“It’s specifically engineered for Beretta semi-automatic guns. You won’t find it at your local gun store,” Aiden replied, hoping he made his point.
The ammo could only be found on the black market. Humans designed it so they could cut through Kevlar. That’s not what Aiden used them for, though. He only used them when he was dealing with werewolves. They healed so quickly, Aiden needed to make sure they did the most damage.
While regular bullets would cut right through flesh, causing the bullet to come out the other side, this ammo was made to splinter off. That way it stayed inside the target and blew a hole in them, causing as much internal damage as possible. It also helped because werewolves healed quickly once the bullet was out. These took a while to fish out.
Though this type of ammo was used regularly in semi-automatic rifles that the military used, his buddy had a black-market dealer who sold it for handguns. Aiden was very skeptical buying from the man at first. He didn’t want to deal with a man who helped drug dealers and mob bosses kill policemen. His buddy, and then the man himself, assured him that wasn’t his market. He dealt strictly with supernatural clients who might engage with other supernaturals.
Aiden checked on Matt again, making sure he was ready. When Matt nodded at him, Aiden looked out from his hiding spot. Their pursuers were still getting close, though there were only seven of them left. Make that six.
When one went down on the right side, the last one being taken down from the left, Aiden knew he had a window to fire in the middle. He flipped the safety off, aimed, and shot one round after another until the guy in the middle fell. Another guy to the right went down, so Aiden knew the Deltas would be heading to the left.
There were still four left, but grouped closer together. Just to be on the safe side, as he saw someone on the left being attacked, Aiden picked off the guy all the way to the right. When his target went down, Aiden held his fire since the last two men were close together. The last thing they needed was for one of the invisible Deltas to be hit by friendly fire.
Aiden and Matt watched as the last two men were maimed by invisible forces. He smiled to himself as he thought about human myths of ghosts and wondered if what they saw was a Delta. Or he should say, what they didn’t see. Peeking back around the tree, he saw everyone was down.
“Come on, Matt, let’s head back to the truck,” he said as he stood up. As Matt joined him, he leaned down and claimed his little mate’s lips. “See, told you that you’re stuck with me!”
“I’m glad,” Matt replied with a huge grin. “Let’s go find our other mate and make sure he’s okay.”
They took off back to the truck at a jog. Several minutes later, as they reached the truck, Aiden saw Zac, then Sebastian, change back into human form.
“You guys okay?” Aiden asked, approaching them.
“We’re good,” Zac answered, wrapping his arms around Aiden. “Nice shooting, Tex.”
“Matt did more than his share, too,” Aiden said, releasing Zac and making his way to Sebastian. “What are your injuries?”
“A couple of bruises from flailing limbs or lucky shots,” Sebastian answered with a shrug. “Nothing that won’t heal soon.”
“I’m glad, brother,” Aiden replied, hugging his best friend. He noticed out of the corner of his eye that Zac and Matt were playing tonsil hockey.
“Break it up, guys,” Sebastian said, groaning at Zac and Matt while releasing Aiden. “We’re not out of the woods yet, horndogs.”
“Right, what now?” Aiden asked.
“Well, we’re still about eighty miles from council headquarters, and no working vehicles. I’m open to ideas,” Zac said after releasing Matt from their kiss.
Aiden wanted nothing more than to kiss Zac and Matt like that, but there was no time. When this was all over, though, the three of them were staying in bed for a week, Aiden promised himself.
“I have an idea.” Matt spoke up, waiting until everyone looked at him. “I memorized the map. I know exactly where we need to go. I say we figure out a way to attach a bag to me and Aiden in wolf form, carrying our clothes, keys, wallets, cell phones, and the papers for the council. Zac and Sebastian shift back to Chameleon form and flank us.”
Aiden and the two other men looked at each other, having a nonverbal conversation about Matt’s plan. Personally, Aiden thought it was a good fucking plan!
“I think that’s a great plan, baby,” Zac said, giving him another quick kiss. “My mate is so smart.” Aiden almost laughed at Zac’s face. He looked like a proud parent instead of a mate.
