Protecting Ally

by Tianna Xander

  He sat staring at the two men as they crept through the clearing, their guns raised, looking for a target. When Kalen saw the ammo belt Bobby wore, he nearly groaned with relief.

  They were using tranquilizer guns. He smiled in his wolf’s body, no doubt looking rather vicious as he bared his teeth. Ally could risk herself all she wanted, and he needn’t worry. The worst they could do was knock her out and depending on the strength of the tranquilizer, it could take several hits to do that. He’d have no trouble carrying her back to civilization. In fact, he was afraid it would be a pleasure to carry her through the woods, smelling her sweet scent as he bore her slight weight.

  He shook his head to clear it. He had no business thinking of her that way. Once this was over and he had her safe, he would leave her with someone who would teach her their ways and forget about her. He needn’t keep telling himself what he already knew—that he had no desire to mate, regardless of the way he felt about the beautiful Ally.

  It didn’t matter anyway. Ally had made it abundantly clear that she would rather die than live out the rest of her life as one of them. Who was he to keep trying to change her mind?

  Kalen stared out at the two men as they made their way toward the area that Ally had just vacated only moments before. Another rustle in the brush had them spinning around, their guns raised.

  “You see something, Billy?”

  The mentally challenged Billy did no more than shake his head, his gun still glued to his shoulder, his arms trembling either from the weight of the gun, or fear.

  It didn’t matter to Kalen which it was. He’d already pegged the not-too-bright Billy as his second target. Bobby held his gun steady and his aim would no doubt be good.

  It was then that Ally chose to run out. Billy let loose with a high-pitched scream as she latched onto his ankle, her mouth clamping down hard. Eww! His foot smells like corn chips and his ankle tastes like crap. You’d think they could bathe once in a while. She dove for cover when Bobby turned around, firing quickly.

  Billy hopped around on one foot, using the butt of his rifle as a crutch as he tried to look at his ankle, no doubt worried that he would now become a werewolf and that his brother would hunt him next.

  It was a fair assessment. It didn’t appear as though his brother held much love for anyone, or anything beyond himself and his love of self-gratification.

  Taking the opportunity when it presented itself, he lunged at Bobby, knocking him to the ground. The other man tried to bring his gun up but didn’t have a chance. Kalen had superior strength on his side. He snarled and wasted no time in ripping out the idiot’s throat.

  He’d never wanted to kill them in front of Ally, but he didn’t have much choice. They were bloodthirsty and not too bright. It was a combination that, over the years, Kalen had found made for a monster in the guise of a human being.

  Kalen watched the light leave Bobby’s eyes and jumped off him, leaving him staring sightlessly up through the canopy of trees into the night sky. He turned his attention to Billy and knew that this human must also go. He couldn’t allow this man to live with the knowledge of their kind and he couldn’t justify taking him along with them. The man was almost as perverted and deviant as his brother.

  Billy still hopped around on one foot, too preoccupied with the pain radiating from his ankle to worry about what else was going on around him. It made it easy for Kalen to launch a strike against the other man.

  Just as Billy turned and noticed his brother on his back, his throat bloody and torn, Kalen struck. At least the simple-minded Billy wouldn’t have to live long without the brother he so obviously loved. He died with his brother’s name on his lips and tears in his eyes. Kalen felt a shifting somewhere near his heart and almost felt sorry for the man. Almost. Billy might have been someone they could have helped if not for his deviant nature.

  A rustle in the brush to his right drew his attention and Ally made her way through the tall, weed-filled grass and brambles. She looked everywhere but at the two bodies before she turned and headed back the way they had come.

  Kalen shook his head. For a were-being, the woman had a horrible sense of direction. Perhaps that was something one must be born with because the woman couldn’t find her way out of a room with four doors, by the looks of it.

  Where are you going? He had to ask. He also couldn’t keep the hint of humor from his thoughts. They could be out here for days, trying to find civilization with her sense of direction.

