“That he is,” Bryn concurred wholeheartedly.
They had moved past the main roads and were starting to patrol the smaller, quieter streets. Charlotte shivered, but it wasn't from the night chill. Her skin was beginning to crawl, with every hair sensitized and standing on end. A street lamp flickered and went out overhead. Shadows stretched and loomed nearer to them. The only sound that could be heard was the echo of their footsteps along the length of the deserted street.
“Stay alert, Bryn,” she muttered. “Be careful.”
“What?”
“I sense...something.”
“Something beginning with 'r'?”
Charlotte nodded. “Something beginning with 'w',” she whispered back.
They both drew their weapons. Bryn held her gun out and Charlotte clutched two silver daggers in her hands.
“Just to clarify, is it a rogue witch, warlock or were-something that you sensed?” Bryn whispered.
“Wolf.”
“Okay.” Bryn gulped. “Silver bullets, check.”
“We're going to do this, just like we practiced,” Charlotte said quietly, trying to still her breathing.
“Y-yup.”
Charlotte moved ahead of Bryn, her eyes scanning the moving shadows. All the shop windows along the street were dark. The offices above the shops were closed. After office hours, this area was like a dead town, with hardly any signs of life. Not even a stray cat or rat scuttled past these old streets.
Charlotte felt her old scars begin to throb, and she stifled a grimace. These were her scars from that night, the night Charlene died. She could hear Bryn at her back as she crept forward, her silver blades flashing.
There was a jarring, scratching sound to her right, like a claw dragging on concrete. She turned, and saw a single red eye staring back at her from the depths of a narrow alley.
A cry lodged in her throat as something big and black flew towards her, all teeth and claws.
Bryn screamed and fired, but the bullet merely grazed the creature's side. Charlotte scrambled back and saw what had attacked her. The walls of the dam that she had so painfully constructed in her mind collapsed and memories came flooding through her mind. She had tried so hard to lock these memories away, just so she could get up every morning and function, to continue breathing and living each day. She had tried to block out the nightmarish images of the monster that had killed her sister.
But now, she saw that face, that horrible, animal face.
The same scarred, hellish face was now staring unblinkingly back at her, its one red eye glowing. From the ugly mess of scars that covered its left eye socket extended a jagged scar that slashed across its face to the corner of its snarling mouth.
A vivid image of her own hand, gripping a broken bottle and stabbing it into the wolf's left eye flashed before Charlotte's eyes.
“You!” Her voice was a harsh, tortured whisper. “You...killed...Charlene!”
The wolfman stood tall on its muscular human legs, its glowing eye fixed on Charlotte. It touched its scarred, empty eye socket with the tip of a claw, clearly recognizing her as the woman who had taken out its eye so many moons ago.
I've been looking for you.
The creature growled but its words snaked insidiously into Charlotte's mind. She clutched her arm at the sudden jolt of pain through her scars. This rogue had attacked her and drawn her blood, and she could now sense him and hear his growled words as clearly as if he had spoken them. A glance at Bryn's wide-eyed face confirmed that her partner had not heard the rogue's words.
“You will die...tonight,” Charlotte said, twirling her daggers and catching them firmly by the hilt. She held them out, crouching slowly.
The wolf opened its mouth, in a parody of a smile.
You can't kill me, but I can kill you—and turn you.
“I will never be like you,” Charlotte spat. “You killed my sister. You hurt a lot of people. It's time, wolf. An eye for an eye!”
With that, she ducked cleanly out of the way. Behind her, Bryn fired a single shot, her stance upright and her aim true.
At the code words, Bryn had aimed for the wolf's remaining eye.
A couple of nights before the Final test, Bryn had come over to the mansion and the two of them had hunkered down in Lucas's study to brainstorm and prepare for their Finals. They decided that they would shout out their mode of attack to each other using a few agreed upon catchphrases. They were going to be a team to be reckoned with. No more splitting up and running helter skelter in all directions. No more being unprepared and taken unawares. No more being caught and taken hostage by rogues. They were the hunters, not the preys.
