The Hunt 2

by Susan Bliler

  Somebody was gonna fucking die! No, not somebody. Regan, and his men, and the Council, and if anyone else so much as left a single bruise on Cersi, they’d die too.

  He snarled, “You hurt?”

  “No. They didn’t hurt me like they did Noah and Brayden.” Her voice went brittle like she was fighting back a breakdown. “They held me down and made me watch.”

  And for that alone, they’d die because Tyson knew right at that moment how helpless Afften must have felt. It’s how he was currently feeling, and it was the most unsavory emotion he’d ever experienced.

  “Tyson?”

  His voice was polluted with his animal when he vowed, “I’ll make ‘em pay, Aff.”

  “There are too many! You need to at least wait for Haddix.”

  But he wasn’t waiting.

  He hung up on Afften because he didn’t have it in him right now to soothe her or to ask just how bad Noah and Brayden were hurt. He was afraid to know. He just couldn’t talk. Monster was fighting for control, and honestly, if Tyson weren’t driving, he’d let the beast have his skin.

  Stupid fucks!

  They’d done the one thing he’d been trying to keep from happening, but now that was over. Tonight, when he got to where he needed to be, he was unleashing Monster. Everyone was gonna pay.

  ***

  Cersi came to, blinking at walls made of skinned horizontal logs. For a moment, she thought she was at BlackLodge, but she couldn’t be. She was in too much pain and waking alone didn’t make sense unless whoever had her didn’t really give a shit whether she suffered or not. And suffer she did. Her shoulder hurt so bad that it brought tears to her eyes and actually made her belly heave. The small room she was in housed nothing but the cot she was laying on.

  Shoving to a sitting position, she pinched her eyes closed when she swayed. Her head hurt so damn bad. She’d had a concussion before, and it felt exactly like this. Remembering that punch that had been thrown at her face, she figured she’d gotten knocked out because everything was black after that.

  Lowering herself back onto the bed, she concentrated on simply breathing and taking stock of her body. Her arm and leg muscles were sore, and she figured that was from fighting. Her head and face were bad off too, but her arm was killing her. God, what she wouldn’t give for Tyson and his incessant administration of pain meds.

  Tyson.

  Just the thought of him had tears flooding her eyes. These people, The Council, were after him, but she didn’t know why. She hoped he’d read her text and had stayed away from BlackLodge, but the longer she lay there, the more she realized that Tyson wasn’t built like that. No, if he knew there was trouble at home, he’d have gone racing back. That thought had her pushing up again. She fought back waves of nausea as she scoured her pockets for her cell. Nothing.

  The door opened, and Cersi tensed. She was braced to fight, but a tiny woman bent with age shuffled in. Her mostly gray hair was twisted into two long braids that framed her face and she wore glasses that had slid to the tip of her nose. Looking over the rim, warm brown eyes crinkled when the woman’s lips pursed in clear disgust.

  “The boys were rough with you.”

  Her voice had a slight cadence that Cersi hadn’t heard before, but judging by the woman’s odd red cotton dress with ribbons sewn along the hem and sleeves, she figured the woman was native.

  “I’m Mary Alex.” The woman didn’t offer a hand though. Instead, she shuffled toward the bed planted her hands on her hips before staring down at Cersi. “So you’re the Monster’s mate, eh?” She grinned, her chubby cheeks lifting to push her glasses higher. “C’mon, my girl.” She turned and gave Cersi her back. “We have a healer, and you smell like you’re in much pain. Let’s fix that before Tyson gets here. I can’t have him killing all my boys.”

  Cersi didn’t move though. Instead, she watched Mary Alex shuffled to the door before asking, “You’re…you’re The Council.”

  Mary Alex cackled a withered laugh. “No.” Turning, she shot Cersi a wink over her shoulder. “I’m not on The Council.”

  “Then who are you?”

  Mary Alex’s answer was said boastfully and full of pride. “I am one of the Elders.”

  Cersi stayed planted on the bed as she asked. “What does that mean?” She hadn’t learned enough about shifters, but she’d heard Haddix and his BloodMoons talk about The Council. From what she’d gathered, they were the governing party over shifters. Cersi had no idea what it meant to be an Elder.

