Mount Roxby Box Set

by Aimie Jennison

A growl echoes through the alley. I can’t pinpoint which wolf it belongs to.

  “Aww, you’re no fun,” he says releasing Misty and shoving her at Dominick. No doubt having caught our scents and realising he’s surrounded.

  The second I step out of my hiding spot I see the recognition on JD’s face. “If only I’d thought of changing you. I could have been fucking you every day. Is it just like fucking Kathleen?” he questions Dominick.

  Ed, Wes, and Theo all move to attack. “Fucker!”

  I’m not certain, but I think the insult came from Ed. Wes reaches him first.

  Seeing him coming, JD braces himself and punches his fist out, hitting Wes straight in the chest. Wes freezes on the spot and slowly drops his head to look down at his chest and the vampire’s fist deep within it.

  “Stop,” he says, with a whimper as he gives Theo a dire look.

  Everyone freezes and the alley turns eerily silent. You could probably hear a pin drop. I don’t even think anyone is breathing. Even those that actually need to.

  “Anyone moves and I’ll rip his heart right out of his chest,” JD warns. By the look of Wes’ wince, he must be squeezing his heart in his fist to make a point. “I know you mutts can heal quickly, but I’m pretty sure you can’t grow a new heart.”

  Theo’s growl breaks our silence. “What do you want?”

  “To let me go, of course. I’ve had my fun in your town torturing my old friend, and I guess it’s time to move on.”

  The energy in the alley steps up a notch. I can feel the wolves’ anger running along my skin, but theirs isn’t the only energy I can feel. Dominick’s vampire energy has a different feel to it because he sired me and I’m now part of his clan. His anger rushes through me, and makes my anger burn stronger. I feel my fangs elongate, making sure to part my lips, allowing room for them. I know from experience that it hurts when you forget and pierce your lips.

  Feeling heat in my hands, I look down to see a ball of flame in each palm. It’s the first time I’ve managed to control it like this. A fat lot of good it will do, I can’t throw them without JD hurting Wes.

  “You know we can’t allow that to happen,” Dominick proclaims.

  “Dominick, think about it for a second. He has Wes, and he will kill him if we don’t let him go. It doesn’t look like we have much of a choice but to let him go,” Bel counters, the panic clear in her voice.

  “I can see that, but Wes is one life. If we agree to JD’s terms how many innocent people will die?” Dominick asks adamantly. I understand what Dominick is saying, but it’s Wes. We can’t just let him die.

  “But—”

  Wes cuts Bel off. “He’s right. Look after Alyssa. Don’t let her lose the baby as well.” Wes’ courageous words spur everyone into action.

  The vampire’s arm pulls back.

  Eddie and Jared both pounce for him.

  “Go to Alyssa,” Theo screams at Bel, before shifting in mid-jump for the vampire.

  I drop the fireballs at my feet and dive forward catching Wes’ body as he slumps to the ground. Patsy, one of the vampires, appears beside me as I bite at my wrist hoping my blood will be enough to heal him.

  “Even our blood can’t make his heart regrow.” the sadness apparent in her voice.

  “What about making him one of us?” I ask naively.

  Dominick crouches beside me with a sobbing Misty tucked into his side. “He’d need to have a spark of life for that, sweetheart.”

  The alley fills with the howling of Theo and Eddie.

  Dominick, Misty, and Patsy stand slowly, stepping away from the body.

  “Ruby, step away. Slowly,” the command loud and clear in Dominick’s voice.

  “They won’t hurt me. I’m Theo’s sister,” I say, with only half the confidence I would have had before I was a vampire.

  “You are also a vampire. One of us just killed his beta. Theo isn’t in charge. His wolf is. I wouldn’t want to test his clarity right now.” Dominick’s warning tone tears my attention away from Wes’ lifeless body.

  I glance up to see Theo and Eddie stalking towards me, menacingly. Their fur is covered with a mixture of blood and ash from having slayed the vampire. Once a vampire has been ended their remains will turn to ash. There aren’t many ways to end a vampire, fire or sunlight, decapitation, or a stake to the heart are the few things that work. Ripping the heart from the chest works just as well as a stake.

