“Let me go!” she screamed.
“Scream all you want, you human bitch. There’s no one out here to hear you,” he growled.
She kicked and clawed at him, the red scratches healing in seconds. He simply laughed at her. She spit at his feet.
He picked her up by her hair so that her feet dangled two inches above the ground. The scream she let out this time was unbearable. I braced myself to run forward but Caeden’s teeth dug into my leg, rooting me to the spot.
Let me go! Now I was screaming the same words as the girl. I have to help her!
We can’t. I’m sorry, Sophie, but we can’t. I could see how much it pained him to say those words, but I still struggled against him. It seemed so wrong to sit here and do nothing.
Caeden, please! I pleaded. She’s so young!
I know. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. But we can’t risk exposure. We can’t. We can’t. We can’t.
The girl screamed again and if I was in my human form, I would have put my hands over my ears to try to block out the blood curdling sound.
Make it stop. Make it stop. Please, make it stop!
I’m so sorry, Soph. He said but he still didn’t let me go.
I tried to close my eyes but I couldn’t. They were riveted on the scene below me. Travis let the girl go and she fell to the ground. A sickening crack resounded through the forest and she screamed again. Something was broken, I didn’t know what, but despite the pain she still looked at Travis with fire in her eyes.
Dirt covered her body and blonde hair.
“You’re a sick bastard,” she gripped her leg. Her words were steady.
Travis threw his head back and laughed. “I’ve been called worse. Care to try again?”
“Just kill me already,” she said evenly.
“Oh my sweet,” he purred and bent to caress her face. Quick as a snake, she bit his hand. He cursed and stumbled back. He glared at her for a moment before smiling. “I have big plans for you and killing you is hopefully not one of them. You’re feisty. I like that.”
She breathed heavily but didn’t say anything. She was a fighter, I’d give her that, and I hoped that determination might enable her to escape him.
They stared at each other for several minutes until Travis hand shot out and smacked her across the face. She crumpled to the ground and he laughed before picked her up in a surprisingly gently manner and carrying her inside the cave.
She’s not dead. Caeden said.
Yet, was the word that hung in the air unsaid.
twenty-two.
The blonde girl haunted me the whole way home, while I showered, and while I dressed. Her tortured green eyes were still haunting me as I sat on the end of the bed. I hated feeling like I could have done something and instead did nothing. I knew Caeden was right. Travis probably would’ve taken one or both of us down and, as selfish as it sounds, I would never sacrifice Caeden. I couldn’t.
He came out of the walk-in closet buttoning up a pale blue dress shirt and khaki pants hung on his hips.
“What are you all dressed up for?” I asked.
“The pack’s coming over to discuss what we saw today,” he answered.
“And you felt the need to dress up?” I looked down at my holy sweatpants and vintage batman t-shirt and felt severely underdressed.
“I’m the Alpha, Sophie. I think they might take me more serious if I look a little more adult.”
I stood and fisted his shirt in my hands pulling him towards me. “Babe, they don’t look at you like you’re a kid. They respect you. Why can’t you see that?”
He shrugged.
I didn’t want to get into yet another argument with him over something stupid, so I let his shirt go, smoothing out the wrinkles, and said, “I better change.”
“You should… Want some help?” he winked.
“Nice try, mister.”
He chuckled. “You can’t blame a guy for trying.”
We left the door open as shifter after shifter filed into our home. Our pack was huge and it made me wonder how come they’d never taken the Grimm’s out, especially when they posed such a problem.
I motioned everyone into the family room. I didn’t like the idea of having everyone sit in the dining room. That seemed too impersonal and like we were trying to make a business deal or something.
“Hey sis,” Bryce grinned and hugged me, his brown hair flopping into his eyes.
“Hey Bryce.”
“Have ya missed me?”
“Of course,” I laughed.
“Good,” he said before moving away.
