We were surrounded by Orion’s minions.
Hundreds of them.
Chapter 3
LIAM HELPED ME to stand. “We have a problem,” I whispered, as I turned to look up at him.
“How bad is it?”
“Hundreds of very big, very bad uglies.”
Faris’s eyes searched the darkness around us. “I don’t sense anything out of the ordinary. Wolf, what are you picking up with that nose of yours?”
“Ogres, unicorns, only what we already have here.”
Bert whimpered. “I told you I wasn’t fooling you.”
I didn’t look at him, just clung to the threads as a horrible, horrible idea bloomed. Carefully, as if they would be able to tell, I Tracked Raw, hoping I was wrong. His threads lit up inside my head, overlapping one of the pings from the demons.
“It’s the ogres; they’re possessed.” Oh, we were in shit. There was close to a hundred ogres out there, pretty much surrounding Doran’s home. And we’d invited them.
Unclenching my jaw, I strode forward. “We have to move on them, before they know we know. Otherwise, there is no way we can take them all out.”
You would discount me?
“No.” I shook my head. Blaz had a point.
Liam burst that bubble. “If you go after them, how are you going to get the unicorns out without Blaz frying them? They are in the middle of the ogre camp; they’ll be slaughtered before we can even get to them.” His silver golden eyes searched the darkness. “I think I can get some local wolves to help buffer us. But you’re right, Rylee. We have to get the hell out of here.”
Hanging onto the threads of the demons and evil spirits around us (I couldn’t call them ogres any more), I knew we were about to be in serious trouble. “Faris, go tell Doran what’s going on, jump the veil, get Thomas or Frank to help, whatever you can do. Get everyone out.”
He didn’t argue with me. “Where are we meeting?”
There was only one logical place. “Jack’s. It’s far enough away.” And maybe we could get Will and Deanna to finally help.”
Faris gave me a tight smile and then strode into the house. For the moment, I could trust him.
“Erik.”
My uncle turned his head to me. His eyes narrowed. “There are too many. Even if we extract the unicorns, there are too many to deal with. Between the ogres natural strengths and abilities, and the drive of demons and dark spirits in them, they will be powerhouses. Our best option is to get the hell out of here before they are on to us.”
That was not what I wanted to hear. “We have to get Nikko and his crush out. I can’t leave them.”
Liam put a hand out. “Let me try something.” He closed his eyes, let out a slow breath. The world around us stilled and then suddenly, from the outside perimeter of Doran’s home and land, the eerie howl of a wolf broke the clear night air.
“What are you doing?” I grabbed at Liam’s arm. “We don’t want them to know we’re on to them!”
He gave me a grin and shifted right there, his clothes going with him for the first time. Shit, he’d finally managed it. That surprise stuck with me long enough for him to lope off into the darkness, leaving me standing there, slack-jawed.
I took two steps and Erik stopped me. He stood with his back to me, his arm barring my way. “This is not a rush job, Rylee. Let your man do what he can to get the unicorns to safety.”
“I’m not rushing in,” I snapped. Liam was going into a fight without me, and I was just standing there. Doing nothing. It ate at my insides.
“No, you rush in because you don’t know any better.” His expression changed, looking almost sad. “I wish I’d known you’d lived, Rylee. I would have raised you myself. Taught you some patience.”
His eyes met mine and behind them I saw he was telling the truth. But it was a bitter gall and I spit out the one thing that had been bothering me about Erik since I’d met him.
“I read my mother’s journal. She said you were always causing trouble with her and my father. Why would you want to raise me?” I asked the question, but I was listening hard for another howl, another sound from whatever was going on out there. I’d read my mom’s journal while Liam and I were in Europe, at Jack’s actually, and it had answered a lot of questions about my past. Mind you, it had also left a bunch of new questions rolling through my head.
Erik gave me a small smile, his eyes crinkling. “Because I loved them both. One was my older brother; the other was the one who got away.”
