She wasn’t sure if Hollis would shift as soon as the moon appeared or if he would wait. She wasn’t sure which she preferred. She was trying to get things straight in her head.
If Hollis was her alpha, he’d control the betas, and that would solve the problem, just the way she’d thought that it would when Avery would be bonded to her.
But this was better. Because if she were mated to Hollis, she’d have no problem killing him.
She smiled grimly. Any sympathy she had for him had melted away. He was forcing himself on her. Cole had tried to kill her, chained her up in this basement, and tortured her, forcing her to shift. But when it came down to it, Cole had never forced anything sexual on her against her will. Perhaps that was a blurred line when it came down to whether or not they were mated or not. And maybe it was a silly excuse. Cole Randall deserved to die, but she wasn’t sure that she could ever kill him. On the other hand, she really wanted to kill Hollis Moore.
Once Hollis was dead, she wouldn’t be mated to anyone. And the betas would be free. It was the answer to all her problems. All she had to do was let him mate with her.
Of course, once they were mated, she didn’t know if she’d be able to force her wolf to attack him. She was ready to try it, though.
* * *
The hallways of SF headquarters were jammed with fur and claws.
The hinges of a door splintered, the wood bulging. The door gave way as three large wolves pushed their way through, growling.
An SF worker hit the floor, brandishing his tranquilizer gun. He got off a shot, but it went wide, sinking into the wall.
A wolf leapt on him, tearing the gun from his hands, raking claws deep into the man’s back.
The wolves surged into the stairwell, racing up the stairs. Their tongues hung out over their sharp, white teeth, glistening in the fluorescent lights as they panted.
More workers met them with tranq guns.
A wolf went down, whimpering and moaning.
The others leaped over him, barreling into the workers, teeth and claws flashing.
The wolves crushed the men, furry bodies surging over the workers, moving up the steps, taking over the building.
There were too many wolves to stop them all.
* * *
“This facility is designed to withstand the force of werewolves,” said Ursula, staring down the hallway at the snarling mass of fur.
“Ten wolves,” said Kayla. “Maybe twenty. This is more than that.”
Avery grabbed her by the arms. “They’re Randall’s betas, aren’t they?”
She nodded.
He turned, sprinting down the hallway as fast as he could.
“Brooks!” yelled Ursula. “Where are you going?”
“To find Randall,” he yelled back. “He’s trying to break out!”
“Wait,” yelled Kayla.
He paused, turning.
“If you’re going down there, take this!” She tossed him a tranquilizer gun. “You’re going to need it.”
* * *
“Unchain me, Hollis,” she said. She tried to keep her voice even and steady, seductive even.
He sneered. He was shirtless, but she could barely see him in the scant light of the basement. Apparently, Cole’s electricity had been turned off, since he no longer lived here. It was dark and cold down here. She could only see snatches of Hollis’ bare skin. It looked gray in the moonlight that filtered down from the lone, high window.
“I’m not an idiot, Dana,” he said. “If I unchain you, you’ll run.”
She shook her head. “I won’t. I’ve decided it’s a good idea. I want free of Cole. This is the way to do it.”
“Nice try.”
Dammit. If she wasn’t unchained, she’d have a hell of a time killing him afterwards. He needed to listen to her. “Hollis, how are you going to mount me if I’m stretched out like this? Wolves don’t do it in missionary position, you know.”
Hollis seemed to hesitate, as if he was thinking about what she was saying.
She held her breath, hoping he’d let her down.
* * *
“Let me into his cell,” screamed Avery. The rest of headquarters was chaos, but maximum security seemed intact.
The guard on duty searched his keychain. “Hey, Brooks, what’s going on up there? Everything okay?”
Avery laughed shakily. “Everything’s pretty much fucked, actually. And it’s this bastard’s fault.”
The guard slid the key in and opened the door.
Avery stalked inside. The door closed behind him.
