Greyson - Part 3: An Alpha Billionaire Shifter Romance (The Silver Moon Pack)

by Cali MacKay

  “You fucker.” Greyson lunged for him, ignoring the sharp pain in his chest and side, even as Ryder did his best to hold him back. “I’m going to fucking murder you.”

  “Let it go.” Ryder forced him back. “You need to focus on getting her back. Nothing else matters.”

  Juno… He’d sell his own soul to the devil to get her back—but Thayer only wanted Juno. “What do you fucking want, Thayer?”

  Thayer crossed his arms in front of his chest, looking like he wouldn’t be budging an inch until his demands had been met. “I want her as a member of my pack. Don’t care if you come with her or not. But she’ll be an honored member of Broken Ash, and I’ll see to it personally that she’s well taken care of.”

  Greyson bet he would.

  Yet Thayer could have asked for a whole lot more, though Greyson still wanted to tear him to pieces for the audacity of trying to take Juno away from him and his pack. But with time ticking away, he had few options available to him, though it wasn’t his place to make that sort of agreement on Juno’s behalf, even if she was his wife.

  “That’s still her decision to make. All I can guarantee is that I won’t try to talk her out of it, if she decides that it’s what she wants. But the longer you wait, the more she’s probably suffering, and the less she’ll likely agree to anything you propose.” Greyson couldn’t fucking bear to think about what might be happening to her, and if Thayer didn’t get a move on, he was going to pummel him into a bloody pulp. “Now tell me—where the fuck do you think they’re holding her?”

  “Based on the info I was able to get, I’m guessing they headed to the ridge north of Cedar Cove.” Thayer was already moving toward the door, his stride brisk and his mood focused. “Kinkade inherited a place out that way. It’s the only one in that area, so if you want to let your men know, they should be able to pick up her scent again if they head in that direction. Depending on where they are, they might get to her before we do. I’ve already let my pack know they’re to let your men pass and give them whatever help they need. We’re about an hour away given the rough terrain, though we’re only a day from the full moon, so that’ll help at least.”

  It’d work in their favor since, even with their superior vision, tackling unfamiliar and rough terrain with little to no light would have done nothing but slow their progress.

  Greyson let Cullen and Kiernan know where they thought Juno was being held before they headed out. They rode at breakneck speeds, and managed to trim their time down to forty minutes—which was still too damned long, as far as he was concerned.

  Kiernan and their men were already there, covered in blood, though most of it wasn’t theirs. But as Greyson ran toward the house, ignoring the dead bodies and the bloodshed that had already taken place, Kiernan was the first to approach him, stepping in his path and refusing to let him pass. “Greyson…you can’t go in there, man. She’s alive but…you don’t want to see her like this. Dad’s with her, though, and he’s taking care of her.”

  Greyson’s heart sank even as a rage filled him, his brother’s words like poison to his soul. “Let me fucking pass, Kiernan. I have to see her—and you don’t want to be the one standing in my way.”

  With a shake of his head and worry in his eyes, Kiernan stepped aside. Greyson ate up the ground with long strides, rushing toward the house and through the front door where half a dozen shifters were moving the dead bodies of several more shifters. Ryder was at his side, and Thayer was barking orders to his men, but all Greyson could focus on was finding Juno.

  “Juno.” Greyson then spotted Cullen, standing in the doorway of a room down the hall—and once more he was stopped from seeing her. “I need to see her.”

  Cullen grabbed his shoulders and held him firm, though it only fueled his anger and frustration. “She’s in bad shape, Greyson. By the look of it, the fucking bastard was trying to change her to a shifter—and that’s just the start of it, I’m afraid. I have no right to keep you from her, but…you need to prepare yourself for the worst, son. And I hate to say it, but the guy who took her…though he was severely wounded, he managed to get away in the commotion. Took the chopper out of here so that we couldn’t follow.”