I stared at him, my eyes popping wide. “Wait, you and my mom were an item? That was not in her journal.”
“It wouldn’t be. It wasn’t her style to kiss and tell. And it’s not a story I’m going to share with you in detail, either, but yes, I loved her.” Erik’s smile faded. “I saw her first and I was angry when she chose my brother over me. The things I said and did… lashing out at them both. I’m not proud of it. Worse, I never got to say goodbye, to either of them.” He shook his head and I found myself totally mesmerized by his words. And it was in that moment I realized he’d done it on purpose. He’d totally distracted me from the fight going on outside.
“You sneaky son of a bitch. You knew you’d be able to—”
“Keep you from the fight? Yes.” He grinned at me again, totally unrepentant. “Because you, my niece, need to learn when to hold back. And this is one of those times. Let Liam do his job, let him protect you.”
With my teeth gritted, I stared into the darkness where Liam had disappeared. Fuck, I hoped Erik was right.
He bolted toward the sounds of howling and wondered just how long it would take before Rylee was right behind him. But there was no sound of her heartbeat or even the steady pound of her footsteps, shocking him. At the same time, he was pleased. Maybe she would finally let him do what he had to do to protect her.
The howls ahead of him were those of werewolves, and if there was one place his instincts and Peter’s training came in handy, it was dealing with other wolves. Not to mention he’d called them in, asked them to attack the ogres.
Harry them. He sent the thought to the wolves who’d quickly come to his call. A damn nifty trick Peter had taught him, but it was the first time he’d actually had the nerve to put it in play. Controlling other werewolves was a gift and one he didn’t want to abuse.
The closer he got to the ogres, the more the sounds of the fight filled his ears. Ogres swung their wicked sharp, heavy weapons and the wolves around them dodged blows while inflicting devastating bites, but he could see they had listened to him. Even their lead bitch, who snarled as he loped by.
Between one step and the next he shifted back to human form.
His wolf surged forward again, though, and he used the power in his voice as Peter had taught him, blending the word with a command, with the very essence of what he was. Guardian, wolf, and alpha.
“ENOUGH!”
It was like a switch had been thrown, and the wolves fell to the ground, cowering. The ogres seemed about as stunned as the wolves.
“What is the meaning of this?” Came a soft, purring voice from somewhere within the mess of ogres and wolves.
Slim and tall, with legs that seemed to go all the way to her chin, a woman slowly rose from the ground and walked toward him. Long dark hair flowed around her, partially hiding her nudity. She had Asian features, sharp and pristine, like a doll come to life.
He ignored the woman’s question as he drew in deep breaths, scenting the wolves around him. Trying to pinpoint them and where they fit in. What he found shouldn’t have surprised him, but it did.
These weren’t just any wolves, though some of them may have been local by their scents; no, the majority of them were from Rylee’s territory. Yet they were here.
This was Beauty’s pack. He’d run into them more than once when he’d first been turned and had been staking territory around Rylee’s home.
Which meant the woman walking toward him, the woman he knew only by the power radiati
ng off her, was Beauty herself.
“Why are you here, Beauty?” He all but growled the words, but they were for the ogre’s ears, really. He only hoped she would play along. Overconfident as she was, she played right into his plan.
She rolled her shoulders. “We roam where we wish.”
He doubted that. He infused his next words with power. “I want the truth. Why. Are. You. Here?”
She blinked and spoke almost without seeming to realize it. “The Great Wolf commanded us to travel here. That we would be needed.” A breath escaped her and then she glared at him. “Oh, dear, you think you can boss us around? You think you can run this pack, or,” she laughed softly and put a hand to the hollow of her throat in a delicate gesture, “take it from me?”
Taking the pack from her wouldn’t be that hard, not really. Peter had shown him how. Interesting, though, that the Great Wolf had commanded it of them. Could it be because of him? He had a feeling it was.
Before he could say anything, Raw stalked over to them, his feet sending up splashes of muddy ice water. This was what Liam had been waiting for.
