by Lacey Thorn
There was a blur of movement in the doorway she'd just passed, and a hand slapped over her mouth as she opened it to scream. She was jerked against a hard chest, and her frantic gaze locked with the calculated one of the man she hated most in the world, Harlan. So much for Jess’s assurance that they didn’t need a security system out here in the middle of the woods. They’d even laughed together over anyone getting past their mates. Looked like the joke was on them. Where the hell was Tah? How had anyone been able to get into the house without them knowing?
“Now, now, Abby. I don’t want you calling your lion until I’m ready for him.” He turned toward the door to the living room, as another man stepped out with a rifle in his hand. “You have the darts ready and loaded?”
The man nodded coldly. “We’re prepared.”
Three more men stepped out after him, and Abby felt her pulse skitter with fear. There were at least five men with Harlan, four of them armed. If she yelled, she’d not only bring Tah charging to her, but Jess’s mates, as well as Reno and Logan. Jess might get caught as well. Or Diane or the Professor. What the hell was she going to do?
“Let’s take her outside. It’ll give us more room,” Harlan said as he and the four armed men headed toward the front door, while she was dragged by the man holding her. “Where is your little lion, Abby?”
She remained silent even when the hand disappeared from her mouth. She had to protect Tah. She had to protect all of them.
“How did you find us?” she asked, trying to distract Harlan.
“We never lost you,” he said with a self satisfied smirk. “I admit, even I was surprised when I found what he’d done to Johnson. Brutal the way he ripped his throat out.”
So Southy had been named Johnson.
“He threatened me. Tah can become enraged when someone does that.” She felt the man still holding her flinch and hoped he was scared. She hoped they were all scared.
Harlan just laughed. “You can’t frighten us, Abby. We know all about what he’s capable of. We’ve been hired to capture him and bring him in. Alive. You, on the other hand, they don’t care about. You’re only alive because I want you.”
His lascivious grin made her feel dirty. “I have plans for you, Abby.”
“Are you planning to kill me like you did my parents?”
“I wondered if you knew what really happened that day. I’d convinced myself there was no way you could since you never said anything to your grandmother about it. It’s the only reason I let her live.”
“I’ve always known you killed them.”
“I wasn’t sure if you were awake or not. It looked like you’d passed out. I hit your father first. I wasn’t sure if I could slit his throat or not, but it was easier than I anticipated. Your mother, though. She was something else. I always envied your father. I took her while he bled out.” He laughed and Abby felt the bile lodge in her throat. It took all she had not to throw up. “I’ve always wondered if you’d be as good a fuck as your mother was.”
“They never said she was raped.” The words were whispered past the horror that lodged in Abby’s chest.
“Amazing what a little money in the right palms can hide,” Harlan admitted with a laugh. He moved closer to her and cupped her breast through her T-shirt. “I’m going to enjoy fucking you. And when I’m done, when I’ve finally had my fill of you. I’m going to watch as my men take turns with you.”
Abby couldn’t help it. She leaned her head forward and threw up on him. Harlan jerked back from her, but not quick enough to miss the first wave of sickness.
“You fucking bitch,” he screamed, striking out at her and catching her on the side of the head with his fist. “You’ll fucking pay for that. I’ll shove my cock down your throat and give you something to gag on bitch.”
Abby did her best to hold it together. The punch against her head had rocked her, leaving her vision a bit hazy and making her dizzy. She whimpered, but managed to hold her screams inside. She had to protect them.
“Who hired you, Harlan?” she demanded as she tugged against the hard hands still holding her.
“Someone who knows how to hunt lions,” he sneered. “And your little lion is going to suffer before he dies. Don’t worry. I’ll make sure you get to see every strike against him. I’ll let you watch as they bleed him out. I’ll let you watch him die while I fuck you, just like your mother watched your father die while I fucked her.”
“You disgust me,” she told him.