  Furious and desperate to see his Juno, he pushed past his father and found her wrapped in a blanket, curled in on herself, shaking and trembling, her gaze refusing to meet his. It fucking broke him to see her like this, and a quick glimpse at her and the room—the messed-up bed and the leather ties where she’d been bound to the frame—told him more than he needed to know. But worse still, she was covered in blood and bite marks, and beneath the blanket, she was still naked, Flint’s scent all over her body.

  “Juno…” His heart shattered as he knelt before her, her tears slipping down her cheeks. But as he reached to take her hand, she pulled away with an anguished cry and whimper that tore at his soul, curling up against the bedframe, as far from his touch as possible. “Let me take you home…let me take care of you. Please, love…”

  He had to get her out of there, especially if she started to undergo the Change into a shifter. Because once the fever and pain set in, he’d need to try to keep her as comfortable as possible.

  Desperate to get her home, he got to his feet, and scooped her up into his arms, her screams breaking him as she pounded on his chest to get free as he held her tightly to him, murmuring softly to her, to try to calm her down, to try to make her realize that she was finally safe. Her struggles eventually stopped and she settled against him, but the sobs that escaped her cut and swollen lips wrenched his heart from his chest. And the scents—her blood, Flint’s blood…her fear, her tears…and so much more—nearly did his head in.

  Someone had a vehicle—or found one—and before long, with her still wrapped tightly in his arms, they were pulling up in front of his cabin, rather than his family’s home. The last thing he wanted was to remind her of the attack, and there was a good chance it was still being cleaned.

  There was still a lot to deal with, especially if Flint managed to get away, but right now, Greyson needed to focus on taking care of Juno and getting her settled in, while keeping her away from all the craziness that was happening on the ridge. His family and friends knew he’d be in touch once he was able, and in the meantime, they’d do what they could to track down the fucking bastard who did this.

  He sat down with her on the bed, still unsure of what she’d had to endure, and not sure he wanted to know. Her body and face were covered in blood, and though some of it may be Flint’s, far too much of it was hers, her body covered in bite marks, from the glimpses he’d seen. “I’m going to draw you a hot bath, okay? Get you cleaned up.”

  She nodded and a fresh wave of tears ran down her cheeks.

  Chapter 5

  Juno focused on the pain racking her body, because as bad as that was, thinking of anything else was worse still, especially when she had to face Greyson. She felt filthy and used, disgusting…and though she’d survived Flint’s attack and abuse, she wasn’t sure she’d survive the aftermath—nor was she sure she wanted to.

  Unable to face him, she squeezed her eyes shut when he knelt before her. But when he touched her, even though he couldn’t have been any more gentle with her, she still flinched and pulled away with a moan, Flint’s touch on her skin far too recent. “Let’s get you in that bath, June bug.”

  She told herself it was Greyson. Flint was gone. She was safe. And yet it did little good. She was still trapped in her nightmare, could still feel the weight of Flint’s body on hers, could still feel his rough hands on her body, could still feel the pain he’d inflicted. And she hated that Greyson would be reminded of everything she’d been through each time he looked at her.

  When he brushed the blanket from her shoulder, she tried not to cringe, telling herself that this was the man she loved…the man who’d done all he could to protect her, the man who’d raised an army to save her. And so she forced herself to look at him, needing to know that she was safe, needing to know t
hat when Greyson touched her, it was him and not Flint.

  But as he took her in, his eyes glowed with a smoldering rage, and she could only imagine what she must look like. But…she also needed him to know that she had tried…she’d tried to put a stop to it.

  “I wanted to kill him…wanted to get away—but I couldn’t.” Her voice was rough and raw from screaming, barely audible and cracking, as her tears streamed down her cheeks. “And I tried to fight him off. But…he’d tied my hands, and my energy…I couldn’t use it, no matter how hard I tried. It was just…gone.”

  She’d been helpless—and Flint had been merciless.

  “He won’t harm you ever again, Juno. And if he isn’t already dead, I’ll hunt him down and finish the job myself. You have my word, he won’t get away with this.” He bent his head to hers, the tension and anger in his body palpable.

