THRAX

by Bonnie Burrows

  Still not turning around, I struggled to crawl on my hands and knees, trying to break free. "Keep running, Katie! Go!"

  But she didn't. I'd made a grunt when I'd fallen, which had made her turn around, and now she stood with her hands to her mouth, seemingly frozen, maybe not even ten feet ahead of me and the wolf. Who was now shaking my shirt, and me with it, like a rag doll.

  Yet still, I struggled to crawl free, my gaze on Katie. "Move, Katie! Get help!"

  "No! He'll drag you off by then!"

  She hadn't dropped her wicker basket of apples, and now she dumped it. She then raised it over her head and took off for me and the wolf, presumably to hit him over the head with it, which I was sure would do absolutely no good.

  She sprinted toward us anyway. "Let her go!"

  But before she could hit him over the head, a roar sounded from somewhere above us. She froze. The wolf stopped shaking me. I stopped trying to break free.

  I looked up and instantly spotted the source of the roar. It was Nick, enormous in dragon form, his forest-green scales glinting in the sun. He wasn't too far up in the sky, maybe only a few hundred feet, and he was diving for us. The sight probably would have terrified most people, particularly since he had an unmistakable angry gleam in his dark green eyes. But I had faith in him to take out the wolf without accidentally hurting me or Katie. I knew he could do it. Despite his massive wingspan and body, he had the ability to fight with controlled precision, which I'd seen during the large-scale fight against Ezra and his men. All Katie and I would have to do would be to run to safety at the earliest possible chance.

  And that chance happened even sooner than I'd thought it would. Not even a moment after Nick had roared, the wolf released my shirt, and I didn't waste any time. After jumping to my feet, I grabbed Katie's hand and began dashing through the orchard. It wasn't long before we heard roaring, snarling, and howling behind us.

  We didn't slow down to look, at least, not at first. But when we were far down the aisle between two long rows of trees, I just had to turn around. And what I saw made me gasp. Nick had the wolf pinned under one several-foot-long, razor-sharp claw, and he was breathing a jet of fire on him. The wolf deflected it by surrounding himself with some sort of bright white forcefield around himself, as all the wolves did during fights; however, these forcefields never lasted for long. The wolves just didn't seem able to sustain them, for whatever reason. And soon, this was the case with the one Nick now had pinned.

  As soon as his bright white forcefield disappeared, the wolf's howls of defiance clearly became howls of pain. He thrashed while Nick continued his fiery assault. I thought it was all over, and that Nick would soon be killing him. But I thought too soon.

  The wolf suddenly did some sort of violent, wild roll that allowed him to become free of Nick's claw. And then, in a blink, he lunged for Nick's long, scaly tail and clamped his vice-like jaws on it, making Nick rear back, bellowing. I clutched my chest, cringing, knowing he was in terrible pain.

  Katie shook my shoulder. "We should go. Nick will kill him in the end, but you shouldn't have to watch this."

  "No, I have to stay. I have to make sure he's going to be all right."

  To my great relief, he soon was. And actually, he was more than okay; he was victorious. He raised his long tail, the wolf still on it, and lashed it against a tree, smashing the wolf into the wide trunk. The wolf released Nick's tail and fell to the grass, whimpering. And after that, things didn't take long. Hovering above the wolf, Nick stabbed him through the heart with one sword-like claw, and then immediately stabbed him through the eye. The wolf was dead.

  After a moment or two seeming to make sure that the wolf was no longer breathing, Nick shifted back into human form in a blink and began racing over to me, his expression concerned. I began running myself, and when we reached each other, he scooped me up in his strong arms and just held me tight for a little while, periodically kissing the side of my face, before speaking.

  "Please tell me you're okay. Did he hurt you?"

  I lifted my face from his muscular shoulder, shaking my head. "No. Not at all. I'm fine. Thanks to you."

  He studied my face, his expression dubious. "Are you sure? I saw him grab your shirt and take you down to the ground. You didn't hurt anything when you fell?"

  I loved having a man as caring as Nick, though looking into his deep green eyes, which positively radiated concern, I had to suppress a smile.

  "I am absolutely fine. Okay? Trust me; I wasn't hurt at all."

  He frowned, drawing his dark blond brows together, and I knew he was just itching to once again ask me if I was sure. But, seemingly, he fought the urge and sighed instead.

  "All right. And thank God you're okay. Thought at the very least, I'm sure you should have a nice, long bath later on to help head off any aches and pains before they even get a chance to develop."

  I really liked the sound of that. Especially if Nick would be somewhere nearby when I was bathing. We had a large, sunken tub with whirlpool jets in our master bathroom, and the couple of times I'd bathed in it, Nick had ended up getting in with me, which had led to a little passion afterward. And passion with Nick was one thing I couldn't seem to get enough of.

  Once Katie had joined us, Nick explained that the guards he'd posted around the town had been having an increasingly difficult time keeping Ezra's wolf spies out, and he'd taken to the skies that day just to provide some backup.