  Ally didn’t answer right away. She lifted her nose and sniffed the air and groaned. I’m headed in the wrong direction again, aren’t I?

  Kalen wanted to laugh. It felt strange. He hadn’t had this much humor in his life in decades. That he found himself laughing so much now was telling, though he was determined to ignore it.

  It wasn’t that Ally wasn’t beautiful, or even likeable, because she was. It was more than that. A lot more than that, not the least of which was his determination to remain single. He had vowed never to mate. He refused to become his father.

  Yes, sweetheart. You have lost your way again. He nudged her shoulder until she faced the right direction. If you’re going to insist on taking the lead, at least head in the right direction, which would be this way.

  Oh, shut up.

  Chapter Nine

  Pausing, Ally thought for a moment before she let Kalen be her guide. Since the jerk continued to make comments on her lousy sense of direction, he could just lead the way himself. With luck, maybe he would take her to a place where she could find her way home.

  Home. It seemed so faraway now. She wanted to get back home so she could be normal again. She sighed as she walked and wondered if anything would ever be normal again.

  Will you take me home? Something, some strange new sixth sense, told her he wouldn’t, but she had to know where she stood. What if she could convince him to take her to her house? She could put some real clothes on eventually. But first, she would go over and bite Milly Jenkins on the butt for convincing her to wear such skimpy clothes to work. Had she been wearing her usual oversized T-shirt, she doubted even the horny moron brothers could have found that sexy.

  I don’t think that’s a wise idea.

  Why not? Do you think I’m going to run away, or something?

  No. Kalen stopped, then turned to look at her. I would love to take you home, but there are things happening to you, that will continue to happen to you, that you’ll need help with understanding.

  I think that’s a load of bull. I think you and your friends are afraid I’ll run to the media, aren’t you?

  Kalen turned away and continued to lead the way through the woods. There is that. Though, that isn’t what bothers me the most.

  Then, by all means, tell me what bothers you the most. If she’d been human, she would have crossed her arms and tapped her toes at him. Instead, all she could do was tilt her head and let her tongue loll out. Since she thought it would make her look either pathetic, or otherwise unattractive, she refrained.

  There’s a man who calls himself a doctor, who has connections throughout the government and could easily find out where you live.

  Believe me, with his connections it wouldn’t take him long. He probably knows who you are already. He likes it when his serum works to change human women into shifters. He’s looking for breeders for some new perfect soldier he’s been trying to create.

  Ally wanted to roll her eyes at the cloak and dagger kind of situation he painted for her but stopped herself.

  What if he was telling the truth? After all, the man she’d encountered in room two-twenty-five hadn’t seemed to have any qualms about injecting her and leaving her without even finding out if the crap he’d injected her with had killed her or not. The jerk.

  I almost don’t want to believe you, but there is the fact that the lunatic left me alone after he injected me. That alone is enough to prove he doesn’t give a damn for anyone. She wanted to cry. I just want to go home.

  The furni
ture in the duplex she rented from Milly and her car were everything she owned in the world. Her stomach clenched at the possibility of losing everything.

  I know, sweetheart, but you can’t. I would guess he knows your name and your address by now. He’s probably got someone watching your house as we speak.

  Ally didn’t know if she wanted to believe him. Wasn’t being captured by that madman and put to death better than living out the rest of her life like this? Whatever happened had to be better than living like some sort of freak. I don’t care. I want to go home. I don’t care if he captures and kills me. In fact, running out in front of a fast-moving car was starting to look good right about now.

  Kalen stopped and turned to her. The look in his eyes gave her pause. He looked angry, though Ally had no idea why he would be mad at her. After all, it was her life. If she wanted to end it, it was no one’s business but her own.

  Stop thinking of how awful it is that you might have to live the rest of your life different now. Think about this, instead. No matter what you might think, that madman won’t kill you if he gets his hands on you.

