by Kim Faulks
“Then, let’s get started.”
The witch clutched the bloodstone and held it high over the bed. Her old body swayed as whispers filled the room, one chant mumbled over and over until I found no end and no beginning. I dropped to my knees, grasping the crumbled comforter, staring at her swollen face. A deep red mark across her cheek was turning purple.
My damn fingers trembled as I crept them toward her. I’d heard her cry of pain. I brushed a strand of crimson hair. I didn’t know it was her… how could I’ve known? Some force inside me pulled me to the corner of the street.
I want to make a new deal. Those words tugged at my thoughts.
Abrial whimpered while the old woman muttered in a tongue I didn’t know. I needed answers. I needed to understand, but most of all I needed the wolf whole.
Abrial gripped the sheet and turned her head, as though she heard my breath, or the thunder of my heart. She opened her eyes. A flash of silver held my gaze. The tiny shake of her head spilled blood from the corner of her mouth as she whimpered. “No… can’t shift… don’t do this.”
I swallowed hard and lifted my gaze to the old woman. Her eyes were closed, her lips barely moving. A spark in her hand dragged my gaze. The bloodstone glowed, filling the room with a pulsing light.
Abrial snarled. Her lip pulled back, revealing long canine’s. “Please, Marcus… no more. I can’t do this.”
I clenched my fist, then reached for her face, brushing my finger along her cheek. “You have to, Abrial. It’s the only way.”
Abrial’s eyes snapped open. The silver eyes of her wolf found me. Her wolf sniffed the air, whimpered then bared her teeth. I flinched as the sheet tore under her grip. Abrial’s voice turned husky, filled with fear and hate. “Don’t make me shift. I will kill her, dragon. I will shred her mind.”
I took her anger like a punch to my balls. “You kill her and you’ll die too.”
Her voice turned deep and feral, nothing like the woman I knew. For a second I saw something in the sheen of silver as the wolf answered. “There’s worse things out there than dying.”
I want to make a new deal.
Those words haunted me. But this time, the mutant bastard’s reply came to life as well. The time for deals is over. You’ve had your fun. Chains or the knife—you choose.
The crystal’s light pulsed, growing brighter with each second. I glanced up to see the stone hovering mid-air.
Chains or the knife… Pack business.
Her back curved, lifting her shoulders from the bed. The snap of bone hit me like a blow, followed by another. Her whimpers turned into a howl, tearing through the room as the bloodstone glowed. Claws replaced her nails, ripping the balled up sheet into two.
I did this. I did this to her. Her bones bowed and her skin turned transparent. Fur sprouted along her arms. The Guardians were created to keep the balance, to protect the weak. And yet I’d hid in this place, ignoring those who needed me the most… those like Abrial.
This woman fought, she bargained… all because she had no choice. I left her with no choice… I’d left her with no one to turn too.
Dead inside… all of you dead.
My pent up breath escaped. The hard ball of guilt was wedged tight inside my throat as Abrial slumped against the bed. “That’s it, shift Abrial. I know it hurts, but you have to finish it now.”
The snap of a stick broke something inside the wolf. The witch’s chants changed tempo, slowing to wield each word like a blade. Abrial kicked the blanket from the bed, lifting her upper body to glare at me. “My damn clothes!”
“Let me help you.”
Her fingers skimmed the button of her jeans, claws raked the denim.
The pained expression in her eyes urged me on. “Stop, it’s okay. Let me do this.”
Her hands fell against the bed. I grasped the waistband of her jeans, trying not to hurt her. Her bones shattered under the garment, poking hard edges under my hands as I shoved the zipper down. I eased the waistband over her hips as they bowed unnaturally, then scurried toward the end of the bed.
“Hurry, Marcus.” The old woman broke the chant to whisper.
I jerked the bottom of her jeans, tugging them over her thighs, then her legs until they were free. Russet colored hair spread along her shins, racing to cover her body and the room was filled with the thick scent of wolf.
Half-woman, half-wolf Abrial snarled and cried. “She’s killing me. Stop… stop.”
