Taryn shook her head, grimacing. “No, I don’t feel good.”
Lydia flinched and moaned. “Some asshole just chomped on Cam’s hind leg. He’s okay though, thank God. Ryan helped get the other wolf off of him.”
Grace gave her a sympathetic smile. “Rhett’s received some pretty decent scratches and bites, but he’s not tiring or in any real pain. God, I hate this shit.”
“I need to walk around. Not outside,” Lydia quickly assured them, shifting from foot to foot in restless, nervous movements. “Just through the tunnels. Standing still is killing me.”
“I’ll go with you. Coming, Taryn?”
“Thanks, Grace, but I feel too woozy, I need to sit.”
“I can stay with you if you want.”
“She’s fine, she’s got me and Brock,” said Greta, waving Grace and Lydia out of the room. She turned back to Taryn, frowning. “Don’t worry so much about him.” It was chastising rather than comforting. “God knows he’s been through enough battles and he’s always come back, alive and well.”
“That’s not going to stop me from worrying.” Nothing would stop her from worrying short of Trey standing before her.
“Darryl’s nothing but a little fart anyway. That’s why he’s brought so many with him – he knows he’d never win a one-to-one challenge with Trey.”
“Why do you think he wants the packs united so badly?”
Greta huffed. “Darryl’s problem is that although he was born an alpha, he was a weak one – too weak to be a Pack Alpha. His little brother, Rick – Trey’s father – on the other hand, was very strong. He was also a horrible bastard. Darryl spent his life walking in Rick’s shadow, overlooked. But that didn’t stop him from lodging himself so far up Rick’s ass that he ended up being made Beta. Then Trey was born and even as a little boy you could tell he was a powerful alpha. Both Rick and Darryl saw him as a threat and treated him very badly.”
Taryn couldn’t help that her upper lip curled in anger. “Yeah, I heard a little about that.”
“When Trey almost killed his father, Darryl was ordered by Rick to beat him, punish him. But Darryl wouldn’t – he knew he couldn’t. That was why talk of banishing him started. My guess is no one in the pack forgot Darryl’s fear of a fourteen year old boy and so he’s not being respected or obeyed as Alpha.”
“Makes sense. If he had been, half of his pack wouldn’t have turned up here to check on my welfare.”
Greta nodded. “Unless he shows his pack that he can overpower Trey and fix the divide in the pack, he’ll be challenged soon enough and lose his position.”
Greta said more but Taryn couldn’t make any sense of the words as her hearing suddenly went weird, like she was underwater or something. Seconds later it returned to normal, but then her vision went blurry again.
“Taryn, Taryn, you alright?”
She wasn’t sure who asked and she didn’t care as the sudden urge to vomit had her ready to dash for the nearest bathroom. But she didn’t make it. She hadn’t even gotten halfway out of the room when she doubled over with pain and projectile vomited all over the kitchen floor. Then again. And again. And again. Then she flopped onto her side, panting, moaning and sweating. Worse, she was way beyond woozy and close to passing out. She felt Brock pick her up.
“Go get Grace,” he told Greta. “I’ll take her to lie down in her room.”
She retched again, but this time nothing came out. She doubted there was anything left in her stomach, especially since she’d hardly eaten anything that morning. The feeling she now had wasn’t all that different from when she had hit her head. It was a little like she was weightless, like a dream state was creeping up on her. Her vision alternated from being fuzzy around the edges to being totally blurred. Her head seemed so unbelievably heavy and she felt sort of detached from her body. This could not be good for the baby. Fear shot through her as she wondered if this somehow meant she was losing the baby.
Shit, that sun was bright.
Wait, what? It occurred to her then that, hey, she was outside. And she should not be. “Where are we going?” she slurred. Her body jolted crazily and she realized they were descending the steps of the mountain face.
“Sorry, Taryn, but this is just the way it has to be.”
His voice was sharp, clipped, cold. This was not the Brock she knew. “It’s you. You’re the informant.”
