by Sarra Cannon
That’s when he saw it: the wrinkle in the corner of Ty’s mouth. Not quite a smile, but a smile all the same.
He’s doing it, too. Ty was pulling his punches, throwing pitty-pat blows that wouldn’t hurt a kid. Because Rae’s escape, he realized, suited Ty, too.
He hid a smile and went back at Ty with a haymaker guaranteed to go wide.
Perfect, his coyote snickered, trying to make the punch look good.
Perfect except for one thing, as he realized when the fight wore on. It was impossible to put a couple of alpha wolves in a ring together and expect them to play nice. Bit by bit, he felt his wolf creeping toward the surface, in the same way that Ty’s eyes grew more intent. So much that Zack took to avoiding them altogether, just in case. With every blow, every parry, every grunt from the audience, the fight escalated.
Showtime was over. Soon, he’d be fighting for his life. Rae’s life, too. She’d die before giving in to a forced mate.
Ty’s blows came faster and in more effective combinations. Eyes stinging with the salt of his own sweat, Zack did his best to leash his inner beast. But Ty was coming at him harder and harder, and he was forced to put more power behind his punches. Ty got in a good uppercut while Zack responded with a heavy cross that pulled a vicious growl out of Ty. Zack stepped left, looking for an opening, while Ty went right, his shoulders blocking the floodlights momentarily. But then Ty slid farther, and a piercing beam of light hit Zack’s eyes. He threw a hand up against it, blotting out the blinding combination of floodlights and the old alpha’s glare.
There was a mighty crack, and Zack had the vague feeling it might have been his jaw. At least, that’s as much as his mind registered as he flew sprawling across the hard-packed dirt. When he could process something other than the pain shooting through his jaw, it was an inky sky with tiny points of lights, soothing and soft.
Beautiful. Like jewels in the sky.
He focused there, trying to blink away the pain. A hulking form shifted into view above him: Ty, leaning in to assess the impact of that last blow.
Impact. The word echoed in Zack’s mind, bringing out a crazy smile. There’d been an impact, all right. Rae. The woman had been like a meteor in his life, rocketing in and changing everything.
He could have howled, thinking of her gone, but in that off-balance moment, his coyote got the better of him and started laughing. That gurgling chuckle turned into a throaty giggle that built until his jaw and ribs ached.
He flopped back into the warm earth and took in the scene around him, feeling strangely removed from it all. The lights, the barn, his packmates. A tiny and strangely absurd universe. Ty’s face was cast in the deep lines of a frown and his eyes went from killer to confused.
What the hell is so funny? Ty’s voice thundered in his mind.
Try two friends fighting over a woman one of them doesn’t want and the other one wants too much.
Zack laughed until tears squeezed out of his eyes and blurred his sight. The bubbling laughter grew louder and deeper, like a bass drum had just seen the humor in this strange scene and decided to rumble along. When he paused to suck in a breath, the sound went on, and he realized it was Ty, laughing and leaning over with his hands on his knees, either from a laughter-induced shake or the exhaustion of the fight. Maybe a little of both.
A soft, scolding voice from the past echoed in his ears: old Aunt Jean, the former schoolteacher and surrogate mother to underdogs like him. What would she say to them now? Two little ragamuffins, laughing in the dirt. The recollection only made Zack laugh harder. They couldn’t have been more than eight when she said it, that day on the schoolhouse grounds. And that had to have been the first and last time anyone had associated the word muffin with him or Ty.
He laughed until Ty reached a hand down to haul him to his feet—whether to restart the fight or dust his ass off and head for a bar, Zack wasn’t sure. He gripped the rough hand as if to stand and then yanked Ty down beside him. There was a heavy moment of silence then their laughter picked up where it had left off, and for a minute, they really were a couple of ragamuffins in the dirt.
They spent a few minutes like that, the two of them, while their mute packmates looked on, unsure how to react. Then Zack took a deep breath and threw an arm out to tap Ty.
“Oof,” the alpha’s son let out, biting back a grimace. “That rib’s broken, man.”
