Hatred boiled as he shoved back the avalanche of memories. Clint burst into action, pushing the door open so hard it broke off the hinge. Shifting to half-beast, he met Ava head-on. His height shot up, his body widening as fur rippled down his back and his clothes shredded.
“So powerful now. I always knew you had it in you.” Her eyes sparkled in amusement.
Clint shook his head slowly. The words rumbled from his chest, “Fuck you, Ava!”
Her chilling laugh unsettled him. “Kneel, and I may let your pet live.”
“Not a chance in hell.”
“Kneel before me!” The command was tinged with the alpha voice, but had no effect this time, other than pissing him off further. Either Slater being his alpha overrode her dominance, or he was finally stronger than her. Then the bitch added, “Later, I’ll let you have revenge against Axel, if you play along.”
His rage erupted, sending him across the distance. He tackled her to the ground, closing his hand over her throat. She was the one who nearly destroyed him.
Her eyes rounded in surprise as he tore out her windpipe. Desperate, he searched for a weapon, but there was nothing obvious.
The bent frame of her Humvee caught his attention. He tore off a twisted hunk of metal and slammed it into her chest, crunching through her sternum to the bitch’s heart.
Stumbling back, he caught the scent of gasoline. Clint raced back to the BMW and tore Emily’s belt loose. Gently as he could, he pulled her over his shoulder and grabbed her cell phone from the floor. He ran into the woods, down the hillside, and slid to a creek before finding a soft patch of grass where he laid her down.
She didn’t like to be touched, but he had to get her to safety. An explosion sent his heart racing as he brought up Emily’s contacts. Fumbling with his clawed hands, he managed to call Robert as he crouched beside Emily, ready to defend her from whatever might come.
Robert answered, “Hi, Emily. I’m busy—”
“Not too busy to pick up your sister,” Clint growled. He couldn’t help it. The realization that her brother would blow Emily off made him furious, especially with what had happened a moment before.
“Who is this?” he demanded.
“Clint. We were in an accident, only it wasn’t. I need you to come to us. Can you track this phone?”
A grimace twisted his features as he looked down at the sweet mage. Two options. Stay a beast and possibly frighten Emily, or sit beside her in the buff. The month before Robert had brought Clint to her, completely nude, so she’d already seen the full Monty. He shifted back, hoping awkward was better than waking next to a terrifying creature.
“A moment, please.” The phone clicked off and Robert appeared before him in a pair of jeans and nothing else. His pants weren’t even fastened. The scar of a white handprint over his heart, and another on his side, spun questions through his head, but he ignored them.
Clint snarled, “Your sister is more important than getting laid.”
Robert nodded. “Agreed. What happened?”
“Get us somewhere safe. Somewhere she can be healed if needed. She hit her head. I think that’s it. I tried to stop the damage, but—”
“Calm down,” Robert told him, kneeling beside Emily, then he touched each of them. They showed up in Clint’s living room.
Clint’s eyes widened and he snapped, “Here? You brought her here?”
Robert stared at him in exasperation. “Yes, here. You’re across the street from us. I want to know what happened, and you have plenty of spare rooms. Let her have a guest room. This gives you the perfect opportunity to take care of her.”
“Why not your place? Wouldn’t she be more comfortable at your house?”
Robert’s head tipped to the side. “She trusts you. I won’t be home. Liz and Tremaine are both at the bookstore. Here, with you, makes the most sense.”
Clint threw his hands up, trying not to wonder why Robert had been naked at the bookstore, and focus on the relevant issue. “She’s scared to death of men, and hello, you brought her to a man’s house.”
“One she’s letting in. She’s different around you. I’m willing to bet she’d rather be here than at my place.” Robert shrugged. “You haven’t once pushed her. Just put some clothes on, for heaven’s sake.” He lifted his sister and nodded at the stairs.
With a sigh, Clint turned and headed up to the second floor. Robert followed closely behind.
