by Elle Boon
The sound of metal clicking echoed. Rebel tried to process what he was saying and what that sound was. Her wolf urged her to jump and kill. The human part of her was telling her to flee. Both sides conflicted, making her freeze as a cold smile passed over the man’s face. “Tell your sister goodbye, beast.”
A deep, angry growl interrupted his words, followed by a flash of black fur and claws lashing out, hitting the man and knocking the gun away.
Rebel shook, her body spasming in a most unpleasant way. She fell onto her stomach, covering her eyes with her paws. The sound of growls and screams seemed to last for minutes, maybe hours.
She jolted at a furry head nudging her paws. Peering up between her own set of furry paws, she saw blue eyes blinking down at her. The big black wolf blinked, nudging her again. He growled, then nudged her harder.
“I think he wants you to roll over or something,” Romie said from next to her.
The wolf gave a bark.
She whined, but turned to her side, allowing the huge wolf to run his nose over her as if he was inspecting her for injuries. Romie giggled, then cried out. The wolf went to her, his big nose sniffed her arm, then he growled, looking back over to where several other wolves stood blocking their view.
“Ah, my sweet child, let’s have a looksie, hmm.”
Rebel growled at the new female voice, then shut up as she recognized the one named Jenna. Her wolf settled as if all was fine with the world. Nothing was fine in Rebel’s world because she didn’t know how to become a girl again. Fear had her lying back down, watching as Romie let the woman wave her hand over the bruised and swollen arm. She hated the tears that fell from her sister’s eyes and wished she could wrap her arms around her. Another whine escaped her stupid wolf throat because she couldn’t even tell them what she wanted.
“Ah, now you. You think you’re stuck, right?” Jenna knelt in front of her, the action almost comical with her large belly sticking out.
“Hey, that’s not nice to think about a pregnant woman, child.” Jenna tapped her nose.
“You can hear me?” Rebel asked, shocked to hear her voice sounded human.
Jenna nodded. “Of course I can. If you concentrate, you can project your thoughts into your alpha’s and your father’s mind as well. Now, that’s something you’ll want to learn to control as you get older, but we’ll discuss all that, later.”
“Jennaveve, don’t be teaching my daughter bad things,” Arynn admonished.
“OMG, you’re in my head, too?” Rebel knew if she’d been human her eyes would be so large they’d be bugging out of their sockets.
Her father nodded in wolf form. “Yes, Rebel, and yes, I will teach you how to control your thoughts. However, don’t listen to this one. She’ll only get you into trouble.”
Chapter Eleven
Arynn could hardly believe his eyes. When he’d entered the area where he’d heard the wolf’s howls, he’d been scared out of his ever-loving mind to see a man with a gun aimed at Rebel in wolf form. Goddess, she was awesome looking, and so damn fierce she made his heart swell with pride. Instinct had taken over, making him leap and kill without any thought to what his girls would be witness to. Hell, by the time he’d finished mauling the man, there’d been barely anything left of him for the rest of the pack to clean up and hide. Thank the Goddess for Jennaveve. Her swift appearance had cleansed him of the blood and gore he knew covered his wolf, and although the beast had relished in the kill, the man knew his girls didn’t need to see the results on him.
Now, while he and Jenna were soothing Rebel’s mind, the Fey Queen was healing Romie’s body. Her fractured arm was healed as were her bloody feet. Jenna was taking the time to look her over from the inside out, her powers immense.
“Alright, my chickadees, you’re both good to go. Well, maybe you might wanna, ya know, shift back to a little girl, Rebel?” Jenna asked, her blonde brows going up while she waited.
He sat back on his haunches, knowing both his girls were physically fine. Time would tell how they were affected from today’s events.
Blue eyes so like his own blinked up at him. His daughter shook her wolven head but didn’t shift back.
“You need me to show you how?” he asked through their link.
His question had her sitting up on her haunches, mimicking his pose. Through their link, he showed her step-by-step what to do. Explaining how she needed to reach for her human side, shifting slowly so Rebel wouldn’t miss a thing, making sure he used the newfound ability thanks to Jenna, to clothe himself and showed Rebel how to do the same. Her horror of shifting while clothed was an image he’d seen in her memories. He almost laughed at her anger over losing a pair of her favorite shorts.
