Rhett did want it. And he would use Logan to fight for it.
Logan had led his team of lean, mean fighting wolves into the den of waiting lions. But Logan wasn't there to fight. He wasn't going to sacrifice any more Red wolves needlessly. Too much blood had been spilled. It was time to wipe the slate clean and rebuild the name and reputation of the Red Fangs pack.
Sean Hunter had ordered his lions to stand down when Logan walked into his study alone. Sean was an intelligent, reasonable man and it was clear he admired Logan's straightforward, straight-talking manner. He'd listened to Logan, and he'd sat down and offered Logan a drink. And at the end of it all, Sean Hunter had allowed the Red wolves to walk out of his territory alive. But Logan knew that the lions would be watching him very closely. He would have to deliver on his promise. The Hunter pride wasn't to be trifled with.
Logan had taken the long route back to the Red Fangs compound. He was in no hurry to get back. He hadn't carried out his Alpha's orders, and there would be a reckoning.
But Rhett wasn't waiting for him.
Something was different in the Red Fangs compound. Logan sensed it the moment he walked through the gate.
The pack had been busy in his absence. Rhett had personally led the pack on five missions while he was away.
Immediately, Logan realized that he had been sent on a wild goose chase. Rhett didn't want a slice of the Hunter's hotel pie. Not really. Rhett wanted Logan out of the way. For good.
Rhett hadn't expected them to make it out of the lions' den alive. He had not wanted them to come back at all. Rhett had planned to use the lions to kill his most dangerous wolves, wolves which he deemed potential threats to his position.
Rhett had underestimated Sean Hunter. And he had grossly underestimated Logan.
Logan found out that Rhett had personally led the pack out to capture five females. From the testimony of the guards, these women hadn't done anything wrong. They had just been going about their business in town, and they hadn't encroached or trespassed upon the pack's territory at all. There had been no reason at all to attack these women.
He had been away for just five days, and five females had been ambushed and captured by the Red Fangs pack.
When he questioned his lieutenants, none of them could tell him what the pack wanted with these women. All he learned was that there was just two women remaining in the holding cell.
Well, if no one dared to tell him anything and incur the Alpha's wrath, he would just have to see for himself.
Logan stopped at the end of the long, carpeted corridor and looked around. He could hear voices and footsteps rounding the corner. The Alpha's mansion was patrolled by senior lieutenants, wolves who reported to him but were loyal to the Alpha.
Logan didn't want to put them in a spot. Stepping up to the narrow white door that was built seamlessly into the wall under the stairs, his fingers flew across the small panel at the side of the door. He punched in the code very quickly and stepped through the door the instant it slid open. He held his breath as the door slid swiftly back into position behind him.
Hurriedly, he strode down the passageway that led to the underground bunker under the Alpha's mansion. The bunker was supposed to be a shelter, a hideaway for the weaker, more vulnerable members of the pack in the event of a full-scale war between the packs. But over the years, Rhett had converted the bunker into a prison, complete with a holding cell with iron bars.
His eyes glowed in the gloom and his breathing quickened at the scent of blood. Why did Rhett hunt these human women? For sport? For sex?
Logan had to force his wolf down as he moved silently down the passageway. Those were just rhetorical questions. Yes, Rhett did hunt these females for sport and for sex. And those terrified females had been thrown into the holding cell, and locked up in the dark for days with minimal food and water.
As Logan neared the cell, the scent of blood and sweat grew stronger. He heard sobbing and whispering, and the smell of fear and pain hung heavy in the air.
His steps were silent as he walked slowly towards the cell. One of the women in the cell had ripped all her clothes off and was clawing at her own body, her dark eyes mad with hunger and lust. The woman had long, black hair and olive skin, and her body was long and slim. When he stopped in front of the cell, the woman raised her head and sniffed the air. Abruptly she turned to him and screeched.
Logan watched unflinchingly as the woman threw herself against the iron bars, desperately trying to get at him. She wanted him, was mad for him. Logan shook his head slowly and took a step back. No, it wasn't him she wanted. She just wanted to mate.
Her mating instinct was clawing at her, consuming her and tormenting her out of her mind.
Logan recognized the signs immediately. The woman had been bitten and injected with the werewolf toxin. But it was obvious that not enough toxin had been injected into her bloodstream. She was only half turned. She would suffer the agonizing hunger and maddening lust of a werewolf turning, but she would never be able to fully turn into a wolf.
A half turned werewolf was like a zombie, a mindless, starved slave. Forever hungry, forever trapped.
It would be kinder to put her out of her misery.
Logan raised a hand, but immediately, the other woman in the cell lurched forward and grabbed the screaming woman. She hauled the woman away from the bars and wrestled her to the ground.
“Stop! Stop this, Abigail!” she yelled as she pinned the struggling, snarling woman down. “Please...please...don't...” Her shouts faded into sobs. “Please, Abigail...please...”
Abigail blinked, and just for a moment, her face relaxed and her eyes cleared. “Chloe?” she croaked. “Chloe, let's go home!” She smiled dreamily before her eyes fluttered shut.