  Turning to face her, Mary Alex pursed her lips again before saying, “The Council is made up of both sexes of shifters, as are the Elders, but to make you understand, I’ll explain it like this. The Council is like the man of the house. Strong, hard-working, but thinking they’re in charge. The Elders, we’re the wives of the house.” She lowered her chin and smirked at Cersi. “Everyone knows where the real power lays and who calls the shots.” She lifted her arm and waved a wrinkled hand toward Cersi. “The Elders would have known better than this. The Council, not so much. They’ll learn when your Monster gets here though, won’t they?”

  Cersi couldn’t mask the hope in her voice, “Tyson’s coming?”

  Mary Alex frowned. “Of course he’s coming. The Council took his mate. Now they get to pay, and The Elders get to watch. I’ve admonished Regan before for acting without thinking. He refuses to listen. Now, Monster will knock the rocks out of his ears. If he survives, he’ll have learned.”

  “I-I’m not Tyson’s mate.”

  Mary Alex gave her a placating smile. “We’ll see, won’t we?” She motioned for Cersi to follow her. “Come on.”

  Cersi made to stand, but moaned and went back down when the room began to swim.

  “Oooh,” Mary Alex narrowed her eyes on Cersi. “You’re worse than I thought.” Clicking her tongue, she shook her head. “Too bad for Regan. You wait here, my girl. I’ll bring the Medicine Woman.”

  Alone, Cersi replayed Mary Alex’s words. She’d called Cersi Tyson’s mate. When Cersi denied it, the old woman smirked knowingly and said they’d see. What did that mean? Guess it didn’t matter right now. What did matter was that Tyson was coming and he shouldn’t be. These people had been at BlackLodge looking for him. Now, he was coming straight to them. It made her feel sick that she might be the reason he was putting himself in harm’s way. She was mad at herself too for not asking Mary Alex what The Council wanted with Tyson. That should have been her first question, but her head was just too fuzzy, and there was a ringing in her ears that wouldn’t stop.

  Closing her eyes, Cersi curled into a tight ball on the bed and breathed, “Don’t come, Tyson. Please don’t come.”

  Chapter 27

  Almost to the Custer Gallatin National Forest, Tyson was getting riled up at his nearness to the Council’s territory. Somewhere along the drive, Haddix had texted him and said he’d meet Tyson there. Guess he knew there was no way Tyson was stopping at BlackLodge to pick him up. No, one single-minded mission consumed him, and that was getting to Cersi. Just the thought of her being taken and afraid had Tyson strangling the steering wheel in an effort to keep his skin. In his head, he played out how he expected things to go, then he played out how that Council lackey, Regan, would expect things to go. He regretted not biting Cersi the night they were together. His mark on her, his claim to her would have kept her safe, but without it, she was viable, which meant anyone could claim her. He wondered if that was the game. Clearly, that fuck Kylon had gone crying to The Council and had told them of Tyson’s ability. Shit! That had him thinking.

  Picking his phone up out of the console beside him, he used his thumb to punch in Haddix’s number.

  His Alpha answered on the second ring, “Tyson?”

  “Go back to BlackLodge.”

  “What?” Haddix’s tone grew incredulous. “No! I just left! I’m on my way to you. You’re not taking on The Council alone. It ain’t happening. They attacked my pack without provocation. I’m coming with you!”
>
  “It could be another one of Kylon’s traps. You left Vesa back at BlackLodge, I know you did. And with Brayden and Noah hurt, Afften and Vesa are vulnerable. Go home, Haddix!”

  Haddix hissed, “Ffffffuck!” It was followed by a lengthy silence that told Tyson his Alpha was considering it.

  “You protect your mate and our pack. I’ll get Cersi.”

  “Afften said they wanted you. They came here for you, Ty, and you’re going right to ‘em.”

  “Don’t have a choice. They have my mate.”

  More silence and then Haddix gritted out, “I’m gonna get to BlackLodge and get everyone moved. Once they’re safe, I’ll come for you. I am coming to you!”