  "And now, I'm very glad that I did. We haven't had too much trouble protecting the borders near the orchard, though now it seems that's changed."

  Katie began heading back to Crystal Falls, and Nick and I followed a little ways behind. While we made our way out of the orchard, I teased him, asking if he was going to ask if he could carry me.

  "Because after all, I did just go through a terrible ordeal."

  Being chased by the wolf had been terrible; though now, with the wolf dead and Nick beside me, I was quickly forgetting my panic and fear at seeing the wolf's glowing green eyes.

  I'd thought Nick might tease back, saying he was sure my legs still worked just fine on their own; but instead, he picked me right up immediately and gave me a long, lingering kiss, making my heartbeat race again, though now not from fear.

  After lifting his face from mine, he smiled. "I'm glad for any reason to carry you in my arms. One of my favorite things to do in the world."

  Over the past several weeks, since he'd officially told me he loved me, it had become clear that he hadn't just said it just to say it. Not that I'd ever thought that he had. It was clear that he was just as head-over-heels in love with me as I was with him. To the point that several of his top men had even dared tease him about just how smitten he was with me.

  I loved the fact that a man as strong, powerful, and brave as Nick was so crazy about me, and I loved that a man like him could be so tender, nurturing, and protective at the same time. I loved him more than I'd ever loved any man before in my life. We were deeply in love and looking forward to a future together once the situation with the wolves was resolved.

  However, one person wasn't quite as thrilled about our happy new relationship, and that person was, of course, Damien. In the weeks since the shifter fight, he'd spent a lot of time away from the town, presumably to lead the patrols to keep the wolves out, but I knew part of the reason was that he just couldn't stand to see Nick and me together. Flickers of pain that flashed across his handsome face whenever he saw the two of us together told me that.

  But I'd made it clear to Damien that while I appreciated him saving me from falling from the window during the fight, and I had affection for him as a friend, I was in love with Nick. He'd very reluctantly seemed to accept that, and Nick had accepted my assurances that he was the one I loved. Nick had also seemed to have gotten over the fact that Damien had been my "hero" during the fight. And now that Nick had saved me from being attacked by a wolf, I was sure any last traces of lingering resentment he had toward Damien would fade. I
hoped so, anyway.

  A couple of hours after returning to town, Nick and I had dinner in the council lodge with several of his advisors, including his Uncle Marshall, several of his strongest shifters, and Katie and her husband Sam. Also in attendance was Damien, who sat opposite Nick at the large, polished blond oak circular table. While everyone else talked and seemed to enjoy their food, Damien silently picked at his, every so often giving me the briefest of glances with his dark gray eyes troubled.

  Once wait staff had cleared away our dessert plates and refilled everyone's wineglasses, Nick cleared his throat, and all conversation hushed. I had a pretty good idea of what he was going to say. The wolves needed to be dealt with, once and for all. He'd told me earlier that there was no way he could let things go on the way they had been when my safety, as well as the safety of the entire town, was at risk.

  Nick swept his gaze across everyone at the table before speaking. "I realize we've all been hoping that considering their defeat and retreat several weeks ago, and considering how we've kept their spies out of Crystal Falls since then, the wolves would ultimately give up and leave us to live in peace. But today, it's become apparent that we need to formulate a plan of attack for taking out the wolves for good. And I think the first part of this plan should be taking out Ezra, because it's clear he's never going to stop trying to get at Daisy because of her being a Woman of the Star. So, he needs to be killed, and I'll be the one to do it. Then, without their leader, the rest of his shifters should be much easier to deal with. And in fact, they may not even need to be dealt with at all. Even if they elect a new leader, and even if, like Ezra, he, too, has a mind to kidnap Daisy, I doubt he'll actually attempt it, knowing what happened to his predecessor. And so, taking out Ezra alone may solve our problems."

  Sitting back in his chair with his arms folded across his well-defined chest, Damien scoffed. "Doubt it. Because after Ezra is killed, all the other wolves are just going to sit back like good little boys, right? They're just going to sit back and behave themselves while a woman who could give one of them greatly increased power just by mating with them is sitting just a few miles away. Is that how you really think it's going to work, Nick?"

  Nick, who'd chosen whiskey, neat, for an after-dinner drink instead of wine, tightened his hand around the glass perceptibly, narrowing his forest-green eyes at Damien. "What I think, Damien, is that I have to take active steps to protect the woman I love and the community that I'm chief and leader of. And I have to hope for a positive outcome once I've taken those steps. After all, a positive mind-set seems to be more attractive than a negative one, doesn't it?" Nick put an arm around my shoulders, staring Damien down.

  Damien scoffed again, lifting his full mouth in a smirk. "Guess you've got me there, brother. Sunshine and positivity wins the day. Good for you. However, I'm much more of a realist. I don't think simply taking out Ezra alone is going to solve our little wolf problem for good. Not by a long shot. It'll just be a matter of time before another leader steps in to take his place and resume the attempts to kidnap Daisy. And if we take him out, there will be another, and another, and another. It'll never end, and Daisy will never be safe, until all the wolves are taken out for good. And so, instead of dragging this out, like you'd have us do...as second-in-charge, I propose every last one of us shifters in this entire town attack Howler's Creek and take out all the wolves at once. Or, at least, as many as the thousand-some of them that we can. The stragglers we'll deal with later."

