Kerry raised her head, fighting against the pain, and tried to make her eyes see straight. She clearly identified the one talking about taking a buzz as Willard. Willard who clocked her head in the store with something heavy while her back was turned. Why would he do that?
Because she saw that he’d bought a top of the range scope for a rifle. He was panicked because Kerry—even now with her groggy head—understood that meant he’d shot her. Not only that, but that someone gave him money for the scope and probably to shoot her as well.
Her vision finally cleared. Willard had only one male cousin. Kerry stared up at Paulie—one of her best friends in the entire world. Tears prickled at the corners of her eyes.
“Why?” Kerry asked.
Willard looked at her with still bloodshot eyes. Paulie stood with his back to her, so it was Willard who saw her coming to.
“Hey Cuz, she’s awake. What are we going to do now?”
Paulie let go of Willard. Taking a deep breath, he kept his back to Kerry and poked Willard in the chest. “You are going to go take care of the surprise and don’t screw it up this time.”
Willard nodded his head and marched up stairs by the far wall. Kerry knew she had to be in a basement.
Once they were alone, Paulie slowly turned to face her. His face was stricken as, he walked over to her. He bent down in front of her and stroked her hair back from her face.
“Are you alright? Willard’s an idiot.”
“Why?” she asked again.
There was no mistaking from his face that he heard her. “I have to Kerry. It’s the only way. You’ll see.”
Kerry shook her head violently, which only made it throb. She pulled away from him. Paulie looked hurt.
“I never meant for this to happen. You weren’t supposed to know. I’m sorry about that. I promise it will be all over soon.”
“Why are you doing this?” she screamed at him and pulled at her bonds. She snarled because they were too tight. The more she pulled, the more the rope dug into her wrists and cut off her circulation.
Paulie looked at her as if she were the biggest dunce in the world. He cupped her chin, lifting it. “Because I love you, stupid.”
Kerry’s jaw dropped open.
Paulie chuckled. He placed two fingers under her jaw and pushed it up so it was closed, then he slowly leaned in and gave her a soft, chaste kiss. Kerry was so stunned that she couldn’t find words to object. He watched her face as she recovered enough to start questioning him again.
“Since when?”
“Since we were kids. You were so nice and kind and you always smelled so good. I used to love the scent of your hair when the wind blew it around your shoulders. I keep a lock of it with me.” Paulie tapped a pocket and smiled softly as if remembering the night he had cut it from her head to keep it for himself. She’d never let her hair grow back out again and he’d thought that was a shame.
“Why didn’t you just say something?”
“Because I used to believe it couldn’t go anywhere,” he growled angrily. “My mother worked out how I felt about you and told me very specifically that white wolves were cursed and couldn’t mate. She made me believe that if we tried, something would happen to you. That’s not true; not true at all because you mated and you’re just fine.”
Kerry looked at him, feeling bold. “Then why the hell are you and Willard trying to kill me?”
Paulie laughed at her and shook his head. He stroked her cheek. “You idiot. I would never hurt you. I’m not trying to kill you. I’ve never tried to kill you. I’ve been trying to kill your mate. Willard is a lousy shot when stoned and then he tried to fix it by nearly running you both down.”
“Why would Willard do that?”
“I asked him to. I gave him some cash and asked him to take Caleb out. I didn’t want you to connect it to me. I wanted him to just die. I would be there when you needed me and then we could be together. I had it all planned out. We had the month to get it right but Willard can just not do the simplest of things. It’s the dope, I swear. What little of his mind was there is now mush.”
Kerry wriggled her arms and pushed herself up into a better seated position. Her eyes darted around. She was definitely in a basement. She could see the street level windows but nothing in it looked familiar. Paulie lived in an apartment so it could have been Willard’s basement, but how would they have gotten her past Willard’s dad.
“It’ll be alright Kerry,” he said, petting her like some wounded puppy. “We’ll be together soon. We’ll be a much better fit than you and that stuck up prick.”
