Ace

by Kim Faulks

  The biggest wolf I’d ever seen.

  He was just a blur…still my stomach clenched.

  The icy river drove spears along my spine. I couldn’t feel my feet, couldn’t feel my legs. My brain was sending signals my body couldn’t catch. I stumbled, slipped and the water rushed up to greet me. Ghost was there, grasping my arm, wrenching me from the bitter embrace.

  She held me, driving forward one hard breath at a time. Through the shuddering steps I saw the midnight beast hugging the shadows, creeping slowly.

  I found my footing, grasped the leg of my khakis and heaved my foot forward, before moving to the other, until the water didn’t quite reach as high, and the water didn’t rush as fast.

  “Wolf,” I gasped. “He’s getting closer.”

  She nodded her head, scanning the trees with a look of fear. We were heading right toward him, but it wasn’t just him she was worried about. I heaved my leg high, driving one last step into the shallows as the realization dawned on me.

  Where was the pack?

  I shoved, stumbled, hit the bank with a thud. The pain was savage, piercing skin, driving in deep, past flesh to pierce the marrow of my bones. I shuddered, blew frigid breath into my cupped hands.

  Long fingers found mine as Ghost pulled me closer. She moved the thick coat of her animal across my shoulders and I felt the weight. The edges were soaked, still warmth seeped into my shoulders.

  “Wait…” she whispered on a shudder. “Wait, then move.”

  I followed her focus and massaged feeling into my legs. In the distance the faint sound of a chopper cut through. I shoved upwards, until my knees buckled and I hit the ground. Rage burned, punching a fist into my belly at the sound.

  The bank reared like an oncoming giant wave. I could make it. I could fucking make it.

  I was a Marine, fought the cold, murdered the goddamn heat. I pushed myself harder than anything else could. I knew my limits…I’d touched them once before.

  But this time was different.

  This time Alpha needed me. He was out there, I knew it in my heart.

  He was out there, bleeding, hurting, calling my name in his fucking mind.

  I dug deep now, yanking the fabric of my pants, dragging my leg high and slammed it to the ground.

  The ache was dull, driving into my heel. More pain would come, a lot more. I moved to the other, lifting, slamming, pushing myself further. I was ready for the hurt…I clenched my jaw and stumbled.

  I hit the ground hard, slamming my face into the rocks. Ghost was there, yanking my belt, lifting me high. She carried, dragged, crawling when she couldn’t stand, until we made the lip of the riverbed and rolled.

  The chopper was getting closer, faint sound echoed with the sound of speed. I scanned the dusk-filled sky right and left. Still I found nothing. But this terror had a name.

  The Shadow Government and Newman Slater were out there, hunting, hiding, covering their tracks by the bodies they left behind. I shoved against the ground, the familiar stab of pain cut through the numbing ache.

  That was good—that was something.

  Ghost climbed to her feet and sucked in a hard breath. Tiny peaks reached higher than the trees. I followed the darkened ridgeline until it dropped away. Ten clicks, maybe more…

  Movement in the distance dragged my focus as the dark shadow moved.

  Ghost pushed ahead. Her savage snarls slipped behind. For a second the sight was surreal. Black surging, silver matching speed, rushing toward each other like a tsunami.

  “Ghost no!” My hand went for my weapon. I dragged the Sig high and took aim.

  Too far away. If the bullet went wide I’d hit her.

  I lunged, driving my boots into the ground, finding the cruel ache once more. She was a blur, her shoulders curled, body thickened. The coat around her body seemed to lengthen and slide over her skin.

  The ground was a blur, still my steps too fucking slow. My knee screamed, tendons tightened, past the point of repair. I dragged my weapon high as the brutal thud of bodies cracked and the bestial roar of unmerciful snarls followed.

  The wolf lunged, biting, savaging her leg as her body buckled and bowed.

  No…Jesus…No. Her cry shattered my heart…broken pieces replaced it…as Ghost collapsed to the ground. I took aim and fired, not caring if others heard—not caring about anything but her.

