by Quell T Fox
The woman who was just here with… I look over the guy on the ground. His face is gone. Literally gone. I look away, my hand going to my mouth to push back the vomit. That’s a nasty sight to see and not something I would ever want to see again. Unfortunately, the image will be burned into my brain for the rest of eternity. I’ll have to talk to Lenny about removing it because it’s something that’ll give me nightmares for years to come.
I get myself fully seated, my back pressing against something firm. My body aches and my muscles feel tense, but I did it. I’m sitting up.
I look behind me to see I’m resting against an old gravestone. Looking around I find I’m in a cemetery. Gravestones line the ground for miles, surrounded by thick trees.
Caster and Thorne are still by my side, both with murderous looks on their faces. The light-haired woman takes a step closer to us, holding a hand up which causes the other wolves to stay back.
“Well, aren’t you boys adorable! Can’t say they had boys so good looking when I was in school.” She places her hand on her hip and cocks her head to the side, smiling wide. She looks around the area, then focuses her eyes back on us. “I’m taking the girl, but you’re more than welcome to come. I’m always looking for a new pet. I’ve never had a bear before.” Her eyes look Thorne up and down as she licks her lips.
Anger burns in my chest at her looking at him like that. My limbs are still tingly, so getting up and punching her is out of the question. But if I could, I don’t care what she is, I’d tear her apart for looking at my mate like that. My fists clench by my side, my nails digging into my skin.
Thorne just laughs, throwing his head back. “She’s not going with you. And neither are we.”
Hunter is nowhere to be found, and why am I not surprised? Why would he be here to save me? Why would he care if I lived or died?
“You can stay but the girl comes. We can do this the easy way, or the hard way.” She looks over her shoulder at the wolves behind her. There are nine of them in total. All of them huge with sharp, knife-like claws at the end of paws that are as big as my head. I know Thorne is strong, but I’m not sure he is that strong. Castor… I don’t even know what his animal is to say whether he has a chance or not. And if these are the same wolves who attacked us on the street, I’m not sure they stand a chance at all.
“You guys can’t do this,” I whisper to them. Thorne dips his eyes down at me. “I can’t have anyone else die because of me.” My bottom lip trembles at the thought. I push myself up further, gaining more sensation in my legs.
“You have one minute left to make a decision,” the light-haired woman says all too cheerily. She lowers her arm halfway, causing the wolves to lower their heads and bare their teeth again. They each take a step closer, ready to pounce forward. Slavering down their jowls, white, foamy saliva drops to the ground.
Thorne takes a step back, beginning to strip off his clothes.
“You can shift all you want, bear. You’ll be no match for ten wolves!” the woman shouts, ending on a laugh.
“Thorne, please don’t do this. Just… just—” His jacket is on the ground and he’s pulling his shirt over his head. I don’t miss the woman’s eyes and how they’re glued to my mate. My chest burns with fury at the need to rip her eyeballs from her skull and feed them to her.
“Just what, Leona?” Castor asks in a hushed voice, distracting me from my anger. “Hand you over to them? Not fucking happening.” He glances back at the wolves, then down to me again. “You’re our mate. We will fight to protect you and die trying if we have to, but we will not be cowards and hand you over willingly.”
A sob escapes me as Thorne begins to unbutton his pants.
“Time is up, boys.” She drops her hand to the ground, shifting back into a wolf as the others run towards us. Her body twists and contorts, bones popping and snapping until she is on all fours, covered in fur and running towards us like the rest.
A cold drop hits the tip of my nose and I look up. It burns slightly and I think I’ve imagined it. Thorne steps over me in nothing but his briefs. As he takes another step, his skin starts to darken and he grows larger. Claws emerge from his fingertips as his fingers shrink and his palms expand. Before I know it, Thorne is no longer human but a full-sized grizzly bear. And on the side of him is a fox. A silver fox, to be exact. It’s black fur shines silver, staying true to its name. The only difference is this fox is as big as one of the wolves. My eyes flick back to my side, a second pile of clothing sits on the ground.
