“There are going to be several more of those wolves in just a few moments, you prick!” Sarah shouted. “Oh, and Stephanie? Seriously cool gift.”
Stephanie just rolled her eyes. Leave it to Sarah to make jokes while she was in a chokehold, struggling to breathe.
“We’re going to back up, nice and slow, then get in the truck. You got that?” He spoke into her ear, so it wasn’t as if she could miss it.
He took the first step back, tightening his hold and causing her to clutch his arm and wheeze, not that there was any sympathy to be found.
“Damn it, let’s go!”
“Let her go, boy, if you know what’s good for you.”
Stephanie looked on in horror as Angela stepped out the front door with nothing but a kitchen knife in her hands.
“No!” she croaked.
Taking in the scene around her, she noted that Sarah was leaning against the corner of the house, studying her brass knuckles, while a man lay still on the ground behind her. Angela, on the other hand, had her nose in the air and appeared to be sniffing.
“Just let me go,” Stephanie begged. “You don’t have to do this.”
“Shut up. You don’t know anything. Damn it, Todd, get over here. We gotta split!” her captor bellowed. She felt the tremors coursing through his body and knew that he was scared.
“Um, is Todd the one with piss-poor aim?” Sarah asked, gesturing to the body behind her.
“What the hell did you do to him?” he demanded.
Sarah smiled sweetly before replying, “I showed him my Christmas present.”
“What is she talking about? Is that a knife in her hand?”
“Stephanie bought me these cool throwing knives. By the way, your friend can’t catch for shit either.”
“You crazy bitch!”
“Aw, thanks for noticing,” Sarah fanned her face, “You’ll make a girl blush with that kind of sweet talk.”
“You might want to have you’re other friend come out of the trees, dear. He won’t be safe there for much longer.” Angela had her eyes trained on a spot in the darkening tree line that was slowly taking shape.
A man stepped from the shadows. He glared at Sarah and pretty much dismissed Angela with a glance. A mistake he was likely to regret. As he walked toward the truck, his arrogant strides showing his lack of worry over the two women, Stephanie made an effort to reach her gun.
The fact that it was at the small of her back—which was currently pressed against the man behind her—made any attempts at subtlety almost impossible. Sure enough, her hand was gripped by his free hand, while his buddy pried the piece from her fingers.
“Very nice,” he drawled. “Todd over there had our only gun, since the fool behind you seems to have lost his.” This man was smaller than the one holding her, yet his build was impressive. He clearly kept himself in shape, judging by the muscles she saw beneath his T-shirt.
“I’m telling you, that gun was stolen! I’ve never lost a weapon.”
“Well, you may not have lost one, but you missed this one.” His angry tone told Stephanie there was some animosity between the pair. “Get her into the truck. We’ll deal with her in a little while.”
“You’re not taking her anywhere,” Sarah called.
“Oh, really, and how do you plan to stop me, honey? Are you going to throw your little knife at me?” He raised his hands and pretended to shake with fear, clearly taunting Sarah.
“Actually, I figured it would be pretty damn difficult for the two of you to go anywhere without the keys to the truck.” Swinging the set from her index finger, Sarah treated the cocky man to a little grin before turning and pitching them into the woods. “Now, what do you plan to do? Todd here won’t be helping you out since he’s dead. I could arrange for you to be, as well, if you don’t release my friend right now.”
“He can’t do that.” The voice that spoke sent a spike of fear straight through Stephanie’s heart. When her captor turned them toward the truck, she saw a sight she could have sworn was impossible. The tall, lean man stepping from the back of the delivery truck was none other than Dr. Greene. “Surprised to see me, my dear? I would imagine so since you put me in prison for the rest of my damned life.”
His calm speaking wasn’t fooling her. “How did you get here? You should still be in that prison.”
“If you have connections to the kinds of people I do, it’s only a matter of time before you can accomplish your goals. And, Stephanie, killing you is my number one goal right now. I already have my travel arranged, so I will be nowhere near this country in just a few hours. You, on the other hand, will become a permanent part of the landscaping.” He extracted a syringe from his pocket and presented it for her to see.