They would shout out the code words to each other and coordinate their attack.
An eye for an eye—aim for the eyes.
No guts, no glory—hit the target low in the gut.
No brainer—literally.
The bullet pierced the wolf's right eye and burrowed into its brain. The rogue werewolf let out a terrible bellow of wrath and agony. It stumbled back blindly, but managed to remain on its feet. Raising its head, it sniffed the air furiously, and turned its head sharply towards Charlotte. It could scent her, even if it could not see her. It took another whiff, zeroing in on Charlotte's exact location and pounced.
Charlotte saw the wolf move in a blur, and she slashed out with her daggers. One blade lodged in the wolf's shoulder as it came crashing down on top of her. Its deadly claws raked down her side, opening up a long, ugly gash.
Charlotte bit down hard on her lip to stopper her cry. She clutched her side and breathed hard as she pushed herself up. She could feel her blood pooling in her palm and flowing through her fingers. Shit!
Shaking her head, she forced herself to focus. Bryn was running towards the rogue, shooting off a round of silver bullets, but the wolf twisted and rolled out of her way, its ears pricked and its nose twitching to hear and scent her approach.
“Charlotte, this is the rogue—who turned the vamps! You said Timmy described him...” Bryn was yelling as she backed away from the snarling wolf.
Charlotte stared at the half-shifted wolfman, and realized that Bryn was right. Timmy had described the rogue wolf who turned him as a half-wolf, half-man creature, a scary wolfman with a long scar across his face and a mangled eye socket.
Bryn's hand was shakily pulling out a wooden stake from under her jacket. Bryn couldn't touch silver, and her wooden stake wouldn't be able to kill the wolf. But she could sure cause some damage.
“I heart you, Charlotte!” Bryn hollered and charged, driving the stake into the rogue's chest and quickly ducking out of the way just a fraction of a second before those razor-sharp claws slashed through the spot where her throat had been.
Charlotte staggered forward, her bloodied hand gripping her dagger. “I...heart...you!” she rasped.
For Charlene and Bryn.
For Lucas.
For her life, and her loves.
Ignoring the deep gash in her side, Charlotte ran forward, her vision narrowing to zoom in on the target. Shadows seemed to crowd in, darkening her peripheral vision. Only the rogue wolf remained in her sight.
This was the moment.
She would end this.
Her blood flew from her wound as she gained speed and momentum. Her blood sang and screamed for vengeance, for release.
Her blade gleamed as the rogue spun round, sensing her at its back. Its jaws yawned opened, snapping shut just inches from her neck as she drove the silver blade home, straight into the rogue's heart.
With a piercing scream, the rogue turned its eyeless face towards Charlotte. Its face contorted and twisted into terrible, nightmarish shapes and shadows, but still those hollow sockets seemed to stare straight at Charlotte.
A buzzing sound, like millions of insects fighting to escape, could be heard from within the wolf's twisting form. The sound grew in volume, growing louder and more insidious until Charlotte had to clap her hands over her ears as she stumbled
back.
A deafening roar, and Charlotte raised an arm to shield her eyes as the wolf's massive form exploded and dirty, black ashes rained down on Charlotte.
Charlotte staggered back, coughing and spluttering as the ground tilted dangerously. She lost her balance and the ground rose to meet her. Just before her face connected with the concrete, she felt Bryn grabbing her and supporting her. “Hang on, partner,” Bryn said fiercely. “Just you hang on.”
Charlotte cracked her eyes open to see Bryn's anxious face and a halo of fine mist fanning out behind her. She opened her mouth, but only managed an incoherent gurgle as Glenn Constantine materialized from the mist and stepped forward.
“You did good, girls,” Glenn said, stooping down to gather Charlotte in his arms. “Let's get you back to the PAC Headquarters. You need to get your wounds treated, and—you have to collect your Enforcer's Badge.”
“Enforcer's Badge?” Bryn stuttered. “You mean...”
“Yup, you passed.”
“So you're our assessor,” Bryn gave the Master vampire a crooked smile and leaned down to hug Charlotte. “You hear that? We did it!”