  “Fine,” Tyson clipped out. “Just get everyone someplace safe first.” He hung up and didn’t feel an ounce of regret over sending Haddix back. Kylon had already tried the bait and switch with his pack. It wouldn’t happen again, especially not over something Tyson had done. This whole thing was Tyson’s fault for revealing the fact that his wolf wasn’t affected by a woman’s medicine. He’d known his whole life that it’d be a problem if The Council ever found out. They didn’t like shifters they couldn’t control, and with no ability to keep Tyson from shifting at will, he was a clear threat.

  Shoving all thoughts aside, he prepared for battle as The Council’s mansion came into view. It was nestled deep in the forest and racing down the gravel paved drive toward it, Tyson’s lip was already ticking up at the prospect of the war he was about to wage. Yeah, he’d be outnumbered, but that wasn’t anything new to him.

  ***

  Cersi was propped up on the cot holding a steaming mug of what the Medicine Woman she’d been introduced to called tea. It tea smelled like death and tasted worse, but Mary Alex and the Medicine Woman made sure Cersi drank every last drop. It was hard to do, and she’d gagged several times as bits of herbs clung to her lips and tongue. Whatever the concoction was, it had a strange effect. It felt like Cersi’s blood instantly heated. As it pumped from her heart to all her extremities, they warmed too.

  Feeling lethargic, Cersi reclined flat on the bed while the Medicine Woman tended her bullet wound, re-bandaged it, and administered some salve to her swollen cheek.

  There was a commotion in the hall. Mary Alex hurriedly stepped forward and gave Cersi a pointed look. “You Monster is here.”

  Heart beating double-time, Cersi shoved to a sitting position and had to breathe through a bout of dizziness.

  “You’re not seriously considering taking her out there like this,” the Medicine Woman shot Mary Alex a dark look. “He’ll kill Regan and the rest of them.”

  Mary Alex shrugged. “Regan and his boys were told to bring Tyson. Instead, the hurt his woman and took her instead. They’ve called out Monster. Let them have what they’ve asked for.”

  “Mary,” the Medicine Woman breathed. “I’m not joking! I can feel his power from here! He’s stronger than all of us. He’s stronger than me!”

  Mary Alex looked from the Medicine Woman to Cersi. “Don’t worry. She’s gonna save them. Well,” she canted her head and pinched one eye closed. “Most of them.”

  “Jesus, Mary!”

  Both women silenced when the sound of a rumbling engine grew closer and closer. Multiple voices filled the hallway before feet were pounding everywhere.

  “What if The Council puts him down?”

  Mary Alex pursed her lips at the Medicine Woman then used her lips to point at Cersi. “She’s gonna save the Monster too.”

  Cersi had no idea what Mary Alex was talking about. She didn’t feel well enough to save herself right now, so how in the hell she was supposed to save all these people Mary Alex was talking about was lost on her.

  “Help me bring her.” Mary Alex bent and used surprisingly strong hands to help lift Cersi off the bed.

  Her head was just starting to clear, and while she felt like she could use a good four hours of sleep, she struggled to help drag her feet along the floor. She needed to get to Tyson before anyone got hurt.

  Stepping into the hall, Cersi was surprised when her feet landed on marble flooring. Lifting her head, she huffed at the grandeur laid out before her. The place was lavish and huge and spoke of money the likes of which Cersi had never known.

  People raced by, and Mary Alex shot the Medicine Woman a worried look. “Faster!”

  Cersi was all but carried out two double front doors of some rich dark wood. In front of the manor at least two dozen men were lined up facing a road that held one very familiar jacked up black Dodge.

  “Idiots,” Mary Alex hissed. When Cersi looked up, she followed Mary Alex’s line of sight to where a group of elderly gentlemen stood in a line on the wrap-around front porch.

  The Council? She didn’t know and didn’t care because the Dodge that had been barreling toward them locked up its brakes and slid to a rocking halt, kicking up a cloud of snow and ice.

  Through the windshield, Tyson’s flashing green eyes locked on her and relieved as she’d ever been in her life, Cersi was overwhelmed with emotion that flooded her eyes.

  At her side, Mary Alex spoke out of the side of her mouth, “No crying, my girl. Your tears will only set him off. Be strong for his sake.”