  Don’t think that he will merely kill you. He will put you in a cage with a male, perhaps two or three males and they will rape you. He will not let you escape to the oblivion of death, Ally. He will use you until you become too old to breed, and for a were, that is an exceptionally long time. Now, think about it, do you really want your children growing up under his thumb? Do you want your sons to become unfeeling killers, or your daughters to live their lives the victims of repeated rape to breed more and more soldiers in a never-ending cycle of that asshole’s perversion?

  Can’t you see? I don’t want to live like this, damn you! If you have even an ounce of compassion in you, you’ll kill me right here. Right now.

  It’s because I do have compassion that I won’t do as you ask. If I didn’t know two women who have already come to terms with what happened to them, perhaps things would be different. But I do know two women who felt exactly the same way you do a little over a year ago. Now, they live normal productive lives within the circle of our people and they’re happy. Give it time and you’ll adjust.

  I don’t want to adjust, darn it. Ally tried to stomp her foot, but she was almost positive her show of temper looked ridiculous.

  No, you don’t. Kalen snarled at her as they walked. You want to go cower in some corner and wait for someone to end your life while people feel sorry for you. Poor, Ally. She was a victim of a madman and now has to relearn how to live her life.

  He trotted ahead, then stopped next to a stream, dipped his head and lapped up some water before turning back to her, his eyes filled with contempt.

  God forbid that you should try to live your life as a shifter, learning about all the new gifts you’ve acquired. Forget that perhaps you’re someone’s long-anticipated mate, or that maybe, just maybe, you could learn to deal with what you’ve become and live a happy, productive life as something other than someone’s lackey. Kalen trotted back to her and gave her a shove toward the stream.

  I, for one, refuse to feel sorry for you. Many humans would kill to have the chance the fates have given you. As a shifter, you’ll live a long, long life. Our society will welcome you into its fold, no questions asked. The alpha will give you a damn good job, money, a nice place to stay and more importantly, they’ll teach you what to expect now that you’re one of us. Imagine a life with no illness, Ally. Imagine never having to worry about losing a child to cancer, or some other disease. He gave her another shove toward the stream. Now, get a drink. There’s nothing wrong with the water.

  Ally approached the stream and gave it a tentative sniff. She looked down into the calm clear water, listening as the slight current washed over the colorful rocks on the bank. She wasn’t even sure if she would have heard the slight gurgle of water had she still been human, but now that she had her wolf’s hearing, she heard a lot of things she couldn’t have heard before.

  Turning her head, she saw a small rabbit, its little heart drumming with fear in the presence of two large predators. It sat still, most likely thinking that they wouldn’t see it if it sat still as death.

  She looked up into the canopy of trees, listening to the birds flitting from branch to branch and wondered what it would have been like if that crazy doctor had turned her into some type of bird shapeshifter—if they even existed. Who knew? A few short hours ago, she had been living happily ignorant of werewolves, or shifters, or whatever. The thought of were eagles didn’t seem quite so far-fetched now.

  Drink.

  Kalen sounded angry. He probably was. After all, she hadn’t been very cooperative after he’d saved her life. Billy and Bobby would have tortured, then killed her. But then again, what did he expect? In the last few hours, with the unwitting help of that crazy doctor, Kalen and his friends had managed to turn her entire world upside-down.

  Ally bent her head to the stream. The water smelled delicious. As a human, she would never have attempted to drink directly from a stream like this. She wouldn’t even have considered it, no matter how thirsty she was, but she was learning, that as a were, she had a more acute sense of smell, and the scent of this water appealed to her. It smelled clean and a little sweet. She had no doubt she would have drooled had she not been so thirsty she couldn’t even work up a good spit.

  Drink your fill, Ally. I’ll watch for other predators and humans.

  Sticking her nose down close to the stream, Ally lapped up some of the water. It was delicious! Maybe it was the fact that she hadn’t had a drink in hours, or maybe she now had enhanced taste buds, or perhaps this was natural spring water and was just that good. Whatever it was, she continued to lap at the water until her tongue began to ache from the exercise. Being a do—a wolf—sucks. My tongue is tired and I’m still thirsty.