Fury lit the red ogre’s features, carving it into a mask a devil would balk from dealing with. He held a pike over his shoulder, the tip gleaming with what could only be blood. “Are these your wolves, Liam?”
“No. Not yet. Were any of your people seriously hurt?” Time to play the part, though he couldn’t help scenting, trying to pinpoint the demon in Raw. Three breaths and he had it, a smell of swamp water lingered, though there were no swamps in the vicinity.
Raw shook his head. “No, these are werewolves, but not like you.” Raw’s eyes didn’t look like he believed Liam. He looked more inclined to keep fighting. Not a good sign.
Beauty let out another laugh, but under this one he could hear the nerves, and in her eyes there was a flicker of uncertainty. She was right to be nervous. “What do you mean, we are just werewolves? We are at the top of the food chain, ogre.”
Liam shook his head. “Not anymore.”
Of course, in that moment, he thought things were going to go peacefully, or at least as peaceful as possible.
He was wrong. Not that he should have been surprised; he’d commanded the wolves to start this fight, and now he had to look like he had nothing to do with it. Apparently, Beauty didn’t like that.
Beauty leapt at him, shifting mid-air, a flash of tawny fur and fangs. He dodged her, slamming a fist into her head and still managing to keep his wolf in check. The wolves around them started to rise from the ground, growls sliding along their throats. Beauty lay on the ground, shaken from the blow that would have killed a normal wolf.
“I said enough,” Liam bit out between his teeth and the wolves froze, lowering themselves the few inches they’d come up.
Raw laughed. “That’s it, hit the bitch.”
He ignored Raw and moved to stand over Beauty. “Either you submit, or I’ll kill you.”
She snarled up at him, blood trickling from her pale nose, golden eyes glittering with hatred. Even for her life, she wouldn’t submit, and he knew it a split second before she lunged at him, her teeth sinking into his right thigh. Right over the wound that had brought on his own change.
Her teeth sunk in deep and he gritted his jaw. Killing her was the only option, but that didn’t mean he had to like it; not when he’d asked her pack here.
He slid his hands around her neck and she glared up at him, but didn’t move. She knew what was coming.
No, there had been enough death and they needed strong allies. Beauty might not have been the nicest bitch in the book, but she was strong. With every ounce of power in him, with everything Peter had taught him, he spoke to her.
“Let go and submit.”
Her teeth withdrew from his leg and she sat back on her haunches, a look of consternation passing over her eyes. She shifted into her human form, panting for breath.
“That’s not possible. I am an alpha; you can’t force me to submit.”
A look of confusion passed over Raw’s face. “Are we going to kill them or not, Liam?”
Liam shook his head slowly, the wound in his thigh closing up already. “No. Not today.”
Raw let out a heavy sigh. “Then keep them far away from us. My ogres will not be controlled as easily as this.” He swept out the pike in a circle, encompassing the area.
With a grunt, Liam flicked his hand, beckoning the wolves. They slithered on their bellies toward him. Not submissive like Alex, but not such strong alphas that they could take on Beauty for leadership of the pack.
He scrubbed a hand through his hair as Beauty stepped up beside him, pressing her naked body against his, her shift in tactics not surprising him at all. “You are the one I’ve been waiting for. I will share my pack with you … amongst other things.” Her hands slid down his back to his ass, massaging him hard.
Liam stared at her, let her see the wolf in him. “You aren’t sharing anything with me, Beauty. I am taking this pack. Defy me again and I will let the ogres have you.”
Beauty paled and her eyes glittered with fury. Well, at least he knew she was no longer interested in him; she just wanted to kill him now.
Wrong again. She puckered her full lips and blew him a kiss, then slid her tongue along the edge of her mouth.
Irritation flared in his gut. “Go. Wait for me there.” He pointed at Doran’s house and the pack moved off as a unit, Beauty snarling, but doing as he said.
Raw thumped his pike into the ground. “That was relatively well-handled. For a wolf. Will you stay and eat with us?”