Zack rolled to all fours, slowly, painfully, then sat back on his haunches and gingerly touched his chin. “So’s my fucking jaw.”
“How broken?” Ty challenged, and Zack grinned. It was another line from the past, one they’d used back in their play-fight days.
Except this was no play-fight. This was real, and Rae was out there. He locked eyes with Ty, suddenly going quiet.
Rae. Mate,his wolf growled. Mine.
Ty’s eyes flared, and Zack wondered how this night might end. A friendship ruined or a friendship renewed?
A slow second later, Ty gave a curt nod and accepted Zack’s hand up.
“What the hell is this?” Old Tyrone barked.
Zack stiffened, but Ty jerked his hand northeast, in the direction Rae had gone.
“Got a mate to catch,” Ty declared in a quiet but deadly voice. “His mate,” he added, jabbing his chin toward Zack.
A moment later, they were both in wolf form, sprinting into the night.
Chapter 22
Much as Rae blinked, she couldn’t change the reality confronting her. Jed was back. And this time, he had reinforcements: four strapping young wolves who looked hungry for action—any kind of action they could get.
“Sunshine, you knew I wouldn’t let that jackass take you away. Now come home with me.” Jed’s voice went from sugar sweet to acid sharp on the final words.
Home? She leaned backward, toward the ranch, then forced herself ramrod straight. There was no home for her. Not with Jed, not with Zack, not with any man. She nearly barked it out but held her tongue, not wanting to set Jed off.
He was crazy. She could see it in his eyes. Crazy and utterly convinced of himself; a dangerous combination. Forget about reasoning with him. So what if she wasn’t interested in him and never had been? So what if she had her own dream? That was all negligible in the madman’s master plan. He wanted a mate, a pack, and supreme rule. And he’d stop at nothing to get it.
“Sunshine, you okay?” His eyes shone in the dark. “I should never have let that asshole take you away. But I wasn’t ready to take on the whole pack, so I had to let you go. For your own sake. But you see?” He broke out in a proud grin, waiting for her approval. “I came back for you, just like I promised.”
Her stomach twisted and rolled. He’d promised, all right.
He’d never stop coming after her. He’d never give up. Coming from another man, that might have been touching. Knowing Jed, it was terrifying.
Instinct told her to flee, a plan her wolf was all on board with.
Let me out! Let me run!
As much as she’d been wishing for her wolf’s help, now she reined the urge in. Running would only set off the chase instinct in these wolves. From the looks of it, Jed had assembled a gang of young males cast out from their home packs. They would have been kicked out when they were still immature and manageable. Now, though, they had filled out—like Jed—into formidable fighting machines. Jed’s vision of taking over North Ridge pack might be less suicidal than it first seemed. She could see it now: Jed had promised each of these vigilantes leading roles in his new pack if they helped him overthrow Greer, the alpha of Colorado’s North Ridge pack. Even for rogues, the call of a pack was strong.
So was the call of the chase. If she ran, they’d follow, bring her down, and… She didn’t want to think about the rest.
Jed, though, seemed excited about just that. “Hey, Sunshine. Why don’t we play? You run, we chase.” The wolf to Jed’s left licked his chops, and Jed grinned. “Where I come from, brother, we share our prizes. She’s mine, but if you’re good,
you can have a taste, too.”
Rae’s stomach folded in on itself. Jed had learned one trick too many from Greer, that greedy brute. Neither of them was half the man Zack was.
Now, why did he pop back into her mind? She’d banished the thought of him. Or tried to, anyway. Zack had betrayed her. He was as bad as the rest.
She could only count on herself. So how was she going to get out of this mess?
Run, the wolf said.
She tested her ankle, finding the pain gone. Either it was only a twist, or her accelerated shifter healing had already gone to work. The ankle would hold if she ran.
Fight, her heart cried.
Talk, logic urged.
“Look, Jed, we need to think this through. Are you really going to take on Greer with four wolves?”
He grinned, his teeth flashing white in the night. “Who says I only got four?”