A first shift to and from was usually the hardest. One Arynn still remembered all these years later. His daughter amazed him when she appeared to seamlessly become his little girl again, wearing of all things, a pair of silky basketball shorts and matching shirt. He laughed and pulled her against his chest, burying his face in her hair. Goddess, he could’ve lost her. The thought had him squeezing her tighter.
“Uh, dad, you’re gonna squish me,” Rebel laughed, her arms holding him just as tight.
Another body hit his side. Romie’s thin little arms wrapped around them. He pulled her into their embrace, giving both girls a hug. “You both scared ten years off my life. Why’d you leave the clearing?”
Romie sniffed. “Our grandma has unbelievable powers. We need to get out of here. He said she was over the next hill or something. I don’t feel her anymore, but she was near.”
“I felt her too, but she’s gone now,” Jenna said. “Arynn, take your girls back to the club. We’ll get to the bottom of the why and all that from there. I don’t like the feel of this place right now.” She ran a hand over her protruding stomach.
Kellen appeared at her side. “Where are your mates?” His growl had Arynn’s wolf on edge.
Jenna patted Kellen’s arm. “Oh, they’re near, trust me.”
Since she was mated to the twin vampire/wolf hybrid princes, if she said they were near, Arynn didn’t doubt they were. The men could flash from one location to the next. The threesome was a force to be reckoned with. However, if his mate was pregnant with twins like Jenna, he didn’t think he’d let her out of his sight, let alone go into the middle of a battle.
“You wolfies are too cute.” Jenna patted his arm, making him realize she’d been in his head.
“Fey, get outta my mind.”
His alpha laughed. “Not gonna happen, Omega, trust me. Besides, you’re lucky she’s being a good little Fey.”
“You’re both lucky there are children here, or I’d show you how nice I am. Come on, chickadees, let’s go back. I can feel one little mama is about to burst the bubble I put her in, and trust me, it’s a really strong bubble. Not to mention a huge puppy. I love puppies. Wolfies?” she sighed. “They can be challenging.” Jenna winked.
Arynn looked up toward the sky, the towering trees blocking most of the light. “Am I going to be in the proverbial doghouse?”
The Fey Queen looked over her shoulder at him as she walked a few feet away. “There’s no proverbial about it, Omega.” Then she and his girls were gone in a flash.
“Damn, I almost forgot she could blink in and out of places.” He scrubbed his hand down his face. “Shit, she didn’t take them to the Fey Realm, did she?”
Kellen slapped him on the back, hard, giving his shoulder a squeeze. “Nah, she only does that when our women need a break from us, are in danger, or injured. I don’t think any of those pertain to you at the moment. Be prepared though, it’s gonna happen sooner or later now that you’re mated.”
He took a deep breath, forgetting he hadn’t told his alpha he’d claimed Sheila. Hell, pack law said you were to ask before claiming a non-member. He gritted his teeth and waited for Kellen to hand down his punishment. Being the Iron Wolf Alpha meant he had to be swift and fair, something Arynn knew Kellen took seriously.
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“She’s been your mate for years, Arynn, you just needed to find her and claim her. How you were able to have a child with her sister is beyond me, but fate is a fickle bitch.” The hand on his shoulder tightened then released.
Arynn rolled his shoulders, the tension leaving him at Kellen’s announcement. “I think it was because they were identical twins, not to mention the fact their mother, and Sarah, manipulated things. They’re not quite human, yet they’re not—like us. Fuck, I don’t exactly know how to explain it.”
“I think Jenna knows and will explain once we get back to the club. I’ll race you, Omega.” Kellen stood completely clothed and human one second, then became the big ass wolf that was his other side.
Arynn shifted and ran on the fly, knowing he’d never catch up with Kellen. The remains of the man long gone, along with any trace he’d been in the woods.