“Brooks,” said Cole’s voice, darkly amused. “Right on schedule.”
Avery felt a strong hand close over his throat. He grabbed at it, but he couldn’t breathe. He wasn’t strong. And he was too surprised to know what to do.
Cole pushed Avery up against the wall of his cell, searching with the hand not on Avery’s throat until he found the tranq gun. “Thanks,” he whispered, pushing the gun against Avery’s shoulder and squeezing the trigger.
Avery tried to yell, but there was no air.
Cole held him there until Avery stopped moving. Then he banged on the door.
“Had enough of him?” called the guard.
“Definitely,” said Cole.
The door opened.
Cole shot the tranq gun again.
The dart caught the guard in the throat.
Cole chuckled. “Have a good nap.”
The guard fell down face first, propping open the door to the cell.
Cole stepped over the body, out into the hallway, aiming and shooting darts at anything that moved.
* * *
Hollis ripped at her shirt. “Maybe if you’re naked, you’ll be less likely to run.”
Whatever made him happy. As long as he unchained her. She really wished he would get it over with. Break the bond with Cole and let her get on with killing him.
He pulled the tatters of her shirt away from her skin and leered at her.
She wanted to hide from his gaze. She felt violated, as if his eyes were somehow taking something from her. She wanted to shift. It would be easier in wolf form. It would be less... real somehow.
Hollis’ fingers skimmed over her breasts.
She shuddered.
“I remember the first time I made love to you. Do you remember that?” He nuzzled her ear.
Dana gritted her teeth. “Just do it. I don’t want to waste time going down memory lane.”
“Something about you... There’s always been something about you.” He kneaded her breast. “You feel it right? You pretend like you don’t. But I’d always known there was something special about us together.”
She wasn’t sure what to say. She felt vaguely nauseous. She didn’t know when this was going to end, and she wasn’t sure how much more of it she could take. It was horrible on two levels. First of all, she didn’t want Hollis to touch her. Second of all, the wolf was repulsed. It was just like when she was with Avery. But with Avery, at least part of her wanted it. With Hollis, none of her did. It was agony. “Unchain me, and let’s get it over with.”
* * *
Fifty or sixty wolves surged out of the front doors of the SF headquarters. They were led by a black wolf. The black wolf sniffed around the perimeter of the fence. He caught a scent and he followed it. He ran in that direction, and the other wolves followed.
Above them, the full moon hung white and heavy in the sky.
The black wolf raised his head. He uttered one chilling howl.
The other wolves raised their voices as well, and the night was full of sounds of the wolves.
The wolf pack ran through cold streams that reflected the cold moon. They ran amongst the trees and forests. They ran across highways. They ran over fields. Their muscles rippled under their shiny fur. Their paws lifted and sank on the ground. They moved together like one being. They followed the movements of the black wolf. He was the leader. The focal point. The brain. He was their a
lpha. He took his pack to save his mate. He was primal and driven.
When he lost the scent, he knew he was too late.
He couldn’t distinguish the smell properly anymore. It was still there, but fainter. It didn’t have the distinctness that had marked it as hers only a moment before. At the same time, the wolf pack dispersed. He could no longer feel the betas. They were no longer his to control.
It meant one of two things. Either she was dead—
And he wouldn’t think that. He couldn’t think that.
Or someone had taken her.
Whatever the case, someone had interfered with her. He wasn’t going to let that stand. He would fight, he would kill. They weren’t bound anymore, but she was everything to him.
* * *
Dana whined in exhaustion. She had known the wolf would not want anyone besides Cole to mate with her, but she hadn’t known how very hard the wolf would fight against it. She had to hand it to Hollis. He was determined. That persistence of his seemed to hold true even when he was shifted into a werewolf.
In the end, he’d worn her down.
She was pierced and mounted and forced. It was done now.
She was tired.