“No, I want to check on Nikko, make sure none of the wolves got through to them.” Last thing he wanted was to remind Raw about the fact that Nikko’s daughter was the only young unicorn—the only one born in the last fifty years and a potential tool to bring Orion across the veil. He wanted to avoid that almost as much as he wanted to avoid putting himself alone in the middle of a nest of demons.
“They are fine, we are watching over them,” Raw said, his eyes glittering, his pupils dilating and then elongating horizontally. His hand gripped his pike, knuckles turning a faint pink. This was not good.
“Rylee’s instructions. I don’t disobey her. You know how she gets.” He held up his hands like he had no choice and started to walk deeper into the camp. Hell, they should have known something was up when they saw how the ogres had gladly offered to be the outer ring of protection for everyone.
Yet, if they couldn’t trust their allies, who could they trust?
Raw’s eyes followed him; he could feel the anger from the ogre burning into his shoulder blades. It took everything he had to not to spin around and challenge him right there. Erik was right, though, there were too many. A very loud part of him, the suspicious FBI agent who he would always carry around, wondered why the ogres had waited. Raw didn’t make him wait long on that count.
“When will the harpies be here?” Raw called out after him and Liam knew in a flash of understanding why they hadn’t attacked.
They were waiting to take all of them by surprise, to wipe out every ally Rylee had.
“Not sure. Eve thought a day or two at most.” He lied, knowing the harpies were supposed to be showing up in the morning. They were so screwed if they couldn’t get everyone out before then. He picked up his pace, putting some distance between himself and the perimeter where Raw stood guard. As he stepped around a tent set up by the ogres there was a whimper from inside. He stopped in his tracks and took a breath.
It was Mer, the green ogre that had been sharing Raw’s bed. He glanced around, gritted his teeth and made a quick decision. Shit, he was getting more and more like Rylee with each passing day. Without fully thinking it through, he scratched on the tent with one finger and called softly, “Mer?”
The whimpering eased and the tent flap slid open. Her eyes were dark and heavy lidded, and not just from tears. One eye was swollen shut, the other right behind in that department, her lip was split in three spots, the pie
rcing in her cheek had been torn out, and the few fingers he could see were bent at the wrong angle.
“What?” she managed to mumble and still sound a bit snotty. It was her temperament, but that didn’t bother him. He took a long breath, the scent of the ocean and hot sand filling his nose. No scent of demon.
He crooked his finger at her, taking a chance. “Come with me.” With great care, she emerged from the tent, the rest of her body not looking any better than her face.
“He will beat me for leaving the tent.”
“Not if you’re with me.” Liam had to fight to keep the snarl from his voice. Even though there was no scent of demon curling around her, he would still have Rylee Track her when they got back to Doran’s, to be on the safe side. “We are checking in with Nikko, then you’ll stay with us.”
Her lip trembled and that broke open the cuts making them drip down her green skin. “Why?”
“Because that isn’t how anyone should live.”
They said nothing more as they carefully made their way to the unicorns. The unicorn crush was smack in the middle of the ogre camp. They were sleeping standing up, heads hanging low, except for a few on the perimeter who watched the darkness.
Nikko saw them coming and trotted out to meet them, Calliope at his side. His young daughter pranced lightly, tossing her head, her black mane blending with the night as much as her snow white body stood out like a sparkling gem. She was young, only seven months old, but already she had a strong place in the unicorn crush as the future leader.
Wolf, has the council already come to a decision? Nikko’s voice rang in Liam’s head. He lifted a hand to the stallion. How was he going to warn them without setting the ogres off? He didn’t want to take the chance they would be overheard, even this close to the unicorns. So he played it safe and couched his words, hoping Nikko would understand.
“Rylee wants to set up a perimeter on the other side of Doran’s house. Would you be willing to move your crush?”
Nikko bobbed his head. Of course. When?
Wounded: Book 8 (A Rylee Adamson Novel) Page 3