Castor is a fox.
Another burning drop to my face has me looking up. The sky is going dark and grey, looking as if a rainstorm is coming. Dark clouds roll in from over the woods where the wolves came from, and they’re moving quickly.
Thorne and Castor clash with the wolves the moment the sky goes black. It’s as if the sun has been plucked from the sky and put away for safekeeping, but for some reason I can still see. I watch as Thorne and Castor fight off the wolves, doing their best to keep them away from me. As one wolf latches onto Thorne’s arm, a deep rumbling starts in my chest. When he yanks it off and tears its head from its body, I can breathe again.
I pull myself to my feet, keeping my eyes on the wolf slinking around the back—the light-haired one who has her eyes on me and only me. I take a step back, ready to make a run for it when someone grabs me. My eyes widen and I try to scream but their hand covers my mouth. My fingers find their arm, digging my nails deep, doing whatever I can to get away.
I will not let someone take me again!
“Shh. We have a plan.” The words are whispered in my ear and I nod in response, trying to calm my frantic heart. Hunter’s breathing is heavy behind me, his hot breath fanning across my neck. I’m pressed against his firm body, my back to his front. I try not to think about it, because it’s not where my mind should be right now. Not in this situation and definitely not with Hunter, the jackass.
I continue to watch Thorne and Castor fight off the wolves. They’re outnumbered, but they’re holding up. Thorne has already taken out three of them and Castor just destroyed his second.
“If one of them gets too close, throw this at them.” Hunter slips a small vial into my hand at the same time he removes his hand from my mouth.
“What is it?” I ask. He’s still pressed up against me, so when he jerks his head in the direction of the man on the ground, I feel it and know exactly what he means.
“I have to go help them. Stay here and don’t waste it. It’s the last one we have.”
I nod as Hunter walks around me. Once in front of me, he takes off at a run and shifts mid-air, turning into an owl. The same snowy, white owl who took the guys face off. My mouth drops open as his clothes flutter to the ground, the whole scene looking like an absurd magic trick.
I squeeze the vial in my hand, keeping my eyes open and aware of what is going on around me. I don’t know how I am able to see in the dark, but I take whatever I can get. Now isn’t the time to question gifts.
Another drop hits my face, then another. Both burning as the others did. My hand reaches up to wipe them away, but they’re coming quicker now.
I let out a hiss as one, two… three hit my arm. Small plumes of smoke rising off my skin. Tiny red marks are left where the water droplets struck, and I’m stunned. I look up at the sky and the clouds let loose. Dropping water from them as if someone pulled a latch, letting it all out.
“Get back! Leona, get out of the rain! Don’t let it touch you,” someone is shouting.
I look around to find where the voice is coming from. “Lenny?” I squint my eyes, looking over my shoulder. “What are you doing here?” Lenny picks up speed, his pace turning into a run. It’s like time has slowed. I know the rain is falling. I know it’s burning. I know I should move. I know Lenny is telling me to move because something is wrong. But I don’t. I’m stunned and confused, and I ache everywhere.
“Move, Leona! Move!” But when the tone in Lenny’s voice tells me it’s life o
r death, I snap out of it.
I see her out of the corner of my eye and duck at the very last second. The light-haired wolf lunges at me, but misses, landing against a gravestone instead. I pick myself up and start to run towards Lenny, drops of rain hitting my skin as I go. Each one burns worse than the last, a few have even caused blood. I’ve lost count at this point, it’s just about full-on raining.
When I hear a growl behind me, I pause and turn. I don’t care about the burn, about the blood. The light wolf is facing me and ready to chase after me again. I stand there and wait. I ignore the pain of the rain at my skin, the blood that’s dripping down, and the missing flesh.
“Leona! What are you doing?” Lenny shouts, holding his hands in the air. He begins shouting words in a language I don’t understand. Seconds later the rain stops pelting my skin, stops burning, but the red marks remain and so does the blood.