Kerry growled. She was murderously angry. If she could have shifted right there and then she would have gone for his throat. Paulie back off a little to look at her face.
“It is not all right. You’re trying to kill my mate. I am not going to be okay with that, even if you do succeed. I am going to beat the tar out of you the minute I get out of these ropes. God help me, it ain’t gonna be pretty.”
“You’re just saying that because you’re still bonded. You’ll feel differently once he’s gone.”
Kerry said nothing. She just continued to growl in an ominous way.
* * * *
Susan pressed her face to the glass of the door and looked inside. The shop was closed. The sign was turned and the lights were off. The shop closed at eight but Susan expected Willard to be there sweeping up, checking the days take, and such. There was only one car parked across the street—a shiny, cobalt grey one that looked way out of place in that neighborhood. She was surprised the thing wasn’t up on blocks with all but the framed stripped by thugs.
Susan turned when she heard another car pull up from behind where she had parked her Mazda. It was a sleek,red impala and had to be the most beautiful car she had ever seen. It was quite natural when Caleb stepped out from behind the wheel. The effect was ruined when Dick scrambled out of the passenger side.
“Looks like he’s shut up for the night. That’s unusual,” she said, greeting the pair of them.
Caleb looked at her in her khaki’s and strappy pink vest top but he noticed more the absence around her.
“Where are Paulie and Luka?” Caleb asked, “we need all the help we can to find Kerry.”
“Luka’s on call tonight at the hospital. I don’t know where Paulie is. I called twice and finally left a message on his voicemail. He’ll be here when he gets it.”
Susan looked around the deserted street. The other businesses—a hardware store and a workman outfitter—were closed too. People had gone home, or to a bar to enjoy the cool the evening brought in.
Caleb turned his gaze on the grey car.
“Well, that’s the car she took,” he said, walking over to it.
Dick and Susan stayed on the street as he approached it. Caleb was intent on looking for any sign of a struggle. He could clearly see through the glass that the keys were gone. He tried the handle and found the car locked. That was when he smelled it. There was another person nearby who reeked of triumph and fear. He was turning to go in their direction when a series of beeps caught his ear.
Caleb had enough time to think, that’s odd, before his car exploded in a column of fire and smoke.
Caleb was thrown several feet in the air. The fire seared his flesh while the smoke burnt through his lungs. He hit the road, raking his already weakened and tender body against the gravel. He darted his eyes quickly in the direction of the others with him before letting them drop closed. Everything hurt, he could almost feel each individual bruise forming. His ears rang and his nose was assaulted with the smell of burning things. So many charred scents blended together were confusing his senses and making it even harder to focus.
Dick grabbed Susan, pulling her to the ground as the explosion rocketed across the space. A flying piece of metal smashed through the storefront window, raining glass shards down on them. It sliced through the exposed skin on Dick’s legs. He let his eyes close and counted, just waiting, as smaller pops of sou
nd came from the burning wreck.
Susan whimpered—keeping low to the ground—unsure of what was happening until she heard the sound of feet and a smug voice roar with laughter. Susan turned her head to see another willowy man standing over Caleb. The man kicked him with his foot.
“I got him this time, didn’t I? Got you good.”
Susan growled in recognition of the voice. Willard had been in the year below them at school. He was always a bit of a loner, a massive stoner, and a good-for-nothing. Susan pulled up to her hands and knees. Dick’s eyes were closed so she thought he was out for the count. She shifted. Her clothes ripped to shreds. She spun, pelting across the street towards Willard.
“Oh, shit!” Willard cursed when he saw the brown ball of fury coming at him. He turned, trying to run away but Susan was faster on four legs than he was on two.
She snapped her powerful jaws around the ham strings in his left leg and bit down hard. Willard fell to the ground, screaming in pain. He couldn’t have run any more if he tried but Susan bit through the muscle in the back of his right leg as well. Bleeding, Willard rolled onto his back, exposing his jugular. She bared her teeth lowering towards his throat, the threat clear. He pleaded, whimpering.