She was still connected to him. That fucking coital tie was there again. She wasn’t so much worried about pregnancy this time around. According to research she’d done since, it was pretty unlikely that she’d actually conceive from sex in wolf form. She was okay. But she was annoyed with the way the wolf was projecting contented feelings at Hollis. The wolf seemed happy with him, glad.
Dana communicated her disgust to the wolf.
And the wolf radiated back? Shame.
Dana puzzled over it, exhausted and just mated to Hollis Moore. The wolf had shame.
That was strange. Because according to Cole, the wolf was nothing more than an extension of nature. It was natural to be taken from one mate by another. The wolf shouldn’t feel any shame over it.
But the longer she stood in the dark basement, still connected to Hollis, the less difference she could distinguish between the wolf and her. Things seemed to have mushed together. The wolf was her. She was the wolf.
Or was that what Cole had said?
She was tired. She didn’t want to think about it.
And she was going to have to kill Hollis. And he was her mate now. It was going to be hard. She felt things for him now. They were connected. She knew she had to do it, but she wasn’t sure how she’d manage it.
If only she could have a bit of rest first.
Of course Hollis seemed exhausted too. Maybe it would be better to strike now, while he wasn’t expecting it.
Well, she could very well kill him right now, could she? He was stuck in her. She twisted, bringing her snout down to the place they were connected.
Yeah, that wasn’t going anywhere.
What if she shifted?
If she shifted to human form, he’d still be inside her, wouldn’t he?
She felt a sharp thought of horror, thinking of her sensitive human parts split open by Hollis’ wolf genitals. No way. She wasn’t shifting back. She’d have to wait it out. That was all there was to it.
* * *
It was harder to follow her scent now, but not impossible. The black wolf made his way alone under the silver light of the moon. His pack had deserted him, wandering off on their own, no one governing their movements.
He and the pack had gone the bulk of the way already. Before losing them, he’d sensed that he was close.
When he realized where she was, he was amused. If he hadn’t been a wolf, he would have laughed. How fitting.
He trotted up the driveway to his own house, her smell growing stronger with every step he took.
* * *
Dana circled Hollis, still in wolf form. He warily faced her.
She was going to strike. She was. If she killed him, there would be no more mating. She’d be free. She needed to do this.
But she didn’t want to do it. She was connected to Hollis now, and she could feel it. She steeled herself, reminding herself that the tie to Hollis was an obstacle in the way of her freedom.
She lunged for his neck.
He was stunned. He hadn’t expected it.
Her teeth caught him, drawing blood. But she hadn’t bitten nearly deep enough to kill him or to even cause much damage.
Hollis whimpered, retreating from her.
She couldn’t handle that. She’d hurt him! She wanted to comfort him, not kill him. She hesitated, keeping her distance.
Hollis moved further from her, licking the wound she’d created.
She knew she needed to try again. She didn’t know if she’d be able to, though. He was her mate. They belonged together. What she was trying to do tore her up inside.
And then the door opened.
She looked up to see Cole walking down the steps, totally naked. He surveyed the scene in front of him and he leapt forward, shifting to a wolf in midair.
Hollis knew him as a threat immediately. He growled at Cole.
Cole snarled back. He jumped onto Hollis, his jaws wide.
Hollis tried to dodge him, but he wasn’t fast enough.
Cole sank his teeth into Hollis’ skin, grabbing him at the back of the neck. In a quick, decisive motion, Cole snapped Hollis’ neck.
Hollis squeaked, but it was cut off before he could finish. His motionless body dropped to the floor, shifting back to human immediately.
Cole rocked back on his haunches, and he shifted as well, human skin replacing his fur.
In relief, Dana let her human form back out too.
He crawled to her, pulling her into his arms. “Are you okay?”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
“Drink this,” Cole said, putting a small glass into her hands.
“No,” she said. “You know I don’t drink alcohol.”
“It will warm you, Dana,” he said. “Just drink it.”
