Forgotten Enemy (The Powers of Influence Book 1)

by C. B. Haight

  A warning, they both knew Jarrett would not heed. He stood there with his arms folded across his chest, his stance wide, poised, ready. Cade’s eyes lit up like smoldering metal, his fury mounted. All rational thought fled. He let loose a feral and chilling snarl and then charged.

  When Cade snarled, Jarrett forced his body to change into one that would equal Cade’s in battle. His clothing ripped away from his skin as midnight black fur replaced them. The monster he hated burst free of its human prison. The only thing left on Jarrett’s dark and imposing form was a gold and green amulet. It hung on a long, gold chain around his massive neck. Jarrett met Cade’s charge head on by planting his large paws firmly and leaning directly into it.

  Their bodies slammed into one another with an audible and sickening impact. Cade’s extra momentum and his hazy rage, temporarily gave him the advantage. They smashed into the window behind Jarrett. Wood splinted and cracked. The window shattered from the force, and the glass showered them both, making superficial nicks and cuts. They tumbled through the impromptu opening, crashing to the hard and frozen ground with rattling force.

  Jarrett lay beneath Cade, a threatening growl rumbling past his canine lips. Jarrett’s long, sharp, were teeth poised to tear into flesh.

  Cade didn’t give him a chance. Gathering his clawed fist, he rammed it into Jarrett’s face, letting his fury lend him strength. He heard bone crunch, both in his hand and from Jarrett’s muzzle. Skin and fur tore, blood spilled, staining the snow-covered ground with crimson rivulets. He pulled back his fist for another satisfying blow when Jarrett slammed one home into Cade’s ribcage with breath-stealing impact. His ribs cracked from the force.

  Cade just grunted through the pain, landing two more ferocious, heavy punches of his own, while the sky punished them both with its wet, stinging assault.

  They grappled. Jarrett rolled his body, keeping a firm grip on Cade as he did so, reversing their positions. “Do you really want to do this with me?” He growled out inhumanly.

  In reply, Cade dug his sharp claws deep into Jarrett’s thick muscled arms. He pulled Jarrett closer, in a direct challenge, snarling and baring his fearsome teeth.

  With an uncaring shrug, Jarrett then moved to bury his fist into Cade’s face. Cade’s quick thinking helped him avoid the damaging blow. He bucked his hips and flipped Jarrett up and over him with his lower body. He continued the flow of the move to jump to his feet.

  Jarrett easily rolled with his own momentum and sprang gracefully upright, with the quick reflexes of his deadly heritage. For a moment neither moved. While they stared each other down, Cade growled out, “I loved her.”

  “Your mistake,” Jarrett rasped cruelly. He didn’t even bother to correct Cade’s reference to the past tense regarding Collett.

  Cade charged again, his red, hazy rage coming back in full. He threw the whole force of his body into Jarrett’s mid-section, grabbing his arm and flinging Jarrett’s heavy body into the base of a medium-sized pine tree. A loud popping crack echoed throughout the woods.

  Jarrett felt the horrific pain radiate up and down his spine. Something was definitely broken, he mused silently. Cade’s brutality surprised him. He quickly gained his feet, ignoring the pain and took a step forward. Just as he did, a splitting crack rent the air as the pine tree snapped jaggedly and fell to the ground, barely missing Jarrett.

  He looked back at Cade, impressed by his brother’s viciousness. Jarrett wiped at the blood dripping from his maw and smiled, as only a monster could. He bared his sharp teeth and growled with satisfaction. He’d been waiting a very long time for this fight… more than a hundred years of waiting.

  Jarrett rolled his shoulders and let his anger come back in full force. It infused his body, pouring over him like a warm blanket. Anger remained his only companion all these years. Why let go of it now?

  His natural instincts flooded back. His thoughts went into the dark place in his mind that had become The Hunter so long ago.

  Normally, Jarrett was the deadlier fighter, a fact he had proven twice before. Though he thought, it looks like Cade learned something new since the last time we met.

  Pleased, Jarrett advanced, thinking to himself, game on! He reveled in the challenge before him.

  Not willing to give Cade the satisfaction of knowing the pain he had inflicted, Jarrett sneered, “If that’s all you’ve got, she didn’t stand a chance.”