“Why hello, Abraham,” Angela said as the men emerged from the surrounding woods. “I’m so glad you boys could join us. It seems these gentlemen are quite lost.”
“They’ll be hard pressed to find their way anywhere once I’m finished with them,” Abraham growled. His eyes flashed in the dimming light, the reflection that of a canine more than a human.
Stephanie felt his anger and barely leashed beast, but mostly she felt relief. Abraham would be able to save her.
Sarah laughed as Adam walked from the trees with a clearly pissed off pair of wolves at his side. Storm and Lightning had apparently come out of their drugged sleep in a foul temper. “So how do you boys want to handle these goons?” Sarah yelled.
“We let our wolves have them,” Abraham replied.
Dr. Greene just laughed. “Do you honestly think those two wolves would be able to injure me before I shot them?”
“How would you fare against an entire pack of wolves, doc? Say about eight?”
Stephanie did the math in her head quickly. Abraham, his three brothers, Sarah, Angela, and Adam’s two wolves made eight. Surely, they weren’t considering exposing what they were!
“It will be all right, Stephanie,” Abraham soothed. “They won’t be living to tell anyone about us anyway.”
With that, Abraham pulled his shirt over his head and shifted. His massive black wolf simply stepped out of the pants that had fallen to the ground. The others transformed, as well, leaving only Sarah and Angela standing in their human forms.
“Damn it!” Sarah shouted before quickly pulling off her top and flinging her bra mid-shift, Angela following suit.
The man holding Stephanie had gone rigid with Abraham’s shift, but now trembled behind her. “What the fuck are they?” he whimpered.
“The black one is my mate,” she replied. “I doubt you’ll escape a few painful attacks from him since your arm’s around my neck.” Amazingly, his arm relaxed, and he slowly released her.
“Tell him I’m sorry. I was only doing what I was told. The doctor was going to have me killed if I didn’t kill you,” he blabbed.
“Do you honestly think he’d have allowed you to live, even if you had succeeded? Surely, you realize that you were a dead man regardless. He wouldn’t leave anyone behind who knew he was involved in another murder.”
“Shut up, you uppity bitch!” Dr. Greene snarled. “You may have aligned yourself with these freaks, but I’ll still get at least one bullet in you before they can get to me.”
Stephanie watched in horror as the scene seemed to play out in slow motion. Dr. Greene raised his gun just as Sarah’s wolf plowed into Stephanie’s side, knocking her to the ground. Abraham’s wolf sprinted toward the doctor, even as Greene tried to adjust his aim.
Lightning hit the doctor from behind, causing the shot to go wild. A startled cry escaped the man who’d been holding her. He was now clutching a gaping wound in his chest, his blood spilling through his fingers as he fought to stave its flow. Within seconds, he crumpled to the ground, his life fading from his wide eyes.
Stephanie was in shock. She knew she should be moving, trying to get to cover, but her body simply would not cooperate. After a few agonizing seconds, Sarah must have realized the problem because
she and Angela began to pull Stephanie by her shirt into the trees.
From there, she could see the ensuing battle…if you could call it that. Abraham had dragged a now unarmed doctor to the other side of the truck, where the man’s screams could be heard clearly, but Stephanie was unable to see anything. She was certain Abraham meant to kill the doctor, but she wished he would just get it over with. The screams and the scent of death weren’t helping her current state.
The final man standing did so inside a ring of five snarling wolves. He held Stephanie’s tiny gun in his hand and swung it back and forth in warning any time one of the canines stepped a bit closer. Almost as if choreographed, Lightning stepped closer, drawing the man’s attention, as Storm leapt for his arm, bit down on his wrist and disarmed him. As the remaining wolves converged on the man, Stephanie had to turn away.
She felt cold, no doubt from the snow she sat in as much as from the shock, but she still wasn’t able to get herself to move, so she saw no immediate relief coming.