“You’re insane,” Clint muttered.
“Where should I put her?”
Robert’s plan was utter bullshit. There were so many ways it could go wrong. The situation couldn’t get much stranger. Mr. Prim-and-Proper, half-naked, carrying his sister up the stairs behind a fully-naked werewolf. If he weren’t mortified, he’d laugh.
“Across from me. Here.” He opened the door.
Robert laid Emily down, and looked up with a serious expression. Thankfully there was no accusation in his steady gaze. “What happened?”
Rubbing the scar on his chest, Clint sighed. “We went for a run. On our way back, the Elm Wood Pack second drove her Humvee into Emily’s car. I tried to keep Emily from being hurt. The impact was brutal, she hit her head despite my hold. Then I killed the bitch.”
Robert’s brow wrinkled. “The second?”
“Ava Fang. She’s the one who changed me. The one who ripped away my whole world. The one who nearly destroyed me. They finally got tired of my resistance to their fucked-up orders and left me for dead. I survived and wound up here.”
There was a soft buzz and Robert pulled his phone out. “Preston’s ready. I’ll be back in ten minutes. Go get cleaned up. I need to take Preston to the scene.”
Clint nodded. “I’ll hurry. Don’t want to leave her alone for long.”
“Stop worrying, Clint. I’m confident she’ll agree with this plan.”
He nodded before shutting himself in his room and heading to the bathroom for a quick shower. Touching Ava left a film of self-disgust he wanted to scrub away before being anywhere near Emily.
* * * *
Axel perched at the helicopter’s door, waiting for any sign of Ava and Clint. The plan was to follow her back to their compound, unless they had a tail. Then, they’d hook the vehicle to the helicopter and carry it away.
An explosion sounded in the distance. “Go, find them!” Axel shouted.
Toby yelled back, “On it.”
Flying inches above the trees, the road appeared before them. Fire blazed. Ava had crawled far enough from the wreckage to avoid being burned, but blood covered her body.
He looked to the burning remains of the Humvee and BMW. No one could have survived.
They landed near Ava and Axel climbed out to roll her onto her back. A twisted piece of metal was lodged in her chest. Sweat coated Ava’s skin.
Only one person could have done that. Clint had survived, and apparently managed to get the mage out of harm’s way before the explosion. Fucker always thwarted his plans. The shit would pay dearly for harming Ava.
His gaze dropped back to his dark-haired beauty. Dread twisted through him. She was in bad shape, though would live. He needed to remove the metal, but not until they were somewhere safe.
Gently scooping her into his arms, he climbed into the helicopter and motioned for Toby to move his ass. They were close enough to Edenton that someone would be by to investigate the explosion.
Not the time to track Clint and the healer down. There were rumors of a mage who could track anyone as long as a metaphysical trail existed. In the air, theirs would be damned hard to follow.
Endless questions swarmed Axel’s head. Where did Clint go? How did they get away?
* * * *
After dressing properly, Robert showed up on Preston’s doorstep and knocked loudly. Preston threw the door open. “I told you I was ready when you were.”
Robert nodded, a grim look on his face. “Emily’s unconscious. Clint’s worried about how well she’ll handle being in his home.”
“You left Emily at his house?” Preston snickered. When Robert stared back, Preston blinked, his expression turning serious. “You really do trust him?”
“The fact he’s worried about what she’ll think convinces me I made the right choice.”
Preston snorted. “Can’t say I blame him. He’s observant. Knows she’s been through hell. Now he needs to catch on to the fact she is slowly opening up around him.”
Robert huffed in shared amusement. “He makes her smile. I’m hoping this helps her.”
Grinning, Preston changed the subject. “So, where are we going?”
Robert grabbed his shoulder and they were standing about a dozen yards from twisted, burning wreckage as a helicopter flew off in the distance.
“Shit.” Preston shook his head. “Werewolves.”
“Clint’s old pack based on his story. The second purposely collided with Emily’s car.”