Sheila paced the area she’d been forced to stay in. Oh, she knew it had been for her own good, since she’d been ready to follow Arynn and the other wolves she’d seen race toward the woods. Her hands tingled, the urge to slice through whatever was holding her prisoner making her body vibrate. She’d seen Sarah shaking her hands more times than she could count and wondered if she’d felt the same uncontrollable need. The thought alone kept her from acting on the impulse. She may have looked exactly like her sister, but they were nothing alike on the inside where it counted. Sarah had been selfish from the day they’d been born.
Memories flooded her from when they’d been kids, of her being hospitalized time and again as Sarah had unintentionally hurt her. Now, looking through clear lenses, she could see Sarah had hurt her on purpose. Their mother had covered up the incidents, manipulating things to make them look like accidents, even suppressing Sheila’s memories. She shuddered as revulsion for her twin washed over her. She saw a memory of one of their nannies talking to another, her shocking confession of how one twin was always taking the other’s bottle, drinking both before she could feed the smaller girl. Sheila could see herself crying in the double stroller while Sarah gurgled happily with a full belly. That was the pattern of their entire life. Sarah taking what she wanted while Sheila was made to take the dregs of her left overs and fighting to survive.
“Just like you’re taking my sloppy seconds now, baby sister,” Sarah’s voice whispered around her. “Look who just fucked you. I had him first. He gave me a child, while you were left with a child you hated, didn’t you?”
Sheila looked around, expecting to see Sarah’s smug face. “You’re dead,” she whispered, holding a fist to her stomach.
Her sister’s grating laugh was like nails on a chalkboard. “Oh, sister dear, haven’t you learned anything? Things aren’t always what they appear to be. I’ll see you soon, and I’ll claim what is mine. What has always been mine.”
The image of Arynn taking her with such caring and need had her straightening her spine. She’d seen through his memories how it had been with Sarah. “Ah, Sarah, if it’s really you, bring it, and I’ll show you exactly what you unleash when you mess with a mama bear.”
A slow clap had her looking over to see the blonde woman holding the arm of each of her girls. “Remove this—this whatever you did, now.” She waved her arm in a wide arc.
“Already down, mama bear. BTW, totally loving that terminology. Note to self, find bear shifters so I can use it. However, I hate to point this out to you, but you’re more of a mama wolf-to-be,” Jenna laughed.
“Mom, it was so cool and scary and oh my gawd, Rebel turned into this black wolf and she bit the bad guy and then—oh, that was kinda scary, but it was cool ‘cause she totally kicked butt and didn’t freak or anything.” Romie ran up to Sheila, her words running together in one long sentence.
Sheila braced for impact as her daughter barreled into her. Since they’d been small, both girls had ran to her for hugs the same way, always full out knowing she’d catch them. “Wait, Rebel turned into a wolf?” The look of trepidation and the fact her youngest wasn’t launching herself at Sheila had her tugging Romie to the side. “Rebel, that’s amazing. Come here, darling.”
Rebel’s chin wobbled, her blue eyes sparkled with unshed tears. “You’re not mad at me?”
“I’ll be mad if you don’t get your hiney over here and let me hug the stuffing out of you.”
Her glossy hair gleamed as the sun shined down on her, while she slowly made her way to where Sheila stood, holding Romie. Gizmo, for once waited as if he was nervous. Finally, Rebel reached her, the uncertainty still evident in her tear-filled eyes. “I didn’t mean to hurt the man. I—he hurt Romie and he had a gun and I just let my wolf go. I couldn’t stop it.”
“Your wolf isn’t an it, she’s a part of you, Rebel,” Kellen said, his authoritative voice making Rebel squeeze her tighter.
“She’s only a child, she doesn’t understand what’s happening,” Sheila defended.
“Mama-wolf alert,” Jenna announced.
Kellen growled, the sound intimidating Sheila but had Rebel raising her head and growling back, putting her body between Sheila and him.
“Oh, I like you, kid. You’ll be a great babysitter for my girls. My boys, not so much.” Kellen clapped his hands together. “Alright, who’s gonna do the explaining?” He pointed at Jenna. “You do that mind thing and make everyone—better or what the f..freak ever you do.”
