There was something about him—when she looked in his eyes she could see emotion hidden in them. Rex was starved for something and it had nothing to do with food. She could recognize it because she needed it too. Love. Companionship. Someone to look at you and think you were the best, most important person in the world.
His last comment he had made about not having a soul, it hurt her heart.
Goddess, she had to be out of her mind, but she wasn’t going to leave him out there in the woods alone. She unlocked the car door by pushing up the lock. In a move not nearly as smooth as when Randolph had done it, she got out of the car. Outside of the vehicle it was much louder.
The highway wasn’t busy but every time a car came by it shook her body with the force of the speed passing her. She closed the door, and keeping as close as she could to the outside of the car, she made her way to the other side so she could get into the wood.
Wolves howled in the distance. She stopped moving. Was one of them Rex? Was he hurt? She bit down on her lip. This might be the stupidest thing she’d ever done but she was doing it, regardless.
Chapter Seven
Rex snapped the neck of the first wolf to approach him. This would all be easier if he changed into his own canine form. But he was holding off. There were fifteen wolves and he couldn’t let them anywhere near his fragile mate. In his wolf form, they might decide he was too fierce and decide to go for a more vulnerable target.
Let them think him weak for as long as he could. Then he would shift and end this.
Darting to the left, he moved out of the way of the next assault. The made wolves were dangerous because they were relentless. They had no voice in the back of their minds telling them to retreat, to fight another day. Rex’s wolf didn’t like to back down, but he would if it was called for. The made wolves only knew they were supposed to kill.
If they did as they were told, then they were rewarded with the drugs they needed. If not—they were denied.
They fought like they had nothing to lose because they did not.
A gray, ratty-looking one leaped at him from the left as an equally dirty white one made for his neck from the right side of the wolf. He pivoted, avoiding the direct hit to the neck while his wolf snarled.
Life became nothing more than avoiding their claws and mouths until he could end their lives. Rex’s vision narrowed, his breathing picked up. Yes, he loved this.
A roar exploded from his mouth, more wolf than man. His heart beat hard against his rib cage. He wasn’t going to be able to prevent the shift for too much longer. His wolf was in a rage.
The hair on his skin stood at attention as he rolled to his left. Grabbing the neck of the snarling gray wolf, he twisted until he heard the requisite snap, which told him the creature was dead. Once upon a time it would have bothered him to do such a thing but no longer. If someone wanted him dead, he would kill them to protect himself.
Rex snarled, he could feel his own teeth elongating in his mouth. He could fight the change, which would hurt like hell, or he could let it happen and avoid the pain. His decision was made for him as the wolf he wrestled managed to chomp down on his shoulder.
Even through his shirt, it hurt like hell. He howled to the sky, sounding more like a wolf than a man. No way was he getting bitten again. Calling the shift onto himself, the warm, white light moved him into his wolf body even as he struggled against the wolf holding his shoulder now.
In two seconds, he was no longer Rex the man but was now Rex the wolf. He smiled, showing the other creature his canine teeth. He wasn’t going to play anymore. Any made wolf that came near him was dead.
Using his hind legs, he surged forward, throwing the other wolf off him at the same time. The smaller male whimpered. Rex snarled. It was too late for sorry. Compassion would get him killed. The made wolves knew nothing of kindness. He wouldn’t be teaching them now.
He lunged forward, catching the wolf’s throat in his teeth. He tore until he could taste the blood of his enemy in his mouth. The copper life force sank into his senses, telling him he’d achieved his goal. This wolf was dead. Three down. There were twelve more to go.
He growled, jumping to his feet. He could smell them and now that he’d tasted one’s blood, his animal wanted more. They were the enemy and they threatened his mate by existing. It was Rex’s duty to make sure they were stopped. If they died, they could do no harm to either Elizabeth or his pack.
Turning to the left, he stalked into the woods, his ears lying flat against his head. His fur rose on his back. If the prey wouldn’t come to him, he would go to the prey.
They smelled sick, like rotten flesh that still somehow lived. It had been bad with his extreme sense of smell when he’d walked on two feet. Now? It was downright repulsive and he gagged. Nature had not made these beings. His father had. The thought of the patriarch of his family made Rex’s blood boil.
Pack was sacred. It was everything. Those without pack held no honor. His father had led them, guided them, and helped them determine their futures. And then he’d betrayed them in the worst possible way. He’d taken everything he’d ever taught them to believe in and shown them it had all been a lie.
Well, Rex wouldn’t live like that. His wolf still held honor even if the man had no soul. He would help to clean up his father’s mess.
Starting with the three wolves that backed up as he approached.
His wolf smiled. Be afraid of me. I am the reaper, come to give you your end.
He sprang forward, his mouth ripping as his claws took care of the rest. Howls filled his ears but he did not focus on them. The world was a haze, a red blur of madness he needed to conquer. He’d been in battles before—a lot of them lately—and none of them had affected him like this. Taking down these made wolves was all that existed in the universe.
Mate.
Yes, his mate. He blinked as he tore out another throat before moving on to the next faceless wolf. Wolves could go crazy if the mating ritual was not completed. Rex didn’t even know what it entailed, but he’d been with Elizabeth for over a day, and each minute he left her unclaimed made him feel more and more like the monster he’d always suspected lurked beneath his civilized surface.