He peered down at her, clearly surprised. “So you knew. Doesn’t matter now. All that matters is getting you to Darryl quickly.”
“What did you do to me?” she moaned as a spasm wracked her stomach.
“It’s just a drug to make you sleep. I slipped it in that weird juice. I’ve no idea how you can drink that stuff Grace makes.”
Another retch. Still no vomit.
“I’m not sure why it’s making you sick.” Not that he sounded concerned.
“Why, Brock? Why help Darryl?”
“I couldn’t care less about him. Trey, however…now that’s a different matter.” The degree of anger and loathing in his voice was unsettling.
“If you were unhappy here, you could’ve left.”
“No, I couldn’t have. Not without Kirk, and he’ll never leave. I know you don’t think much of my son, but he’s a good man. He is. A lot of people look down on him because his mom was human and he’s not as strong an alpha as the others – a little like they did with Darryl. But he has good principles, has honor, he’s a loyal wolf. That’s why he wanted to leave with Trey when he was banished.”
“You could have stayed behind.”
He shook his head. “No. And not just because of Kirk, no. I couldn’t have let her go alone.”
“Who? Greta?”
He looked at her like she was insane. “Louisa.”
The name tickled her memory. “Trey’s mom?”
“You must’ve heard how I found my true mate but she was already in love with another man. Oh yes, Trey’s mom. By the time I met her, she and Rick had imprinted on one-another. I hadn’t told anyone because I knew Rick would have exiled me to keep me away from her. I hated seeing them together, hated it, but I couldn’t bring myself to leave her life. So I became good friends with her and let that be enough. I know she felt the pull between us. She never even came close to acting on it though. She was a loyal woman. Then Trey was banished and, for once, she stood up to that bastard Rick and she left him. There was my chance. My chance to have her as I should have done. And I would’ve done...but Trey killed her.”
“She turned rogue,” she reminded him.
“If I’d have been there when she slipped into that state I could’ve pulled her back from it. I could’ve.” No he couldn’t have – a wolf gone rogue was beyond all help. “But he executed her. Snapped her neck like she was a twig. I wanted to kill him, but just like Rick and Darryl, I knew I couldn’t take him.”
Her head swam again but she fought the pull of sleep. “Why stay?”
“So one day I could make sure he knew the pain that I went through. The pain of losing a mate.”
Oh fuck. It suddenly hit her just how dangerous her situation was. She’d thought that maybe Darryl wanted to use her as collateral – a kind of ‘give me what I want, Trey, and your mate goes free’ scenario. But this…well hell.
“It made the whole thing even better when I realized you were true mates. You should thank Darryl, really. If it wasn’t for him telling me to hold off, I would have killed you at some point. The car and the raven…that was just for fun, just something to keep me going.”
What a weird, sick bastard. “That day on the stairs?”
“I’d made an arrangement with Darryl. His goons were waiting not far out of pack territory. The plan was for me to hand you over to them so they could give you a beating as a warning. And, well, that plan went to shit. As did the one for you to be attacked while you were in town with Lydia. Unfortunately for you, your luck has run out, little one. It’s really nothing personal, Taryn. I like you. You’re strong, you h
ave a good heart, but this is the way it has to be.”
“You think Louisa would want this? Trey’s her son. Darryl will kill him.”
“Very true. Greta was right – all Darryl wants is for everyone to see him overpower Trey. He knows he can’t do it. Trey’s too strong. But there’s one thing that will weaken him – the death of his mate. At the very moment your bond is severed he’ll lose all strength. It won’t last more than a minute, but it will be long enough for Darryl to have this chance and end this once and for all. So you see, Darryl gets what he wants, and I get what I want.”
Hoping he might have a conscience she could appeal to, she asked, “You’re happy to hand over a pregnant female to be murdered?”
Nothing. Not an ounce of guilt or regret to be seen in his expression. “It’s just the way it has to be,” he said for the third time.
“You could take me back,” she slurred, desperate now. “I promise you won’t be punished. Don’t punish this baby for something Trey did.” Not that she blamed Trey at all, but if it made the psycho release her she’d say whatever he wanted to hear.