Chris and Charlotte ran up to me. “We haven’t seen you in forever!” Chris threw her arms around me, knocking me off balance. Caeden was suddenly there, with a hand to my back, to keep me from falling.
“Easy there,” Caeden warned Chris.
“Oops,” she giggled and released me from her strangle hold. She looked around the entryway and whistled. “Geez, this place is gorgeous. If I were you, I’d never leave.”
“It’s beautiful,” I looked around. “Perfect for us.”
“Bentley, take note,” she reached out and took his hand. “This is the kind of house I want.”
Bentley shook his head and chuckled. “Sometimes, I wonder how we ended up mates.”
“Take that back,” she gasped and hit his stomach.
Their playful hits soon turned into kisses and I shooed them away.
Charlotte shook her head and met my eyes. “They’re disgusting.”
“They are,” I laughed, “but I’m happy for them.”
“Me too,” she whispered. “It just sucks…”
“Because?” I prompted.
“I love Bryce. I do. With all my heart,” she glanced into the family room where he was trying to get a rise out of Logan. “But he’s not my mate. I’m never going to have that all-consuming love like you and Caeden or Chris and Bentley.”
“Hey,” I gripped her arm. “Bryce loves you. Really loves you. That’s more than most people ever have. Most love is always tainted by something, but Bryce’s love is pure.”
She smiled sadly. “I love him and I want to spend the rest of my life with him,” she blushed. “But it will never be the same thing as what you have. It’s enough, but it’s not the same.”
I wanted to wipe away the sad look in her green eyes. I let go of her arm and she followed the others into the family room. I wondered where this was coming from? Charlotte and Bryce were crazy about each other.
I guess seeing us and Bentley and Chris is just taking a toll on her. Imagine if you were in her situation. All your friends had mates of their own but the guy you loved wasn’t your mate. Caeden spoke into my mind, having picked up on my thoughts.
But he loves her back.
Caeden squeezed my shoulders. He does. She knows that. She’ll be fine, Soph.
I just don’t want to see her break both of their hearts. I said.
I don’t think she will. He said.
That makes one of us.
He kissed my cheek. Don’t worry about them right now. If you want, I’ll talk to Bryce, and tell him I think he should surprise Charlotte with a night out.
Do you think that would work? I asked.
It’s worth a shot.
Then do it. I practically begged.
I will.
The last person came in and Caeden closed the door. He turned to me and said, “Showtime.”
“Travis is indeed hiding out in the cave that Jeremy and Garrett scoped out. Sophie and I checked it out this morning and saw him.” Caeden swallowed. “He wasn’t alone.”
I stepped forward. “He had a girl with him. A human girl.”
Bentley raised a brow. “What did he do? Did he kill her?”
“He just knocked her out and dragged her into the cave.”
“I have no doubt that he’ll kill and dump her body somewhere in the woods just like the others,” Caeden pinched the bridge of his nose.
“What’s
he trying to accomplish by killing humans?” Logan growled from the corner. “Is he trying to expose us on purpose? People in this area don’t just go missing. Not this many at least. The police are going to start sniffing around and that’s never good.”
“That might be part of his plan,” Caeden mused.
“But not all of it? What are you thinking?” Logan’s green eyes lit with determination.
“Nothing,” Caeden waved his hand, just like he’d done so many times when I had asked the same question.
Logan looked like he wanted to press the matter, but since Caeden was Alpha, he held his tongue.
“Here’s the plan,” I said, stepping in to help Caeden out. I could see his hands beginning to shake. I repeated to the group what Caeden and I had planned before they got here. “We want four of you scouting the cave twenty-four seven until we’re ready to attack. We want a detailed report of what he’s doing and how many humans he might have with him. We want to minimize the risk to the humans as best we can. The plan is to attack at the next new moon.”
“That’s not long,” Keith, Charlotte’s dad, spoke up.
Caeden sighed. “It’s long enough.”
