Told you we didn’t need a plan. I told Caeden.
Seems that way. He responded. But this is nowhere near over yet.
We ran forward, towards the house located what seemed a half a mile ahead of us. I kept expecting another mutant to jump out at us, but there was nothing but an empty field. As we got closer, I decided the house was actually sort of pretty. It was two stories with cheery yellow siding and white shutters. Each window even had a flower box. It wasn’t the kind of place you expected Travis to hide out in. I’d thought we’d find him in a cave or some run down dilapidated house with the roof caving in. Certainly not this. It looked…homey.
We reached the front door and Caeden told us to stop.
We need to split up so we can cover all sides so they can’t escape out the back or from a side window. Bentley and Bryce, you’re with Sophie and me. Garrett, I want you to lead a group around back. Christian, you take a group to the right side of the house. Jeremy, you take a group to the left side. Everyone understand?
There were no objections and Caeden took that as enough of an answer.
He switched to his human form and turned the knob.
It didn’t open.
He shifted back into a wolf and warned, Get back.
Everyone was quick to move out of his way. He backed up and braced himself. He ran forward as fast as he could and smashed the door in. Wood splinters flew everywhere and I ducked down to avoid getting nailed in the eye by one.
Bentley, Bryce, and I followed Caeden into the house. The two guys were quick to move behind me so that Caeden and I were in the lead. Some instinct told them to stay out of my way. Smart boys.
Caeden and I followed the scent of Travis upstairs and to a room at the very end of the hallway. We stopped outside, looking at each other carefully, preparing ourselves for what we might be met with.
With a nod, Caeden pushed his wolf body against the door and the hinges broke with the pressure.
I was not expecting the sight that met us.
The room was decorated as a nursery. The walls were yellow with ducks on them and a white crib sat in the middle of the room. There was even a changing table. It was what you’d expect to see in any home with a baby. What you didn’t expect though, was Travis sitting in the corner in a rocking chair, with my baby in his arms, as he fed him from a bottle.
“Shhh,” Travis whispered, “you’ll wake the baby.”
Holy crap. What was this freak show? This had to be the strangest thing I had ever seen. It made no sense. And where were the elders?
Bentley, Bryce, look for the elders. My tone brooked no argument and they quickly left us. I sunk down, stalking forward, my growl filling the room.
I had to figure out how to get to Travis without hurting the baby, and that was easier said then done. My hackles rose and my lips pulled back from my mouth, exposing my teeth. Teeth I wanted to sink into every part of his body and rip him apart.
“Ah, Sophie,” he turned his head, studying me, “I’m surprised to see you alive.”
I couldn’t resist it. I shifted to my human form and Caeden darted in front of me, ready to protect me if he needed to.
“Why did you try to kill me?” I asked through gritted teeth. “You made it seem like we were going to be a family.” I pointed at him and then myself. “What changed?”
He removed the bottle from Beau’s mouth and set it aside. He lifted the baby to his shoulder and patted his back, like he was burping him. “It was obvious that you couldn’t accept our plan. You would’ve been a weakness. Besides, this little guy is the one I really wanted.” He lowered the baby and cradled him in his arms. He reached out with a finger, rubbing Beau’s cheek as he cooed at him.
“What’s so special about my son?” I asked.
Travis ignored me, playing with the baby. Caeden’s growl forced his attention back to me. “You’ll find out soon enough.”
I swallowed thickly. I didn’t like the sound of that.
“Tell me now,” I whispered. “I want to know why Beau is so important.”
“Beau? Is that the name you’re going with? Pretty crappy if you ask me,” he shrugged. “I’ve been calling him Laurence.”
“You named my baby?!” I shrieked, the high decibel making the glass on the windows shake. Beau began to cry.
“Look what you’ve done, Sophie.” Travis shook his head and began to comfort the baby. I should have been the one comforting him. Not Travis. This wasn’t okay with me at all. But I still didn’t know what to do. Attacking Travis would result in hurting Beau, and Travis was smart enough to know that. He held the advantage here. “You should really keep your voice down. Laurence is sensitive to loud noises.”