“Susan, Caleb’s still alive,” called Dick from behind her.
Her head whipped around and she saw Dick kneeling over Caleb. His hands glowed with a green natural energy. “We need to get help, now.”
Susan left Willard lying on the ground and trotted back to her companions. She slowly made the shift back to human.
“You know what we are?”
“Yes. We can discuss the details later. Right now we need to get help,” said Dick.
He stopped his ministrations to remove his jacket and handed it to Susan. Susan looked down at her naked body with a smirk and quickly donned the offered clothing. The jacket covered enough for Dick to open his eyes and look at her without gawking.
“Cops will be here soon. No way someone isn’t reporting that,” Susan said, indicating the flaming wreck sending a dark column of smoke into the sky. “I’ll help you get Caleb into the passenger side of the Impala.”
Dick looked down the street at a writhing Willard who tried to turn back on his front and use his hands to drag himself away.
“What about him?”
Susan followed his eyes.
“Pop the trunk.”
* * * *
Susan called Luka while driving. He agreed to meet them at a service entrance at the hospital and help Caleb as best as he could. When Susan pulled up in her little Mazda, she was the first to get Luka’s attention. He hugged her fiercely and checked her over.
“Damnitbabyareyoualright?” he asked in his usual fast tongue, a little bit faster with his worry.
She nodded her head and went to assist Dick as he pulled the Impala in behind them. Caleb had his eyes open now and he was angry as hell.
Luka got an arm under him, Dick got the other, and together they got him into a disused treatment room in the part of the basement level sectioned off for remodeling. The wounds were already healing themselves. His hands and one side of his face had received the worst damage. Luka gave him a shot for the pain as Luka cleaned the wounds to make sure to get any gravel or glass or metal fragments out before they healed over.
Caleb growled angrily as Luka pulled his rank on him as the doctor and he the patient to get him to lie still. Dick helped in his own way having explained to Susan; now dressed in some hospital scrubs Luka had found for her; and Luka what he was capable of. He held his hands over a gash in one of Caleb’s legs, chanting soft repetitive words while Susan watched the skin knit itself together more rapidly.
Caleb—regaining some of his strength—grabbed Luka by the collar of his coat and pulled him close. He snarled a single word at him, “Adrenaline.”
“Caleb, nomanthatsnotagoodidea.”
“It could have been Kerry in that car. We need to find her,” he growled, determined.
Luka pulled back from him, shaking his head.
“Notagoodidea,” he repeated.
Dick looked between the three werewolves, unsure what the hell was going on. Why did Caleb want adrenaline? He focused his gaze on Susan, who was free to give him answers while Luka continued arguing with Caleb.
“What’s happening?”
“Caleb wants adrenaline. If Luka shoots him up with it, it will kick his healing process into high gear but it could also damage his heart. Caleb wants it so he can go find Kerry.”
“Then give it to him,” said Dick loud enough for Luka and Caleb to hear. “If it will help him get up on his feet so we can go deal with the asshole behind this, then do it. I can watch out for his heart.”
Caleb and Dick shared a look—for the first time in complete agreement—they had to find Kerry. Luka gave in under the weight of that glare and prepared the needle.
“Holdhisshoulders,” he said. Dick grabbed one shoulder, holding it down while Luka grabbed the other. Luka pressed the needle into the flesh of Caleb’s chest and then slammed it home, forcing the plunger down.
Caleb thrashed on the bed. Dick chanted while trying to hold him down, trying to ensure that this went well. Healthy skin grew over the damaged tissue; the flesh underneath moved around and knitted together.
Caleb growled. They watched as his face became whole and his strength returned. When he was still, panting, they let him go and Luka hurriedly checked all his vitals. Caleb’s eyes snapped open and he sat upright on the bed. Susan took a step back in surprise.
“Now,” he said and his voice was less horse. His breathing came easier and his eyes looked determined. “How are we going to find my mate?”