Jenna clapped her hands. “Look, you can teach an old wolf new tricks. Where’s Lake, I need to give her a high five?”
“Jennaveve Cordell, what the hell do you think you’re doing, woman?” The air stilled as two large identical men appeared in the clearing, followed by several other men wearing all black, their stillness freaking scary as hell. The one who’d roared glanced at Sheila, then at her girls. “Wolf and Dark Fae, an interesting combo. We might have problems people.”
“You touch my girls, and I’ll make you wish you’d never been born,” Sheila swore.
Gizmo moved in front of them, growling.
The dark-haired man raised his brow. “I smell your mate coming. Be at ease, female, I won’t hurt you or yours.”
“How do you know?” she asked, her voice breaking on the question.
He nodded toward a commotion in the woods. “Trust me, I promise, he’s close.”
She glared at him. “What’s your name?”
His lips twitched. “My name is Ezra. I’m the Vampire King’s elite guard.”
“I’ve hit my head and am dreaming, right?” On one hand, she wanted him to nod and agree. But on the other, she didn’t want to erase the memory of her and Arynn bonding.
“Afraid not, young female.”
“My name’s Sheila, not young female.” First her daughter turned into a wolf, now she’s hearing there’s—vampires. Next, she’s going to see flying unicorns with fairies on their backs.
He gave her a pointed look, then came to rigid attention. “On point, men.”
The guys formed a wall in front of her, blocking off her view of the forest.
Arynn raced toward Sheila. He felt it the moment a rift happened and wasn’t sure if it was friend or foe. Never in his life had he ever shifted from wolf to man as quickly, ready to battle when he smelled the scent of unknown men surrounding his family.
As an Omega, he usually took on the pain and feelings to help others, but an ability he didn’t let others see or feel was his ability to force that pain onto his enemies. He’d never had the need, until now. The large, black clad men blocked his view of his girls, but he felt their fear. Forcing the Omega up, he concentrated on the path of pain and forced it into the wall of men. Their moan of agony made his power flair, giving it a boost. “Get away from my females before I kill you where you stand,” he snarled.
Kellen lifted his hands. “Arynn, calm down.”
There was no calm in him. Not when his girls were being threatened. Wolf. Man. Omega. They were all of one accord. Destroy any and all who threatened his family.
“Dad, what’s happeni
ng?” Rebel’s soft voice had his focus moving between a break in the men, their groans not affecting him at all.
“Enough, Arynn Dunn” Jenna’s power whipped around them, bringing his attention to the tiny Fey.
“Enough is when my family is safe. These men have come onto Iron Wolves property to take what is mine. I’ll teach them the error of their ways.” Was that his voice? Goddess, he felt like he was standing outside his own body.
“Sheila, go to him. Take the girls and show him you’re fine, or my men will have to take matters into their own hands.” The worry in Jenna’s voice made him glance toward the woman again.
“Arynn, we’re coming to you. See, we’re okay.” Soft feminine hands touched his face. Two sets of small female arms wrapped around his waist.
He inhaled, taking in their scents, sensing their worry and fear but no injuries. “What’s going on?”
“You’re about to get your ass whooped, that’s what is up, pup,” one of the dark clad men growled. Glowing red eyes stared at him.
“Ezra, play nice, since he’s pulled his powers back.”
Arynn glanced at the speaker, unsure if it was Damian or Lucas who spoke.
“That was Damian. Lucas, stop,” Jenna ordered just as the air stirred next to him.
“If you so much as think of trying that Omega shit with me, pup, I’ll knock you out until some sense can be shoved into you. Feel me,” Lucas said, his eyes glowing.
Air whooshed out of him, all his strength leaving him on shaking legs. Had he not had Sheila in front of him, along with Rebel and Romie holding him by the sides, he was sure he’d have fallen face first. “What the hell happened?” he asked as a dozen men turned, their all black attire and glowing red eyes showed anger and fear, yet they faced him, blood trickling from their noses.
“You happened, asshat. What the hell was that?” Kellen pointed at the men and then at him.