  Kalen chuckled. Don’t worry. We’ll follow this stream for a bit. You can have another drink once your tongue has had time to rest.

  They followed the winding ribbon of water, the night growing darker as they moved along. Shouldn’t we rest for a bit? It’s getting late.

  Yes, it is, but if we travel at night and sleep during the day, there’s less of a chance that anyone will see us.

  Ally hated to suggest it, she really did, but the way she saw it, they didn’t really have much of a choice. What if we find the nearest town and you get me a pair of pants, or a leash and rent a room. I want a shower. She needed a shower was more like it. No matter how far they went, or how fast they ran, she couldn’t seem to escape Bobby’s odor, or the stench of the two men’s deaths. At the moment, Ally needed to wash that stink off her more than she needed sustenance to live.

  Kalen made a choking sound. You want me to lead you into town on a leash?

  Why not? Won’t the entire world think I’m a dog anyway? A strange odor assaulted her nose. What is that nasty smell? She wrinkled her nose. It smells like a cross between burnt rubber and car exhaust.

  Kalen made a sound that sounded suspiciously like a chuckle. Part of it is car exhaust. The other part is skunk.

  It smells a lot worse as a wolf than it ever did as a human, she complained.

  Come on. I think there’s a town this way. If we’re lucky, you might change back into your human form before we get there.

  He didn’t say that if she did, he wouldn’t have to drag her through town on a leash. She wasn’t sure she wouldn’t like it. Her ex-boyfriend used to like experimenting with BDSM and she had found that she did like some of the things he’d come up with from time to time.

  Even if I don’t, you could still walk me in like your pet.

  No. I can’t. If you change back, how will I explain where my pet went? He gave her a sideways glance. Dare I hope that you’ve finally come to terms with what happened to you?

  Ally tried to stick her tongue out at him, but it just didn’t have the same effect in this form because he only laughed at her.

  Not really, but what choice do I have? You’ve already sai
d that I can’t change back to being a full human, she said as she continued to follow his lead. We already know that I don’t have the sense of direction to find my own way home. She snorted. I have to rely on you, whether I like it or not.

  Kalen chuckled into her mind again and that made her want to kick him. The jerk was always laughing at her. That’s true.

  Her ears perked up at the sound of a car horn. Are we close to a town?

  I believe so. I think we’re close to the motel you worked at.

  Oh. You probably shouldn’t have told me that. Ally took off, running as fast as she could to see if he told her the truth. She burst from the woods on the side of the road and looked first to the left, then to the right. There it was.

  She could actually hear the buzz of the old neon sign. The lights were lit, the little sign advertising a vacancy. Of course, it had a vacancy. They lived out in the middle of nowhere and the rooms were barely larger than the queen-sized beds the motel owners crammed into them.

  Ally frowned when she noticed her little car was gone. Where did it go? My car is gone, she said with a little whine. Someone stole my car.

  I would imagine the police took it after their investigation. Or perhaps one of the others in my team scented you in it and took it back to your home so as not to raise suspicion.

  She spun around and stared at Kalen. What investigation? Fear shot through her like a rocket. Her stomach churned and she felt sick.

  I haven’t done anything!

  Of course, you haven’t, but you have disappeared during broad daylight. Any security cameras the owners have couldn’t have recorded anything out of the ordinary, except, perhaps that we carried what they’re going to think is a dog out of Thornton’s room.

  Kalen nudged her shoulder, urging her down the road. Let’s go. We still have a long walk ahead of us and I’m getting hungry.

  Ally turned and snarled at him. Stop pushing me, you goon! She turned in the opposite direction than he wanted her to go. I’m going home. Taking off at a trot, Ally headed back to her house. She knew the way from here and there was zero chance of getting lost unless she decided to try to cut through the woods. Fat chance of that happening. She had no intention of getting lost again, especially when she was so close to home.