Her heart sank as three more wolves slunk out of the shadows. Seven wolves—eight, with Jed.
Despair seeped into her shoulders, and she briefly wondered if she should just give in and hope Jed took it easy on her. Maybe later, she’d get some chance to escape.
“I know, I know,” Jed crowed. “You’re impressed. Old Jed is finally moving up in the world. And you, Sunshine, are climbing right along with me. So get moving! We got our trucks parked a couple of miles away.”
“Right, climbing,” she murmured. More like descending the steps to hell. Her mind spun, looking for some way out. The minute she let these wolves close ranks around her, her chances of escape were nil. It was eight to one, with more arriving any time because the Twin Moon wolves would be coming after her, too. Soon.
Part of her mind jumped on the idea. How soon?
The Twin Moon wolves would fight these rogues off, which would suit her just fine. But then what?
Before she had the chance to think out a plan, her wolf tore out of her skin and started to run—back in the direction of the ranch.
In an instant, they were after her—eight baying wolves already lost in the thrill of the chase. She could make out Jed’s scratchy tenor among the others; he sounded delighted with his mate’s cooperation in a bit of fun.
Well, she didn’t want any part of it. Her legs pounded the dirt as her eyes picked out the cleanest path through the scrub ahead, turning on all her speed. Jed and his gang were running for sport, but she was running for her life, and that kept her three lengths ahead.
For now, at least. She hammered up the slope she’d come flying down earlier. It was hard going over loose scree and rocks, but she made the most of her lead, kicking back all the loose material she could to hinder those in pursuit. One wolf, though, was making steady progress up a parallel route and slowly closing in. The crazed gleam in his eye and curled lips identified it as Jed, back in wolf form. She could hear his claws scuttle over rock as he launched himself in her direction, and it was only a burst of speed, together with lucky footing, that allowed her to jump clear. She felt a whoosh inches behind, heard the curse in Jed’s breath.
Her muscles wailed with each desperate step as she heaved up the final yards of the slope.
Close—so close! The flat edge of the mesa was right there. Once she reached it, she’d gain precious seconds if she was able to freewheel it down the other side before Jed followed. And after that?
Damned if she knew.
Forcing her screaming muscles to obey, she threw herself over the rise—and immediately dove out of the way of two wolves hurtling up from the opposite direction. One was black-brown, darker than night; the other, a familiar deep brown.
Zack. A wave of relief came over her even as she tumbled. Zack would help.
Her body ground to a halt against a boulder, but the impact hurt less than the thought that followed.
Like he helped before? Zack had betrayed her. She could never trust him again.
Behind her, the wolves crashed together, and the night exploded with sound. She’d never heard roars so fierce and outraged, not even back in Colorado, where fights were a regular occurrence.
Run! Instinct screamed in Rae’s ear as she rolled to her feet. Let them fight while we get away!
Three shaky steps later, she petered to a stop.
Zack and Ty had come for her; she couldn’t run and leave them to fight her fight. Could she?
Of course, they hadn’t really come to help. They had only come to claim her for their pack. Whichever side won the skirmish splitting the night behind her, it would all be the same in the end. She would be nothing more than the spoil of war.
Zack is not the same!her wolf insisted, shuffling around so that she faced the fight. One trembling step after another, she crept toward the action at the crest of the hill, fighting herself every inch of the way.
Zack and the other wolf—it had to be Ty, given his coloring and the intensity of his glare—were firmly planted on the stage-like rise of the mesa, taking lethal swipes at the wolves attacking them. The two of them were an army to themselves, so big and angry that the air around them wavered. One of Jed’s gang was already down while another dragged himself out of the melee. The others jumped in and out of range. Zack roared in an outraged tone that she’d never imagined could come from him. He batted away an attacking wolf with one broad paw and followed with jaws that flashed white then came back red. Three down, five to go. Could Zack and Ty do it?
Her eyes swept over the battlefield and counted again. Four—she could only find four other wolves. Where was the other?