“Yes, y-yes, let's go home,” Chloe whispered as she stroked Abigail's cheek. “We're going home...” She kept speaking in soft, soothing tones until she was sure her friend had fallen asleep. Dragging pieces of torn clothing over the woman's bruised, naked body, Chloe pushed herself up and faced Logan.
Logan saw her ball her fists as she stepped up to the bars separating them. Her green eyes blazed as her gaze clashed with his.
He saw the spark of rage and hate in her eyes as she reached through the iron bars and gripped him by the throat. “You sick fuck!”
Logan simply stared down at her, unable and unwilling to move. Her hand was soft and warm, and the heat of her palm around his neck sent a jolt of pure electricity through his body.
He was painfully, achingly aware of her. Her fiery, green eyes burned with raw fury and hate, and her short, blond hair stuck out at all angles. She must have raked her fingers through her hair countless times, tugging at those blond strands in pain and frustration. Even in a pair of dirty, torn jeans and baggy jumper, he could see her full, curvaceous figure. She wasn't tall and thin like the other woman. She was lush, curvy in all the right places. Her eyes were not bloodshot like Abigail's. They were clear, sharp and focused.
Logan searched her face, her neck as she tightened her grip around his throat. He felt a surge of murderous rage when he saw the bite marks on her neck. She had been bitten as well. She was half turned, like the other woman. But the werewolf toxin didn't seem to be affecting her as much.
Logan forced in a lungful of air and got his answer.
Underneath her human scent, he scented a hint of magic. He could smell the glorious scent of the earth and the forest on her. She smelled like sunshine, rain and wind. This was earth magic, and it was practiced by most elemental witches. This witch smelled like the wild, like the earth, like heaven. She smelled like...home.
Logan blinked. This curvy blond beauty who was digging her nails into his neck, trying to squeeze the life out of him with her tiny, soft hand was half human, half witch...and all—his.
The little witch thought she was killing him. In fact, she was doing just the opposite.
His entire body was coming to life at the touch.
His body, his senses, his wolf was awakening to her.
Logan took another good whiff of her, and his wolf lunged forward, nearly knocking the man off his feet. Logan swayed but managed to steady himself.
He shook his head as he reached for her hand, which was still wrapped around his neck in a death grip.
It couldn't be.
How could she be...his mate?
His mate? Here? Half turned, and about to be dragged into Rhett's chamber?
“You,” he growled as he grabbed her wrist. “What is your full name?”
Instead of answering, she glared up at him and spat in his face.
“Go to hell.”
He was saved from replying by the approach of three wary guards. One of the guards approached the holding cell and unlocked the door. Before the guard could reach in and grab one of the women, Logan lunged through the door and slammed Chloe against the wall. Using his body to shield her from the guards, he snarled over his shoulder, “Stay away from her!”
“W-we have orders to take that one...” A guard pointed at Abigail, who was crouching in a corner and hissing at them. Her large black eyes were uncomprehending yet they showed too much white. Instinctively, she could detect danger and hostility, but she was powerless to defend herself. Her helplessness confused and frightened her.
“No! Don't touch her! Leave her alone! Abigail!” Chloe screamed over Logan's shoulder.
“We have to take her to Rhett...” another guard began nervously.
Logan spun round, but he still positioned himself solidly in front of Chloe. No one would lay a paw on her. None of these worthless wolves should even lay eyes on her.
“You're not taking anyone to Rhett,” Logan snarled.
“B-but...”
“What are you taking the female to Rhett for?” Logan asked, his voice dangerously low.
“Ah, it's...he...um, we...” the guards stammered, glancing at one another uneasily.
“You know what he does to them,” Logan went on slowly. “Don't you?”
“Yes, sir...I mean, no, sir...I...” The guards gulped and backed away as Logan stalked towards them.
“This has to stop. All this has to stop,” he said very quietly, letting his wolf stare down at the three quaking guards.
“We...”
“Go.”
“Y-yes, sir...”
The guards scampered away from Logan as fast as they could. They were just carrying out their orders. They didn't want any trouble with Logan. They would rather risk their lieutenant's wrath than Logan's claws. Logan could have taken off their heads right there and then with one swipe of his claws. They had seen him behead a bear twice his size in battle.
Logan turned back to Chloe. Her back was against the wall. She had nowhere to run, but her eyes were defiant as he caged her in with his arms.
Breathing raggedly, he pressed against her, lowering his face slowly to hers. She was unbelievably beautiful, fierce and exquisite, and he just wanted, needed to feel her against him.
She struggled, but her writhing and snarling only inflamed him further. She only stopped moving when she felt his erection pressing against her belly.
“You're a sick bastard!” she hissed. “Get off me! I'll bite you!”
It was no idle threat. He felt her blunt human teeth sink into his forearm as she sucker punched him in the gut at the same time. He released her, but not immediately.
Her teeth on his skin felt so good. He wanted to feel her nails digging into his skin. He wanted her to bite down hard on his shoulder as she shattered beneath him. He wanted her to mark him, take him, have him.
She jerked her head up suddenly and her eyes met his.
What he saw in her eyes made him stagger back. There was no love, no passion in those burning, green depths. Just stark pain and rage. And an intense, unquenchable hate.
