Kalen

by Tianna Xander

  Don’t go far. Find a spot to hide in and wait for me. Otherwise, we could end up in Texas with your sense of direction.

  Kalen left her to find a hiding place while he crept up on the two unsuspecting men. Keeping himself hidden in the low brush, he was able to get almost close enough to touch them. Peering out through the bushes, he noted that they both carried guns.

  Damn.

  What is it?

  Ally’s question startled him. She shouldn’t have been able to pick up his thoughts, even with their bond. She was much younger than he was. The answer that came to mind wasn’t something he wanted to examine too closely. They’re both armed. I was afraid of that. I can’t take either of them on as long as they’re together.

  Then we should leave.

  We can’t leave, Ally. They have seen me change. I can’t leave them with knowledge of our kind.

  Then you shouldn’t have let them see you like that. That’s a no-brainer.

  Kalen wanted to laugh at her attitude, but it was up to him to educate her about their kind, at least until he managed to escort her to safety or to Bastien and his mate. As their leader, Bastien would see to it that Ally had a job and a residence. Judging by her previous form of employment, he would hazard a guess that Ally would be better off as a werewolf than she ever was as a human. The two men wandered into the clearing, their guns at their sides.

  “I know those two are here somewhere, Billy. I can almost smell her perfume.”

  “Yeah, me, too,” Billy said with a chuckle. “She smelled pretty. I wonder if she’ll smell that nice when we tie her down and screw her before we skin her.”

  “Uh, uh, I think she’ll smell even better. After all, she’ll be turned on like that girl a few months ago. You remember her.”

  “I sure do. That one lasted almost a month before she died.” He smiled almost wistfully. “I wish we’d get more like her. I like it when they last a long time and they hurt so much like she did. She must have liked it, cause she lived so long without her fingers.”

  Okay. That’s it, Ally said with a snarl that drew the men’s attention. I’ll draw their fire and you kill these two. I have never met two men who deserved it more—with the possible exception of the jerk at the hotel who turned me into a dog.

  You’re not a—

  Shut up, dammit! I don’t want to hear it.

  Kalen didn’t want her risking her life like that, but he didn’t have much of a choice.

  You’re going to use me and like it. If they kill me, I’ll be in a better place. I don’t want to live like this anyway.

  You don’t know what it’s like to live as one of us. You should give it a shot before you write yourself off like that. I would guess that you would live better as a were than you did as a human.

  I doubt it. A maid is a maid is a maid. I don’t know how do to anything else.

  I don’t know any were that is a maid. We all take care of each other and so far, new weres have been given jobs at Loup-Tech, but we can talk about that later. They’re heading your way. I hope you’ve moved from where you were when you growled earlier.

  Kalen heard a slight rustle in the brush to his left.

  Of course I have. I may not care if they kill me, but I don’t want them to kill you. You’ve been…nice to me and you treat me like an equal, not like the help.

  You are my equal. In our society, there aren’t many whom we would consider above us. The alpha’s family comes to mind. Kalen watched, waiting for Ally to make her move. He had to move fast because if he didn’t, she could very well wind up dead and he didn’t want that.

  He sat staring at the two men as they crept through the clearing, their guns raised, looking for a target. When Kalen saw the ammo belt Bobby wore, he nearly groaned with relief.

  They were using tranquilizer guns. He smiled in his wolf’s body, no doubt looking rather vicious as he bared his teeth. Ally could risk herself all she wanted and he needn’t worry. The worst they could do was knock her out and it would take several hits to do that. It would be no trouble carrying her back to civilization. In fact, he was afraid it would be a pleasure to carry her through the woods, smelling her sweet scent as he bore her slight weight.

  He shook his head to clear it. He had no business thinking of her that way. Once this was over and he had her safe, he would leave her with someone who would teach her their ways and forget about her. He needn’t keep telling himself what he already knew—that he had no desire to mate, regardless of the way he felt about the beautiful Ally.