He licked his lips as he looked at her. “I’m going to enjoy breaking that spirit of yours. You get that from your mother. Your father was weak. It’s why he fell for your mother. I handpicked him, you know. I had plans to train him, take him on a hunt.”
“He was a veterinarian. He loved animals as much as my mother did.”
“I wasn’t planning to hunt animals. He would have balked, but once he tasted the blood of his first kill, I would have turned him. His blood was weak from the man my aunt married, but I was determined to save him. All that time befriending him, grooming him to join me. Wasted once he met your mother. I could have killed her, but I swear the bitch had a sixth sense. Then you were born. I knew you would be their weakness. Finally, I’d get my revenge. I’d only planned to kill you. But what happened that day was so much better than anything I could have planned.” He licked his lips. “It’s one of my favorite memories.”
“Fuck you,” Abby yelled and sucked all the moisture in her mouth into a ball then spit it into his face. The liquid hit his cheek and slid down.
He screamed, wiping at his face in disgust. “You fucking whore!” The word spewed with spittle from his mouth as he struck out again. This time the hands holding her released her, and the hit she took knocked her to her knees as she tasted blood. She saw the foot swinging at her and turned to take it on her hip, protecting her soft belly and the child beneath it.
A roar rocked the woods around them. Primal and filled with anger. She swore she heard him calling her name in her head.
The man who had been holding her backed away, and she could see the fear on his face as another lion’s roar sounded, this one much closer.
“Grab the girl, you idiot,” Harlan screamed, as she did her best to move away. “She’s our insurance. Spread out. Shoot anything that comes at us.”
The man grabbed her again, jerked her to her feet by her hair. His arms locked around her, and this time she didn’t hold back.
She let a scream rip from her lungs to fill the air. She called to the one person she had no doubt would save her.
“Tah!”
Chapter Sixteen
From the journal of Uriah Blane
I killed a man today. It wasn’t as hard as I’d feared. I find the human is the most challenging of prey. My father has always stressed the importance of hunting, but until today, I didn’t fully understand why he thought it important. Not until I captured my first human prey. Father is sure he is one of the shifters my grandfather told him about. He is training me just as his father did him, just as I will train my son one day.
I was afraid I’d embarrass myself when father gave me the knife and told me to finish the man off. He’d begged for his life, never once admitting what he was. It sickens me to know such abominations live within this world, but I am comforted by my father’s promise that there are more like us, sent to rid the world of these creatures.
The man begged me to spare him. He was barely able to speak; that’s how swollen his face was from the beating my father had given him. But I proved I am my father’s son. I slid the blade across his throat and never even flinched as the blood sprayed across me, hot and smelling metallic. I tasted it on my lips and my father laughed.
I am a man today. I have tasted the blood of my first kill, and I find comfort in my father’s assurance there will be many more.
* * * *
Tah was focused on Cody’s words, trying to center himself with his lion when he felt the world shift under his feet. It felt like
he was in Abby’s head, and she was hurt. There were men around her; he could smell the stink of their sweat and lust. He could feel her pain and fear. His mate and child were threatened. He yelled out to her with his mind, and he swore she felt him.
One minute he was trying to find the beast inside and the next moment he was on fire. His clothes ripped as his body changed, taking him to his hands and knees. Doubt and fear were gone as he become one with his lion. It wasn’t the seamless shift of one of the wolf pack, but Tah had done it. He was one with his spirit guide. His roar rocked the woods as he took off back toward the cabin. He knew Cody and the other alphas would heed his call and come to help him should he need them.
Then all thought left his mind when Abby’s scream pierced the air as she called to him. He let another roar loose as he headed at full run to his mate. He could hear people screaming around him, and it finally clicked in his head that he could hear the wolf pack speaking in his mind.
Slow down! Don’t run in half-cocked! Derrick was yelling at him.
You finally learned to shift. Don’t get yourself killed now. This was Cody, urging him to be cautious.