He chuckled but it was humorless. “Honey, Trey will tear me apart and you know it. Even if you could guarantee me that protection, my answer would be no. You have a mate, Taryn. Let me ask you…if someone killed him, took him from you, could you ever forgive them? Ever forget it? I’ve waited too long for this. He took my mate from me, and now I’m going to take his from him.”
He might have said more, she wasn’t sure, because at that moment she lost the strength to stay conscious any longer, and the blackness swamped her.
The grey wolf was just finishing a kill when the awareness struck him and penetrated the fog in his mind. Mate. She was close. She shouldn’t be close. The same instinct that told him she was nearby was also able to guide him to where she was. Quickly he galloped through the trees, intent on reaching her. He skidded to a halt when he saw her. She smelled like him and sickness and drugs and anxiety. Mixed in with all that was the scent of the male that held her – ‘uncle’.
The grey wolf threw back his head and howled, garnering the attention of every wolf around him. No other male should touch her. No one was allowed to hurt her. She was his. She belonged to him. The life in her womb belonged to him. They were both his to protect, to care for, to shelter. The only thing stopping the wolf from acting on his raging anger and going for the uncle’s throat was that his claws were pressed threateningly against her stomach – the grey wolf understood the threat, understood cause and effect. Although the man’s words made no sense, he also understood what he wanted. He wanted Trey. So the wolf drew back, though he remained closer to the surface than ever before.
Trey rose to his feet, panting and raging. The sight of Taryn, pale and flaccid, held with her back against Darryl’s chest had his blood boiling and something in his chest tightening. She was unconscious, had clearly been drugged. Seeing Darryl’s claws placed threateningly against the place where his baby was growing made it even more difficult for Trey to remain where he was. Every cell in his body urged him to pounce on Darryl. “Release her.” The words were barely distinguishable.
Darryl gave him a callous smile. “Now that’s not going to happen, my dear nephew. How strange it is to see something finally pull emotions from you. Rick would be devastated he’d missed this. Not as devastated as you’ll be when you watch her die, but still.”
A part of Trey’s brain registered that all had gone quiet and that his pack was gathering close. Another part of his brain noted that many of Darryl’s supporters had been slain and that Trey’s side was winning the battle, but his only care was for the limp woman in Darryl’s arms. “Release. Her.” The bastard didn’t. “If you want me, I’m right here. I won’t even fight you.”
Darryl laughed. “It’s tempting. After all, the only thing I really want is for the others to see me take you down. But, well, I’m afraid I don’t believe you would truly allow that. Plus, to let her live would be to break my half of the bargain with our cousin, Brock.” The very male then stepped out of the trees on Darryl’s left. His expression was cold, cruel.
“Dad?” Kirk choked out. “Dad, what’re you doing?”
“He has to know what it’s like, son.”
“What’re you talking about?”
“He has to know how it felt for me when he killed Louisa. What it was like to lose her.”
The truth hit Trey like a slap. “She was your mate?”
“And you took her from me.”
Kirk shook his head, his eyes dancing from Brock to Taryn. “Dad, tell me you didn’t hand her over to Darryl.”
“Like I said, he has to know what it’s like.”
“How could you do this?”
“He doesn’t deserve your loyalty, son, he never has. Darryl has agreed to make you one of his enforcers when this is over.”
Pale, wide-eyed, and clearly devastated, Kirk shook his head again and stumbled backwards. “I…I can’t believe you’ve done this.”
“Son -”
“No,” snapped Kirk. “I’m no longer your son.”
Trey honestly couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Although he’d never been able to work out what kind of motivation one of his pack could have had to betray him, he never would have expected this. Any of this. It didn’t matter what the motivation was though, it never had. The result would always have been the same. “You’re dead,” he told Brock.
“No, Trey, that would be your mate,” said Darryl with a smile. “Oh, and your unborn child.”