“Agreed,” Sebastian added, “I’ll call for a cleanup crew since we don’t know what the status is on Zac. For all we know, there may be a hit out on you now.” Sebastian turned and walked around the truck where he had left his clothes and things.
The rest of them started looking at the bags they had, debating which would be best to attach to them in wolf form. Once they got the bag issue settled, Aiden and Matt stripped, packing their clothes in the bags, before adding the other things Matt listed. Sebastian walked back to them, handing over his belongings and his copy of the paperwork.
“I called it in and explained we won’t be here,” Sebastian said, trying hard to keep his eyes averted from the other naked men.
“Okay, let’s shift, Matt,” Aiden said before giving Zac and Matt another quick kiss. He shifted quickly, Matt right behind him. Matt was just a tad bigger than a normal wolf, whereas Aiden was much larger than that. He watched as Zac fitted one bag on the back of Matt while Sebastian strapped the other bag on him.
It made sense that the two visible wolves carried the packs, strapping them to the Deltas would just give away their positions. They couldn’t make other objects blend in with their surroundings, just themselves.
Once the bags were strapped on securely, Aiden moved around a bit in his wolf form to make sure the bag wouldn’t fall off. When he was sure, he licked Sebastian’s hand, signaling he was good to go.
Matt must have done something similar because Aiden watched as Zac and then Sebastian disappeared before his eyes. Aiden was used to it, given he and Sebastian had been his friend for so many years. Matt, on the other hand, let out a small whimper. Aiden went over to his little mate and licked his face, giving a playful yip before taking off in the direction of the council headquarters.
As Matt led the way, Aiden at his side, they kept a steady but fast pace. He heard nothing from the invisible wolves, so he assumed everything was okay and they were there with them. Aiden could sense and smell them, so he assumed Matt could, too, hopefully giving his mate some reassurance.
He’s really quick for a little guy, Aiden thought to himself. It’s surprising considering his strides are about half of ours.
“Bigger isn’t always better,” Aiden heard in his mind. Did he just think that?
“Aiden, Matt? I think I’m hearing you guys in my head,” Aiden heard in his mind, the voice sounding like Zac.
Holy shit! Zac? Aiden thought to himself.
“Yeah, that was me, Aiden. Did you guys know we could do this? I sure as hell didn’t. I mean, I can sense you guys differently than other wolves, but hear you in my head? Wow, that’s kind of freaky,” Zac thought.
“You didn’t know we would? Really? What does your pack teach you guys?” Matt’s voice floated through his mind.
“Well, my Alpha is nuts and likes to hurt his pack, but I’m surprised my parents never told me,” Aiden replied.
“Probably figured once you found your mate they could tell you then,” Matt answered.
“Well, they never told us about this when I learned to be a Delta.” Zac chuckled.
“Given how much you have to be taught, I’m sure they forgot a few things. I mean, haven’t you had any other surprises over the years?” Aiden asked Zac as they reached a small stream and rested.
“That’s true,” Zac replied as they all took time to drink. Well, Aiden assumed the Deltas did. He couldn’t see them drinking, of course. After a te
n-minute break, he realized it was time to go again.
“Time to roll, guys. How far do you think we’ve gotten?” Aiden asked in their shared mental link as they started to run again. He tried to ignore the pack strapped to his back. It wasn’t the most comfortable thing. Rubbing all over his fur, it was starting to chafe.
“I’d say less than twenty miles?” Matt answered.
“Well, at least we’re making good time,” Zac answered.
“That’s true,” Aiden replied with a chuckle. “So, earlier, before the shoot-out, I was thinking.”
“About what?” came Zac’s reply.
“Should we be scared?” Matt said.
“I hope not! I was thinking, after this is all over and the danger is past, I say we take a week and spend it in bed together. Only getting up to shower and eat, ordering mostly takeout. Then again, with Matt’s cooking abilities, maybe that would work, too.” Aiden ended with a laugh.
“Well, that would give us time to regroup in between rounds of sex,” Zac replied.
