “Ok sweetie, I’ll be back to check on you too. I’ll bring you more water but drink it slowly so you don’t choke. You don’t want to start coughing with those ribs.”
Cin nodded and watched her leave the room. Then she turned her eyes to Beast. Without saying a word, she held out her hand to him.
Beast came around the end of the bed and sat down next to her.
“Thank you for coming for me.”
“That is a given, woman. I’ll always come to get you, no matter what.” Beast kissed her cheek gently.
“I have something to tell you and I’m afraid to say it.” She wet her dry lips and looked at him. “When I was laying there last night I discovered something.”
“Oh, yeah? What was that?” Beast gently smoothed his fingers down her bruised cheek.
“I was thinking about everything that has happened in my life and that’s when I remembered a conversation I had with Ms. Katie one time. We were talking about loving someone. She told me the moment she saw my grandpa she knew he was the only man she would ever love. That in that moment she’d found the other half of her soul and she told me he felt the same way. They were married within a week and they spent a lifetime together.”
“And?” Beast looked a little confused.
“I discovered that you are the other half of my soul. I felt a connection the moment we met. But I want to say the words to you. I love you with every part of my being. You may not feel the same way but I wanted you to know. I love you.”
“Sweetheart if you don’t know I feel the same way about you then I’m doing something wrong. I love you too. The only thing that kept me sane was the thought that I would see you again,” Beast told her in a hushed voice. “Just don’t ask me to forgive that little fucker Ricky.”
Cin smiled. “No he should pay for what he did. That man has a lot of hate in his heart. He is pure evil and the world won’t miss him. I take it his friends stormed the gates so to speak.”
Beast smiled. “They tried but I have no doubt they didn’t get very far.”
Cin nodded. “I noticed you never even got up to check. Those brothers of yours are something else.”
Beast looked at her and finally told her, “I owe you an apology.”
“You do?” Cin frowned.
“Yes I do.” Beast grinned. “Your friend Shadow protected you against the elements and the gators until I could find you. He and his pack were there for you until I could get there.”
“I was hoping and praying you would come for me. As soon as he came, I knew I would be safe until....”
Beast just shook his head. “I don’t know how you made friends with a wild wolf but I’m glad he remembered that you were friends.”
Cin laid back on her pillow and remembered back to the time when she first saw him. “I was only ni
ne at the time, it was just months before George Norris came and killed my grandpa. I was walking in the woods that day when I heard a whimpering sound. When I found it, it turned out to be a little black wolf. I could see the mother off in the distance but she didn’t approach me. I sat down and talked to the little wolf for a moment then got closer to him. I didn’t move fast because I didn’t want to scare him or cause his mom to rush me. When I got close enough I could see his foot caught in a trap. I reached out and got him loose. The poor little thing just sat there for a moment then he licked my hand. I petted him and he licked my hand again. His mother came out of the woods and she looked at me, then looked at the pup in my arms. I let him go and he went over to her. They turned and went back into the woods. I just stayed there for a while. After that, I would see the pup in the distance but I never got too close. I knew the other wolves were around and I didn’t want to threaten them. I did tell my grandpa about my encounter and he scolded me about it but I asked him not to set anymore traps and he said he would stop.”
Beast just shook his head. “I’m amazed for two reasons. One, the mama wolf allowed you to come that close to her pup and two, that he remembered that encounter sixteen years later and in turn came to you when you needed him the most.”
“I am too but if we stay here, please don’t set any traps in these woods?” Cin asked.
“You know this is still your home. We don’t own the house. We might be paying the taxes and upkeep but this house belongs to you.”
Cin shook her head. “This house belongs to you and your club. It stopped being mine a long time ago.”
A knock sounded on the door.
Beast called out the door opened.
Silas, George and Jackal came inside.
Silas looked at her and winced. He got a little tearful while staring at her.
“I am ok,” she whispered. Holding out her hand, he took it. “The bruises and sunburn will heal in a few weeks.”
“I heard a wolf pack protected you.”