  It didn’t matter anyway. Ally had made it abundantly clear that she would rather die than live out the rest of her life as a were. Who was he to try to change her mind?

  Kalen stared out at the two men as they made their way toward the area that Ally had just vacated only moments before. Another rustle in the brush had them spinning around, their guns raised.

  “You see something, Billy?”

  The mentally challenged Billy did no more than shake his head, his gun still glued to his shoulder, his arms trembling either from the weight of the gun, or fear.

  It didn’t matter to Kalen which it was. He’d already pegged the not-too-bright Billy as his second target. Bobby held his gun steady and his aim would no doubt be good.

  It was then that Ally chose to run out. Billy let loose with a high-pitched scream as she latched onto his ankle, her mouth closing down hard. Eww! His foot smells like corn chips and his ankle tastes like crap. You’d think they could bathe once in a while. She dove for cover when Bobby turned around, firing quickly.

  Billy hopped around on one foot, using the butt of his rifle as a crutch as he tried to look at his ankle, no doubt worried that he would now become a werewolf and that his brother would hunt him next. It was a fair assessment. It didn’t look as though his brother held much love for anyone, or anything beyond himself and his love of self-gratification.

  Kalen took the opportunity to lunge at Bobby, knocking him to the ground. The other man tried to bring his gun up, but didn’t have a chance. Kalen had superior strength on his side. He snarled and wasted no time in ripping the idiot’s throat out.

  He never wanted to kill them in front of Ally, but he didn’t have much choice. They were bloodthirsty and not too bright. It was a combination that, over the years, Kalen had found made for a monster in the guise of a human being.

  Kalen watched the light leave Bobby’s eyes and jumped off him, leaving him staring sightlessly up through the canopy of trees into the night sky. He turned his attention to Billy and knew that this human must also go. He couldn’t allow this man to live with the knowledge of their kind and he couldn’t justify taking him along with them. The man was almost as perverted and deviant as his brother.

  Billy still hopped around on one foot, too preoccupied with the pain radiating from his ankle to worry about what else was going on around him. It made it easy for Kalen to launch a strike against the other man.

  Just as Billy turned and noticed his brother on his back, his throat bloody and torn, Kalen struck. At least the simple-minded Billy wouldn’t have to live long without the brother he so obviously loved. He died with his brother’s name on his lips and tears in his eyes. Kalen felt a shifting somewhere near his heart and almost felt sorry for the man. Almost. Billy may have been someone they could have helped if not for his deviant nature.

  A rustle in the brush to his right drew his attention and Ally made her way through the tall, weed-filled grass and brambles. She looked everywhere but at the two bodies before she turned and headed back the way they came.

  Kalen shook his head. For a were-being, the woman had a horrible sense of direction. Perhaps that was something one must be born with because the woman couldn’t find her way out of a room with four doors, by the looks of it.

  Where are you going? He had to ask. He also couldn’t keep the sound of humor from his voice. They could be out here for days, trying to find civilization with her sense of direction.

  Ally didn�
�t answer right away. She lifted her nose and sniffed the air and groaned. I’m headed in the wrong direction again, aren’t I?

  Kalen wanted to laugh. It felt strange. He hadn’t had this much humor in his life in decades. That he found himself laughing so much now was telling, though he was determined to ignore it.

  It wasn’t that Ally wasn’t beautiful, because she was. It was more than that. A lot more than that, not the least of which was his determination to remain single.

  Yes, sweetheart. You have lost your way again. He nudged her shoulder until she faced the right direction. If you’re going to insist on taking the lead, at least head in the right direction, which would be this way.

  Oh, shut up.

  Chapter Five

  Ally paused and let Kalen be her guide. If the jerk continued to make comments on her sense of direction, he could just lead the way himself. With luck, maybe he would take her to a place where she could find her way home.