The wolf takes a step closer, bowing her head and showing her teeth. She also is being affected by the rain but once she gets under the shield Lenny has made for me, it starts to heal. The holes in her skin close and her fur grows back. She takes another step closer, getting into position to pounce but before she is able to lunge at me, I throw the vial at her. It hits the ground by her paws, shattering into pieces. A blue smoke rises from the liquid, causing her to yelp and step back. The wolf howls in pain, her giant paws scratching at her face as she whines. She steps out from under the shield, the rain tearing open her skin again. She looks up at the sky as the clouds begin to lighten and the rain slows down. She takes the chance to dart towards the woods for cover.
I turn away the exact moment Lenny makes it to me. He pulls me to him and backs up a few feet. The shield moves with us, protecting me from the last of the rain that’s falling. He turns me in his arms, his hands patting down my arms.
“Are you okay? How is your skin? How do you feel?”
“I feel okay,” I answer, looking at my arms, they are full of small red spots. “What is this?”
“Wolfsbane. It’s in the rain.” He points behind me and I turn. Three wolves are retreating to the woods, the same place the light-haired one ran to. “A few more minutes in the rain and they’d have been down too.” My eyes roam over the open area, wolf bodies are littered along the ground, their skin melting from their bones. “They’d have melted away to nothing if the rain had lasted longer.”
When all the wolves are down, my boys retreat. All three of them walking towards me, shifting back into human form. The sky brightens just as they reach me, the sun back where it’s supposed to be, and the clouds nowhere in sight.
When Lenny lets out a groan, it takes me a minute to realize why. I look to him and then back to the guys, realizing they are still very naked.
Lenny is staring at them. “No, Leona. Just no. That thing… that thing is…”
“Lenny, please just stop.” I swipe my hands down my face, not wanting to have the conversation about Thorne’s dick with him. Ever. Not now, not tomorrow. Not ever.
He covers his eyes with his hand and snaps his fingers. The guys are dressed in a second, thankfully in the same attire they were wearing before, and not something silly like footie pajamas with a butt flap.
The guys reach me and it’s Thorne who pulls me into his arms, hugging me tight.
“I’m sorry,” Lenny says. “I couldn’t leave you to do this by yourself. She’s my sister. I-I couldn’t lose her.” He says this to the guys before looking at me. “Are you hurt?” he asks, looking over me. I take a step back from Thorne and look myself over. All the red spots have disappeared and I feel fine.
“No, I’m fine. Pretty sure their pride is though.”
He looks over to the guys, holding up a finger. He takes my hand and pulls me away. We end up at his car which is parked around a cluster of trees. Lenny hangs his head, running his hand through his hair. “I’m sorry. It’s not that I don’t trust them, Leona. They’ve proven themselves today, they have. I just couldn’t wait around to hear whether you were alive or dead. You are my blood; I can’t let anything happen to you. I had to be here.”
I lean into Lenny, wrapping my arms around his waist. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“Maybe not today, but we have a mess on our hands. This isn’t good.” Lenny pulls back and opens the door for me. “Come on, let’s go home.”
I don’t get in the car. My eyes find the three guys walking this way. Lenny looks over his shoulder, letting out a sigh. His eyes find mine and he frowns. Shutting the door and dropping his arm, he says, “Go.” I smile up at him and squeeze his hand before I make my way towards my mates. “Meet me at home, we have a lot to discuss!” He shouts after me, but he isn’t angry, or upset. He sounds… hopeful. Maybe even happy for me.
Thorne holds up his hand in agreement. I rush towards them, moving as fast as I can. When I finally make it to them, Thorne sweeps me up, squeezing me against him. When he puts me back down, someone else grabs me and pulls me close. I recognize the scent as Castor’s immediately. “I’m glad you’re okay,” he whispers to me.
I whisper back, “Me too.”
Chapter Forty-Two
Leona
“I cannot handle a fucking mating ritual going on under my roof. No, not happening,” Maddox argues. It always comes down to this. Always.