His mate, his child. He had thought that if any of them would die today, it would be Trey. He had comforted himself with the knowledge that at least Taryn and his child would live. Dante would have ensured that. But now Trey saw that he didn’t have the luxury of knowing that they would survive his death, because Darryl intended to kill them first. He wanted Trey to watch them die, to feel his bond with Taryn die, to see the life drain out of the only person he had ever loved. A jolt went through him at the realization he just had. He loved her.
Of course he fucking loved her!
And not just because she was his mate, but because of the person she was. Her inner strength, her spirit, her sensuality, her big heart, her loyalty, her tenaciousness, her bravery, hell, even her damn sarcastic streak – it all came together to make a package that called to him and made it impossible for him to feel anything but love for her. The realization didn’t even scare him as it once would have done. So now that the thread of fear had been removed from the knot of emotions inside him, the rest of the knot unraveled and fell away. And those mental walls went right along with them.
Abruptly there was a bang in his chest and a strange sensation in his head as though his brain had hiccupped or something. Then he could feel Taryn’s heartbeat as if it was his own, feel her inside of him like she was burrowed under his skin. But she was, wasn’t she? Because she was the other half of his soul. He understood immediately what had happened. Their bond had snapped fully into being. He felt as her pulse rate improved and she struggled to a conscious state. He realized then that his strength was bolstering her own through their bond.
He also realized that Darryl was still talking, totally unaware of what was happening. Funny that – how such a significant, life-changing occurrence could happen yet go unnoticed by every person around them. It was a very good thing in this case.
“…and I bet you’ve never felt so helpless before in your entire life, have you, Trey?”
No, he hadn’t. And Darryl was going to die for that. Die for daring to touch her at all. Trey’s heart practically jumped when he watched Taryn’s eyes flutter open. A few seconds later they widened and – quick as fucking lightening – she had one of the hands that were pinned behind her back positioned at Darryl’s crotch with her claws placed threateningly around his balls. Obviously having felt the prick of claws on his naked skin, Darryl froze instantly. Trey shot him a falsely sympathetic look. Clearly his uncle had forgotte
n that latent shifters who were alphas could partially shift, lengthening their claws and canines.
“Let go of me, fucker, or I’ll dig my claws into your crown jewels and rip them off – I don’t give a shit.”
Taryn meant every word.
The threat to the life of her unborn child had rage pumping through her body, a rage that was beyond the scales of normal – her insides burned, her heart was working overtime, her skin felt too tight for her body, her fangs had lengthened, and her entire being itched to hurt him. The primitive urge to protect had adrenalin coursing through her, preparing for anything, preparing her to do anything.
Dimly she recognized that her bond with Trey was cemented, that he was alive and relatively unharmed, but the red hot fury blasting through her was so overwhelming that it left no room for her to feel anything else right now. The only thought she had in her head was that if her and her unborn child were about to leave this world then this asshole’s balls were going with them.
Her wolf smelt his fear, loved it. She wanted this threat to her and her pup dead. Wanted it with such desperation that she was warring with Taryn for control, pushing and struggling and twisting for freedom much like someone trapped under a frozen lake. The force with which she beat at Taryn’s skin was actually painful. So painful that it was weakening Taryn. Not physically, though. Physically, she was still strong and steady. But mentally, she was weakening…kind of like she was fading. Her wolf relentlessly continued her assault, wanting her stupid human half to step aside and let her deal with this. Then Taryn weakened that little bit more as a particularly hard shove fractured that layer of iced water. That was all it took – her wolf smashed her way out.
Utter shock rushed over Trey as the scene played out before him. Darryl’s hold on Taryn broke as, with a speed that only an extremely experienced shifter should have been able to achieve, she shifted into a creamy-white wolf. She was absolutely beautiful. As a female, her muzzle and forehead were narrower and her neck was thinner than that of males. Her limbs had smoother fur, giving her a more graceful look. All that gorgeous fur looked so unbelievably soft that he couldn’t wait to comb his fingers through it just as he often did with Taryn’s hair.
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