  Cade tipped his head smugly, no matter how Jarrett put it aside, he knew from experience a slam like that hurt. “You want some more then? Your mistake.” He taunted, repeating Jarrett’s callous words. Then he rushed forward furiously, intending to finish this, here, now!

  He had to pay, Cade thought. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he heard a soft, ghostly sound that sounded familiar. He lost the concentration on his fury for a split second.

  That second was all his experienced opponent needed.

  Jarrett jumped up high and slammed his black, fur-covered head into Cade’s, with a staggering force. The sound of the skulls cracking echoed in the night. Cade stumbled back, struggling to keep his balance.

  He refused to go down, refused to let Jarrett walk away this time. He would never again give Jarrett the chance to keep killing. A flash of Collett’s lifeless body lying on the bed inside the cabin renewed his wrath, clearing his head of its fog. Cade snapped his angry gold eyes back to the matching ones across from him. Jarrett glared back with a cold emptiness.

  Cade and Jarrett growled at each other, baring fang and claw alike. This had become the law of the jungle in its most primitive form; kill or be killed!

  Cade thought he heard Collett’s singsong voice in his mind. It was so quiet and ghostly sounding when mixed with the ringing in his ears. The combination of two hard blows to his head in one day was making him crazy, he thought. He channeled the sound of her perfect voice back into anger. He let it feed his fury.

  Jarrett rasped out through his blood-covered muzzle, “You’re still weak, Cade.”

  “I’m strong enough to kill you,” Cade growled back.

  Jarrett let go of a bitter, gravelly laugh, “You wouldn’t be the first to try. By all means give it your best shot,” He beckoned.

  They rushed at each other once again, tearing and biting. Skin was ripped open and blood spilled. Wounds began to seal themselves, only to be torn open again. The heavy grappling melee moved them deeper into the woods, tearing up the ground as they went. For a time it seemed the combatants were evenly matched.

  Then the tempo of this deadly dance began to increase. The vicious and draining battle slowly began to favor Jarrett. Cade had never been able to match his cruel methods and savage skill. Jarrett built his life on those skills. It was all he had. All he was.

  Finally, Jarrett effectively gained the upper hand. He whipped Cade around, smashing him against a boulder with a crushing impact. The sound of the bones cracking pierced Jarrett’s conscience. He watched as Cade bent forward, hacking up blood through his canine jaw. Guilt assaulted Jarrett, a rare and foreign feeling to him. This is not what he wanted. This was not why he came.

  He quickly pushed it all back, refusing to feel. Feelings only made you weak. It gave your opponent the advantage. The cold seeped in, reminding Jarrett it was better to be cold and in control, than weak. Cade’s weakness for this woman clouded his mind with fury. He hadn’t even bothered to notice that Collett still breathed.

  Disgusted with his own weakness, and thinking he’d bested Cade once again, Jarrett turned his back on his brother one more time.

  Only this time, he didn’t count on the intensity of Cade’s feelings. He didn’t count on the painful fury tearing through his brother‘s heart, with an unrelenting hate filling the void. In this battle, Cade refused to be the weaker man. His wrath was a living, breathing thing, aiding him in his need for revenge.

  Cade pushed away from the boulder and leaped forward. He was not finished! Not by a long shot.

  He knocked Jarrett to the ground with
the full weight of his body, and an elbow to the back of his head. They rolled. Pain sliced through Cade from the effort. The copper tang of blood filled his mouth and his breath was a rattling gasp, indicating one of his broken ribs had pushed through his lung. The regenerative powers of his body were trying to knit the wound together as quickly as it could, which was often just as painful as the injury.

  It didn’t matter though. Nothing but revenge mattered. Not the sharp pain, not the small voice in his head that said this was wrong. Nothing! Right then, the will of the beast was stronger than the man.

  Cade tightly wrapped his long, animal-like hands around Jarrett’s throat, squeezing with all the strength he possessed. Jarrett gripped one hand and wrenched it back slightly, but Cade obstinately refused to lose. He stiffened his arm, using his unnatural strength. His muscles bulged as he overpowered Jarrett and redirected his grip. Cade numbed his body to the pain as Jarrett kicked and clawed savagely at him. He would not relent!