* * * *
Susan led Caleb and Dick back out into the parking lot where she found a dark corner in which to park both their cars. She put the keys into the Impala’s trunk and pushed it up, revealing a bound and writhing figure inside.
Willard starred at them with wide eyes. Susan had used the remains of her clothing to stop his bleeding and gag him. She used jumper cables to bind his wrists and feet together behind his back.
Willard thrashed and tried to call out through the material in his mouth. Susan grabbed his head, pulling him up to a better seated position. He closed his eyes, his face contorted in pain. When he opened them, he saw the newly healed Caleb first. Willard wet himself. Caleb glared at him.
“I’m going to take your gag off,” said Susan in a harsh whisper. “Don’t even try to scream.”
Willard nodded, whimpering. She untied the strip of shirt from around his mouth which allowed her to pull the sock free from his mouth. It dripped wetly as she slung it down into the trunk.
“Please, oh please. Don’t kill me, please,” he begged, crumpling against the frame of the trunk.
Caleb grabbed him by his shirt and pulled his face close to his. “Why are you trying to kill my mate?”
Willard shook his head. “Not her,” he said weakly. “You. I never meant to hurt Kerry. It was an accident.”
Caleb reeled with the thought. Kerry had been shot only because he had been missed. That the car in the road he thought tried to run her over was aimed at him. The car blowing up was meant to get him, it was his car after all. Even if Kerry had borrowed it, when she didn’t come back with it, he would have looked for the car. Willard waited in the shadows for him to approach and then set off some sort of device.
“Where is Kerry? Is she alright?”
“She’s fine. She’s safe. I didn’t hurt her I swear.” Caleb growled lowly.
“That doesn’t answer where she is.”
“I can’t. He’ll hurt me if I tell.”
“What do you think I am going to do to you if you don’t?” he threatened in response. Willard looked to Susan but got the same hard expression. He looked to Dick, who turned to look away as if whatever they chose to do to Willard, he would pretend he didn’t see or hear.
Caleb growled menacingly again.
“
Okay, okay. She’s with Paulie.”
“Paulie?” Susan asked, stunned. “How the hell did you get your cousin involved in this?”
“Other way round,” he said, getting a little offended. “He got me into this. If I hadn’t needed the money so bad…”
“Where is he?” Caleb asked again. His patience’s was running thin.
Willard shook his head. “I don’t know.”
Caleb shook him and Willard squawked. “I really don’t know. I forgot the address. I’m no good at remembering shit.”
“Gag him again.”
Susan took great delight in stuffing the sock back into his mouth. She shoved him back into the trunk and slammed the lid on him tight.
“I don’t understand why Paulie would do this? Isn’t he one of her best friends?” Caleb asked the pair of them.
Susan looked a little guilty. Caleb focused on her and she shivered.
“What are you not telling me?” he asked her in a firm voice.
“I thought he’d gotten over it,” she said in her defense. “When we were kids, Paulie really liked Kerry, I mean really loved her-liked her. But he’s all set to be mated next moon. I thought he was okay with Mags.”
“She’s the village maid and you’re the evil lord,” said Dick with an understanding sneer.
Caleb looked at him, remembering the tale Dick told him earlier. Paulie grew up with Kerry, been around her oh-so-attractive smell for a really long time. He’d fallen for her and now Caleb took her away. If Caleb were to die, she could mate again freely and Paulie would be first in the line.
Susan looked between them confused. “What are you two talking about?”
“Dick did some research that I can summarize like this: Kerry smells really good.”
“Like drug good,” said Dick. “He’s an addict almost and Caleb is taking her away from him. He wants her for his mate.”
“You can’t mate with a white wolf,” said Susan before she even realized what she had said. She looked at Caleb. “No, that’s not true because you did. So, what we’ve believed our whole lives isn’t true and now the only thing standing between him being with her…”
Mistakenly Mated Page 10
