by Paige Taylor
They attack simultaneously; claws, fists, and feet hitting my body all at once. I try to bite out and defend myself, but being surrounded, with no tactical advantage, limits your ability to respond to such an attack. I see a gap in between the legs of two of the vampires, and try to dive for it, but as I flatten myself out to dive through, two clawed hands dig into my legs and pull me backwards. My belly scraping along the sticks and rocks on the floor. I’m flipped on my back, all four limbs trying to twist and turn, trying to get out of this position, my head flailing around widely. I catch sight of a tall figure wrapped in the shadow of the trees standing about fifty meters away from me, his figure crouching, and I see his transformation begin, his eyes never leaving mine, and for a brief second, I feel and see nothing but those eyes on me. A sharp tug on my limbs brings me back to reality. Fuck, I know better. You do not get distracted in a fight, and this distraction has cost me. The sounds escaping me are filled with absolute terror as I feel a silver pole stabbed through each of my upper paws, my teeth unable to reach any body part of the vampires, and my lower limbs captured in one of the vampire’s hands. I’m completely trapped.
I’m trapped, and I can’t get away. I can feel the yelps and the barks tearing from my throat every time I move, unable to stop them, yet also unable to hear them because of the panic descending on me. I feel teeth bite into my stomach, and in the next moment, I feel a huge impact snap my head to my side, blood spurting from between my lips. My body jerks in response, causing the silver to tear through the skin and bone of my hand, I don’t even bother to hold back the sounds the pain is tearing from me. Some motherfucker is kicking my head in. Kick after kick. I lay whimpering, the pressure in my head building, blood dripping down my face and into my mouth, choking me. I can’t believe it’s going to end this way with, my head caved in, blood taken by a vampire, and choking to death on my own blood.
My thoughts go to my mates, I’ve only just found them. I only just accepted them as my Mates. How is the world this fucking cruel to take two families from me? Twice by fucking vampires! My heart is breaking, the fight leaving me with each hit to the head. I reach out to those beautiful, little stars inside of me and send every ounce of love and peace I have down into them, hoping that my Mates can feel that. That’s what I’ve been feeling, every touch, every kiss, every word spoken to them has meant the world to me. I let the tears leave my eyes, all the pain and emotion leave me with every drop that falls from my eye and every whimper that is squeezed from my throat.
I see a grey wolf dive over the top of me and that feeling of familiarity washes over me just as my eyes start to flutter closed. All I hear are a series of growls and a few great large thuds before my eyes close over completely, and my consciousness is whisked away.
I can feel myself wrapped in someone’s arms, my body moving up and down, every slight movement sending sharp pains from my head down to my toes. I try to focus on who is carrying me, I feel so inexplicably safe right now, like nothing is going to hurt me. I snuggle into the stranger’s arms, seeking the warmth I can feel radiating off his naked chest. That feeling of familiarity is so strong and so stark, that I can’t help but to use it as something to ground my consciousness.
I settle into the sensation, when I suddenly realise that I’ve felt this before, it’s what I felt when I met Marco, Dylan, and Wade. I couldn’t have found a new Mate, this must be some cosmic joke. Four Mates in the space of a week, the same week vampires attack, the same week my past comes back to slap me in the face. I search inside myself for my little stars, and the space, that once held three very bright lights, now has a small fourth added in the group. Well, fuck a duck.
I try to turn my head towards the body holding me, but cry out in pain when the muscles try to contract. Instead I stay still, and try to get my red, raw throat to work.
“Who are you?” I rasp out, the muscles tightening around my neck, restricting my breath.
“Zane,” a gruff and gravelly voice says back to me
“Are you my Mate, Zane?” I stutter out slowly, the words barely making it past a whisper.
“Yes. I am,” he says, squeezing me tighter to his chest. I feel my consciousness start to fade again, making it impossible to ask the stranger anymore questions.
Shit is about to hit the fan.