I jerked my head toward the witch as movement on the bed blurred. Abrial threw herself over the other side of the mattress, and hit the floor with a thump. Her howl tore through the room, filled with pain and torment and there was nothing I could do to help her.
My dragon rose to the surface, forcing the air deep into my lungs and with the wolf’s scent. I shoved myself up from the end of the bed and rounded the corner. The dimmed light glinted off her amber colored fur revealing hard edges and a thin frame. She turned her face against the wall, leaving a bloody smear in her wake.
“I can’t force the shift. She’s fighting me too hard.” The shaman croaked.
I flinched at her words. “You have to. You don’t have a choice.”
The old woman’s face paled under the lights. The bloodstone that hovered in the air dropped lower, coming face to face with the witch. With each slow pulse the light dimmed from the crystal.
“No more.” The sound that came from Abrial was guttural and strange, not beast, not woman. “Please, no more.”
I scurried toward her, dropping to my knees and tried to keep the panic from my voice. “You gotta stop fighting her, Abrial. You have to complete the shift. It’s the only way now.”
A mewl slipped from her lips to ravage the inside of my chest. Shift, my dragon growled. Shift or I’ll make you shift myself. A blaze filled my mind, burning the panic away like wildfire and leaving only one thing—need.
My body was not my own—the dragon forced a step toward her. Shift, my beast demanded. Red hair bounced under the shake of her head. Weak… wolf.
Her head stilled, the tremors slowed. Like a puppet I moved closer.
Weak, wolf.
Abrial’s head snapped up. Silver eyes pierced me like a blade. “I’m not weak.
Weak, wolf. Only the strong survive.
She flinched, dragging in each breath to crackle and pop inside her chest. Her claws raked the smooth tiled floor as she leaned forward. Her lip lifted, revealing long canines. “I. Am. Strong.”
Her body shuddered as behind me the old woman cried out. The heavy thump that followed left me with nowhere else to turn. I opened myself up to my dragon, praying he knew what Abrial needed.
Shift, or I’ll make you.
White, hot pain tore from my nails as talons sprouted. Blood ran down the insides of my fingers as I raised my hand. Shift, or I’ll make you.
The dragon raked my nails through the air. Sweat broke out on the back of my neck at the thought of hurting her.
Shift, weak wolf.
Her body bowed, bending unnaturally. Cloth ripped as Abrial shed the last of her clothes. The half-beast slowly morphed into a wolf, rising to stand on all fours. The hair along her shoulders rose as she turned to face me and inside me the dragon smiled.
Wolf… he dragged in the heavy scent to fill the empty space inside me.
The bristle of her hackles softened, falling soft against her shoulders.
Wolf.
I flinched as she took a step, her top lip curled… a warning, don’t hurt me. My dragon urged me forward. I reached out to skim the coarse fur with my fingers. The connection tore through me like a live wire—my heart stopped—shocked—then the tore through my chest as my heart raced to catch up.
The Bloodletter let out hiss that sounded far too much like a sigh, then dragged my hand away. The wolf dropped to the ground and closed her eyes. Red fur drew back revealing pink skin, fresh from a shift.
Her legs stretched out, revealing long, powerful legs. I’d never seen
a wolf shift. I’d never wanted to—until now. My gaze lingered on the soft curve of her ass as she drew her knees toward her chest.
“Enough, dragon. Let her have some privacy.”
I jerked my head up to the old woman who stared at me.
“She’s safe now… she’s healed. Let her come to without the overpowering stench of lust suffocating her.”
My face burned as I turned back to Abrial’s hunched form. I’d never felt such a need to touch another, to hold and comfort. But right now she needed none of that. “I’ll be outside the door.”
My steps were a blur as I headed for the door. I dragged claws over the handle and yanked the door inwards. The sting followed as my nails retracted, revealing human fingers once more.
Victor lifted his head at the sound. “Everything okay in there?”
I nodded, dragging the door closed behind me. “She’s okay. She’s okay.”