“It’s where she will be the safest. With her mates and with us. How can you deny that?”
Lenny and Maddox have been arguing about this for the last twenty minutes. Maddox is stuck on the fact I’ll be sleeping with three guys. Lenny has accepted the fact those three guys are my mates and have proven themselves not to be douchebags.
When we got here, we all sat in the library and talked, trying to come up with a plan that will work for all of us. What made the most sense was for the guys to move here and stay in the guest house. They agreed to it. Even Hunter agreed without argument.
Then the mating ritual topic was brought up. My birthday is only in a few weeks, and after that I don’t have much time to complete it. If I don’t, I’ll never shift. At first, it wasn’t a horrible thought. Now? I can’t imagine that happening. I want to be with Thorne. Castor is making progress and I truly feel Hunter will as well. Though I don’t plan on letting him into my pants any time soon, not unless he proves himself. And begs. There needs to be some begging for sure. Maybe even chocolate. Yes, lots of chocolate.
The universe has paired us together for a reason, I can’t go against that.
If we’re meant to be, then we’re meant to be.
But I’m still holding out on Hunter until I get some ass kissing.
“I’m not denying it, I’m just saying I will not have a mating—”
“Maddox, I think we’ve heard quite enough,” Callan says sternly, taking a step towards Maddox. Everyone goes quiet. Maddox is taken aback, not used to Callan speaking to him, or anyone, in that tone. “We have known each other for a long time. You are my brother and I love you, but you are as stubborn as they come. Pull your head out of your ass and look at what is going on around you.” He sweeps his arms out, gesturing towards everyone. “We have a happy life here. We found our One after searching for years. Do you remember what that was like?”
Maddox doesn’t answer.
“Do you?” Callan asks a little louder.
“Yes, Callan. I remember,” Maddox responds in his usual cocky-with-a-side-of-bored tone. “What is your point?”
“Why would you deny this to someone else? You know what it was like. The torment, the stress. No one deserves to feel like that, Maddox. No one. Leona is a good kid; she always has been. This isn’t about anything more than what nature has intended. These boys, they’re good. They deserve someone like Leona.”
Maddox looks even more pissed but doesn’t respond. Callan takes a seat, done with what he has to say but Alec speaks up next and I’m not at all shocked by what comes out of his mouth, because it’s crossed my mind. “If you keep doing this, man, you’re only going to push her away. If she d
oesn’t go through the mating ritual, she will never be able to shift. Do you want to deny her that? Deny her the Paranormal life? And it not happening here means it has to happen somewhere else. Somewhere else. Meaning away from us, more people who can protect her. The wolves are still out there, man, they will come back. You keep this shit up, and you’ll push her away. We’ve all dealt with your shit our entire lives, but we draw the line here. Not when it comes to kids, man. Not when it comes to them.”
He turns to look at me and the guys, taking a few steps closer.
“The four of you will move into the guest house,” Alec’s eyes find mine, “if that’s what you want. If not, you always have a room here. It will remain yours and untouched, even when you move out. I don’t care what I have to do to protect you, but I’ll do it. You will stay here, and you will be safe.” He turns back around to face Maddox, pointing a finger at me. “The decision has been made. The discussion is over. Lenny?”
“Yeah, Alec?”
He takes a deep breath before turning his head towards Lenny. “I think it’s best you help them get settled into the guest house. Perhaps make it more livable for four?”
Lenny looks at Maddox, a sad frown marring his face. “You got it,” he says.
Maddox’s jaw is clenched, he stares Alec down but doesn’t say a word.
Alec turns towards us once more. “I will take you three to get whatever you need from your homes tomorrow. I assume since you come from a Paranormal family, your parents will be okay with his arrangement?”
“We will make it work,” Castor says.
Alec nods before exiting the room. Lenny gets up and follows, pausing in the doorway. “You want to come and help me decorate?”
I look to my three guys. Thorne smiles, Castor shrugs, and Hunter doesn’t answer at all. I roll my eyes and look back to Lenny. “We’d love to.”