He was a Red Fangs wolf, and she hated him. She hated what he was, who he was, and what he stood for.
She would never have him.
Straightening up, she swallowed and said harshly, “Your. Name.”
“Logan,” he answered automatically before he could stop himself. “Logan Reed.”
“Oh.” She barked out a derisive, bitter laugh. “Oh, I've heard the guards talking about you, Logan.” Despite being a full head shorter than him, she managed to looked down her pert little nose at him. “You're the Beta of the pack. You organize and command all the pack missions. Including our capture.”
“No, I...”
She turned away. “Logan Reed,” she repeated his name like a curse.
Another guard was now standing at the cell door. “Sir.”
“What,” Logan snapped without turning around.
“The Alpha has declared war on the Snow River pack. We have to move now. The Alpha wants all his leaders to report now, sir!”
Logan stared at the guard, but the young wolf only snapped to attention and saluted. This wasn't a prank. Rhett had really gone and declared war on the Snow River wolves.
And for what?
Just because he couldn't get his hands on a human woman he had set his sights on. That human woman was now under the protection of Declan Grant, the Snow River Alpha.
Shit! Rhett was going to destroy the whole pack. Because of Rhett's inflated ego and animal lust, there was going to be a bloodbath.
He had to stop this.
Logan stared at Chloe for a heartbeat. There was going to be a war between two of the most powerful wolf packs in Misty Valley. Tensions were high and every wolf out there was ready to fight, and kill. If he let her out now, she was in no condition to make her escape. She was too weak, and she was using up all her reserves of energy fighting the werewolf toxin in her body. And she had to lug her raving, injured friend along. They wouldn't make it past the gate before Rhett gave the order for their execution. Rhett liked to give his wolves an easy kill before a big fight. It could be a deer, a rabbit, a squirrel...or a human. Whet their appetites, stoke their blood lust.
The scent of hot, fresh blood would bring out the predator, the killer in each werewolf. Chloe would be in danger from all of them. Ironically, she would be safest in here.
Logan looked Chloe in the eye as he backed out of the cell. “I will come back for you. Tell me your full name.”
Her eye gleamed as the guard shut the cell door and locked it. “Sure I'll tell you my name. You should remember it.” She smirked at him and said in a cold, calm voice. “My name is Chloe Sullivan, and I will kill you, even if it is the last thing I do.”
CHAPTER THREE
Chloe shrank back into the shadows after Logan Reed left with the guard. She rushed over to Abigail, who was weeping softly in the corner. “Everything's going to be all right, I promise,” Chloe whispered as she pulled Abigail into her arms. “We're getting out of here. Together.” She gulped and added grimly, “Tonight.”
She'd heard the guard tell Logan that the Red Fangs pack would be attacking the Snow River pack tonight.They were going to war against a rival wolf pack, and the whole pack would be mobilized. All the big bad Red wolves would be gone from the compound. And that would mean that there was no one to guard them, to stop them. The Red wolves were going to battle the powerful Snow River pack. They wouldn't bother posting any guards around the compound just to keep an eye on a couple of weak, demented humans. That would simply be a waste of precious resources, and the Red Fangs couldn't afford to waste a single wolf on them. Every wolf, every warrior was vital in a war.
Chloe knew that the Snow River pack owned Snow River Construction, one of the largest design and construction companies in Misty Valley. She had seen the Snow River wolves around town and they were always laughing and joking with one another. They seemed nice, but she had no doubt that they were just as lethal as the Red Fangs. She smiled and answered politely enough when
some of the younger Snow River wolves stopped to chat and flirt with her, but she wouldn't trust any of them with her life. They were wolf shifters after all.
She always kept a wary, polite distance from the Snow River wolves, careful not to get too close and too friendly with any of them. But right now, at this very moment, she was rooting for the Snow River pack. She hoped that the white wolves would massacre the entire Red Fangs pack.
Tear them apart. Make them bleed, make them pay.
Chloe gripped the iron bars with shaking hands and pulled herself up. Cocking her head, she listened intently and squinted towards the dim corridor. There didn't seem to be anyone about. Turning around, she shushed Abigail gently and strained her ears again. Nothing. No sound, no movement. The coast was clear. Now was her chance. It was now or never. They had to make a run for it right now.
Scrambling to the cell door, Chloe sucked in a deep, shuddering breath and tried to steady her nerves. She hadn't used her magic for so long. She could only hope that she could still remember how to channel her will and energy to power up a spell. Spell-casting was in essence a concentrated manipulation of energies and thoughts. You had to concentrate and discipline your mind and body. Dr. Zhou had pointed out to her that the practice of magic was not unlike the practice of traditional medicine. Both called for quiet focus, calm and accuracy. You had to steady your heart and mind, focus on the present and you'd get it right.
She could do that. She had to get it right.
Chloe exhaled slowly through her mouth and stepped up to the door. Closing her eyes, she reached for the lock and pressed her palm against it. Chanting continuously under her breath, she felt every single cell in her body vibrate with power and energy as her magic surged through her body. She could unlock this door. She could feel it. She just had to push herself a little bit more...
Fight For Me: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (Misty Valley Shifters Book 2) Page 2