“His. Name. Is. Beau.” I seethed, my fists clenched at my sides. I’m sure my face was turning bright red with anger. I was so pissed off it wasn’t even funny. At this point I was pretty sure I could kill Travis with my bare hands alone—that was how angry I was.
“Once again,” he kissed the baby’s cheek, “Beau is a really shitty name and you should reconsider. The Prince deserves a strong name.”
“Prince?” I swallowed thickly, raising a brow in confusion.
“Yes, the Prince.”
“The Prince?” I was so confused with Travis’ gibberish. For once couldn’t he just spit out whatever it was he had to say?
He rolled his eyes. “Oh, sweet Sophie, you are so incredibly dumb. Long ago, back when humans were just beginning to stand on two legs, the Book of Legends was born and it foretold of a Prince. A wolf prince, born to the two most powerful Alpha’s to ever grace our shifter history, and blah, blah, blah. I think they got that part wrong though. I mean, y’all are the crappiest Alphas I know, but whatever. The elders said it was you guys.” He shrugged, glancing back down at the baby. “The firstborn son of these Alphas, you two,” he pointed at Caeden and then me, as if we needed clarification, “would have powers unlike any shifter out there. His powers are far advanced from ours. He can run faster, see better, he’s stronger, and even as a wee wittle baby,” his voice went all high pitched and squeaky, “he can shift.”
“What? That’s not possible,” I gasped.
“That’s what I meant when I said you’d find out soon enough. Since he’s so small, he can’t control his shifts so they happen sporadically. One time he didn’t quite transform all the way and he was half in human for and half wolf. I think I got a picture on my phone. It was hilarious!”
I shook my head at the strangeness of the conversation. Travis was speaking to me like we were old friends having a chat over coffee—not like he’d tried to kill me twice.
He was a strange dude.
“Alright, so he can transform,” I said, “that doesn’t explain why you want my son.”
Travis chuckled, the sound sharp and grating, sending shivers down my spine. “Did you miss the part where I said he was powerful? Y’all are dumb, but even you two should have figured out by now that I crave power.” He stood, stalking forward. He surprised me by stopping to lay the baby in the crib. I let out a sigh of relief I hoped he didn’t notice. We could attack now without worrying about hurting the baby.
“But you told me that you and the elders want to expose yourself to humans, that you want to start a war. How is a baby going to help you accomplish that?”
Travis shrugged. “He might not be able to help us now, but kids grow, and I can hone his powers to my advantage.” He shoved his hands in his pockets, the picture of ease.
“To your advantage?” I whispered, picking up on the fact that what he said had no mention of the elders.
Travis smiled slowly, his grin reminding me of a villain in a comic book. “Yes, my advantage. After you delivered the baby, I didn’t need them anymore because I had everything I needed. Let me tell you, they begged for their lives. It was pathetic really. So you don’t need to worry about them anymore. I’ve already taken care of them for you. And no more elders mean I can create a whole new order. I will be King and
your son will be the Prince. And you two will be dead.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” I said slowly, shaking my head. “And I think that you’ll find a wolf protecting her cub is very hard to kill.”
“Oooh, she wants a fight,” Travis grinned. “I’ll give you a fight, sweet Sophie, and in the end you’ll be begging me to end your life, and I’m going to drag it out as long as possible. I’ll make sure it’s extra painful too and that your mate here gets to watch,” he nodded at Caeden who stood in front of me in his wolf form, growling.
“Bring. It. On.” I said the words slowly and carefully, staring him down the whole time. I wanted him to know that I wasn’t afraid of him. I had a child to protect, and that erased all my fears for myself.
“Consider it brought.”
With a roar, his body exploded in midair and a white wolf stood in front of Caeden.
I shifted too and jumped over Caeden’s body. I sank my teeth into Travis’ shoulder and he yelped in pain. But he was bigger than me and easily shook off my hold. I went flying through the air and smacked into one of the walls. It hurt something fierce and there was a dent left behind in the wall, but I surged forward like I had felt nothing.
