by Croft, Nina
He growled again as they glanced toward Ethan. But the Alpha gave a slight nod and Julia was released. Her shirt was torn, and she hugged it tight around her. The front was soaked with blood, and the edges of a ragged claw mark peeked out over her left breast.
Ethan.
One more reason to kill him.
Julia took two tottering steps toward him and would have collapsed if Daniel hadn’t scooped her up before she hit the ground. He held her close for a moment, and felt Wolf reach out. With shock, Daniel realized his beast was already recognizing the wolf awakening in his sister. At least that meant she would survive the attack. He only hoped she wouldn’t come to regret that. He carried her to where Jason stood at the edge of the clearing. Lissa followed close behind.
He handed Julia into Jason’s arms. “Take the girls and get out of here.”
“We have silver bullets,” Jason said. “We can kill him.”
“You can’t kill all of them. Besides, it’s my job. Ethan decided that when he targeted me, when he killed my sister and threatened the people I love. This finishes tonight.”
Jason turned to the woman at his side. “You okay with this?” he asked Stella.
Stella’s gaze fixed on Ethan, her pistol still pointed at his chest, now she turned to Daniel. “You’re right—we can’t take all of them.” The gun dropped to her side. “Besides, this way the pack will continue.”
Daniel frowned. “And you want that?”
“Let’s just say, my bosses are interested. Kill him for me.”
Daniel nodded. “I’ll do my best.” Now all he needed was Lissa to agree.
“I’m not going anywhere without you,” Lissa said before he could speak again.
Daniel gave her a long look, which she returned, a frown forming between her brows as though she could sense the change in him. “What have you done?” she asked.
“What I needed to.”
Her frown deepened. She didn’t look like she was budging without an argument. “You stay, I stay.”
Not an option. “You don’t understand what I’ve become. Or what’s going to happen here.”
“Then tell me.”
He thought for a second. How to make her go? He reckoned only the brutal truth would work—nothing could be worse than his reality. Relaxing his control, he allowed a little of Wolf to seep out of his eyes, hating it when she took an instinctive step back.
“I’m going to kill Ethan,” he said. “I’m going to rip out his throat and I’m going to enjoy it, and once he’s dead, the pack will devour him. Do you want to see that?”
She swallowed, the blood draining from her face. “Not particularly. But I can take it.”
He clenched his fists and tried another approach. “Unlike Ethan, I’m no fighter. If I don’t focus totally on this, I will die, and you’re a distraction I don’t need. I can’t do this with you watching.” From the uncertainty in her eyes, he knew he was getting through to her, and he pushed on. “You might be okay seeing Ethan die. But what about me? Can you watch me bleed and know it might be your fault?”
“That’s cruel, Danny.”
“But true.” Just a little more. “I’ve accepted this is my life but you have no place here. You can only make me weak. And weakness will kill me.”
Pain flashed in her eyes. “So it’s over between us.”
“Not necessarily,” he lied. “I’ll find you afterward.” He wouldn’t, but no need to tell her that.
She gnawed on her lower lip but then nodded. “I’ll go. But you better be okay and you’d better come find me.”
Instead of triumph, despair filled him to overflowing. He wanted to hug her one last time, but that would give him away and he might never find the strength to let her go. Besides, time was nearly up. The moon was calling to them. All around he could sense the restless movements of the pack.
He turned to Jason. “Go.”
Jason spoke briefly to Stella, and then they turned and headed back the way they had come, disappearing into the darkness of the forest. Lissa hesitated, her gaze never leaving him, and he kept his expression blank.
A wolf howled, and his own wolf answered. Lissa flinched as though she sensed something, then wrapping her arms around her middle, she searched his face one last time. Finding no answers, she turned and trailed slowly after her brother.
And his heart shattered into a thousand pieces.
It was for the best. It had to be. At least she was safe—that’s what he had set out to do. He turned back to Ethan. Time for the fun to start. Why didn’t he feel anything but empty?