Chapter Fourteen
Abraham stood over the man quickly dying before him and felt no remorse for his actions. He knew that this monster would have killed Stephanie without losing a moment’s sleep over the ordeal.
When his wolf had reacted to the threat to its mate, Abraham had let it have free rein. He’d toyed with the man a little, making sure to inflict the maximum amount of pain before he ripped his throat out.
Now he made his way over to where his mother and Sarah were huddled next to Stephanie. He tried to get a sense of her emotions but was met with a strange numbness. Concerned she’d been injured in some way, he shifted to better assess her condition.
The blood that had been hidden by his black fur now covered his skin as he knelt, nude, before her. There appeared to be no wounds, yet it was as if she’d retreated into herself…as if she hid from something.
His mother took off toward the house while Sarah remained, looking as concerned as he felt. Why was Stephanie not responding?
“Stephanie? Sweetheart, look at me. It’s Abraham.” He spoke softly, hoping to coax her back to the here and now.
“Abe?”
He and Sarah anxiously watched as Stephanie’s eyes focused then widened before they rolled back into her head and she slumped to the cold ground.
“Shit!” Abraham scooped her into his arms and crossed the driveway, heading to the house and bypassing his mother as she came out with a blanket. “She passed out. I need to find out why.”
“Probably because she got a good look at you,” Angela snapped. The tone of her voice startled Abraham, and he lifted his eyes from Stephanie’s peaceful face to his mother’s furious one. “You look like a deranged killer. You’re covered in blood, you’re scowling, and you’re naked!”
Actually, he’d been so worried about Stephanie he hadn’t given his current state any thought.
Now, he quickly settled Stephanie on the sofa and pulled a throw pillow over his crotch. “Sorry,” his voice was low and full of embarrassment.
“Just go grab a quick shower and some clothes. She needs to see you looking normal whenever she comes to.”
“I want to be here when she wakes up,” he argued. “Something’s wrong. It’s like she’s not even there, all I could sense was a strange sort of numbness.”
“And what’s there now?”
“Nothing.”
“Not even the numbness?”
“No.” He watched Stephanie closely as she lay there, hoping to see any sign, feel any spark that would tell him she was okay. His mother was right, though. He needed to clean up, so he didn’t frighten Stephanie again. “Give me five minutes.”
“I’ll keep a close eye on her, Abraham. You just make it quick. I know she’ll want to see you as soon as she wakes.”
After a short nod, he proceeded to take the quickest shower of his life, throw on some jeans and a T-shirt then hurry back to Stephanie’s side.
The sheriff’s office had arrived, and Ethan explained the attack, how the wolves had come to the women’s aid, and how the men had returned, but not in time to keep any of Stephanie’s attackers alive. Of course, the guy with the knife protruding from his chest was easily justified since he still held his gun in his stiff fingers.
Once the identity of the doctor had been confirmed, the deaths were seen as self-defense, and there was no risk of charges being filed.
Gus, the town’s sheriff, expressed his concern over Stephanie’s continued state of unconsciousness, and offered to escort them to the clinic.
“No, she’s all right. It’s just been a very stressful time for her.” Abraham was happy to note he could sense her again, what he wasn’t happy about was the fact it was fear he felt. “If she doesn’t come around soon, I’ll bring her in. Her color is improving, though, and I know she’d rather not go if possible.”
“All right then, you just call if you need anything, and we’ll be in touch to get her statement. There’s no rush. It’s not like they’re going anywhere. You two enjoy your holiday, and she can submit a written statement when she’s able.”
“Thank you.” Abraham shook his hand. “I appreciate that, Gus.”
Abraham settled on the couch and lifted Stephanie into his arms. He leaned back, resting her head on his chest and cradling her small frame to him.
“Stephanie, sweetheart, please come back to me. You’re safe now. I’ve got you, but I need you to come back to me,” he whispered, resting his cheek atop her head.