Teeth. Claws. Growls. I didn’t know who was who and I sincerely hoped I didn’t hurt Caeden by accident. I was unstoppable in that moment, my adrenaline alone giving me a strength I didn’t know I possessed, not to mention the strength of a mother protecting her child.
Blood coated my mouth and tongue with a rusty taste. It was disgusting, but my mouth was my best weapon. My teeth tore into Travis back leg and blood spurted across my face. He cried out in pain as my teeth ripped through flesh and muscle. That was definitely going to hurt like a bitch and slow him down.
Good job she-wolf. Caeden said.
My jubilation didn’t last long though. Travis smacked into me, knocking me off balance. I fell to the ground and he climbed on top of me. His paws pressed painfully into my unprotected belly. He dug his claws in, shredding my skin like I had done with his leg. His lifeless black eyes gazed down at me. He felt no sympathy for what he was doing. Killing was second nature for him.
Suddenly he was knocked off of me and I rolled over to see him grappling with Caeden. I forced air into my lungs, wincing at the pain in my abdomen. A wheezing noise escaped me and blood began to fill my throat. I wasn’t a doctor but I was pretty sure he’d punctured one of my lungs. This was bad. But I wasn’t going to let it keep me from taking the son of a bitch down. I forced myself to my feet. My vision was blurry from blood loss and I swayed precariously. I pushed myself forward, one foot at a time as Caeden grappled with Travis’ white form. I wanted—no, I needed—to be the one to kill Travis. I knew Caeden wanted the honor, but this was my fight, not his.
I inserted my body between Caeden and Travis’. Caeden let out a howl of protest.
I need to do this. I told him.
He didn’t have a reply because he understood.
Travis and I were both weak from fighting, but I had something he didn’t. What was that you might ask? I had everything. A husband, a child, family, friends, a life. Travis, well, he had nothing to live for.
With a renewed strength I sunk my teeth into his throat. He screamed—and a wolf’s scream was nothing like that of a human. It was an unnatural sound. Wolves aren’t supposed to scream. I bit into his body in different places, ripping straight through the flesh, and watching as his blood seeped over the floor. The sticky red substance coated my muzzle and paws, but I didn’t care, because I was watching Travis’ black eyes fade to a dull gray as his life left him. His body shimmered, transforming back into that of a human. Pieces of his skin hung in shreds and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. He was dead.
Dead.
Finally.
I shifted back to my human form, a cry tearing from my throat. He was actually dead. I had done it. I had killed Travis Grimm. Not Caeden. Me. I’d been the one to kill him. He couldn’t bother us ever again. It was over. It was finally over.
Caeden shifted too, placing his hand on the bare skin of my back. I was hunched over, fighting tears of happiness, and struggling to breathe. My lungs were slowly repairing themselves and I felt a slight stinging pain as they knitted back together.
“Are you okay?” Caeden asked. His voice seemed too loud in the suddenly silent room.
“I’ve never been better,” I answered honestly. My words were true. For the first time in a year I could breathe a sigh of relief because it was over. Travis was dead, which meant he could never torment us again—except in the memories that would probably always haunt me. But we wouldn’t have to look over our shoulders anymore. We didn’t have to live in fear. We could finally be normal, and go back to being Caeden and Sophie. Well, Caeden and Sophie plus Beau.
I came to my feet and ventured hesitantly towards the crib. I gazed down at the tiny bundle. Bright blue eyes—the same blue as his fathers—gazed up at me. Fluffy downy soft brown hair cover the top of his head and his lips were heart shaped. His nose was teeny tiny. Everything about him was perfect.
“Hi, Beau,” I gasped in awe. “I’m your mommy.”
I hadn’t had a chance to grasp the profoundness of that word with everything that had happened. Mommy. I was a mom. This tiny breakable human was mine. I would watch him grow up and nurture him into a young man and scold him when he did something wrong.
He was mine. A piece of me that was precious and irreplaceable. I reached down, scooping him into my arms. He was so small, fitting perfectly into the curve of my arms like a football. I lowered my head, pressing kisses to the top of his head. He made a cute little noise and burrowed close to me. He was the cutest baby I had ever seen in my entire life, and he was mine.