“Dirty, dirty mates!” Matt exclaimed.
“Is that bad?” Aiden asked, hoping he didn’t step over a line and make Matt feel uncomfortable.
“Hell no! I love it! I’ve never been so desired before in my life! I could get used to this,” Matt said with a chuckle.
Aiden and Zac laughed as well. It was nice that they could still tease each other comfortably while waist-deep in danger. Aiden hoped it would always be like this.
Chapter 8
Matt’s feet ached. Well, his paws anyway. The rest of his body wasn’t much better. He lay down on the ground next to a bush and panted heavily. He just wasn’t cut out for this “run for your life” shit.
He much preferred being Zac and Aiden’s sex toy. If he was going to be totally exhausted and sore, he wanted it to be from hours spent in bed with his mates, not running from some psychotic Alpha bent on killing them all.
Still, at least he had his mates with him. If he was going to be in a dangerous situation, he was glad he wasn’t alone. Matt had spent his time being alone and in danger. He didn’t like it much. It sucked on a number of levels.
Just thinking about that time in his life made Matt think of the conversation he would eventually need to have with his mates. They knew something was up with him. No one was afraid of yelling and shouting like he was without a reason. And Matt had plenty of reasons.
“Are you okay, baby?”
Aiden’s words brought Matt out of his deep, morose thoughts. He glanced up at the big brown wolf. Even in wolf form, Aiden was beautiful, with long fur in several shades of brown and tan. Matt gave a little woof then went back to panting.
“I’m fine, just a little winded,” Matt replied. “I’m not used to running like this.”
“Not much further to go, Matt,” Aiden said, “promise.”
“I need to talk to you and Zac after this is all over.”
“About what, baby?”
“About why I have such a problem with Zac yelling all the time.”
“Matt, there’s nothing out there says you have to like it,” Aiden said. “I don’t like it myself.”
“I know, but I feel like I need to explain it to you, to Zac. I want you to understand.”
“Zac, Matt needs to talk to us,” Aiden said. “Can you move a little closer?”
“What’s up?” Zac asked a moment later.
Matt almost wished he’d kept his mouth shut. This didn’t seem like the right time to discuss his emotional hang-ups.
“Matt?”
Matt rolled his eyes. “You know I’m an orphan, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Yes.”
“I bounced from foster home to foster home for a while, but before that I stayed in an orphanage. It wasn’t very nice there. There were so many kids that some of us kind of got passed over for stuff.”
“Stuff?” Aiden asked. “What kind of stuff?”
“Food, blankets, clothing, attention, all sorts of stuff.”
“Oh, baby, that’s—”
“That’s not why I brought this up. Things happen, and sometimes there’s nothing we can do about it. I brought it up to explain to you why I have such an issue with yelling and violence.”
“Matt, I’m sorry if—” Zac began.
“Please, let me finish.” When he heard nothing, Matt continued. “There was this man that operated the orphanage before it closed down. I don’t know who put him in charge, but he never should have been there. He hated kids, which is kind of counterproductive when you operate a home for kids. Anyway, he yelled, a lot. Almost every word that came out of his mouth was shouted. And if he wasn’t yelling, he was hitting.”
“Hitting!” Aiden shouted.
Matt winced. “Yes, hitting. The smallest little infraction or protest gained you punishment. After a while, most of us just learned to keep our heads down and our mouths shut. It was safer that way.”
“Didn’t anyone try to stand up to this guy? To stop him?” Zac asked.
“Yes, and that’s why the orphanage was closed. My friend Donny finally had enough after he was punished for not moving fast enough. He received five lashes from the headmaster’s belt. When he tried to fight back, the headmaster beat him so bad that he died. Donny was eight at the time.”
“My God!” Aiden whispered.
“Now you understand why I hate yelling?”
“I swear to you, Matt, I will never hurt you. I know my size scares you sometimes, but I will only ever use it to protect you,” Zac said.
Matt could hear the anxiety in his voice, the worry.
“And I promise to try and curb my shouting when I’m around you. I won’t promise it will never happen, but I’ll try. Okay?”