Chapter Eleven
The sound of deep voices yelling has my brain slowly turning on, like someone is slowly turning up the volume on a radio, one notch at a time. I can feel my ribs and palms stinging, the gauze and bandages sticking to my skin pulling the tissue together, the tenderness of my head resting on a super-soft pillow and the pounding of one mighty, fucking headache thrumming in tandem with my heartbeat. A very loud bang vibrates through the room making my eyes fly open, well open is probably a stretch, squint is more appropriate for what I can see out of them at the moment. In front of the bed I’m lying on, against the glass window, is Wade, holding my new Mate by the throat.
“Stop. Please stop,” I rasp out, my throat feeling like it’s been rubbed raw with sandpaper.
Within seconds three sets of heads crowd my line of sight, each one of my Mates is in a state of disarray. Marco’s usually immaculate, button shirt is undone and rolled up at the sleeves, untucked and creased in multiple spots. Dylan’s hair standing on its ends, like his hands have continuously pulled at it, all the worry lines that I had started to relax back in full force and dark circles under his eyes. Wade, my poor Wade, he has yet to put on a shirt, dried, crusted blood splashed and smeared across his face and wide chest. His usually beautiful, blond hair is coloured with dirt and more foreign blood, his crystal-blue eyes so full of sadness. I wish I could see Zane, the newest mate. I haven’t even seen his face properly yet, but I can feel his presence beneath the surface, his star waiting for affection, just like the others started.
“Are you okay, Beautiful? You’ve been out for a few hours. Do you need anything? A water maybe?” Dylan takes the lead, concern radiating from every inch of him.
“I feel like fucking ass, and yes, I would like a water, please?” I whisper. Marco walks over to the bathroom and comes back holding a large glass of water that I almost chug down the second the rim touches my lips. When my throat feels a little less like its being cut up by razor blades I continue.
“Zane is my Mate, too, please don’t hurt him. He has only protected me from the vampires. You’d all be facing an entirely different set of questions and circumstances, one of them being my funeral, without his help,” I say to all of them softly, knowing their supernatural hearing can pick it up. Anything louder than a whisper is too painful. Jesus, was I choked out when I wasn’t looking or something?
“He is a complete stranger, sweetheart. We wouldn’t be Alphas or good mates, if we just let strangers walk into your life and onto Pack lands without taking caution,” Marco matches my tone, his hand pausing over mine, stopping before his fingers touch the gauze. His hand hover over a few different spots over my body, trying to find a spot that wouldn’t hurt me. His shoulders slump as his hand drops to his side, looking totally dejected.
“Marco, will you hold my hand?” My fingers twitch in response. Fucking hell, those silver poles really did some damage, it feels more like my hands were cut off, rather than currently knitting the bones and nerves back into place, it almost would have been kinder to just cut it off. So much god damn pain.
“Yeah, sweetheart, I can do that,” he says before he sits on the side of the bed and his fingertips slide overmine gently.
“You are all amazing Mates, but just like you, I felt that connection snap into place the second I saw him,” I say, looking around at all of my Mates. Still trying to get a proper look through my slowly-widening eyes at Zane.
“I’m not fucking amazing, I let you get separated. I let you get hurt. I wasn’t fucking there for you!” Wade yells, spinning away from the bed and heading towards the door. I try to lift my body up, wanting to go after him but the action causes a gasp of pain to fly
out of my mouth, before my body drops back down. That sound alone was enough to make Wade turn around and march his behemoth ass back to me, his face inches from mine.
“In the last few days, you have become my number one priority, you snuck your way in and have captured every, single iota of attention in me. I won’t leave the room if you promise to let that shifter healing do its job so that we have you back sooner rather than later. Deal?”
“Yeah, Conan, we have a deal,” I whisper, tilting my head upwards to lightly kiss his lips.
“So, do we know what happened? Why those Vamps were on our property?” I ask, that pit of dread starting to swirl through my gut. All pack properties were warded with pack magic. The ward was an invisible barrier that repelled anyone non-shifter, unless they had received an invitation from the Alpha. Unfortunately, each ward has a weak point, the point precisely on the opposite side of the creation point. The weakness is generally smaller than a fist, but if it’s attacked, the ward begins to crumble, leaving the pack without its first line of defence.