  Realising Dominick may be right about Theo and Eddie, I move Wes’ head out of my lap and place it gently on the ground. Not daring to reach up and wipe the tears from my eyes, any sudden movement could make them attack, I slowly back away from the body.

  I watch as they start to lick at his wound. Understanding the dismissal, I gradually slip my phone out of my jeans pocket and call the only person I can think of that could help in this situation. He answers immediately.

  “Where is he?” Cain asks, no doubt having felt the loss through the pack bonds, just as the rest of the pack will have.

  “You need to bring a van, we’re down Carver’s Lane. Be quick. I’m not sure how safe the rest of us are.” I glance at Jared, Dominick, Misty, Jack, and Patsy; who are all standing around quietly in the lane, trying not to catch the wolves’ attention.

  “Is Theo in control of his wolf?” Cain demands over the phone.

  I consider his question as I watch the wolves with their pack mate. “I don’t know,” I answer honestly.

  “He must be, you’d know if he wasn’t.” He hangs up after his words.

  Looking away from the wolves at the others, I catch the moment Patsy teleports. “With more wolves coming we thought it would be safer if there were less of us,” Dominick says.

  I nod my agreement. “You should take Misty. Jared, Jack, maybe you should both go, too. I’ll be fine with the wolves.”

  Glancing between the silently sobbing Misty and myself, Dominick nods, before whispering something in her ear and disappearing in front of me.

  “I don’t feel right leaving you,” Jared admits. Jack soundlessly backs his way out of the alley, obviously not having the same fight with his conscience.

  Eddie’s rust-coloured wolf lifts his muzzle up and growls in Jared’s direction. I can feel his annoyance through our mating bond. Probably annoyed that Jared thinks I’m not safe around my mate.

  Jared backs away holding his hand up in surrender. “Okay mate, I’m going.”

  I hear howling in the distance before the sound of a van’s engine reaches my ears. I stand for another minute until the van pulls up at the opening of the alley. Cain reverses to get the doors as close as he can. It’s a narrow alley and the van is too wide to fit completely down it.

  Turning off the engine, he jumps out. “What happened, Ruby?”

  We both watch as Theo and Eddie howl to mourn the loss of their pack brother, once they stop, they gaze in our direction.

  “I’ll watch him while you change, clothes are in the back,” Cain says, pointing at the van over his shoulder.

  They both pad over to the van and jump inside.

  Knowing it will take a few minutes for the others to change and dress, I fill Cain in on what happened. By the time I finish and wipe at the fresh tears running down my cheeks, Theo and Eddie have both joined us.

  “Come here, babe,” Eddie says, and stretches his big, thick arms out and pulls me into his warm embrace. My body shivers at the temperature change from his body against mine. I snuggle against him tighter, needing him, needing his strength.

  Ignoring us, Theo walks over to Wes and gently picks him up off the ground, cradling him in his arms and he places him in the van.

  “Are you okay?” I ask Eddie as I lay my head against his chest.

  “It’s difficult to get a handle on my own pain when Alyssa’s is being magnified through the pack bonds,” he admits.

  I can feel her anguish through our bond and my guilt bubbles over. Eddie pulls away from me, lifts my chin gently and stares at me, shaking his
head. “No. This is not your fault. You know that. You just feel vulnerable right now but it is not your fault. Nobody thinks that way. Not even Alyssa,” he says, right into my eyes. I feel it. But I don’t want to believe it. I sigh as he wraps his arms around me tightly.

  Thirty-Two

  BROKEN HEARTED

  RUBY

  Cain drives us to Theo’s house. Theo choosing to spend the journey in the back of the van with Wes. The loss of such a good man is tearing everyone apart. I can’t stop the steady stream of salty tears from escaping. I sit between Eddie and Cain, and sniffle the whole trip.

  As soon as the door opens, I’m hit with a mass of emotions; fear, anger, sadness, terror, pain, so much pain, it causes me to cower away on instinct. I want to protect myself from that. Eddie gets out of the van and holds his hand up to help me down. It dawns on me that it is all Alyssa’s emotions.