  Whether Flint was dead or alive was of little consolation after everything he’d done to her. Even if he’d taken his last breath, it wouldn’t keep her from reliving her nightmare, though she’d had the satisfaction of seeing Kiernan tear into him with such fierce brutality, it’d be a miracle if he actually survived the attack. And at least she was safe now. She told herself that what he did to her didn’t matter. She wouldn’t let him break her, and she’d find a way to put it behind her—except that for now, it felt like those were nothing but lies.

  “Come on, love. You’ll feel better once we get you clean.” Greyson scooped her into his arms once more, though this time, he left the blanket behind, holding her naked and broken body protectively in his embrace as she clung to him, trying to focus on all that was familiar about him.

  Her body ached all over, though whether it was from her physical wounds or due to the bites and the Change, she hadn’t a clue. But when he lowered her into the hot water, she felt every cut, every scrape, every wound, every tear, and was unable to bite back her cries as they escaped her lips and her eyes stung with tears from the sudden burning pain.

  Greyson sat by the tub and grabbed a facecloth, wet it, and then gently, tentatively, wiped the blood from her face, her neck, her arms—and she let him, even as she fought the part of her that wanted to pull away from his touch. Instead, she forced herself to focus on how familiar he felt, on the safety he offered, on the love he had for her and she had for him.

  But as a shiver worked through her body, she found the courage to ask Greyson about what Flint had done to her, needing to know if what he’d told her was true. It was a struggle to pull each word from her rattled brain and force them past her lips, but she needed to know what was going to happen to her. “Greyson…am I…am I going to become a shifter?”

  She wasn’t sure of any of the details or what exactly it entailed, but she remembered that Greyson had said she might not survive it.

  “Fuck, Juno… I’m so fucking sorry you had to go through any of this.” Greyson’s jaw locked tight with tension before he let out a ragged breath.

  “I just need to know what’s going to happen to me. Please…” The uncertainty of what was to come was doing her head in, especially after all she’d been through. And though Greyson probably wanted to protect her from the truth, it was messing with her head. “You can’t protect me…not from what that sick fuck has already done to me. And I need to prepare myself… I need to know what to expect.”

  Greyson punched his fist into the hard tile floor again and again, not stopping until the tile was cracked and his fist was bloody, even as she flinched with each punch. She’d never seen him so angry…so frustrated…so broken. He took a minute more, taking one deep breath after another, before finally pushing the words past his clenched teeth. “Did he shift into a wolf when he bit you?”

  She nodded, trying to control the sudden shuddering of her body as one image after another flashed through her mind, reliving the terror of being tied to the bed when Flint shifted into a massive wolf and sunk his sharp teeth into her flesh, repeatedly biting her. Except that she couldn’t control the terror that seized her, just like she hadn’t been able to control any of what happened to her. And so she reached out to the one person who could see her through this, her entire body trembling and shaking uncontrollably. “I need you, Greyson… I need you to hold me…to make it stop.”

  “I’m right here, love.” He held her tightly in his embrace, but it wasn’t enough. Already barefoot, he didn’t bother stripping down. Just slipped into the tub next to her, pulling her into his arms and holding her to his muscular body. “I’ve got you. You’re safe now.”

  Except that she wasn’t. Not when she could still remember Flint’s touch, or when she couldn’t shake the feeling of being pinned below his body as his teeth sank into her flesh and she screamed herself raw—and not when she might become a shifter, if the Change didn’t kill her first. Because already, something felt off, every muscle in her body aching—and she was starting to suspect that it wasn’t just from the abuse she’d sustained. “Is that all it takes? To be bitten while he’s a wolf?”

  “Juno…this can wait.”

  She shook her head, and was rewarded with a pounding pain at her temples, piercing and blinding. “No—it can’t wait. I need to know. Now.”