  Jarrett’s vision began to blur. His lungs burned for oxygen. He stared into Cade’s hate-filled eyes, knowing now, how horrific he must have looked to all the bounties he had killed in the past.

  It didn’t matter though. His only true regrets in life had been not saving Rowena, and now putting this cold, empty look into Cade’s eyes. Even though it was too late, Jarrett realized, seeing real and genuine hate in Cade bothered him.

  For so many years, he tried to convince Cade to be more like him, and now after more than a century Jarrett was finally getting what he wanted.

  Cade didn’t care anymore. He only wanted vengeance. Blackness began to creep in around Jarrett. He no longer fought back. He no longer wanted to fight back. He accepted this fate, almost welcomed it.

  The storm had stopped at some point. He wasn’t even sure when it happened. As the soft light of the new morning crept over the shadows of the white-capped Rocky Mountains, Jarrett suddenly realized something. In that moment, he knew he had always counted on Cade to be the better man between them. He counted on Cade to have stronger the will and act with honor. It was the only constant in his long, miserable life.

  Jarrett’s body began to feel light as unconsciousness started taking over. Somehow he had always known it would come to this. It would take someone as strong as Cade to end that misery.

  The only thing that saved Jarrett from that very fate, as he lay there on the cold, blood-covered ground, was when a slender, gentle hand laid down on Cade’s arm.

  “Cade. Stop.”

  Cade heard Collett’s firm tone and looked up surprised. He felt warmth pour into him. His deadly grip eased slightly, but he didn’t let go. Wouldn’t let go! He couldn’t believe she was real. Jarrett gasped deeply beneath him, using the reprieve to pull in the much needed oxygen.

  “He killed you,” Cade croaked.

  Sensing his emotions, Collett gently replied, “No, he didn’t, I’m here. I’m real.”

  He shook his head, tightening his grip determinedly once again, “I can’t let him live. He’ll come back. He’ll kill you.”

  A sad expression dominated Collett’s features. She shook her head gently, “Not for me, Cade. Please, don’t kill him for me. This is not you. This is not the man I love.”

  Looking into her pleading blue eyes, Cade couldn’t hold onto his fury. He let go, staggering to his feet. He stared at her, still wondering if she was real, almost afraid to touch the illusion, for fear it would disappear. She was certainly pale enough to be a ghost, and she seemed different to him, more radiant, angelic. He twisted his large monster-like head back to the house where Collett once laid. Confused, he snapped his head back to where she stood between Jarrett’s prone form and himself.

  Jarrett coughed and wheezed through his crushed larynx as oxygen came back to him. Each breath squeezed painfully into his deprived lungs. His vision began to clear, and he began to ease his way up. Collett bent down and tried to help him.

  Cade jumped forward and yanked her away from him.

  To his own surprise, Jarrett, leaped up ready to defend her, effectively putting Collett between two growling and towering titans. Eyes glowed. Teeth were bared, canine lips vibrated with audible snarls. It was like two rabid dogs fighting for a bone.

  Collett threw her arms up, a hand on each of their chests to stop their advance. “Enough!” Her own shout lanced through her throbbing head with sharp efficiency. She was still very weak because of accidentally tapping into Jarrett’s memories earlier. The episode drained her thoroughly, and she had very little time to recover. She tried again, more quietly, “That’s enough.”

  Cade narrowed his golden, hate-filled eyes. Even though seeing Collett alive was giving way to reason, he was still filled with hostility and the need for vengeance, “Give me one reason, one excuse not to kill him. Why would you want to help him? He intends to kill you, don’t you see that?” He was desperately clinging to his anger to avoid thinking about how close he had come to finishing what he started.

  “He won’t. He didn‘t.” Collett insisted. “He had his chance, and he didn’t take it. Let him go, Cade. Let it all go.”

  Cade looked back to Jarrett staring into eyes just like his. He wanted so badly to hate him. He heard noise coming from the distance. He shook he head, snarling, “NO! He would have killed you for money! He makes a living killing people!”

  Trying to keep this from escalating all over again, Collett looked Cade in the eyes and insisted, “No, Cade. Think. Can’t you see? He was going to kill me to save you, but he couldn‘t do it.”