  Now it was Nick's turn to scoff, and he did, glaring at Damien even harder. "Are you out of your mind? Attack the wolves right in the middle of their town? I suppose you've forgotten about their hundreds of wives and children living among them, many of whom would surely be killed accidentally during a chaotic battle with thousands of shifters involved; as if it wouldn't be bad enough that they'd all be losing their husbands and fathers."

  Damien shrugged. "Well, from what I've heard and seen myself, I don't think that would be too great of a loss for most of them. The wolves treat those women and children terribly, to the point that they're basically prisoners used for slave labor. So, all the women and children would probably rejoice if all the wolves were killed in one fell swoop. And as far as accidentally hurting or killing women and children during the battle...." He lifted his broad shoulders in a shrug again. "Well, we'd just have to be as careful as we could possibly be."

  Nick shook his head, glaring at Damien so hard he was nearly scowling. "No. It's too great of a risk. And I won't have the deaths of any women and children on my conscience."

  Damien uncrossed his arms from his chest and leaned forward on the table, his gaze on Nick. "Would you prefer Daisy's death on your conscience?"

  Nick glared at him silently for a long moment. "My decision is final. We're not attacking Howler's Creek. We're going to take out Ezra, and Ezra alone. After that, we'll play things by ear and formulate a new plan, if need be. But right now, that's what's happening. Ezra will be killed, and I'm going to be the one to do it."

  Across the table, Uncle Marshall nodded, stroking his short gray beard. "I'm definitely behind you on this, Nick. And I know you're strong enough. Though considering the strength Ezra displayed during the last fight, and considering how stealthy he was to slip into the house how he did, undetected, you're going to have to have your full strength about you, and then some, in order to make a quick, tidy job of killing him. And I'm sure a quick, tidy job is what you want to make of it, so that things don't escalate. And I mean escalate like him calling on his men to attack us here in town while you're busy trying to kill him."

  Nick nodded. "You're exactly right. A scenario like that is, of course, one I want to avoid. And so, you're also right that I'm going to have to be as strong as possible when I face Ezra. And this is why...." Nick swallowed, giving me the briefest of glances. "This is why I plan to enlist the help of Alexandria. Over the next couple of weeks, she can help me increase my power by using her magic."

  I looked at Nick, suddenly uneasy. "Who's Alexandria?"

  Before he could respond, Damien threw his head back and laughed. "Oh, you're about to find out."

  *

  In response to me asking Nick who Alexandria was, Katie and her husband Sam exchanged glances. Uncle Marshall lifted his gaze to the ceiling of the council lodge, inhaling deeply. Several of the council members dropped their gazes to the surface of the polished blonde oak table.

  Damien continued laughing. "'Who's Alexandria?' Oh, poor Daisy."

  Growing increasingly uneasy, I fixed Nick with what I imagined to be a demanding stare. "Who is she?"

  He took a deep breath, clearly struggling to maintain eye contact with me. “Well...Alexandria is a former friend of mine."

  Damien snorted. "Oh, is that what serious former girlfriends are called these days? Former 'friends?'"

  Nick gave him a look that could only be described as a death glare before returning his gaze to me. "She's a former...person I had a brief relationship with, though that is long, long, long in the past. But now, she may be able to help us accomplish our goal of taking out Ezra. You see, she's a sorceress, and she's able to use her magical abilities to increase the strength of dragon shifters. She's already done this before, for a few of my top shifters who just needed a little boost, and I have no doubt that she can use her magic on me to do this for me, as well. And if I can become even just slightly stronger, this will help ensure a quick, decisive victory when I take on Ezra, meaning that there won't have to be any worry about his shifters attacking our town during some long, drawn-out battle between him and me."

  Damien snickered. "And it'll just be a bonus that you'll get to look at Alexandria's fine form while she performs her spells on you over the several days that the task will require, right?"

  Nick gave Damien another death glare before looking at the group at large. "This meeting is adjourned. Uncle Marshall, I'd appreciate it if you could please dispatch a few guards to Coldwater, asking Alexandria if she'd b
e kind enough to come here and offer her assistance. If she is, and if she's willing to make the twenty-mile trip tonight, then the guards are to bring her here right away. She can ride on one of their backs while they fly back in dragon form if she doesn't mind. Thank you, and thank you all for attending this meeting. Good night."

  Nick rose, taking my hands and kind of gently pulling me up, as well. After I'd murmured a good night of my own to everyone, we left the lodge and began walking hand-in-hand down a tree-lined paved street to Nick's massive, three-story cabin-mansion. It was about nine o' clock; it was dark and only a couple of people were out and about on the lane, heading to their own houses. We didn't talk at first. But after we'd passed the couple of people and the paved street began a gentle curve that would take us directly to Nick's, I couldn't hold back any longer.