“They breached the wards we have placed on the pack land, we don’t know how they even found that weak point, but they did, and just walked straight through. Thankfully, a few of the wolves were on a run and saw those fuckers walking through. They sent out the alarm, while the strongest stayed behind to slow them down,” Wade explains, his hands rubbing the back of his head before pulling forward and rubbing over his face in exhaustion.
My stomach contracts and relaxes, swirling and rolling, I can feel the vomit start to rise from my stomach into the back of my throat. Fucking hell. I don’t think I can keep this a secret anymore, I can’t leave them defenceless. I know that letting them into my past, explaining why I did what I did, won’t help my case. What I’ve kept from them is a betrayal. I actively avoided and refused to tell them; none of them are going to take this well. I don’t want to lose my mates, but I can’t keep them in the dark, anymore. My anxiety rises with every second, my head continuing to fly in circles of ‘what if’. Fuck, I don’t want to do this!
“I know how they found the weakness,” I whisper as a single tear slides down my face. The shame of running from this makes my head drop until my chin touches my chest.
“What did you say, Beautiful?” Dylan asks, his dark eyes narrowing on me, his head tilting to the side, trying to process the words slipping from my mouth. I feel everyone’s eyes snap towards me, the silence becoming unbearable.
“I know how they found the weakness in the ward. I know why the vampires were here, I just never thought they’d come to Montana.”
“What the fuck are you talking about, Ava?” Wade demands, the growl rumbling up from his chest. I take one very large breath in, trying to calm my nerves before continuing.
“About ten months ago, I left a pack in North Carolina, a pack that I was born into. I went for a run by myself late at night, around the border of the property. On my way home. I smelt a vampire. I was about to alert the pack when I saw my Alpha step out from behind the trees. As you can imagine, a vampire and my Alpha mixing was not fucking expected, so I hid and decided to listen in. My Alpha was exchanging the locations of a few smaller packs’ defences–”
“WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK, AVA?!” The anger in Wade’s voice makes me cringe. I turn my head towards the only place I find serenity; the forest. I let my eyes become unfocused on the vast space across the mountains, trying to detach myself from this as much as I can.
“Please let me finish,” I plead weakly, trying to stop the cracks in my voice, and utterly failing. God, I know this isn’t going to end well. I can feel my heart practically eating itself with regret.
“It was in exchange for protection from the Vampires, and he was promised the land of the packs these vampires were to pick off. Except, the Vampires weren’t allowed to take out whole packs, they were only allowed a few wolves from each pack. From what I understand, the Vampires got the blood, and Vincent got the protection and land.” I take a brief pause, trying to compose myself. My breathing is stuttered and broken, the tears running faster down my face. All four of my Mates voices are yelling some version of an expletive, the anger saturating the air. I’m suffocating under everyone’s emotions.
“I waited until after they had left, and went straight to his office. He was supposed to be away at a meeting that night with his business partner. I found files on what seemed like every major Alpha in the US, but before I could look into them, Vincent came in. He cut off my air supply before I could even fight back. Next thing I knew, I was waking up chained to the floor with silver cutting into my neck, tightening with every pull on the chain. Vincent knew that I had found out what was happening.” My body shivers and attempts to curl in to a ball, but the pain from my injuries stop me. Reliving that nightmare sends me right back into that scared, subservient, female-wolf state. That panic seizes up every part of my body, my breaths getting shorter and sharper with every expanse of my chest. Fuck this! I was not the same person anymore, I was strong. I was more dominant than I ever thought I could be. I have four, fucking Alpha Mates. I repeat that mantra over and over again, until my panic recedes, and I am able to open my mouth and speak again, my Mates no longer yelling above each other.