The air pressure by her left ear squeezed and shook, and she spun to find Jed, leaping in to force her back against a boulder. He’d snuck around the others and cut in around the rear.
Come on, Sunshine, he smiled. Let’s go.
Even at the height of the fight, the man was grinning. She could feel him forcing his words into her mind.
You and me, Sunshine. Just like old times.
Chapter 23
Rae stepped back. There were no old times.
The growl in Jed’s throat dropped to a snarl. Come now, Sunshine.
I will never come with you! She swiped at him. Her claws ripped at his shoulder, opening four parallel gashes just deep enough to stoke his anger.
The growl turned low and deadly as Jed faced her, his tail slashing the air like a saber. You are mine.
He lunged for her, and she sprang away, scrambling to a landing. Jed paused, wild-eyed and bristling as she bared her fangs.
I love it when women play with me, he chuckled.
She wondered how many women had suffered at his hands and how much he’d make her hurt. The fact that Jed wouldn’t kill her was a small consolation.
You have a twisted definition of play, she growled, backing slowly toward a boulder. She needed some point of orientation in this crazy night. Jed stood before her and at least another half-dozen wolves battled just out of sight at her back. You are sick. She all but spat the words out.
His grin bent into a frown. You are mine!
I will never be yours! She’d barely formed the words when he leaped. She dodged at the last minute, hoping he would go crashing into the rock. But Jed twisted and roared, catching her haunches in his front paws. His claws scraped along her ribs, trying to get a grip.
All mine, Sunshine, he growled, and the threat drummed from her ears to her desperately calculating mind.
She wanted to scream for some miracle burst of adrenaline to heave the brute off. She tried dragging herself free, but Jed’s weight was too much. With a push and grunt, he worked himself higher, shouldering her into a roll. An instant later, he had her pinned, his ivory fangs clicking in her face.
All I have to do is bite, bitch, and you will finally understand that you are mine.
He lowered his muzzle, going for her neck. She could feel the sappy drip of saliva work its way through her ruff even before his teeth scraped along her skin. Either he’d gut her there and then, or bite clean and deep in a mating bite that would bind her permanently to him. Either
way, there’d be no escape.
She wanted to squeeze her eyes shut and pretend the horror of it away, but she forced herself to act. Even death would be better than a lifetime of abuse. With a mighty kick, the claws of her back leg raked along his belly, drawing blood.
Bitch!
Jed pulled back to study the wound in surprise. When he looked up again, his eyes were sheer malice, and she knew it was the end. She opened her jaws in defense when he came back at her, but she knew she couldn’t win. The wind was knocked out of her lungs as he slammed her back onto the earth and took up position over her throat.
Mine! he snarled, hot breath burning her skin.
She twisted and writhed in a last act of defense before the inevitable bite. Behind his looming body were the stars. So beautiful, so far away. She closed her eyes.
There was an explosion of sound, a tussle, and Jed’s weight was lifted away. Sheer instinct brought her to her feet, and she would have fled if she hadn’t been so disoriented by the eruption of sound and shape before her.
Jed and another wolf were wrestling just steps away on the south side of the ridge. His opponent was a mighty wolf with a satchel-brown, dun-tinted coat. Half coyote, half wolf.
Zack. Rae knew her heart was foolish to swell with hope at the sight of him, but it did anyway.
Jed launched a counterattack, howling his rage, and there was the sickening rip of flesh as Zack staggered back. A moment later, he battled back in a burst of energy that drove Jed to his haunches. The wolves scrambled for each other’s throats, boxing and slashing until they broke apart, then crashed together again.
It was a fight of finesse and calculated blows versus raw power, each wolf briefly gaining the upper hand before the other wrestled it back. Jed rolled, taking Zack with him, using his greater weight, and Rae let out a scream. No!
Zack’s face lit briefly before folding into a snarl, and he pushed Jed back with strength he shouldn’t have possessed. Then he was on top of Jed, his jaws wide.
It was over in a splash of crimson, a garbled cry. Rae swayed on her feet, not sure if it was relief or fear that was pounding through her veins. Jed was dead.