She did. The fiery liquid burned its way down her throat. She grimaced, but she did feel warmer. She was in Cole’s bathtub, and he was washing her. The water was cold, though, as there was no power for the water heater. Her teeth had been chattering.
“He didn’t hurt you much,” Cole assessed. “A few scratches, I guess.” He ran his fingers over them. They were scattered over her shoulders and thighs. They must have happened when she’d been in wolf form. She didn’t remember anything else.
“Do I still smell like him?” she wanted to know. For some reason, it was important that she get the stink of Hollis off her body immediately. Hence the washing.
Cole shook his head. “No. You smell like you.”
She sighed in relief.
Cole got up from the tub. He disappeared for a moment, and then reappeared with a large blanket.
Gratefully, she stepped out of the tub and let him wrap her in it.
He led her out to his living room and sat her on the couch. He settled next to her, drawing another blanket around his own shoulders.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “I didn’t know if I’d be able to kill him on my own.”
He looked surprised. “You were trying to kill him?”
She nodded. “That was my plan. I knew he had to mate with me in order to break the bond between us and free the betas. But I didn’t want to be bonded to him. I knew I had to kill him. It was hard.”
Cole traced the outline of her jaw with one finger. “You are simply amazing, Dana Gray.”
She closed her eyes, enjoying his fingers on her.
Then her eyes snapped open. “Wait a second. I broke the bond. I did, didn’t I?”
“Yes,” he said. “You did. I lost my sense of you. I lost my pack.”
“Then why...” She gazed at him. Why did he still look so damned good to her? “I shouldn’t be attracted to you anymore.”
He laughed, a throaty velvet sound. “Beautiful, we were attracted before we mated, or have you forgotten that?”
He was right. She remember
ed that first slip of the blanket, Cole’s fingers accidentally touching her, waking her up. She remembered the confused mix of arousal and revulsion she’d felt. If she were honest with herself, that feeling had never gone away. She shut her eyes. “It is my fault after all.”
He trailed a finger down her neck, wandering over her collarbone, dipping into her cleavage. “Am I really that horrific?”
She opened her eyes, gazed into his dark ones. “I think so. Yes.”
He smiled ruefully, inching closer to her. He kissed her.
She let him.
He pulled back. “I want you, Dana. Do you want me?”
She swallowed. “Yes, but...” But if she gave in now, without anything to blame it on besides her own lust, what would that mean that she was? Damaged? Crazy? Maddened? “It won’t bond us again, will it?”
“Not as humans,” he said. His fingers went under the swell of her breast, cupping it with one hand. “I’d rather it not feel forced anyway, wouldn’t you?”
She bit her lip.
He pushed the blanket aside, baring her skin to the night air, to the light of the moon. His fingers danced over her nipple. It tightened, stiffened.
She moaned, really releasing what she felt. There was no one to hear. No one to know.
She touched his stomach, flat and hard. He was all lean angles, her Cole. Not a large, overpowering man but threatening all the same.
“I shouldn’t,” she whispered.
“Neither should I,” he said. He shifted, nudging her thighs apart. He lay down against her, his bare skin against her own. They slid and slipped against each other, like satin.
Her eyes rolled back in her head. It felt so nice.
Cole’s mouth was on her neck. His tongue was in her ear. “If I fall asleep in your arms afterwards, will you have me locked back up again?”
She ran her hands over his back, grabbing the curve of his backside, urging his body against hers. “Probably.”
He groaned.
He was pressing against her sex, long and rigid. She put her hands on him, squeezed him, stroked him.
“Dana,” he breathed.
“You’re a very bad man, Cole,” she said, tugging on him. “I don’t think anything is going to make you good.”
“Mmm. You’re very good. At what you’re doing.”
She quickened her pace. “The betas. They aren’t yours anymore. Why don’t you give up? Why don’t you tell me you won’t kill?”
His eyes were closed. He sighed, and when he spoke, his breath was labored. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you? If you could change me with a hand job.”
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