Charlotte nodded and smiled as the mist swirled around her. When the mist cleared and she opened her eyes, she saw a circle of faces hovering above her.
She blinked against the overhead light. She saw Jasynta, Bryn, Blake, Glenn and Jett.
Jasynta helped her sit up, and she felt the swathe of thick bandages around her torso. Everyone started talking at once, congratulating her on becoming a full-fledged Enforcer.
“Charlotte.”
Her eyes darted between the gaps of all the smiling faces and saw Lucas. Everyone parted, stepping aside to let her mate through. His eyes held so many emotions, emotions so deep and strong she almost gasped when he finally took her hand in his.
Her heart flip-flopped madly as she looked up at him.
Was he angry?
Would he not let her hunt, after seeing how she'd been injured?
Would he...
“Lucas,” she began. “I...”
He put a finger to her lips and whispered, “I am so proud of you.” He leaned in to kiss her, and it was no tentative, gentle kiss. It was deep and passionate, and it sent desire spiking through her bandaged, battered body. She growled against his lips, grabbing his shirt to pull him closer. “Take off my bandages,” she panted. “I want...”
“Woah, no taking off the bandages!” Jasynta's voice came slinging through the air.
“For how long?” Charlotte pouted.
“Hmmm.” Jasynta tapped a nail against her chin, pretending to mull over her question. “Not long,” she grinned. “Not long at all. The Potion of Promise enhances your healing abilities as well. Great potion, yeah?” she said with pride.
“Great potion,” Lucas answered sincerely.
Lucas leaned in to kiss her again, and this time Charlotte blushed furiously. “Lucas,” she hissed, glancing around. “Everyone's watching!”
“It's just a kiss,” he drawled, but his eyes sparkled, promising wicked things. “A kiss for the Alpha's mate. And...” Lucas turned to Jett and nodded.
Jett stepped forward, and presented her with a gold badge in the shape of a shield. “And an Enforcer's badge for a great Enforcer. Well done, Charlotte.”
Charlotte blinked at her brand new badge and looked up at Bryn, who was waving her own badge happily at her. “We did it,” she whispered.
“We sure did, partner!” Bryn hooted.
Everyone offered their congratulations and began to file out of the room. Jasynta checked her dressing one last time, and gave her the thumbs-up. “Tonight,” the witch doctor smiled. “You can remove the bandages tonight. Oh, and you can go home now.”
When Jasynta closed the door to the medical bay quietly behind her, leaving them alone, Lucas held Charlotte in his arms for a long time, pressing his lips against her forehead. “I love you,” he said at last.
She gazed up at him, her eyelashes brushing against his stubbled chin. “I love you,” she whispered.
Charlotte held her Enforcer's badge against her chest, and breathed against her mate. It felt as though a weight had been lifted off her chest, and for the first time in a long time, she felt free, strong and whole.
“Let's go home, Lucas. And tonight...”
He growled. “Tonight...is a full moon.”
“Tonight—” She winked seductively, pressing her body against him and feeling her curves melt against his hard, powerful body. “We'll see if you can catch me, wolf!”
“You're injured,” he growled, frowning down at her. “I won't...”
“I heal fast,” Charlotte answered proudly. “I am the Alpha's mate. I am your mate. I want you to howl for me, chase me, and mate with me under the full moon, Mr Rieve!” She jabbed a finger into his chest.
Lucas caught her hand sharply, and gazed deep into her eyes. Pressing her fingers to his lips, he smiled and whispered, “Yes, Mrs Rieve.”
~ End ~
About the Author
Natalie Kristen is a writer who enjoys mixing the sweet with the spicy, the light with the dark, the possibilities with the unimaginable. She enjoys exploring paranormal and dystopian worlds, deep desires and inspiring romances. She is hopelessly addicted to coffee, chocolate, reading and writing. She loves to hear from readers so please feel free to follow her on Twitter and Facebook, or visit her blog for the latest news and updates.
Blog:
nataliekristen.blogspot.com
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Alpha Mate: BBW Paranormal Shifter Romance Page 13