He howled in triumph as another made wolf fell. How many had he taken down? He wasn’t even sure. They could keep coming for all he cared. He would triumph. He would kill them all.
The joined attack of the next two wolves surprised him. They’d been so completely predictable up until that point. Oh well, it was no matter. One, two, ten—he could beat them all.
A gasp behind him caught his attention more than any of the growls or snaps of the wolves. His nose told him what it should have alerted him to minutes earlier had he not been so distracted—Elizabeth had disobeyed. She had not remained in the car. He swung around, dropping the bit of flesh he’d torn from his opponent’s neck as he stared at her.
His mate surveyed the scene with her eyes wide. He didn’t need to be psychic to hear her thoughts. She was repulsed. The clear light of the moon let her witness exactly what happened around her. She’d have no doubt now of Rex’s true nature. He was a killer, and she would be right to be afraid of him. A part of his heart he wasn’t used to noticing during battle, sunk into his stomach. A gentle soul—witch or no witch—wouldn’t be able to tolerate brutality of this nature.
One of the made wolves leapt for her. Rex could see the scene play out before the other beast’s feet had even left the ground. The enemy would go right for her throat. It was a perfect tactical move from a creature designed for death and destruction.
Rex leapt into the air, banging on top of the other wolf before it had gotten anywhere near Elizabeth. He slammed the other male to the floor, but in doing so left his back open to attack from the rest of the made pack waiting in the background.
The first set of teeth plunged into his back, and he growled. Before he could count them, he was overrun with the made wolves. If he were alone, he would back up and give himself
space to move forward to plunge into the fray again, this time with tactical advantage. But to do so would place the wolves too close to his foolish Elizabeth.
He sniffed the air, not daring to turn to look at her. Her scent remained but he thought he could scent some distance between them. Good. She would have moved away.
Pain assaulted him as the wolves began to get closer to his targeted vital organs. He stumbled backward. Damn it.
Rex didn’t have to be a genius to know he was in big trouble. The momentum of the fight had shifted and not in his favor. Well, this was always how he wanted to die. In battle, not alone in some random accident or having to choose ritual suicide to escape the pain of never finding his mate.
Not that he would go down easily. He scrambled to his feet, throwing off one wolf as he maneuvered backward. If this was it, he’d have a few regrets. He would never get to prove to Tristan he deserved the trust of the pack. He’d never get to see the pack restored to its old glory. His father’s defeat would not be something he witnessed.
The way Elizabeth looked when she woke up in the morning after a night of heavy lovemaking…
Whack. He blinked, feeling like the world was heavy and unclear. One of the wolves on top of him went flying. He heard a thud as a second wolf flew off his body.
“Don’t worry about it, Rex. I got it.” Elizabeth’s voice penetrated his fog. “I’ve got it.”
She sounded slightly hysterical. Her voice was raised to an octave he’d not heard her use before. What was going on?
A third wolf flew off his body, and he finally got a good look at his mate. She wielded a large tree branch like a baseball bat. The brown wooden weapon was so large it nearly dwarfed her as she struggled to hold it up, but once again she lifted it up and swung at the remaining wolf on his back.
She dropped the branch with a thud. “Are they dead or did I just stun them?” Her words were spoken together fast and sounded almost like one long word instead of separate thoughts.
He shook his head and tried to get to his feet. He was slower than usual but he managed the task. She’d asked him a question. Were they dead or were they just stunned?
Five wolves had fled. He had an idea where they’d gone since his senses had gone hay-wire.
The last wolf jumped up and ran at him. Teeth bared, Rex ducked out of the way.
Swinging around even though the movement made him dizzy, he bit down hard on the other wolf’s neck. In two seconds, he’d ended the other wolf’s life.
Well, that one was now dead. He sniffed the air. His senses were pretty dulled. It seemed to him some of them were, in fact, expired, but two of them were probably just dazed.
“Rex?” Elizabeth approached him slowly. “It’s Elizabeth. Do you know me?” Did she think he was an idiot? He took a deep breath. His mate was new to all of this. She didn’t know how it worked. Elizabeth had never had to learn the relationship between beast and man in the shifter world. Why should she have? Hell, at that moment he wasn’t certain he understood it. Where had his senses gone during the fight?
He limped toward her. Bites marred his entire body. He was certainly losing blood.
Shifting to heal was rapidly becoming a requirement but he wouldn’t do it here. Not where he could risk Elizabeth.
Gods, who was he kidding? She’d just rescued him. Sort of. If she hadn’t shown up, he probably could have ended the other wolves without nearly dying in the process.
Injured.
When his wolf resorted to one-word thoughts to speak to him, it was a pretty good sign he was in deep trouble. Yes, I know. I’m going to get us somewhere to heal. Then we’ll be good to go. He hoped.
Elizabeth bent down and held out her hand. Did she expect him to sniff it? For a second, he tried to send her a telepathic message. It had worked earlier but it didn’t seem to be getting through now. The rush of warmth when he’d been able to communicate that way with her was missing.