  The wolf’s head snapped up for a second before the beast was gone. Ghost rose like a specter, bigger than anything I’d seen before, and in that moment the bearskin coats of her parents surfaced.

  I’d seen shifters turn into wolves. I’d see others turn into panthers. But this…this was something that would stay with me forever.

  She reared on hind legs, thick muscles rippling from the strength. A beast ten times the size of the woman I knew. Her silver coat glistened as she drove her body forward. White teeth turned bloody as she ravaged the midnight wolf.

  His snarls turned to piercing howls—rage gave way to fear.

  I aimed the weapon and closed the distance, but no bullet could do the damage her jaws could.

  The sickening snap of bone tightened the wolf’s crescendo, until piercing screams mauled the air. She reared once more, lifting her head until her gaze found mine. This was the way of the beast. This was the way of the shifter. It was die, or survive.

  I swallowed the acid in my throat and nodded. The motion was all Ghost needed as she pounced, closing enormous jaws around the wolf’s back and clamped tight.

  Silence.

  The kind that fills you with terror. The kind that leaves behind nothing but dread.

  And amongst that a woman…

  Ghost slowly rose to her feet. I moved closer, slowing my steps until I stared at the body of the wolf. Its skull was fractured, caved in on one side, its eyeball oozed out. Crimson covered the silver bristles along her mouth.

  I knew the vacant stare of a killer. I knew it better than anyone I knew. I found it in the mirror. But underneath the horror of the things I’d done was still a man, still a friend, still a son…still a lover.

  “Thank you,” I whispered finding the steel glare. “Thank you for saving me.”

  She took a step away, one paw hovered in the air, waiting for a second before she closed the distance. I shoved the gun back into my holster and reached for her. “Nothing you do in the act of saving my life or yours will ever rock me. You understand that? Whatever needs to happen, however many we need to kill.”

  She lowered her massive head and stepped closer. Thick shoulders reached midway along my chest, but the sheer size…I reached out sliding my palm along her cheek toward her neck—the sheer size made me tremble.

  In the distance the sound of the helicopter grew. I sank my fingers through her coat to the rippling muscles below. “However many, you hear me?”

  She lifted her head to the sky, and then met my gaze. We left behind the body of the wolf and slipped back amongst the shadows. I searched the trees for the rest of the pack and followed. She stilled once, lifted her head, drew in a massive breath, and kept on moving.

  I trusted her, giving her the lead as she made it through the thicket, and out into a clearing. The mountains crept closer, towering above the tops of the pines as we picked up the pace.

  “I need to get back to the place where I fell, do you understand me? I need my rifle…my gun.”

  Ghost swung her massive head toward me and gave a small huff. Black lips curled, inky pupils shone. A low growl slipped from her lips. I could see myself in the reflection, but I couldn’t see what she saw.

  I inched my head around, and scanned the darkness. My hand went to my knife. This was no time for a gunfight, and the single blast of the Sig would do that. Ghost’s growl ended as I turned back to her and whispered. “Can we make it without being seen?”

  Slate gray flared. The hunter in her reared, calculating the distance and the speed at which we moved. Black curled on white canines—the answer loud and clear.

  “
Then we get as far as we can, okay?”

  She swung her gaze to the peak of the mountain and took the first step. She was a four hundred pound predator moving through the forest without a sound. Her steps were careful, lifting her feet, hovering for a second before they touched back down. I followed, finding the warmth she left behind and after a while I moved with her, hunting how she hunted, breathing her scent, finding her prey.

  I found three of the mercenaries. But there were others—ones I couldn’t see, or hear. But Ghost could. I put my trust in her as we skirted the boundary and pushed closer toward the mountain. We walked without stopping, until my knee started to swell.

  I twisted at the hip with each step, jarring the muscles along my spine and chewed the last of the painkillers. Not long now, not long until I found my Tac, and then my brother. We came here to draw them out into the open. We came to kill. I planned on fulfilling that promise.

  And I planned on getting my brother out alive.

  The mountain reared in the distance, growing bigger the closer we neared. Ghost carved a trail, weaving in and out until I caught sight of the familiar. I surged forward as the rocky ledge came into view. The campground was bare, not a body in sight—us or the bad guys.