  Will you take me home? Something told her he wouldn’t, but she had to know where she stood. What if she could convince him to take her to her house? She could put some real clothes on, then go over and bite Milly Jenkins in the butt for convincing her to wear such skimpy clothes to work. Had she been wearing her usual oversized T-shirt, she doubted even the horny moron brothers could have found that sexy.

  I don’t think that’s a wise idea.

  Why not? Do you think I’m going to run away, or something?

  No. Kalen stopped, then turned to look at her. I would love to take you home, but there are things happening to you, that will continue to happen to you, that you’ll need help in understanding.

  I think that’s a load of bull. I think you and your friends are afraid I’ll run to the media, aren’t you?

  Kalen turned away and continued to lead the way through the woods. There is that. Though that isn’t what bothers me the most.

  Then, by all means, tell me what bothers you the most. If she’d been human, she would have crossed her arms and tapped her toes at him. Instead, all she could do was tilt her head and let her tongue loll out. Since she didn’t think it would make her look either pathetic, or attractive, she refrained.

  This man who calls himself a doctor has connections throughout the government and could easily find out where you live. Believe me, it wouldn’t take him long. He probably knows who you are already. He likes it when his serum works to change human women into shifters. He’s looking for breeders for some new perfect soldier.

  Ally wanted to roll her eyes, but refrained. What if he was telling the truth? After all, the man she met in room two-twenty-five didn’t seem to have any qualms about injecting her and leaving her without even finding out if the crap he’d injected her with killed her or not. The jerk.

  I almost don’t want to believe you, but there is the fact that the jerk left me alone after he injected me. That alone is enough to prove he doesn’t give a damn for anyone. She wanted to cry. I just want to go home.

  I know, sweetheart, but you can’t. I would guess he knows your name and your address by now. He’s probably got someone watching your house as we speak.

  Ally wasn’t sure if she wanted to believe him. Wasn’t being captured by that madman and put to death better than living out the rest of her life like this? Whatever happened had to be better than living like some sort of freak. I don’t care. I want to go home. I don’t care if he captures and kills me. In fact, running out in front of car was starting to look good right about now.

  Kalen stopped and turned to her. The look in his eyes gave her pause. He looked angry, though Ally had no idea why he would look mad. After all, it was her life. If she wanted to end it, it was no one’s business but her own.

  Stop thinking of how awful it is that you may have to live the rest of your life a bit differently now. Think about this, instead. No matter what you may think, that madman will not kill you if he gets his hands on you. He will use you to breed more were-beings. Weres that he will train to be the perfect soldier, the perfect killing machine.

  Don’t think that he will merely kill you. He will put you in a cage with a male, perhaps two or three males and they will rape you. He will not let you escape to the oblivion of death, Ally. He will use you until you become too old to breed, and for a were, that is a very, very long time. Now, think about it, do you really want your children growing up under his thumb?

  I don’t want to live like this, damn you! If you have even an ounce of compassion in you, kill me right here. Right now.

  It’s because I do have compassion that I won’t do as you ask. If I didn’t know two women who have already come to terms with what happened to them, perhaps things would be different. But I do know two women who felt exactly the same way you did a bit over a year ago. Now, they live normal productive lives within the circle of our people and they’re happy. Give it time and you will adjust.

  I don’t want to adjust, dammit.

  No, you don’t. Kalen snarled at her as they walked. You want to go cower in some corner and wait for someone to end your life while people feel sorry for you. Poor, Ally. She was a victim of a madman and now has to relearn how to live her life.

  He trotted ahead, then stopped next to a stream, dipped his head and lapped up some water before turning back to her, his eyes filled with contempt. God forbid that you should try to live your life as a were, that perhaps you are someone’s long-anticipated mate, or that maybe, just maybe, you could learn to deal with what you’ve become and live a happy, productive life as something other than someone’s lackey. Kalen trotted back to her and gave her a shove toward the stream.