  Mary Alex was right, so Cersi sucked back her tears and put on a brave front. She even tried to stand a little straighter between the two women where Mary Alex had Cersi’s arm slung around her shoulders and the Medicine Woman was helping to hold Cersi up by the waist.

  Cersi watched as, without hesitation, Tyson shoved the driver’s side door opened and climbed from his truck. The whole time, his eyes never left hers. Not even as he started making his way straight to her.

  The line of shifters in front of the manor murmured among each other and suddenly tensed when Tyson reached back between his shoulder blades and pulled his shirt over his head before dropping it to the ground. Cersi’s eye rounded. She heard the sharp inhalations from all the shifters surrounding her.

  When she’d slept with Tyson at his cabin, she’d given him her back. Only her skin had felt what her eyes had first seen in the bathroom at the hotel.

  Scars. Dozens of them crisscrossed and marred Tyson’s perfect physique. He looked like a battle-hardened lion of the Serengeti, like a fearsome dire wolf who’d fought and clawed his way to beast supremacy. Staring at him, admiring him, Cersi’s hands itched to touch him even as she realized she finally fully understood scars. Eyes leaving Tyson to track slowly the line of men waiting on him, she understood. The scars Tyson had earned in the past weren’t just a reminder. They were a warning! They cautioned all future beasts, they were a declaration that while they were animals, there was a true monster among them. A monster who’d survived hell and demons and every single battle he’d entered. Tyson and his Monster weren’t just predators. They were apex predators and the men standing in line to face him down were fucked. Cersi had no doubt of that.

  Blinking, she couldn’t take her eyes off Tyson. He’d always been beautiful to her before, but seeing him like this, all riled up, chest heaving, hands balled into white-knuckled fists, and lip peeled back in a snarl…hooooo, this man was doing things to her insides that had never been done before.

  Jungle green eyes, the brightest she’d ever seen them, took in his challengers before landing on Regan where they stayed only briefly before sliding back to her. The green was all blown out, completely obliterating the whites of his eyes as they tracked up and down her frame. He was checking to make sure she was okay.

  With a nod, she mouthed, “I’m fine.”

  But she knew what he saw. She was battered, and the shoulder of her shirt bore blood from where her incision had been ripped open. Mary Alex and the Medicine Woman having to help hold her up probably wasn’t helping either.

  When Tyson’s furious gaze sliced back to Regan, she wondered what the shifter was feeling being on the receiving end of a look so fierce.

  Savage anger filled Tyson’s voice when he jabbed a finger at
her and snarled one lone word. “Mine!”

  Chapter 28

  Cersi shivered at Tyson’s snarled declaration. Mine! The word zinged around in her skull like a ricochet. The last time she’d seen him, he offered himself to her, and she’d walked away. When she’d raced back to BlackLodge, she’d played over and over in her head how their first meeting would go since she’d run from him. In her head, it looked nothing like this. She’d hurt him. She knew she had and yet here he was. Come to her rescue like some white knight that she didn’t deserve.

  “Bring them out!”

  Cersi’s head whipped around to where The Council members stood. Between them, the front doors opened as a row of beautiful young women rushed out, hurried down the steps, and lined up behind the row of shifters facing off against Tyson. She couldn’t help the dread that pitted in her stomach. Who were these women? Why were they here? Were they on their cycle, meant to break Tyson’s medicine? Or worse, were they offerings? She never thought to wonder until now if Tyson would prefer a woman who was of his own kind.

  Eyes darting from the women to Tyson, she felt her heart give a little fist punch of victory because Tyson wasn’t even looking at the women.

  One of the men from The Council commanded, “Shift!”

  Nobody moved.

  Turning to eye the Councilman, Cersi felt a jolt of worry tear through her when his eyes narrowed on Tyson. “Show us your wolf, Tyson BloodMoon. Prove to us that you’re immune to a woman’s medicine.

  So, the women were bleeding.

  Shit!

  Looking at Tyson, Cersi shook her head and mouthed, “Don’t.”

  “Don’t make us draw him out,” the Councilman warned, and when Tyson still didn’t comply the Councilman huffed out an exasperated, “Fine! Regan, bring his woman.”

  Regan turned and locked eyes on Cersi, but before he could take one step, Tyson bellowed, “Hey!”