  If I could find my two-way then I could find him. I pushed ahead of Ghost, lunging and twisting until I clamped down on my lip and tasted blood, and the rocky ledge rose in front of me. Ghost picked up the pace, her paws smacking the earth with a heavy thud. She veered right, heading for a flat, rocky mound.

  Something glinted in the distance, and my heart lunged with the sight as I scampered over smaller rocks toward the boulders. The glare gone in a heartbeat, but I knew it was there. Darkened blood spread out across the wide chiseled rock surface.

  I glanced to the rocky ledge above. The sight stilled me.

  I could’ve died. I should’ve died.

  And yet I didn’t. I crouched, grasped sharp edges of a boulder and stepped. My foot slipped, finding a crevice barely big enough for a hold. My knee flared, and I rode the pain, lunging forward as the stock of my rifle came into view.

  Elation drove me higher, and right now I was a fucking bird. I reached, yanked, hauled my body across the rocky peak to balance in the damn air. Muscles strained as I reached, fingers curled to snag the strap. Please…please…please don’t let there be damage.

  My fingers curled around the webbing, and then the smooth surface as I yanked the weapon free and pulled it into my hands. I checked the sight, checked the barrel, checked the trigger and drew it to my line of sight.

  It was okay…it was more than okay—there wasn’t even a scratch on the damn thing. I wrenched the bolt and checked the rounds. I needed more…lots more. I turned and scanned the rocks searching for my pack and found nothing.

  I lifted my gaze, maybe it was still up top. Memories drifted to the surface. I tried to think, tried to remember. My pack…in front of me. I used it to balance. Did I kick it…did I leave it behind?

  My boots slipped on the surface as I dropped to my ass and slid. I needed to get higher. Up there I could see farther.

  The faint sound of a chopper drew my gaze. Why the Hell—?

  In the distance the explosion rocked the air with a deafening boom!

  I shuddered, slipped, tried to find footing as Ghost spun. Her lips were curled, soft ears flattened. She looked over the rocky landing as a boom came once more.

  Bombs…more than fucking bombs, rigged detonations. “Sonofabitch.”

  I searched for a path to the ridge above, finding the quickest one. In the distance thick black smoke drifted into the air.

  I jumped, clawed, and dragged myself across one boulder to the next and Ghost followed, finding steady surfaces easier than I could and she passed me mid-way along the climb.

  Sweat dripped into my eyes as the first shot rang out. Something pinged to my right, then again, this time closer. Stony shards smacked into my eye. It wasn’t the first time I’d been shot at.

  And it wouldn’t be the last.

  I jerked my gaze over my shoulder as the first mercenary lunged from the trees. He lifted his semi-automatic, took aim, and fired. Accuracy. It was all about accuracy—I balanced on one foot and swung my rifle around—and the semi-automatic just didn’t have it.

  And all of a sudden I was back there—at the range. I took aim, checked the tilt, and the hold-over aligning the cross hairs high and to the right. I inhaled nice and slow as a bullet hit my boot, and the sound of the shot carried.

  It didn’t matter. Nothing else mattered. There was only the creed…

  I exhaled and stilled…

  One shot—I squeezed—one kill.

  The Tac kicked, slamming into my shoulder. But the pain was a good pain—it was filled with purpose. The shot lifted the mercenary and drove him to the ground.

  There he stayed.

  I swung my rifle over my shoulder and kept moving until I climbed the last boulder and stood at the ledge. I scanned the campground, and then worked my way along trails. A black blur farther along…a body. I palmed my weapon and stared through the scope.

  Arms out, not moving…hours old. “Be alive brother…just be alive.”

  I dropped the sight and stared at the ground, finding every rocky ledge. The broken earpiece was high on the rocks, twisted, pointing skyward. I lunged, boots skimmed the loose surface as I snatched the device from the ledge and stared at the remains.

  I tapped the speaker, checked the volume, and slid the piece into my ear and pressed the button. “Alpha…Alpha can you hear me, brother?”