  Is this what the guys have been feeling all along, through the bond?

  I can’t sit here ignoring it. I need to be there for her. Taking Eddie’s hand, I jump out. We only manage a couple of steps across the gravel when the front door bursts opens and Alyssa comes running down the steps with Jared and Bel on her heels.

  “I need to see him,” she screams hysterically, bounding off the steps and onto the gravel before Jared catches her arm, pulling her to a halt.

  “Alyssa, please. You don’t need to see,” Jared pleads, wrapping her in his strong arms.

  “He’s right, Lis. At least let Theo clean him up,” Bel begs, coming to a stop beside them.

  Cain walks round the back of the van and lets Theo out.

  “I need to, Bel. I can feel it, but I need to see it. Please don’t stop me.” She stops struggling, but there’s no stopping the tears rolling down her cheeks. I quickly wipe at my own tears.

  Jared loosens his hold, allowing her to go. “We’re all here for you, okay? You aren’t alone.”

  She gives him a small grateful smile. “Thank you.”

  Steeling herself, she takes a breath and slowly makes her way to the back of the van. To the broken body of her mate. Jared follows a few steps behind, keeping the promise he just made.

  From the side view of the van I have, I see the exact moment she sees him and drops to her knees on the gravel with a wail.

  “Wes...” she sobs uncontrollably.

  Theo crouches down and helps her to her feet. She climbs into the van and out of my sight.

  Giving her some privacy I turn my attention to a weak-looking Bel. “Are you okay?”

  She grimaces. “Too many emotions,” she says, referring to her empathy. Seeing her knees give way, Eddie reaches out and catches her before she drops to the floor.

  “Jesus, Bel. You need to get away from all this,” he says.

  “I can’t, she needs us.”

  “You’re no good to her like this,” I say gently. “Let Eddie take you inside. I’ll stay here with the others to make sure she’s okay.”

  Bel gives a curt nod and Eddie guides her inside. I don’t think she had much left in her to argue.

  I turn back to see what the others are up to and find Cain taking sure strides in my direction. “I hear a congratulation is in order, Ed finally listened to his wolf.”

  My lips turn up into a smile for a second before I remember what happened tonight. “Thanks, but it’s not really the right time to be celebrating.”

  Cain pulls me into a hug. “It’s not every day you mate with a wolf. You’re allowed to be happy.” He gives me one last squeeze and heads into the house.

  Alyssa emerges from the van and falls into Jared’s open arms. “What am I going to do without him?”

  “You’re going to be strong for that little baby you’re carrying. You’re going to live a long life, so the part of Wes that is in you and in that baby can stay on this earth,” Jared commands, while rubbing her back soothingly.

  “I don’t want a baby without Wes. I can’t do this alone,” she cries into his chest.

  “You won’t be alone, sweetheart. You have the pack, and you have me, too. I might not be a wolf but being taken by the Controller together a few months back, I look at you, Theo, and Paddy as a part of my pride. That’s why I haven’t left to go home to the rest of my pride; despite the incessant phone calls from my father.”

  She lifts her head from his chest to look at him. “So you’re staying for a while?”

  He nods. “Sure, I’ll stay for as long as you need.” They both head toward me as Theo joins them.

  I walk to the house ahead of them and hold the door open so they can follow me in. Alyssa pauses at the door and grips at her chest, before backing away from the door and almost stumbling down the steps. Theo’s grip stops her from falling.

  “I can’t go in there,” she says, pain clear in her voice as she stares at the open door.

  Theo turns Alyssa’s body so she’s no longer facing the house; I quickly step back outside and close the door. “Okay. You don’t have to go in there.” He sounds like he’s trying to calm a wild animal. Just as the thought crosses my mind, I catch sight of her skin rippling along her arms. He is attempting to calm a wild animal. She’s pregnant she can’t change or she’ll lose the baby. “Tell me why, and we’ll sort something out?”

  “I can’t deal with the pain you’re all feeling. He’s my mate. I can’t share the grief with you. He’s mine. I…I just…” she suddenly stops making sense. Her skin rippling even more erratically.