The words bounced around in my head, before I felt the tension release inside. I glanced to the rest of my family, sitting with their backs against the wall, waiting for me.
I let my knees buckle until my ass hit the tiled floor. I swallowed my breaths, clutching every cry tight.
“Who is she, Marcus?” I tore my gaze from the closed door. Xael watched me from the end of the hallway, arms crossed against her chest. “Who is she to you?”
“I don’t know.” The answer slipped free. “But I want to know.”
Xael’s gaze jerked toward the closed bedroom door. “She did this. The witch is the cause of this. She’s the one who sent you out in the middle of the night. She brought this wolf to our door.”
Her acid words burned, but I’d suffered worse before. “I was meant to find the wolf. I was meant to help her. To care for her.”
“Why, Marcus? Why care for someone after all these years?”
The words flowed like blood from an open wound, turning my voice husky and raw. “Because, living and existing are not the same. And I’m tired of just existing.”
“We may be shifters, but that’s all that marks you and her as the same, Marcus. Listen to me.” Xael’s hard voice softened. “I can smell the dirt and the pine on her skin a mile away. I can smell the hurt, the pain, and the fear. These people live like the beasts they are—we don’t. We don’t understand their rules or their way of life and we’re not meant to. What I’m saying is, maybe we should stay out of it and let the packs sort this out themselves?”
The hallway fell silent. I strained to hear.
The heavy beat of my heart drowned out the voices on the other side. Low growls slipped into cries. I slid my hand along the tiled floor. The pads of my fingers screeched against the smooth surface.
Not our war to fight.
If not us, then who?
I’m tired of feeling nothing. Don’t leave me now that I know you. Don’t leave me to carry this ache for the two of us.
The door was wrenched open and the old woman shuffled from the room.
“She’s ready now.” She lifted her head and cast her gaze up and down the hall, before turning to me again. Keeping her voice low, she warned. “Be gentle with her, she’s more fragile than she cares to admit.”
I lifted my head to find the curled form in my bed. The black sheet I cast aside now draped her body. Her torn singlet was nothing more than strips of cloth covering her breasts. I dragged one foot forward, then the other, closing the door behind me. There were no hard jagged breaths to fill my room, only the easy fill and flow of Abrial’s lungs. One breath and the weight lifted.
I hovered at the end of the bed, savoring every tiny detail. Her hair, her cheekbones, the soft fan of her lashes, memorizing these seconds as though they were my last on this earth. The thick fans fluttered open. The glint of emerald captured me and left me stranded.
“You,” she croaked. Her pink tongue slid out, wetting her lips, leaving a glistening trail under the bedroom lights.
“Me.” I tried to hide my concern behind a smile, but the expression felt as rusty as the gate out front.
“That’s twice you’ve saved me.”
My chest swelled, thudding, pulsing. I’d save this woman every day for the rest of my life. “I’m just glad you’re okay. I thought for a moment there I was too late.”
One slight shake of her head sent her hair cascading across the pillow. “No, you were just in time. Thank you.”
I searched her face, the swelling was gone, but there could be something else I wasn’t seeing. I had to know. “And you’re okay now?”
The spark seemed to dull in her eyes as she answered. “Yeah, I’ll live.”
“They were waiting for you, Abrial. They knew you’d come.”
Her eyes widened at the sound of her name. She wrenched her gaze from mine, searching the far wall of my bedroom. I took a step closer, demanding she look at me. “Why did you come back?”
She shoved the sheet from her body and worked her legs toward the edge, then over the side. She refused to look at me. Why would she refuse to look at me?
“It doesn’t matter.”
“It matters to me.”
Her hand stilled, gripping the edge of the bed, still her lap was more important than my eyes. “I don’t want to involve you. It’s bad enough I need to turn to the humans for help.”
“Pack business, right?”
I caught the flinch a second before she answered. “Yeah, pack business.”
“Sounds like you need a new pack.” Her head snapped up and in those vibrant eyes there was a glimmer of fire. It was something, sending out a flare inside. “If you need anything, maybe I can help you.”
“Maddy had a baby… a girl.”
