The Vampre's Salvation

by Martha Woods

  Skylar was already perched on the bed and hugging his mother as if she had known her all her life. “You were protecting someone you loved, Leah. I would have done the same.”

  Liam wiped a hand over his face and watched his mother cling to Skylar. “Well, Isaac is dead.”

  “I heard.” Leah sniffed. “There’s no alpha. I suppose when Lucas decides to surface -”

  “There is an alpha.”

  Two pairs of shocked eyes flew to Liam. “You’ve changed your mind?” Leah asked, hope shining in her eyes.

  “You were right, Sky. Maybe I can bring a change. My father’s out of the way and everyone here is looking for a leader. I can make things different, better.”

  Her lips curved upward and she nodded her support. Leah clutched her heart. “Are you sure, Liam? What about your happiness?”

  “I will be happy,” he said gazing at Skylar. “As long as I have my woman with me.”

  “Well, I’m not going anywhere,” Skylar said with a smile. She gasped when Leah pulled her into a tight embrace with a sudden burst of strength.

  Liam grinned, glad that his mother was happy. A burst of love for the small woman in his mother’s arm swelled inside of him. “Mom, Skylar and I will back tomorrow. I should get her home now.”

  Skylar glanced up with a frown. “But -”

  “Let’s go, Sky.”

  Understanding dawned when she saw the smoldering look in his eyes. She swallowed a smile and kissed Leah on the cheek. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Leah. Maybe we can bring you to Liam’s cabin, mansion, whatever it is.

  She chuckled. “I suppose now I can do that.” She seemed delighted.

  Liam kissed his mother’s cheek and pulled Skylar to the door. She stifled giggles as they made their way down the front steps. “You horny devil,” she whispered.

  He let out a laugh, feeling at ease for once in a long time. He looked around, noting that his father’s body had been removed. He waited to feel even a sliver of remorse but none came. Spotting Michael, he approached him.

  “Where’s Henry? He was injured by the hunter.”

  “He’ll be fine. He’s home with his wife. So what’s going to happen?” Michael’s eyes were fixed on his.

  Liam’s mouth stretched into smile and Michael’s eyes widened. “You accepted.” He fist pumped the air. “Yes! I swear if Lucas took over, I would probably organize his assassination.”

  “Michael!” Skylar gasped.

  “Oh come on, you’ve met the guy. Remember when he tried to eat you?”

  “That doesn’t mean -”

  “Don’t start you two.” Liam clapped Michael’s shoulder. “If Lucas shows up and starts trouble, take care of it. As my second in command, I’m leaving you in charge. I’ll come back tomorrow and we’ll let everyone know what’s going on.”

  Michael snorted. “By the wide grins on everyone’s faces, I think they already know. They were all suffering under dearly departed Dad’s tyranny. And what the hell do you mean second in command? We never had -”

  “I’m going to make some changes and that’s the first change. I’m hell bent on making family duty and spending time with my woman and work. So just work with me, little brother. I won’t be here all the time and I need someone I can trust to stand in my place from time to time, like when Sky and I go on vacations.”

  Skylar’s eyes gleamed as he led her toward the trees where his car was still parked on a narrow path. “Can we go to Paris?”

  “Anywhere you want, baby.”

  Michael shook his head and watched them walk away. “They’re so sickeningly adorable,” he murmured and walked off.

  She squealed. “I can’t wait to tell Farah I’m going to Paris. I can’t wait to tell her about everything that happened today.”

  “You’ll have to wait because when I get you into bed, we’re going to be there a while.”

  “I like the sound of that.” She looked at him with troubled eyes. “Your problem has been solved, but mine is still hanging in the air. I don’t know what my father is up to and there’s a mob boss still trying to get his hands on me.”

  He opened her door and she slid into his car. He was tempted to abandon the vehicle, lift her into his arms and run home. They would move much faster. “It’s our problem, and no one is getting their hands on you except me. We’ll deal with it together.”

  Skylar smiled slightly and let out a breath. “Okay. Are you sure about everything, Liam?” she asked as he drove off.

  He immediately knew she was talking about him suddenly changing his mind about becoming alpha. “I can’t be entirely sure about everything. I’ll just have to take things one day at a time. There’s one thing that I am sure about.”

  “What’s that?”

  He took her hand in his and brought it to his lips.

  “You and me.”

  * * *

  END

  Bonus Book 2

  THE ALPHA’S DEMAND

  (Book 2 of the werewolves of Boulder Junction series)

  Martha Woods

  © 2017 Martha Woods

  * * *

  All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  * * *

  For permissions contact: bookpublisher@protonmail.com

  Chapter 1

  Skylar Moore smiled and let her head fall against the shoulder of the strong man sitting next to her. Their plane was just landing, and though the flight home had been long and exhausting, Skylar couldn’t help smiling at the thought of where they were coming from.

  Next to her, Liam stirred and let out a low growl. She felt love bubble up in her chest as his hand made its way from his lap and found her hand, gripping it tightly as the plane descended. Then his eyes opened slowly and he looked around, turning his head and stretching his neck.