He could think of several things he’d rather do with Elizabeth’s outstretched hand.
Still, he walked forward and rubbed against her in a manner more befitting of a cat than a wolf. She stroked his head, and he wished he could purr to show her how wonderful it felt. He shook his head. Wow, he really was loopy. His tail wagged back and forth.
“Rex, you’re not going to pass out, are you? I won’t be able to carry you back.” He certainly hoped he wasn’t, but since she’d asked the question he must be giving off the impression fainting was a possibility. He limped forward, moving past her.
Hopefully, she would follow. They needed to get to the car. She was right. There was no way she could help him if he needed it, which meant they had to get out of their current predicament.
She moved on quiet feet behind him. If he could speak to her, he would have told her to grab the large branch and drag it with her. Even if it made noise, it worked as a really good weapon for her. But since they were all but unable to communicate at all, they would just have to do the best they could.
“I was so relieved when I found that branch.”
Rex felt enormous gratitude she’d wielded it so well, but he would have preferred her to have either stayed in the car or run like hell when she saw what was going on.
“In the past, I could have used my powers to stun them. Boy, did I take those days for granted.”
He knew exactly what she meant. The simple times in his life before everything had exploded and every move he made opened him up to questions caused by mistrust.
“You were really handling things before I got in the way, weren’t you?” She sighed.
“I bet you’re pissed at me, aren’t you? That’s why you’re not shifting back to speak to me, right?”
He wasn’t changing his form because he was afraid as soon as he did so he was going to pass out from the pain. He preferred to be in the car when that happened.
Turning around, he pleaded with her with his eyes to just keep moving.
“You want something from me.” She scratched her head. In the moonlight, he could see her eyes looked weary. “I’m just not sure what.”
This was getting ridiculous. He was a strong man. Somehow, he’d just have to assure he didn’t lose consciousness until he got to the car.
Calling the shift onto himself, he bathed in the white light of the change until his human form reappeared.
He blinked, his eyes adjusting to the moonlight. Elizabeth gasped, her hands grabbing him around his waist. “Goddess, Rex.”
He looked down at himself. Yes, he was just as torn up as he’d expected to be. The sight of his own blood didn’t disturb him; he’d seen it before. He couldn’t live the life he’d led and not occasionally face this kind of an issue.
“It’ll be okay.” He spoke through gritted teeth. It was better than howling. “I just need to shift again to heal. The only problem is serious healing requires a lot of energy.
I’m going to be out of it—maybe unconscious for a while after.” She grinned, which surprised him. “Only if you’re not driving the vehicle at the time.”
A smile twitched at his lips. He was surprised by the sensation. Most of the time he didn’t find things amusing. Now, here he was, in the woods, half-beat up with feral wolves still living that could come after them, and he wanted to crack up. Had he gone completely insane? Rex cleared his throat to cover his amusement. There’s no way Elizabeth would find it appropriate. Her joking was to cover up her nervousness.
“Obviously, I don’t intend to drive.”
“Me with my whacked-up head and you with your beat-up body. We’re really tough right now, aren’t we?”
“You’re right. You’re in no condition to drive.” His little witch had been badly injured. How could he have forgotten?
“I’m joking.” She shook her head. “I can drive. Between my small amount of magic and a little bit of time, I seem to be getting better.”
“Better enough to drive?”
She shrugged, which made her breasts rub against
his bare chest. Considering he was completely naked, the fact his cock jumped to attention couldn’t have been missed by Elizabeth. “For a little bit, at least. I can drive us to the nearest hotel.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
They walked slowly together through the woods. On her own, Elizabeth could have moved much faster. Each step Rex took felt like agony as pain shot up his legs. There was no way he would complain. He’d already been un-manned in front of her a few times. Leave it to him to not even be able to impress a mate.
Finally, they made it back to the car. Even though it felt like it might kill him, he managed to, with help from her, hot-wire the car to start again. He stumbled inside and groaned as the desire to pass out threatened. “Elizabeth, I have to tell you I might pass out. I will heal faster but I don’t want it to upset you.”
“Thank you for the warning.” She sighed. “If I had even a small amount of my power, I could heal you.”
“If you had any of your abilities, you wouldn’t be in this car with me.” Their mating—if it ever happened and he wasn’t sure it would—was only because she’d been cursed and he’d been sent out to retrieve a witch. They would never have found each other if things had gone differently.
Then I guess we should be thanking the stars for all your bad luck.
He rolled his eyes. Even injured, his wolf had to give him a hard time about his internal musings.
“Should we expect more visits from those wolves?”
He shrugged, which hurt like hell. “Probably not those but others like them? I suppose it’s possible.”
“Great. Something to look forward to.”
Rex needed to get his mind out off what had just happened or he was going to start to obsess. His mate, who was for all intents and purposes human, had rescued him in the woods using a tree branch. If his brothers ever found out, he’d never hear the end of it.
“I have a tendency to screw things up. I’m sure by now you’ve noticed.” She looked at him from the corner of her eye as she pulled their borrowed car into traffic. “Not really. What have you messed up that’s bothering you?”
Darkest Wolf Page 7