“This has gone on far too long,” I was surprised by how powerful my voice was as I spoke to the people gathered before me. “We attack in two weeks. No discussion.” I met everyone’s gaze. I wanted them to know, to understand, how important this was.
When I met my dad’s eyes, he smiled at me proudly. I wanted to smile back but I kept up my steely and determined attitude. It was what my pack needed to see.
Caeden leaned against the fireplace mantle, the pale blue shirt stretching taut over his muscles and distracting me. “First patrol will be Savannah, Bryce, Bentley, and mom. You’re on duty for five hours.”
“Five hours!” Bryce exclaimed.
Caeden glared at his younger brother. “Want to make it six?”
“No, no, I’m good,” Bryce put his hands up in surrender.
Caeden eyed Bryce, Bentley, Amy and Savannah. “I want you all to watch. Take note of anything unusual. I want you all to call me and report what you saw. Anything, even the smallest thing, may help us get an idea of what he’s doing.”
“This is going to be so boring,” Bryce groaned.
Caeden’s jaw clenched. “Ten hours for Bryce. Garrett, Lucinda, and Angie will relieve you three,” he pointed to Amy, Savannah, and Bentley.
“Why do I feel like I’m being put in time out? This is just wrong,” Bryce sulked.
“Bryce! Shut your mouth! I am Alpha and you will do what I say. No questions asked. Just because you’re my brother doesn’t mean you get special treatment, and get to talk out of line,” Caeden yelled at his younger brother.
“Sorry,” Bryce paled.
Caeden sighed and turned to my dad. “Please tell them how to get to Travis’ hideout. The rest of you are free to go,” he looked at the others and then left the room.
Before someone could corner me, I fled after Caeden.
I found him in the kitchen, guzzling down a bottle of water.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“Headache,” he leaned against the counter and closed his eyes.
I reached out and took his hand. He pulled me against him, and I leaned my head against his neck, while I drew the pain away.
“Thank you,” he said.
“No problem.” I pulled away to look up into his unique cerulean colored eyes. “You were incredible in there.”
“Nothing compared to you,” he smiled crookedly and wrapped a strand of my hair around his index finger.
“I think we make an awesome team,” I smiled.
He chuckled. “Yeah, we do… When we’re not fighting.”
“True,” I giggled. “I guess we better quit fighting.”
“I think you better stop talking,” his eyes darkened and his voice lowered to a husky, seductive tone.
“What are you going to do about it?” I challenged.
His eyes flashed. “Why tell, when I can show?”
My heart stuttered inside my chest at his words.
He lowered his lips to mine, softly at first, and then with more force. He gripped my hip and spun us around so that I was the one against the counter. His lips left mine and ventured down my neck, which arched in response. He gripped the backs of my thighs and effortlessly lifted me onto the counter. My fingers found their favorite spot, tangled in his silky chocolate colored hair. I lightly bit his bottom lip and he moaned in response. He squeezed my sides, kissed me deeply once more, and pulled away. I mewed at the loss of contact and gripped his shirt in my hand. He leaned his forehead against mine, breathing heavily.
“Oh yes, I think showing is much more effective than telling,” he grinned.
“And, I think I just threw up in my mouth.”
Caeden and I both turned to see Bryce standing in the doorway.
“And you are supposed to be gone,” snapped Caeden.
“Geez,” Bryce put his hands up in surrender. “I just wanted to grab a couple bottles of water. You don’t want us dying of dehydration, do you?”
Caeden narrowed his eyes. “Get the water bottles and get out of my house, before I hurt you.”
“You’re getting grumpy in your old age,” Bryce edged towards the refrigerator.
“And you get more annoying every day,” Caeden told him.
“I try,” Bryce grinned, looking so much like Caeden that it was scary, and grabbed the water bottles. “See ya later,” he ducked out of the kitchen.
“How am I related to him?” Caeden placed a hand on either side of me.
“Well you see a sperm and an egg-” I started.