He no longer even remembered what he was fighting for.
Or cared whether he lived or died.
…
As they entered the cover of the trees, Lissa glanced back. Daniel stood in the center of a group but looked so alone, despair stamped on every line of his body.
She walked on for a few more minutes, before stopping abruptly. This was wrong. With a certainty she’d never experienced in her whole life, she knew she couldn’t leave him. She had to go back.
Up ahead of her, Jason also halted and turned to her, Julia still in his arms, a question on his face.
“I can’t go,” Lissa said.
“Of course you can. You heard him. It’s what he wants.”
“He was lying.”
Jason gritted his teeth. “No way am I letting you go back there.”
Julia wriggled in his arms and he glanced down. “She’s right.”
“No, she’s not fucking right.” His tone was laced with frustration.
“She is. She has to go back. For Daniel.”
“Shit, then I go with her.”
“You can’t,” Lissa said. “You promised to take care of Julia.” She glanced around. Stella had vanished and they were alone. Jason couldn’t follow her now, not while he was carrying Julia, and he wouldn’t leave Julia alone in a forest full of werewolves.
Without waiting for him to say anything further, she whirled around and ran back the way they had come. She skidded to a halt at the tree line, trying to make sense of the scene in front of her. There were more wolves than people now, but Daniel and Ethan were still in human form. They stood at the far end of the clearing, close to the throne, facing each other.
At that moment, Ethan gave an incredulous laugh, and Lissa edged around the clearing so she could hear what they said.
“You think you can fight me?” Ethan asked.
Daniel seemed to grow taller. The air became thick with tension, and a wild, musky scent drifted across the clearing. He turned slightly and she saw that his eyes had changed, gone wild.
“Well, well,” Ethan murmured. “It looks like someone has been hiding something.” A knife appeared in his hand and he lunged toward Daniel, plunging the blade into his stomach and twisting it viciously.
A small cry escaped her. She slammed her fist over her mouth as Daniel collapsed to his knees. Lissa made to run toward him, but hands grabbed her from behind and held her back. “Don’t be an idiot.” A voice spoke close to her ear. She struggled, but the hands were inhumanely strong.
“The blade is silver,” Ethan was saying. “I’m sorry it had to end this way. You could have been great if only you’d accepted what you were and your place in the pack.”
Lissa fought against the hands holding her, needing to get to Daniel’s side. Then she went still as he raised his head and stared at Ethan. A cold smile curved his lips through the grimace of pain. “Silver can’t harm me.”
He pulled the knife from the wound and tossed it to the floor. Rising slowly, he stripped off his T-shirt. A ragged gash marred his stomach but as she stared, the wound knit together.
“You lied,” Ethan said. “The experiments worked?”
“I lied.” Daniel straightened, wiped the blood from his belly with his bunched up T-shirt, and dropped it to the floor. He stood up tall. “Ethan Stone, I challenge you by claw and tooth.”
The words sounded like some sort of
ritual.
“I accept that challenge,” Ethan replied. “To the death.”
Lissa wriggled. “You can let me go. I’m not going to do anything.”
The man loosened his grip but kept a hand on her arm. “I’m Joe,” he said. “Daniel’s friend. If things go bad, I’ll get you out of here.”
She didn’t want to think about things going bad, or people being eaten. But she nodded. Joe released her and she stepped away, her heart beating fast. “Can he win?” she asked.
“If he can bring himself to kill. I’ve never felt such raw power, but he’s held it in check for so long, I don’t know.”
The two men were stripping, and suddenly she understood what that meant. “They fight as wolves?”
“Yes. Now, quiet.”
For a second they stood facing each other, both naked. The full moon rose above the trees, and a sigh ran through the surrounding pack as magic rippled through the air. Then Daniel and Ethan were gone.