  There was nothing but dead, cold, silence. I checked the device again, moving the connectors as the echo of rotor blades carved through the air.

  The chopper I heard before. But this sound was different, deeper, hungrier…

  I scanned the sky as my heart dropped. It was a damn Chinook.

  The twin rotors echoed in tandem until the whirr was one low, thunderous growl. I shoved the earpiece into place and tried again. “Brother, if you can hear me, right about now is a good time to respond.”

  The faint hiss of a bad connection whispered in my ear as the roar above became louder.

  “Ace…Ace if you can hear me, I’m sorry, brother. I fucking failed.”

  The weak snarl filled my ear. But this wasn’t the sound of the brother I knew. This man was broken.

  “I know you’re gone—and it’s all my fucking fault.”

  Agony was a sledgehammer to my chest. I stabbed the mic. “Alpha…I’m here. Alpha, can you hear me? Give me your damn location.”

  I swung the sight up, scanning the trees, looking for anything, and yet all I saw were trees…trees…trees and fucking trees. Tandem rotors savaged the air, cutting across the mountain overhead.

  The sound was deafening. Ghost reared, pounding the ground with massive paws.

  I pressed the mic and yelled over the rumble. “I’m coming for you. Do you hear me? Hold on, I’m fucking coming.”

  I swung my gaze finding Ghost. She dropped her head and sniffed a wide crevice, then dragged her paw across the surface. I shoved up from the ground and stumbled. Straps shot high, the rest of my pack underneath. She clawed the nylon as I dropped to my knees.

  “Thank you, Jesus.” I wrenched the zipper open, fumbled for the rounds as the sound of the Chinook dulled. “Can you track Alpha? Human, nice Human, like me. Can you track him?”

  She turned her head and stared out to the endless green as hope faded—and then moved. Heavy paws set the pace, scurrying back down the trail we made. I hurried to keep up with her, and fell behind.

  “Can you hear them?” Alpha growled. He sounded so far away. It wasn’t the connection—it was him. “Coming to finish what we started. If you could’ve told me how my life would end I wouldn’t have believed you. Yet here it is…a fucking tsunami of khaki.”

  Alpha, the fighter, the protector, the badass brother I knew was giving up. “Faster Ghost,” I urged.

  Her muscles r
ipped, silver coat rolled. Long fluid movements turned stiff and jerky before she reared on hind legs. The top of my boot skimmed the ground, pitching me forward. I windmilled, fighting momentum and punched the trunk of a tree. The movement shoved me upright as Ghost kept running.

  The bristles on her fur curled, thick wide skull split down the middle and cracked open, dropping away to fall at the base of her neck…and from the beast, came the woman.

  Her body thinned, bones snapped. Long silver hair trailed behind her as she changed her gait, moving faster, freer, and cut through the dense thicket as we charged past the bunker.

  I pumped my legs, punching boots into the ground as we climbed the small rise, veered right, and headed for the compound.

  Heavy pack smacked the base of my spine with every step as we hauled ass and raced back to where it all started—the compound. Trees flew past as we careened through the forest.

  She was on the trail, hungry growls echoed from her lips as she veered right on a goddamn dime and speared through the middle of two massive pines.

  A shot rang out, with a deadly crack. Ghost pitched forward, stumbled, but kept on moving, kept on striding out those long legs as my hand went for the Sig.

  I closed my fist around the grip and dragged the weapon high as the first mercenary came from the bushes. I took aim and fired, catching the bastard’s fall as another filled his place.

  The Chinook’s roar was the background track for the deafening crack of semi-auto gunfire. I flinched, turned to find her beside me. “Ghost get down! Ghost…Ghost!”

  But I was far too late as she spread her arms wide, protecting me with her own body as the mercenary open fire.

  27

  Ghost

  Human roared. Human stung. Human hurt me…

  But this wasn’t for nothing.

  This time it was for Ace.

  Metal claws pierced my shoulder. Another in my side. Ace was a blur, eyes wide, filled with horror—his screams crowded my ears. “Ghost get down!”

  I would protect…I would save. Spirit was all I had left to give, and for him, I would give it all.