“I was told to run; I had one hour to grab my things and break the pack bonds. If he had killed me, the pack would have felt the death, and that would lead to too many questions, but if I was to break the bonds then it would be easier for him to say I just left the pack. If I was to ever speak about it, to the council or to another person, he was going to kill every single person that I loved in that pack. My family had been killed by vampires when I was young, but David and his family took me into their home, they were my family. I wasn’t going to let him kill them. So, I ran. I never said a word; I couldn’t risk it. How do you reconcile that decision with people in your life? My choices were say something and be responsible for the death of the people who helped raise me, or it was keep fucking quiet and let the actions continue but save the people who raised you as part of their own,” I attempt to explain my decisions, knowing that they are now all seeing me in an entirely new and not so good light.
“So, yes, I chose the lives of those I knew over the lives of others. I will not apologise for making that decision,” I practically yell, still not looking at my mates. Not ready to see the feelings of disgust and anger I know is going to be directed at me.
“But, if those vampires are here, Vincent knows where I am. There is, logically, no other reason why they would be here in Montana. This is his version of a reminder, that he can get to me and hurt the people I care about anywhere and at any time. I’m so sorry. I’m so fucking sorry that I’ve brought this to your door. I’m sorry!” The tears pour from my eyes, ‘I’m sorry’ spewing for my lips, repeatedly. Every feeling I’ve kept locked away suddenly breaks away from my heart, slashing through every self-protective barrier I’ve ever built. The fear, loss, anger, and guilt are forcing their way through my body with every sob ripping out of my throat.
“Ava, I literally cannot believe my own ears, at the moment. Someone who I introduced as part of the Alpha pair could endanger my Pack like this. I understand you had your own reasons for keeping that shit air tight while you were a lone. But, Every. Single. Fucking. One of us tried to get you to open up about your life, even after we had mated, and every single time you shut us down. You were a coward, and you put us in danger, and right now, I can’t look at you.” Wade’s underlying anger and disdain leak through every word, as he stalks from the room.
I feel Dylan and Marco move further away from the bed, away from me. My eyes finally turn and look at them, watching them leave.
“Ava, I just have no words for you, right now,” Dylan says, leaving without another word. Marco just stares me in the eyes with so much hurt and betrayal, the emotions spear me through the heart. He just shakes his head and leaves the room also, closing the door quietly.
Oh god, three of my Mates just walked away. My heartac
he is too much to bear, my arms try to move over my head despite the pain, my body curling into a ball. Every single thing in me feels the loss of their presence, I accept the pain of my body, pain I rightly deserve. I can feel it in the very cells of my being, my stomach rolls over, while my heart feels like it’s been cleaved out of my chest. I know I have only known them a few days, but what is time when you find the missing parts of your soul. My sobbing continues even after I feel Zane move over to the bed and lay down next to me, his arm curling around my shoulders and pulling me onto his chest. One hand reaches up to the top of my head, and with the gentlest of caresses begins to stroke my hair. I take I peek at the man who saved my life; he has blond hair that’s just a little shaggy all over his head, which gives him a very dangerous and intense look. Piercing deep-emerald eyes and strong, angular features are the most prominent features on his face. He just screams strength and reserve, like a soldier. His face has two piercings, one barbell in his right eyebrow and a ball through his bottom lip, god that’s hot. The arm I’m not laying on is coloured in an intricate artwork of tattoos. The tears still streaming from my eyes blurring the subject matter of his tattoos.
“I first saw you a month ago, you had just been called up to a fight, and I was filling in as one of the bouncers for the night. You were fighting a coyote shifter, and you completely dominated. You were out of the ring in under two minutes, I couldn’t take my eyes off you. I could feel myself being pulled towards you, except just as I went to follow you out to the back, a fight broke out. I spent the next few weeks observing you from afar. I had no idea how to approach you, or even if I wanted a Mate. I had resigned myself to never finding my person, so when I found you it was a bit of a shock. Your mere presence made me question what I thought I wanted from life. Even if I chose to never speak to you, I was still always going to try and protect you from afar, which is what I was doing tonight. I have been waiting around the edge of the property for days, wanting to make sure you were safe. I left for half a day and by the time I came back, I just couldn’t get there fast enough to stop it completely, and I will be forever sorry for that,” Zane explains softly, breathing the story into my hair, his strong, warm arms tightening around me.