“Looks like the wards Liz placed kept the inside of the BMW intact. The outside…” he winced, “that’s a damned mess.”
“How many?”
Preston looked at the road. Robert did the same and followed the blood trail about fifty yards out.
“Besides whoever was injured, one, maybe two, because someone carried her off in that helicopter. Pain lingers in her essence. She’s in bad shape but definitely alive when they picked her up. I’ll see if I can find a flight schedule for this area, but I’m guessing they didn’t bother following procedure.”
“Probably not. Find what you can. I need to get back, at least until Clint is done with his shower.”
“Shower?”
“Yeah. He shifted. Tried to kill the second with part of the Humvee, and then carried Emily away from the wreck, before calling me in his half-beast form.”
Preston’s brow arched. “I can see why he’d be concerned about Emily’s reaction.”
“He has nothing to worry about.”
“He may not realize that. Go back over. I’ll see what I can find, then we can figure out where to go from here.”
* * * *
Wearing jeans and a t-shirt, Clint dug out his spare phone and headed back to the guest room. Robert looked up and met his gaze.
“Ava Fang was alive, and carried away by a helicopter.”
Clint grimaced. “Fuck me.”
Robert shook his head. “We’ll find them.”
“Yeah.” He held up the phone. “I need to call Slater. Give me a moment?”
“Do it, then don’t leave her side. I need to go back to Preston. If she needs anything you don’t have, call immediately. I’ll have my phone on.”
He took another look at Emily. She seemed fine, but he wasn’t willing to touch her again until she woke up. And then, only if invited to do so.
Clint moved back to his room to make the call.
A moment later Slater chuckled. “Kill another phone?”
He took a deep breath before answering. “My old pack found out I’m still alive. Ava commanded I come back, but she holds no sway over me.” He rubbed at his chest, as he stared a hole in the wall. “Thought I killed her, but Robert and Preston don’t think so.”
“Don’t worry. If they’re coming for you, they’re out of hiding. We’ll get them.”
“Slater, I can’t go back. I can’t be what they demand.”
“I would never ask it of you. We’re your pack. If you can’t face them, we’ll send you away until they’re dealt with.”
“No, I want payback for what they made me do. I want my share of the revenge.”
“Then you’ll have it. I’ll meet Robert and Preston at the scene. They’ll fill me in. We’ll see if we can find out where those bastards are hiding.”
“Let me know if you need me. Though, I’m watching over Emily right now. She was in the car when Ava tried to use the BMW like a ramp.”
“She okay?”
“Think so. Not sure what to do, other than be here when she wakes up.”
“She need a healer?”
“Not sure. She is a healer. And she doesn’t like being touched. I don’t want her to wake up on my guest bed and have someone strange touching her.”
“Clint, whatever they tried to make you into, you aren’t. You’re a good man, always have been. If you change your mind, call. I’ll send Dakota. They’ve met a few times to discuss magical healing.”
“Okay, I’ll ask when she wakes up.”
“I’ll call when I know something.” Slater hung up.
He sighed and moved back to the guest room. His brow arched at Robert. “Would your sister be opposed to a nymph healing her? Slater suggested Dakota, but Amethyst is a woman and less likely to make Emily nervous.”
Robert grinned. “She’d be fine with that if she can’t heal herself. Though, I now understand what Emily sees in you. Not many would consider her needs first.”
“Least I can do after she took care of my arm. Go. I’ll call Amethyst if she wants a healer.”
Chapter 3
Emily’s head throbbed, the pain matching her pulse. A warm, familiar presence blanketed her. A smile pulled at her lips as she turned toward the source. “Clint,” she murmured, not bothering to open her eyes.
“Oh, thank god, you’re awake.” His clothes rustled and his heat drew closer. “How’s your head?”
“Hurts,” she muttered, snuggling against the pillow with one arm while reaching for him with the other. Hard muscle jumped at her touch.