  “It needs to be during the full moon—and though that’s not until tomorrow, this isn’t an exact science, and we’re a lot closer to the full moon than I’d like. But then there’s the fact that you’re a Laighir, and I don’t think anyone knows how that will affect things.” He kissed the top of her head, his strong arms wrapped around her battered body and broken soul, holding her tightly to him as if they might both break apart into a million pieces if he let go. “Juno…fuck…this is killing me. I’m so fucking sorry…”

  “Don’t… It’s not your fault.” Despite the steaming hot water, Juno felt achy and chilled, like she had the flu—except that it was magnified twenty-fold, and coming on faster than anything she’d ever felt before. Even her head suddenly felt muddled, her thoughts a jumbled mess. “I tried to stop him…but I couldn’t get away… He had me tied down…”

  “Hush, love… I know. I’m just sorry I failed you.” The hurt and guilt in his voice killed her.

  “You nearly died defending me.” And he likely wouldn’t have survived the attack if he hadn’t been a shifter—and even then, she’d needed to heal him. She fought the shiver that left her body tense and quivering, only to fail miserably. “Greyson…I think it’s happening. I can feel it…it’s taking over…”

  Her head fell back against his shoulder, suddenly feeling too heavy to hold up, her vision narrowing as she tried to blink everything back into focus. But her eyes slipped shut as she fought against the tremors, not even sure when exactly Greyson had gotten her out of the bath and into his bed.

  He was talking to her, though she couldn’t recall a single word. She suddenly felt like she’d been touched with the heat of a thousand blazing suns, her body writhing as Greyson tried to hold her still. It could have been minutes or hours or days…she didn’t know.

  And then there was the pain.

  Chapter 6

  Greyson had never been more worried in all his life. Cullen had come by with some sort of tincture to help Juno with her transition, and though it seemed to take a bit of the edge off, it was nowhere near enough. Kiernan, Ryder, and even Thayer had also come by to check on her, but in the end, he sent everyone away with a promise to call if things changed.

  Yet he knew they hadn’t gone far—and for that he was grateful. They were keeping guard deep in the woods to make sure no one else tried anything stupid, especially since the bears were still hunting Juno, and might see her weakness as a prime opportunity to take her down. At least he’d healed from his wounds and was back to full health, though it was a small consolation when Juno might not pull through this.

  She’d floated in and out of consciousness at the beginning, but now the fever had taken over completely. He wiped her body down with ice-cold compresses, trying to get her temperature to drop as it rose to
levels that would kill most humans, and doing what he could to get some fluids into her. But just as he’d make progress with her temperature, her body would seize with tremors that had her body contracting with such brutality, he worried it’d leave her with broken bones.

  And then it happened. Her skin rippled and shifted for just a second as her body rode out another muscle-locking seizure. He did his best to hold onto her and keep her from hurting herself, and not for the first time, he thought she might not survive this.

  The first twenty-four hours were the worst—especially as he fought his own primal needs to shift and run and hunt as the full moon rose high into the sky. And yet the next twenty-four weren’t a whole lot better. But by the third day, when he thought her body had finally had enough and death would finally take her into its mercy, her fever broke and she fell into a deep sleep.

  Greyson didn’t leave her side, holding her broken body to his as she slept for the next three days. Three days of nightmares that tore at his soul and left him wondering exactly what that fucking bastard had done to her. Not that he couldn’t guess after he’d been over every inch of her body while trying to keep her fever down. And with nothing but his thoughts and torturous imagination, he had plenty of time to envision all she must have gone through. She’d only been lost to him for a few hours, and yet those hours were enough to change everything.

  They would never be the same. He knew that now. Because there was no possible way she could have a man do those horrific things to her, and then be okay with another man touching her, taking her, fucking her, and not have it be tainted by the nightmare she’d been forced to endure.

  But maybe…maybe if he was kind and patient, maybe if he loved her enough, made her feel safe enough, they’d find a way to get back what they once had. And yet, what they’d had was still so new, so young. They may be fated to each other, mated, husband and wife, but time was not on their side. Not when they had only started their life together.