He narrowed his eyes at me and I giggled.
“I’m very much aware of that part, Mrs. Williams.”
“Oh, are you, Mr. Williams?” I cupped his scruffy cheeks.
“Want me to tell you about it?”
I leaned towards him, so that my hair brushed his neck, and my lips tickled his ear. “I prefer show instead of tell.”
twenty-three.
“What are you doing?” I leaned down and kissed his neck. “You seem tense. Has something happened?”
Caeden leaned back in his office chair. He was shirtless, his pajama bottoms hanging precariously low on his hips, and his hair a wild mess. He’d never looked sexier to me.
He pulled me onto his lap and lowered the edge of my robe, kissing my shoulder.
“Just thinking.”
“About what?” I smoothed a finger over his brow.
“Travis. Why he’s the way he is.”
“Caeden,” I wrapped my arms around his neck. “Travis is a sociopath.”
“Yeah, well, how’d he get that way?” he asked.
“Are we going to end up in a discussion of the whole nature versus nurture thing? I’m half asleep and I don’t have the brain power to talk about this.”
He chuckled and the movement jostled me up and down.
“What woke you up?” he asked.
“The bed was cold,” I snuggled closer to him.
“Sorry about that… I couldn’t sleep.”
“I’m worried about you,” I said softly.
“Why?” he asked, clearly puzzled.
“I can see what a toll all of this is taking on you and it bothers me. I don’t want to lose you.”
He sighed. “It’s just that…”
“What?”
He flinched. “People are going to die, Sophie, and there’s nothing I can do.”
“Nobody’s going to die, Caeden. There are a lot of us, and one of him. How much damage can he do?”
“Enough,” he growled. “He’s unstable and alone. That’s going to make him extremely violent, not to mention, completely unpredictable.”
“We’ll come at him with everything we’ve got. He won’t see it coming,” I assured him.
“And yet, somehow I think he will.”
“Caeden-” I took a breath. “Yo
u can’t do this to yourself and I can’t do this to myself either. I have to believe that everyone will be okay. If I don’t, I’ll go crazy. This is out of our hands.”
“You’re right, but I just hate not being in control. I hate not knowing what’s going to happen beforehand.”
“That’s life, Caeden. We never know what’s going to happen. We just have to trust that whatever it is, is happening for a reason.”
He intertwined our hands and brought mine to his lips. “How’d you get to be so smart?”
“Who are you kidding? I’ve always been this smart?” I joked. Sobering, I said, “I came to realize that this situation is out of our hands. We can’t control fate. It is what it is.”
“Fate sucks.”
“That it does.”
He sighed. “You’re right. I can’t do anything, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to try.”
“You wouldn’t be the man I love if you didn’t.”
He chuckled. “Even after you’ve already told me there’s nothing I can do?”
“Caeden, you never listen to me. Why start now?”
“Very true.”
I rubbed his smooth chest and then gripped his shoulders. “We should do something fun tomorrow that will take your mind off things. You’re too stressed.”
He sighed. “Soph, I really need to focus on the pack and Travis right now.”
“I know that, but I think you’re stressing yourself to the point that you won’t even be able to think straight. Everyone needs a break sometimes, Caeden. How about we see a movie? That won’t take all day. We can stuff our faces with buttery goodness and then you can come back here and plot Travis’ death,” I smiled.
“Fine,” he grinned. “I can never resist you when you look at me like that.”
“Like what?” I batted my eyelashes innocently.
“Oh you know, when you pout that delectable bottom lip of yours,” he traced it with his thumb, “and give me those puppy dog eyes.”
“You make me sound like I’m five and I did not pout.”
He laughed, the husky sound of it echoing around the room. “Okay, I may have over-exaggerated.”
“Ya think?” I asked. He shook his head and I hopped up from his lap. “Come back to bed,” I grabbed his hand and tried to pull his heavy body from the chair.
Fighter (Outsider Series) Page 17