But Tah didn’t want to slow down. He wanted to get to Abby. And he wanted her now.
Tah. Fuck. Adrian’s attitude carried through clearly as the other man raced toward him. He lowered his head and knocked into Tah’s side, throwing him off his feet. They rolled then got back up.
Tah bared his teeth at Adrian but kept running toward the house and Abby. Adrian drilled into him again, shoving him over once more. This time Tah surged back to his feet with a roar of challenge.
Use your head, kitty cat, Adrian ordered. Otherwise, you’re going to get you and your mate killed.
Tah shook his head, another roar slipping out as he fought instinct and tried to listen to what Adrian was saying. He knew it was dangerous, but right now, Abby was the one in the heart of that danger, Abby and his unborn child. And all that mattered to him was getting her to safety, regardless of the danger to himself.
I’ll draw them to me. He tried to communicate with the wolves as they were with him. Get to Abby.
With that, he hit the edge of the clearing where four men stood with rifles aimed toward the woods. He let out a roar and moved quick, falling back on the instincts of the animal as he weaved in and out of the trees in an attempt to get the shooters to move, making them easier for the wolf pack to get too. Divide and conquer was his motto.
Fuck. Here comes the pup. He’s going to get himself killed. Michael’s voice filled Tah’s mind, and Tah lifted his head just in time to see Logan run in, screaming something about laughing in the face of danger and then proceeding to do so in a crazy manner.
One of the shooters turned to Logan, but Logan was quick and had him down on the ground, wrestling for control of the weapon. One of the other armed men turned toward them, his weapon raised as if waiting to get a clear shot at Logan.
Tah took it all in as he ran through, weaving and darting, his eyes searching for Abby. Another roar as he saw the man holding her.
“Jesus! What is that? What the fuck is that?” the man holding Abby screamed.
“You knew we were hunting a lion,” Harlan yelled out, and Tah almost stopped and charged him as hatred poured through his body. This was the man who had kidnapped them, beaten him, cut him, and shot him with a dosage of pure adrenaline that could have killed him.
“That’s my mate,” Abby said with a smile. There was so much pride and love on her face. Any doubt he might have still harbored of her fearing the lion disappeared. It was obvious she loved him no matter if he stood on two legs or ran on four. “He’s going to rip your fucking throat out.”
She almost had him pausing again with her bloodthirsty words. The guy let go of Abby and shoved her away from him before turning and taking off. Tah just caught the blur of a tail then a scream as the man went down.
The gunman watching Logan went down next in a tangle of fur. Tah turned quickly and charged at the one giving chase to him. It was quick enough to catch him off guard, and the man didn’t get his rifle up in time to get a shot off before Tah was on him.
He sunk his teeth into the soft flesh of the man’s neck and bit into flesh and blood. A scream pierced the air before Tah ripped free, cutting the sound off as blood sprayed around him.
He felt a dart lodge in his left front leg as he turned toward the last hunter. Then Reno was on the gunman. Flying out of the woods with a kamikaze yell, he tackled the man from behind and took him to the ground.
Tah turned toward Harlan and Abby. She was moving toward him when Harlan caught her by the hair and jerked her back. Abby fought like a wildcat. A haze was wrapping around Tah, a fog trying to claim him and drag him down. He turned his big head to see the dart piercing his skin and knew it had to be a tranquilizer of some sort. Still he fought to get to his mate.
Logan came to his feet, but before he could lift the rifle, Harlan turned and shot him with the pistol in his hand. Logan fell, and Tah roared as he watched his friend hit the ground hard.
Stay back! he yelled as he sensed the wolves getting ready to move in. He didn’t want anyone else hurt because of him, especially Abby who now had that pistol tucked against her temple.
“Well, well, well,” Harlan exclaimed. “Abby was right. My boss will be pleased. They’ve been searching everywhere for you. You’re going to make a nice rug.”