  Both werewolves, turned their curious golden eyes to her, stunned by her accusation.

  Jarrett growled, the vibrations hurting his bruised throat, “She’s wrong, I was going to kill her,” his inhuman voice insisted.

  Collett snapped her head around and glared at him with her cool, blue eyes, letting Jarrett know in that moment, she wasn’t afraid of him, would never again be afraid of him. She had seen too much of his soul. Seen why he came to Colorado. She would not allow him to lie, not only to Cade, but to himself. “No, he wouldn’t have gone through with it.”

  They all heard the metallic click of a rifle being cocked. Not one of them turned to look.

  “You want me to take the shot this time?” Nate asked, announcing his presence. He already knew the answer to his question though. He heard the last part of the conversation, and understood what Collett was saying, even if Cade didn’t.

  Cade replayed what happened through his now clearing mind… Collett lying on the bed, Jarrett, standing in the back corner, not even near her. Jarrett could have killed her at any time in the long hours since he took her. Nate had been right all along. Something didn’t add up.

  “No, Nate. There will be no shots taken today,” Rederrick said. In the stillness, the three of them once again heard the sound of metal slipping against metal, as Nate un-chambered the silver round.

  Jarrett looked back to his brother standing across from him. Their matching gazes met, Cade’s full of questions, Jarrett’s full of secrets.

  Cade’s focus shifted, as well as his body. He let his body change into a man once more, letting go of the animal inside as well. Letting go of his rage, finally Cade let go of more than a century of resentment. He wanted to hold Collett, needed to hold Collett.

  He grabbed her, desperately pulling her into his arms. His need to touch her, to confirm she was real was as vital as his need to breathe. Now that his anger receded, relief flooded him. She was alive and safe.

  He closed his eyes as she wrapped her arms tightly around him, her hands clinging to his naked and bruised back, she returned his desperate embrace fully, despite his healing broken ribs.

  “I love you,” Collett whispered.

  Her soft, sincere words washed over his aching body. He drew in a deep breath of her sweet sultry scent, a smell he believed he would never get to breathe in again. He wrapped his fingers in her long, golden hair absorbing the silky feel, as Collett buried her head into his neck.<
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  “I’ll never let you go, Collett.” He choked out. “I don’t care what you think anymore. I love you too much to let go. I need you too much.”

  “You won‘t have to, Cade. You won‘t ever have to let me go again,” she assured him.

  They held each other that way for a long time. Nothing else in the world mattered. Not the wounds or the blood, not the cold, the pain, or even the people watching. Collett was alive, and compared to that, the rest of the world seemed small.

  “Put some clothes on, man,” Nate teased, breaking the silence. “I didn’t trudge all the way out here in the dead of winter to see your naked butt.” The sound of his heavy boots crunching in the snow, indicated his departure.

  “Um, we’ll give you a minute,” Cynda hedged, and pulled a reluctant Rederrick along with her.

  Cade smiled and opened his eyes, only to find himself looking directly into Jarrett’s animal eyes across from him. He had almost forgotten Jarrett was still there. Curiosity and pain filled Jarrett’s gaze as he stared back at them. It was something he never saw in Jarrett, not since their first meeting. That first day he had seen hope. After that, Cade had only seen anger and hate. It was the reason they never connected strongly.

  Feeling the sudden awkward tension between the brothers, Collett untangled herself from Cade. She turned around and stood in front of Cade. He put his hand protectively on her shoulder, still craving the physical contact.

  Collett mouthed the words, I’m sorry, to Jarrett, not wanting to give away his pain and secrets.

  Jarrett tipped his wolfish head in a slight bow to her. Collett knew that today changed things for Jarrett. These events made him wonder for the first time, if clinging to his vengeful hate for so long, had been worth it. He had looked into the mirror image of hate and found he didn’t like what he saw. He would have to rediscover himself, rethink who he was. Face his guilt.

  She knew that, for him, the path was not certain. The direction he took would have to be up to him. Even though she played a part in his past, she still wasn’t sure what it all meant. Though, she remembered a tragic piece in both their lives, her memory was still mostly lost to her.