Her words were so fragile. If I looked away, if I moved, or spoke harshly, I’d ruin this moment forever. “That’s good news. She’s very lucky.”
She shook her head. “No, not lucky. None of us are lucky. They’ve left her out there. They’ve left her and her baby to die.”
I took the blow from her words to my chest and remained standing. “What did you say?”
“She’ll die. If not by exposure, then the Echo pack will come. No one survives, especially not on their own….”
The women.
Pack business.
I took the last step. “What kind of pack is this?”
“Every pack… it’s all we know.”
I want to make a new deal.
I licked my lips, hearing her words in my head. “So you need somewhere for Maddy and her baby to stay?”
“There are others.”
I nodded. “Go on.”
“There’s a lone wolf, Odessa… and….”
Me.
Say the word… please, just say the damn word. I’d move mountains. I’d lay waste to this entire town just to have you under my roof… eating my food, in my arms, or in my bed.
“We have others too old to walk, or hide. It’s just until we rest, then we’ll leave.”
“So you’d stay here too, then?”
She lifted her head and held my gaze. “If you want me to.”
“Yes.” I snapped, then softened my voice, trying hard to quell the thunder in my chest. “Yes, I want you to.”
There was nothing but silence as she searched my gaze. I wanted to show her. I wanted to touch her.
“Then, we have to go. I can’t let them down.”
She wobbled as she stood. I lunged, grabbing her around the waist. My fingers brushed the curve of her hip, finding warm skin. I couldn’t let her go. I wouldn’t let her go.
Her lips parted. The motion drew my focus. I lowered my head, capturing her breath before our lips touched. So tender, so warm… so alive. She tilted her head and arched her neck and waited.
The rim of her upper lip beckoned. I lowered my head to brush the swell of my mouth along the edge of her lip, and closed my eyes.
I hugged the contours of her mouth, kissing the corners. That cold, dead thing inside my chest took flight. My dragon came alive. I licked the i
nside of her lip, probing her mouth with my tongue, and felt her still.
The predator in me rose, ready for the hunt. My hunger burned deep, but I didn’t want pain or flesh. I inhaled the scent of the forest on her skin, and the salty remnants of her blood, and wanted more.
I wanted this woman… this wolf.
Her fingers trembled against my arm, sliding along my skin to grip my wrist. She held on as I trailed the sweet curve of her waist to flatten my palm against the small of her back. Her chest collided with mine and my body surged, hardening and swelling. I wanted more, so much more. A growl slipped from her lips, tingling my mouth.
I probed her mouth with my tongue, finding the tip of her canine. She was dangerous, this wolf. Dangerous for me. My dragon pulsed with desire. Inside my head, he opened his wings and all I saw was fire and fury.
Mine, he warned. Mine to protect.
I mashed my mouth against hers, forcing her lips flat against her teeth. Her growl slipped deeper, forcing my lips to part with a bold caress of her tongue. She belonged to him—to the Bloodletter.
I shuddered with the thought.
There was no escape—not for me—not for her.
God help anyone who touches her again.
My cock hardened as I flattened my palm over the swell of her ass. I wanted to rut like a beast. I wanted to feel her slick with sweat and hear her cry out my name. I wanted to watch myself in her eyes while she rode me. I wanted more—I wanted everything.
Her hands shuddered, clenching tight. She looked tired—weak. Too weak. I broke the connection and inhaled deep staring at her florid lips. I wanted to lick them, to ease her pain and her loneliness.
“We can’t do that again.”
I cringed, watching those lips I’d kissed mouth the words, then stared into her eyes. “I don’t understand. Did you not enjoy it?”
Her answer was slow while inside the mold of my wings spread, filling me.
“Yes. I enjoyed it. That’s the problem. Don’t make demands of me, Marcus.”
I shook my head, my pulse racing. “I won’t….”
“You already have.” She lifted her hand. I braced for impact. The soft caress wasn’t enough as she followed the line of my jaw. I held still in fear she’d pull away. “Don’t want me, Marcus. Don’t feel anything for me at all.”