  Skylar stared up at him with wide eyes as she watched him come out of his sleepy state. After another moment, he looked down at her, a fond look entering his eyes. Skylar would never grow old of the possession there – she liked knowing she was his.

  “How are you feeling?” he asked, his voice quiet and rough from sleep. Skylar lifted her head from his shoulder and gave him a quick peck on the lips before smiling sweetly at him.

  “I miss it already,” she murmured, looking down at their intertwined hands. They had spent two weeks in Paris, seeing the sights and dining out, though they did spend plenty of time in their hotel room. Thinking about it made a shot of lust zip through Skylar, and she sighed when Liam kissed her cheek gently.

  “Me too,” he said, “I wish we could have stayed longer…”

  Skylar shook her head and put her finger to his lips, “Shh, Liam. We had a nice vacation, but now it’s time to return to the real world.”

  Skylar wondered if they would ever be returning to the real world – the world she had known before Liam. That world was simple, but the new one she had entered into was a lot more complicated. From the beginning, she had known Liam had his secrets, but she would have never thought they unraveled into another reality, where myths and legends walked and talked and held her close at night.

  She closed her eyes and thought about everything that had happened just before their vacation – the problems with her father and the people that were after him, Liam’s family problems, not to mention the hunter who had nearly fought Liam to the death right in front of his childhood home.

  This brought Skylar back to home – their home. The pack would be happy to see Liam again, and though his brother, Michael, was an excellent second-in-command, everyone seemed
to relax when Liam was around.

  “I’m glad to be home,” Skylar whispered, relieved that she wouldn’t have to worry about how everything was while they were gone.

  Liam’s eyes warmed and he leaned in to kiss her again just as the plane hit the ground. They jostled a bit as the stewardess appeared, instructing everyone to gather their carry-ons and exit the plane. As they stood, Skylar glanced at the big, comfortable first-class seat she had enjoyed during both rides and felt a pang of longing – she would miss being on vacation with Liam.

  They exited the plane and walked through the terminal, where a driver immediately spotted them and took their baggage. “This way, Mr. Conway,” the man said grinning wide enough to reveal his white teeth. “I have the car outside ready for you.”

  Skylar shook her head, still surprised by the extravagant lifestyle Liam was capable of. He could have flown all over and traveled the world, he could have retired and hired a hundred people to do all his work for him, and yet he still insisted on coming home and leading his pack whilst taking care of his company.

  Skylar laced her fingers with his and squeezed, knowing it was one of the things she loved about him.

  The driver wound through the road on the way to Liam’s house, and Skylar found herself enjoying the way the trees enveloped them, hushing the rest of the world. They were alone together, in the back seat of the sleek black car, and suddenly all Skylar could think about was getting his smooth leather jacket off him as fast as possible, once they had walked back through the doors of their house.

  All thoughts left her head as they pulled up in front of the house. Skylar felt her breath catch in her throat and felt Liam tense significantly beside her. Both of them were silent for a moment, taking in the sight before them, the back of the car filled with silent shock.

  “Oh my,” the driver whispered, under his breath, and slowed to a stop. As soon as he did, Liam barreled out of the car, making his way to the house.

  Or, what was left of it.

  Skylar got out of the car slowly, hanging onto the door like she was going to fall over if she didn’t have something to hold her up. The beautiful mansion, big enough to house a full family but cozy enough to feel like home, was a charred version of its former beauty. The lawn was littered with debris, pieces of glass and large splinters of wood that made it look as though the entire US military had decided to target Liam’s beautiful home.

  All the windows were busted in. Skylar let go of the door and crept forward, a sob in her throat as Liam pushed on the front door. It fell of the hinge, halfway burned, and thudded to the ground, the beautiful mahogany marred permanently damaged.

  Skylar followed him in, gasping again at the sight of the inside of the house. Everything was covered in a thin layer of soot, most of the delicate valuable decorations smashed until they were unrecognizable. It looked as though someone had let the house burn for a while before putting the fire out.

  Skylar watched Liam run a finger over the frame of a framed certificate, his hand turning black quickly. Liam cursed under his breath, his chest heaving up and down violently. He turned around, a murderous look in his eyes, and Skylar took a step back, not scared but cautious.

  “Liam,” she said, her voice soft and gentle enough to break him out of his near-rage. He cursed again, slamming his hand into the granite counter. Skylar rushed over to him and took his wrist, cradling his hand and looking up at him.

  He grabbed her and held her close, his breathing slow and labored. Finally, Skylar pulled away from him and tried to keep her eyes off the wreckage, but it was no small feat, as everything in the house was destroyed.

  “Who would do something like this?” Skylar asked, her voice small and hurt.

  Liam shook his head, the vein in his neck jumping dangerously. “Any number of people,” he said, and though his voice was venomous, the uncontrollable anger was gone. “Rival companies, personal enemies…” He looked at Skylar and she covered her mouth.

  “You don’t think…?”

  “There’s no way to know,” Liam said quickly, seeming to understand how Skylar was beginning to blame herself. “The people who were after your father, they don’t seem like they were capable of something like this.”