“If Daniel loses, be ready to run,” Joe said. “I can hold my human form long enough to get you away, but don’t linger.” She could hear the strain in his voice and gave him a quick sideways glance. His eyes had turned feral.
She nodded and turned back to the center of the clearing where two huge wolves faced each other, both magnificent and equally sized. Daniel’s wolf was a deep golden, Ethan’s midnight black. It seemed appropriate. Light verses the dark.
Daniel had to win.
The two wolves began to circle. Up until that point, their audience had been silent, but now they threw back their heads and howled. An answering shiver ran through her as though the call woke something deep inside her that strained to be free.
Inside the circle, Ethan came to a halt. He stared at Daniel, stiff-legged, his muzzle drawn back in a snarl revealing long white canines, sharp as daggers. Then he crouched back on his haunches and leaped in a blur of speed. Daniel went down under the force of the blow but rolled to his feet and shook himself.
“Fight,” Lissa urged under her breath.
For a minute, it appeared as if he wouldn’t. He stood unmoving, watching as Ethan prowled around him. Lissa’s gaze flicked between the two wolves, waiting for Ethan’s next move, silently praying that Daniel would fight back. She saw the moment Ethan’s muscles tensed as he readied himself to leap again. Her gaze flew back to Daniel. Resolve hardened his eyes. He leaped forward at the same time as Ethan, and the two wolves slammed into each other in midair.
They crashed to the ground in a snarling mass of teeth and fur and rolled, jaws snapping to get a hold. Their movements were so fast Lissa found it impossible to distinguish one from the other.
Finally, they parted, only to repeat the whole process over and over with neither gaining an advantage. They both panted heavily now.
Equal in size and strength, it was obvious that Ethan was the more experienced fighter, but Lissa suspected he was overconfident. Daniel seemed to be playing a waiting game, always letting Ethan make the first move before countering with one of his own.
Ethan managed to gain a grip on Daniel’s shoulder, his teeth sank in, and the sharp acrid scent of fresh blood filled the air.
Nausea churned in her stomach. He had to fight. He could do it but he appeared to have lost the will. Without giving herself time to think, she ran out of the trees and into the clearing toward the fighting wolves. The pack parted before her so she reached the edge of the circle unhindered.
“Daniel!”
The golden wolf looked up and went still.
“Fight, goddamn it. Fight for me!”
He shook himself. Then throwing back his head, Daniel roared his fury. Her presence seemed to awaken the rage inside him, and he thrashed his whole body until Ethan was tossed from side to side. The black wolf’s grip loosened and he was flung across the circle. He came to his feet immediately, the blood dripping from his jaws.
Daniel tossed her another glance and growled. But this time she wasn’t budging. He stalked around the circle, his whole being radiating menace as though he had at last grasped this was a fight to the death, and Ethan meant business.
This time he attacked first, taking Ethan by surprise and driving him to the ground. Ethan countered but Daniel came back relentlessly, until Ethan’s sides heaved with exhaustion while Daniel appeared unaffected.
Finally, he got what had to be a death grip, his teeth sinking deep into the black-furred throat. He shook him mercilessly, blood spraying across the clearing, and the watching wolves howled as the blood lust took them.
Ethan no longer fought back.
“Finish it,” Lissa muttered, but at the last second, Daniel released his hold, and the other wolf collapsed to the ground.
Lissa held her breath waiting to see if he would rise. His eyes were open, gleaming dull steel.
The golden wolf vanished, and Daniel stood in the center of the circle once again in human form. A savage bite marred the smooth muscle of his shoulder but otherwise he appeared unharmed.
The black wolf raised his head slightly but collapsed. A second later, the wolf was gone, and Ethan lay on the ground naked. An open wound at his throat spilled his blood to the dirt beneath him.
“What happens if he doesn’t finish it?” she asked.
“It’s finished,” Joe replied. “He’s dying.”