“I love him so much,” I gasped, letting him wrap his tiny fingers around one of mine. I never wanted to let him go. I wanted to hold him in my arms forever so no harm could ever come his way. I would always protect him, but hopefully he would never need protecting like this ever again.
I kissed his small nose and sighed. I knew I had to let go of him. Caeden deserved to hold him too. I certainly didn’t make this cute thing by myself. Caeden had played a very important role and he’d been just as worried as I had been.
“Here,” I adjusted the baby so I could hold him out to Caeden, “hold your son.”
Caeden’s eyes shimmered with unshed tears at my words. He took the baby from me and gazed down at him with the same expression I was sure I had worn.
“Hey, Beau,” Caeden bounced the baby in his arms. “It’s nice to finally meet you. I’ve been really worried about you.”
“Whoa.”
Caeden and I both startled at the new voice and looked to the doorway to see Bentley and Bryce standing there. I averted my eyes at their nakedness—maybe one day I’d get used to shifters running around naked, but today was not that day.
“He’s dead,” Bryce continued. “You really killed him.”
“Of course he’s dead,” Bentley smacked the back of Bryce’s head, rolling his eyes at his idiocy.
“Hey, Travis is crazy. It was reasonable for me to think he might kill them. I’m just saying.” He shrugged.
“God, you’re an idiot,” Bentley shook his head. “Anyway, sorry to break up your happy little reunion here,” Bentley pointed at Caeden and I with the baby, “but you’re going to want to see this.”
My stomach plummeted. What could it be now?
Caeden handed Beau back to me and we followed the guys down to a basement. It was dark with no light. A dank musty smell filled the air, but another scent was stronger—that of decay.
Since there was no light it took my eyes a moment to adjust to the dark.
“Oh my God,” I gasped, fighting my gag reflex.
The bodies of the elders were scattered along the floor of the basement. Their bodies weren’t whole though. They were ripped into pieces and some of those pieces looked like they’d been chewed on. “Oh my God,” I repea
ted. “He was eating them.”
I had never been so repulsed in all my life. I’d heard of such things, but seeing it firsthand…it was definitely the most disturbing thing I had ever seen. I held Beau tightly in one arm and used my free hand to cover my nose and mouth.
“Is…Is Gram among them?” I closed my eyes, my breath shaking as I waited for their answer. Gram was an elder, but I knew there was no way she’d been involved with Travis. That didn’t mean he had spared her when he decided to kill the other elders though.
I heard shuffling and assumed the guys were looking through the body parts, looking for any sign of Gram. Wow, what a disturbing thought. I hadn’t seen Gram in—well, forever it seemed like—she hadn’t been there when I woke up and she wasn’t with us when we came here. There was a very real possibility that she was dead.
“She’s not here,” Caeden finally said after an agonizing minute of waiting.
“Oh, thank God,” I breathed, letting my eyes open. Relief flooded my body. Gram was okay. Everything was okay now. “Hey…” I paused. “Do you guys smell that?” I asked.
Caeden tilted his head back, sniffing the air. His eyes widened. “Smoke.”
Holy crap, the house was on fire.
We ran for the stairs and back up to the main level of the house. The smoke was thick up here, but the fire seemed to be coming from the back, so we were able to make it to the front door. We burst outside, letting the clean air flood our lungs. I was still wheezing slightly, but my lungs had almost repaired themselves.
I looked Beau over, making sure he was okay. He looked up at me with confused blue eyes and then coughed. As he coughed though, he transformed from a baby human to a wolf cub.
“Oh. My. God. Travis wasn’t lying,” I gasped in surprise.
“What the hell is that thing?” Bentley exclaimed.
“Beau,” I answered simply. “Apparently he’s special.”
“Obviously,” Bentley gasped.
“Whoa, that’s cool!” Bryce shouted. “I want one!”
Caeden snorted. “A baby? You want a baby?”
Bryce shrugged. “Well, when you put it that way, no. But look, he’s so cute and fluffy and he’s gray like you.”
Avenger (Outsider Series) Page 18