“Thank you for understanding,” Matt said.
“Thank you for sharing,” Aiden replied. “It means a lot to us that you could share something so private with us. I know I speak for Zac when I say that we only want to love you, never hurt you. And if we ever do anything that makes you uncomfortable, you need to be honest and tell us.”
Matt tried to nod, but it felt weird in wolf form. Giving up the idea, he climbed to his feet and licked the side of his Zac’s muzzle. Heaving another deep breath, Matt turned and started off toward council headquarters again.
He figured that the faster they reached the council and handed over their evidence, the faster he could get into bed with Zac and Aiden. After running for so many hours, though, he wasn’t sure if he wanted sex first or sleep.
“How much farther is this damn place?”
Matt could hear Aiden’s chuckle through their mental link. “Not far, baby, just a few more miles. If we’re lucky, we’ll get there just as the sun starts to come up.”
“Why is that lucky?”
“Dawn and dusk, when the moon and sun pass each other in the sky, are the hardest times of the day to see. If anyone is waiting for us, we have a better chance of slipping through their lines if it’s dawn or dusk.”
“Okay, that makes sense,” Matt replied, “but do you really think they will be waiting for us?” Just the thought made Matt stumble a bit. Yeah, sure, he made it through the firefight several hours ago with his sanity intact. He couldn’t promise that would continue if they had to fight again. He was pretty much running on empty nerves at this point.
“I’d like to tell you that they weren’t, Matt, but you, Zac, and I promised we’d never lie to each other, remember? If they had that much firepower set up to stop us back at the truck, then I suspect they have something else set up for us close to council headquarters.”
“Besides,” Zac said, “we still haven’t seen Alpha Issacar. While he seems to be the type of guy that hires thugs to take care of business for him, he’ll still want his hands in it somehow. He won’t stop until he stops us, or he’s taken out.”
“You guys are all just sunshine and happiness, aren’t you?”
“Would you rather we lie to you?” Zac asked.
>
“At the moment? Yes!”
“Well, okay,” Aiden said. “The Alpha was obviously one of the people we took out at the firefight, and he’s dead, so the only thing between us and the council is open space. I imagine, since they know we are coming, they will have tubs of hot bubbly water waiting for us and nice, big, juicy steaks.”
“Sounds perfect,” Matt said, “but I’d be more interested in a bed, a big bed.”
Matt yelped when he felt a small nip on his hindquarter. He jumped around snarling, only to find no one behind him. Matt quickly realized Zac had nipped him, his invisible Chameleon mate. That was going to get old fast.
“Get a move on, gorgeous,” Zac said, “or you’ll never see that bed.”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m going,” Matt replied as he tried to pick up his speed. They’d been running through forested areas mostly. They even ran up over a couple of tall hills. Up ahead, though, the land started to even out and open up. Matt was looking forward to that.
As they came to the edge of the tree line, Aiden moved in front of Matt and slowed down until he came to a stop. Matt stepped up close to Aiden and nudged him. His big, gorgeous mate gave him a small whimper and licked him. Matt wiggled. He didn’t care what form he was in, a kiss was a kiss.
Aiden suddenly shifted back to human form. Matt blinked, then shifted. “What? Why did you stop?”
Aiden lifted his nose into the air and sniffed, then shook his head. “Something is off, but I can’t quite put my finger on it. Do you smell anything out of place?”
Matt frowned but lifted his nose to sniff. At first all he smelled were trees, grass, and dirt. Then a strange odor floated across the breeze. Matt wrinkled his nose at the off-putting scent. It almost smelled like rotting wet dog, but not.
“It’s disgusting,” Matt said, trying to breathe through his mouth. “What in the hell is it?”
“I’m not exactly sure, but I suspect it’s our welcoming party.”
“And they smell like rotten dog shit?”
Aiden chuckled. “Zac, could you or Sebastian check it out?”
“I’ll be right back,” Zac replied mentally. “Don’t move out from cover.”
Chameleon Wolf Page 10