…
Daniel’s whole body ached, and his shoulder burned with pain. He knew he should finish this but couldn’t bring himself to make the final move. Did that make him weak? He didn’t care and he didn’t dare look at Lissa, sure he would see the loathing in her face.
But she had come back. Why?
“Keep still,” he said to Ethan. “I’ll get help.”
“No, you won’t,” Ethan replied, his voice hoarse. “I’m finished. You won.” He smiled. “I really never thought you had it in you.”
Daniel glanced up as Lissa came to kneel beside him. He risked a quick peek at her face but could make out nothing from her expression. She must hate what he was: a killer.
He waited as the light dimmed from Ethan’s eyes and his life slipped away. Then throwing back his head, Daniel roared, and all around him, the wolves answered.
Finally, silence fell. He looked from the body of Ethan to the circling wolves, and then rising to his feet, he grabbed Lissa’s hand and pulled her with him.
He searched for his clothes, found his jeans, and managed to get into them without releasing his hold. “Come on,” he said. “We have to get away from here.”
Joe stepped forward. “No. You need to stay. You’re the new pack leader.”
Crap. He was the fucking pack leader.
But he knew the custom, the old leader would be devoured by the pack and somehow it seemed fitting. Ethan would have approved. That didn’t mean he wanted to see it. Nor should Lissa.
“Later.” Dragging Lissa into his arms, he picked her up. As he strode away, a howl rose up from the wolves. Ignoring the sound, he stepped into the darkness of the surrounding trees. He kept walking until the noise diminished to a quiet roar and then relaxed his hold. She slipped to the ground, though his arms remained around her. He’d thought earlier that he would never hold her again, now he was and he couldn’t let her go. He still knew what he should do—make it easy for her to walk away, to go find that normal life she wanted and could never have with him.
Finally, he drew back and peered into her face. “Why did you come back?”
She tossed him an are-you-a-complete-moron look. “The question should be why did I let you persuade me to go in the first place? I knew it was wrong the moment I walked away.”
“I’m a killer.”
“I saw. And a good thing, too—he deserved to die.”
She didn’t hate him, though he still couldn’t believe they had a chance together. But though he searched inside himself, he could find no taint of evil and some of the tension seeped from his muscles.
“Are you really all right?” he asked.
�
�I’m fine. Thankful it’s over. Though it isn’t really over is it?”
“No, it will never be over. For me anyway. But you can put this behind you. You’ll be safe now.”
Her eyes narrowed. “And what about you? What will you be doing while I’m putting this behind me?”
Time for a little more truth between them. He waved a hand back toward the clearing. “That is what I am.” He swallowed. “I’m a werewolf and a killer and those facts will never change. I can never give you a normal life.”
Without warning, she pulled back and punched him on the arm. “You promised to marry me. You’d better not be trying to weasel out of it just because you’re the big boss now and I’m not even a wolf.”
A spark of hope lit up inside him. “You’d still marry me after this?”
“Hell, yes.”
He almost went to his knees with relief. “You love me?”
“Hell, yes. Though I’m real glad you didn’t stay and eat Ethan.”
This time he didn’t fight the grin. There was still the problem of the pack accepting her, but who the hell was Alpha here?
He was.
And the wolves could either accept his mate or find another fucking pack.
Time for the old laws to change. But maybe not tonight. Tonight he had other plans.
…
Beside her, Daniel’s whole body thrummed with power. As he turned her in his arms, she opened her mouth to speak. Then shut it again.
His eyes were hot and filled with a burning hunger. She was aware that he was nearly naked; he wore only his jeans, quickly pulled on, and still unfastened. His chest was bare, as were his feet, and she needed to touch him. The feeling swept over her, filling her until she thought she might burst out of her skin.
“Take off your clothes,” he ordered softly.
She sighed. “I love it when you go all masterful.”
A brief grin flashed across his face and was gone. “Take them off, or I’ll rip them off. And I’m sure you don’t want to be naked when we go back and face the pack.”