The fear that had been building inside her eased the more he spoke, until it finally faded away completely. Now, he only needed her to wake up.
Adam—in wolf form—came in through the door as his mother stepped out with clothes for Sarah. In his mouth was a small package that he set on the coffee table before shifting.
“This was in the driveway, so I grabbed it for her. And don’t give me that look. There’s nothing harmful inside. The delivery truck was legit. They found the driver sedated in the back. The police will make sure the last few deliveries get taken care of tonight.” He shifted on his feet a little before asking, “How is she?”
“She’s not hurt physically, but I don’t think she’s ever witnessed that sort of violence,” he replied. “Being in a medical setting, seeing blood and actually witnessing a person being shot or torn apart are two completely different things.”
“She handled herself well enough when Sarah was attacked.”
“Yeah, but those werewolves. They weren’t in human form, and she was in survival mode. Tonight, she was nearly strangled, then was shot at and saw the doctor put a bullet in a man’s chest, and saw us kill the other two men right in front of her.”
Adam winced. “Yeah, I can see where that would scare someone.”
“She’s doing better now than she was right after everything.”
Actually, Abraham got a feeling of curiosity from her then humor and finally mischief. “Stephanie?”
“Why are you standing naked in the living room?” she asked, her voice tinged with laughter.
“Son of a bitch,” Adam exclaimed, jumping behind the recliner.
“It’s all right, Adam. I’ve seen naked men before.”
Abraham growled.
“Oh, please,” she added. “I work in the medical field. I’ve probably seen more naked men than a two-dollar whore.” She pushed herself up a little and smiled. “Plus, I remember how cold it is outside, so I’ll withhold any judgment.”
Abraham barked out a laugh and hugged her close. If she was harassing Adam, she was just fine. “How about you quit eyeballing my brother and give me a kiss?” he suggested.
“Hmmm, that does sound nice.” Lifting up and scooting herself higher in his lap, Stephanie leaned down, brushing his lips with her own. “I love you, Abraham.”
“I love you, too, sweetheart.”
“Oh, get a room!” Adam whined.
“Get some clothes!” Abraham barked back.
“Mine are outside in the snow
, so excuse me for not wanting to put them back on,” he pouted, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Then borrow some,” Abe growled. “Just leave.”
“Geez, I can take a hint.”
Abraham dismissed Adam then turned back to Stephanie, studying her closely. Her eyes appeared clear, her cheeks were rosy, and she was alert.
“How are you really?” he asked.
“I’m much better now that you’re holding me. I think everything happening so quickly just overwhelmed me. I remember it all, up until everyone lunged for the last man. I turned my head then I don’t remember anything past that.” Stephanie frowned and cocked her head to the side. “There was something else. It was just a flash of an image, but it nearly stopped my heart.”
Although he suspected what that image was, he still had to ask. “What did you see?”
“It was you,” she replied. “You were naked and covered in blood…and you looked murderous.” She shivered and huddled closer to him.
“Oh, I was murderous all right, but I should have thought before shifting in front of you. I never meant to scare you, but I couldn’t feel anything from you. It was almost as if you’d disappeared, and that terrified me. I had to be sure you hadn’t been hurt, but you sort of woke up then passed out.” He hugged her tight, let out a shuddering sigh, and breathed, “Don’t ever scare me like that again.”
“I’ll try my best,” Stephanie wrapped her slender arms around his shoulders. “Thank you for saving me, Abe.”
“I will always do my best to keep you safe. For the record, though, is there anyone else out to kill you?”
Her light laughter was a wonderful sound. “Not to my knowledge.”
“Good. Now, let’s get you out of those damp clothes and into bed.”
“I’m not really tired, Abe.”
“Neither am I.”
“Well, then, let’s get moving.”
Chapter Fifteen
It was Christmas Eve, and Stephanie had awoken to find Abraham had already risen. The sun was just coming up, so she wasn’t sure what he was doing, but she knew she needed coffee. Bad.
To Protect His Mate Page 9