  “Oh God,” Skylar said, turning away from Liam and looking over the wreck in the kitchen. She swallowed the lump in her throat, remembering too easily the large spacious kitchen, the way Farah would lean over the counter, offering Skylar priceless advice…

  All the air was ripped from Skylar’s lungs as she realized that in the emotional strain of finding the house in its disrepair, they had completely forgotten about something much more important.

  “Farah,” Skylar panicked. She rushed over to the counter, as though Farah would have left her some clue as to where she was. “Farah!” Skylar called, her voice rising in pitch as she looked around frantically. “Farah!”

  Skylar ran from the room and had her foot on the first step to the second floor when two strong arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her back so quickly her head thudded into Liam’s chest.

  “Hey,” he said, pulling her into a hug, “not the stairs Skylar, we don’t know if they-”

  “I have to find Farah!” Skylar said, tears quickly accumulating in her eyes as she was assaulted with the wreckage in the house – if the people had been willing to completely burn down our beautiful home, who was to say they would stop at Farah?

  “We’ll find her,” Liam said, “I’m sure she’s fine. She’s a resourceful woman.”

  Skylar shook her head, her heart still beating too quickly in her chest. Her thoughts were beginning to clear a bit, though. “What are we going to do?” She asked, still breathing hard. “Where can we find her? Where do we even look? Where should we go?”

  “We’re going to go talk to Michael first,” Liam said, his voice firm and calm. Skylar took a deep breath – this was why he was the alpha of the pack. He always knew what to do. “I need to make sure the pack is okay, make sure this isn’t a hunter attack.”

  Skylar shook her head at the thought that anyone else had been hurt by this – she imagined Michael or anyone of the little werewolf children getting hurt and had to lean into Liam.

  “We’d better go check on them,” she agreed, letting Liam lead her out of the ruined house.

  * * *

  “What?” Michael’s eyes got wide as he looked back and forth between Skylar and Liam. “What are you talking about?”

  Liam nodded gravely. “When we arrived, everything was destroyed. Nothing is salvageable. It’s like a bomb went off in there – I wouldn’t be surprised if the structuring collapses before the end of the week.”

  Michael sunk down into the chair behind him, running his hands through his hair, which had gotten much longer in the time that he had been second-in-command of the pack.

  “You think it was that hunter?”

  “I have no way of knowing yet,” Liam said, “there were no scents left in the house, everything was masked by the soot and smoke. I couldn’t even catch a lingering of my own scent in there. But I suspected the hunter, that’s why we came over here right away, to check and make sure everyone was okay.”

  “Well, we didn’t get attacked by anyone or anything, but that doesn’t mean everything is okay.”

  Liam was instantly on alert, and Skylar was looking around, too, trying to discern the danger. Michael seemed to notice his poor choice of wording because he put his hands up.

  “It’s… Lucas,” he said, and Liam and Skylar relaxed, though it was still worrying to hear about Lucas.

  Since Lucas had been attacked by a hunter, he had become even more volatile. For a while, he had hidden from sight, ashamed to have been taken down so easily. Michael had called while Skylar and Liam were in Paris and told Liam that Lucas had been showing more of his face around the pack, throwing Michael threatening glances.

  “Has it gotten worse?” Skylar asked, watching Michael for signs that Lucas had been behaving mo
re aggressively.

  “Not too much,” Michael said, glancing over his shoulder like he thought Lucas would be there, lurking behind them and listening in on the conversation. “But it’s still noticeable. Some of the pack has started coming to me about it. Lucas has always been a problem, but lately people have started to notice more.”

  Liam was rubbing his chin, nodding thoughtfully.

  “Right. That is a problem, but it’s not the most pressing one, right now. I just hope Lucas can stay out of the way until we can figure out who, or what, attacked our house.”

  “And where Farah is,” Skylar added, her tone worried.

  Liam turned to Skylar and put his hands on her biceps as Michael was called over by somebody else.

  “Hey,” Liam said, rubbing his hands up and down Skylar’s arms in an attempt to calm her nerves. “Farah is a powerful woman, Skylar. If anything, she’s left herself, gone somewhere safe.”

  “I don’t know,” Skylar said, shaking her head and worrying her lower lip. “I just have this terrible feeling that there’s something wrong.”

  Liam pulled her into a hug and stroked her hair, his lips close to her ear.

  “It’s going to be okay, Skylar,” he said, his voice low and soothing. “We’ll find her.”

  “Find who?” An aggravating voice spurted loudly from the side, and Liam and Skylar broke apart, though Liam’s arm stayed protectively around Skylar’s shoulders. Lucas was standing there, his posture slightly askew as though he was favoring his right side. Lucas grinned slowly at the two of them, his eyes slowly shifting over to Skylar’s side.

  “Has someone gone missing?” he asked, never breaking eye contact with her.

  Skylar ripped away from Liam’s lax hold and hit Lucas so hard across the face that he stumbled to the side. If Lucas hadn’t been recently injured, and if the hit hadn’t been so completely unexpected, it never would have affected him. He looked up, cupping the side of his face as he stared venomously at Skylar.