Abby screamed, as Harlan jerked her head back against his shoulder. Tah let loose another roar, but it was weakened by the drug working through his system. He was fading fast, wasn’t sure how much longer he could hold on before he collapsed and left Abby unprotected again. He seemed to be making a habit of it, and he wasn’t happy about it at all.
He watched her hands slide back, gripping Harlan’s waist as she was thrown of balance.
“You’ve got me at a bit of a disadvantage this time,” Harlan said, as he began pulling Abby toward the tree line where Logan’s body lay. “But that’s okay. I think I’ve got something you want. So I’ll just take her along with me. I’ll get in touch. And you’re going to do whatever I want to make sure your girl stays alive.” He dug the gun against her head, and Abby yelled out again.
She tripped over Logan’s feet and went down on top of him, Harlan released her at the last minute to keep from being thrown off balance with her. He quickly reached down and grabbed her hair again, giving it a hard yank. “Get back on your feet, bitch.”
Tah roared as his front legs went out from under him. Harlan laughed as Tah fell, and Abby shifted a hand toward Logan’s and took something from him. Tah struggled to regain his footing and get to his mate, but found himself helpless for a moment to do anything but watch as Abby turned and slammed her hand up into Harlan’s stomach, burying a knife to the hilt.
Harlan’s laugh become a scream as he released Abby’s hair to reach for the blade. The other hand slowly lowered, moving the gun toward Abby. With a final roar, Tah called on everything he had and lunged, taking Harlan to the ground. He felt the burn of a bullet just before everything went black. The last thing he heard was Abby calling his name.
This time neither man nor beast could respond, but both were in agreement.
They would die to save her.
* * * *
Abby screamed as she dragged Tah off of Harlan. Blood. So much blood and she couldn’t tell what was from Harlan and what was from Tah. Harlan struggled to lift the gun again, but Reno was on him in an instant, catching him around the neck and twisting. She heard the crack and pop as his neck broke and felt nothing but regret that it wasn’t her knife wound that had killed him. It would have been a much more painful death, more befitting of what he deserved. What he’d told her about how he’d killed her parents would haunt her for the rest of her life.
“Abby, snap out of it,” Reno ordered as he moved to Logan. “Find where that bullet hit Tah.”
“I can’t see anything,” she screamed. “There’s too much blood in his fur.�
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The lion growled in pain and slowly shifted back into Tah. She jerked the dart out of his left shoulder and then gasped as she saw the wound on his right side. She ripped her T-shirt over her head and wadded it before shoving it against the wound.
“Let’s get them in the house,” Derrick ordered, as four naked males moved in to help carry Tah and Logan.
Abby didn’t care that she stood there in her bra and jeans. She only felt numb. Here she was again, praying not to lose Tah. It was too much. She wrapped her arms around her middle, comforting herself and their baby as she watched them carry Tah away from her.
“Here,” Reno’s voice reached her as he stripped off his shirt and handed it to her, slipping it over her head when she just stood there and looked at him. “He’s going to be fine, Abby. He shifted. Did you see that? You were right.”
She nodded. “He’s beautiful.”
“I’m going to tell him you said that.” Reno eased an arm around her waist as he began walking her toward the house. “Did you hear Logan? ‘I laugh in the face of danger.’ I’m going to kick his foolish ass when he’s all healed up. Said something about a lion king?”
Abby giggled a little hysterically as tears rushed down her face. “The movie. It’s a line from the movie.”
“Whatever,” Reno grunted. “I’m still going to kick his ass for being stupid.”
“He loves you guys,” she whispered.
“He’s family,” Reno said with a shrug as if that explained everything. And maybe it did.
“I wanted to be the one to kill him,” Abby said.
He didn’t even pretend not to know what she meant. “You’ll be a great mate for Tah. I think you might be more bloodthirsty than he is.”
She grinned. “You think so?”
Reno shook his head. “It concerns me that you take pride in that observation.”
“I think I love you, Reno.”