His startled gasp snapped her eyes open. He stood frozen at the edge of the bed, completely mortified as he stared down at the hand two inches from the bulge in his pants.
Blushing, she snatched her hand back. “Sorry, wanted your hand. Where are we?”
He sat on the mattress and laid his hand palm up next to her. “It’s okay. I knew you weren’t intentionally going there. We’re at my house, in a guest room.”
Emily caught the worried frown as he looked out the window. Hoping to reassure him, she twined her fingers through his. For a fleeting second she wondered how she’d wound up at Clint’s, but she didn’t really care. He’d protect her, keep her safe. Maybe she could finally let him behind her walls and help her find a new balance.
Relaxing, he looked down at her with a soft smile.
“What happened?” she asked.
Clint sighed, and told her everything, starting with trying to keep her from being thrown forward in the crash, to Robert bringing them here.
The worry on his face when he wondered aloud what the hell Robert was thinking made her smile. Perfect, sweet, caring, everything she wanted but was too afraid to admit. Now she couldn’t deny her attraction to the werewolf. She grinned, biting her lip.
Looking into his eyes, she pulled his hand to her mouth for a soft kiss. “My hero.”
The rumbling groan from his lips awakened a desire that flickered to life every time Clint was near.
Closing his eyes, he shook his head slowly. Then he asked, “How’s the head? Should I call Amethyst?”
Her free hand touched the tender spot. Pain flared but she whispered a spell and the discomfort melted away with the bump.
Smiling, she sat up. “Nah. I’m fine.”
“Want me to call Robert?”
“No, but may I use the restroom to cleanup?” She glanced at her hand and frowned. “Maybe wash the blood off.”
He dipped his head in a nod. “I could at least have him grab you some fresh clothes.”
“Do you mind loaning me sweats and a t-shirt? Then maybe driving me back to my place?”
“Of course not.”
Relief settled in. “And the date? I still want to go on the date.” She swallowed hard, staring into Clint’s green eyes.
His brows pinched, trepidation on his face. “I told you I attempted to kill a woman and you want to go out with me?”
“I also saw the fear in your eyes when you said her name and mentioned her pack. I’m guessing she deserves worse than the quick death you tried to grant.”
He relaxed. “You can say that again, but I’d rather end her than drag out punishment.” He sighed, a grave look on his face, and a hint of desperation. “I want to be sure you aren’t afraid of me.”
Emily thought back over the months she’d known him and how he sweetly lulled her into spending a few moments here and there with him. Always patient and gentle.
A few days after meeting Clint, she’d been down at A Good Book, looking for something new to read. Clint walked in and went straight to Liz asking, “Hey, Liz. You needed help with the new shelves?”
“I do. Over there. Want a coffee for your trouble?”
“Sure, you know what I like. Let me check out what I’m working with. I’ll be over in a few.”
Clint turned and met Emily’s gaze. A smile slowly spread. “Afternoon, Emily. You look lovely.”
She blushed, dipping her head slightly. “Thanks. You’re here to fix shelves?”
He nodded beyond her. “To put them together. What can I say, I’m talented with my hands.”
Swallowing, she looked down at his hands and imagined how he might touch her.
“Hey, if you’re not busy later, we could do lunch? Shouldn’t take me long to assemble the kits. Anywhere you want to go.”
Excitement rushed through her, chased by lingering fear. She dropped her gaze, embarrassed by the anxiety she couldn’t squash, no matter how much Clint soothed her. “Sorry. I have to be in Seattle soon.”
His smile dimmed as he shrugged. “Another time then. Enjoy your day.” He moved past her to the shelves.
Even then she’d been tempted to take a chance, and that had been six months before.
“The more I’m around you, the more I realize I want to try to be normal for you.”
“Don’t need normal. You’re exactly what I want, any way you come.”
“You set my mind at ease.” The corners of her mouth tipped up and she admitted, “A deep peace surrounded me while you watched over me.”
Blissful Agony Page 2