  I, for one, refuse to feel sorry for you. Many humans would kill to have the chance the fates have given you. You will live a long, long life. The were society will welcome you into its fold, give you a job, a place to stay and more importantly, they will teach you what to expect now that you’re one of us. Imagine a life with no illness, Ally. Imagine never having to worry about losing a child to cancer, or some other disease. He gave her another shove toward the stream. Now, get a drink. There’s nothing wrong with the water.

  Ally approached the stream and gave it a tentative sniff. She looked down into the calm waters, listening as the slight current washed over the rocks on the bank. She wasn’t even sure if she would have heard the slight gurgle of water had she still been human, but now that she had her wolf’s hearing, she heard a lot of things she couldn’t hear before.

  Turning her head, she saw a small rabbit, its little heart drumming with fear in the presence of two large predators. It sat still, most likely thinking that they wouldn’t see it if it sat still as death.

  She looked up into the canopy of trees, listening to the birds flitting from branch to branch and wondered what it would have been like if that crazy doctor had turned her into some type of bird shapeshifter—if they even existed. Who knew? A few short hours ago, she had been living happily ignorant of werewolves. The thought of were eagles didn’t seem quite so far-fetched now.

  Drink.

  Kalen sounded angry. He probably was. After all, she hadn’t been very cooperative, but then again, what did he expect? In the last few hours, with the unwitting help of that crazy doctor, Kalen and his friends had managed to turn her entire world upside-down.

  Ally bent her head to the stream. The water smelled delicious. As a human, she would never have attempted to drink directly from a stream like this, but as a were, she had a more acute sense of smell, and the scent of this water appealed to her. It smelled clean and a little sweet. She had no doubt she would have drooled had she not been so thirsty she couldn’t even work up a good spit.

  Drink your fill, Ally. I’ll watch for other predators and humans.

  Sticking her nose down close to the stream, Ally lapped up some of the water. It was delicious! Maybe it was the fact that she hadn’t had a drink in hours, or maybe it was her enhanced taste buds, or maybe this water was just that good. Whatever it was, she continued to lap at the water un
til her tongue began to ache from the exercise. Being a do—a wolf—sucks. My tongue is tired and I’m still thirsty.

  Kalen chuckled. Don’t worry. We’ll follow this stream for a bit. You can have another drink once your tongue has had time to rest.

  They followed the winding ribbon of water, the night growing darker as they moved along. Shouldn’t we rest for a bit? It’s getting late.

  Yes, it is, but if we travel at night and sleep during the day, there’s less of a chance that anyone will see us.

  Ally hated to suggest it, she really did, but the way she saw it, they didn’t really have much of a choice. What if we find the nearest town and you get me a pair of pants, or a leash and rent a room. I want a shower. She needed a shower was more like it. No matter how far they went, or how fast they ran, she couldn’t seem to escape Bobby’s odor, or the stench of their deaths. At the moment, Ally needed to wash that stink off her more than she needed sustenance to live.

  Kalen made a choking sound. You want me to lead you into town on a leash?

  Why not? Won’t the entire world think I’m a damned dog anyway? A strange odor assaulted her nose. What is that nasty smell? She wrinkled her nose. It smells like a cross between burnt rubber and car exhaust.

  Kalen made a sound that sounded suspiciously like a chuckle. Part of it is car exhaust. The other part is skunk.

  It smells a lot worse as a wolf than it ever did as a human, she complained.

  Come on. I think there’s a town this way. If we’re lucky, you might change back into your human form before we get there.

  He didn’t say that if she did, he wouldn’t have to drag her through town on a leash. She wasn’t sure she wouldn’t like it. Her ex-boyfriend used to like experimenting with BDSM and she had found that she did like some of the things he’d come up with from time to time.

  Even if I don’t, you could still walk me in like your pet.

  No. I can’t. If you change back, how will I explain where my pet went? He gave her a sideways glance. Dare I hope that you’ve finally come to terms with what happened to you?