  “Alyssa, you can’t shift. Do you hear me? You shift and you’ll lose the one part of Wes you have left,” Theo’s commanding tone does nothing to stop her skin from moving. “Where do you want to go? I’ll take you anywhere.”

  “It hurts so much. I don’t want to live without him,” she cries hysterically.

  “Do you want me to take you somewhere?” I offer. Thinking that I’m not a wolf will mean she can’t feel my pain.

  She turns to face me with her wolf eyes, her face has even changed shape slightly along her nose and jaw. “You’re pack. It’s just the same,” she mutters, with a shake of her head.

  Jared steps up to her slowly. “I’m not pack or wolf. How about I take you somewhere?” He reaches his hand out and strokes the rippling skin on her forearm gently. I’ve seen the wolves try to comfort each other with touches like that over the years.

  Her skin stops moving and she glances at him warily. “Your lion feels different to the wolves. It’s comforting.”

  Glancing between the two of them, Theo nods his head as though he’s come to a decision. “I’ll be back in a minute.” He moves past me and into the house, quickly opening and closing the door.

  It’s only a second later when he returns with a set of keys and a piece of paper. “This is a pack house, it’s a small place but it’s empty. You can stay there for as long as you need. Does that sound okay with you, Alyssa?”

  She reaches out and takes the keys and piece of paper in shaking hands. “Thank you,” she says, her teary eyes trained on Theo.

  “I wish I could do more for you.” His sadness is evident in his voice.

  She gives him a mournful smile before turning her attention on Jared. “Will you stay with me? Just for a little while?”

  “I’ll stay for as long as you need me.” He reaches out and squeezes her shoulder gently before handing her his car keys. “Go let yourself in the car, I’ll be there in a second.” She gives him a nod before slowly walking down the steps to the car.

  Waiting until she gets in the car and closes the door, he turns to Theo. “Are you okay with this? I don’t want you to feel like I’m encroaching on your pack members.”

  “It’s what she needs. Does it piss me off that I can’t give her that? Hell yes! But I’m not going to let my ego get in the way of her healing. No matter how long it takes. Thank you, for offering to help her.” Theo slaps Jared on the back, showing there are no hard feeling between them.

  “There is one good thing that came out of the Controller taking us,
and that’s how close it made us. I don’t think any alpha could invite another alpha into his territory, let alone his pack house for the length of time you’ve allowed me to stay. I have nothing but respect for you and I’ll do anything I can to help Alyssa.”

  “You’re right there! I don’t think I can even handle Jesse staying in my territory for longer than forty-eight hours, and he’s a werewolf alpha I actually trust,” he says, peering at the house where the Rossi Pack Alpha is currently staying, after officiating his mating ceremony yesterday.

  I can’t believe it was only yesterday when we were all celebrating happily in the yard behind the house that’s now full of sadness.

  Theo suddenly turns his attention to me. “Rubes, if I give you the spare keys to Wes and Alyssa’s, would you mind grabbing some clothes and things for Alyssa? Even though she said you’re pack, with your mating bond being so new and not quite solidified yet, I think you’re the best person to go.”

  “No worries,” I reply, before turning my attention to Jared. “Do you want me to grab some of your things, too?”

  “That would be great,” he says, taking his eyes off a solemn Alyssa; who’s staring blindly out the windscreen of the car for a second to give me a small smile. As his attention returns to Alyssa, he speaks again, “I best get her out of here.”

  Both Theo and I watch as Jared walks to the car, and gets in. It starts right away and he drives off down the long gravel driveway and out of sight.

  Ted places his arm around my shoulders and leads me to the front door. “Let’s go and comfort those we can. Ed is lucky to have you as a mate, that’s going to give him comfort at least.”

  I stop with my hand on the door handle and look up at him with surprise. “You’re not mad?”

  “No. Don’t get me wrong, I never wanted you to get with the player of the pack, but when he told me this morning, it explained everything. He was playing the player because he didn’t think he deserved you. He wanted what was best for you and he thought that was Paddy. He’s a fucking dickhead for thinking like that, but I can’t be upset with him for wanting you to have what he thought was the best. No matter how wrong he was.”