“Our apologies, Holden. The wife got away from us. Start a fire. Would you? We will dunk her in the river a few times. It is the only thing that works when she finds herself unable to shift,” the Wendigo said in his demonic voice.
I screeched and fought but couldn’t get away. I screamed and felt frustrated tears as they streamed down my cheeks. Members of the pack grumbled and argued amongst themselves. Hearing every word said, the males anxiously shifted from foot to foot.
Holden got to his feet from where I had knocked him. A soft whine filled my ears, and I realized that I was the one making it. “Seems to me like she ain’t wanting to get dunked. Seems to me like she’s in heat, and I’m the one she wants to douse her fire. Put her down and see who she comes to.”
The pack all stood quietly watching with their eyes but understanding with their olfactory senses the truth of their Alpha’s words.
In quiet resignation, Colby said, “Put her down, Hunting Wolf. She can’t help it and can’t fight it. Let her go before she hurts herself. It’s instinct. It started last night, and we all know it.”
The Wendigo put me down, and I ran to the intoxicating male, pressing myself against him. His stomach muscles rippled beneath my greedy hands.
“She doesn’t want this, Holden. It isn’t right,” Sam said.
The strong, golden, powerful male smiled down at me. My heart thudded from his obvious approval. My claws dug into his back to keep him close. “Sweetheart, let’s go for a walk. Would you like that?”
Eagerly, I nodded. His lips spread into a sexy grin. I wanted to take his full, pink bottom lip between my teeth and keep him trapped beneath me.
Putting an arm around my back, he said, “Come on, sweetheart. I’m gonna get you so sopping wet you won’t know what to do.” To his men, he said, “Have that fire and some blankets ready.”
The Wendigo, bear shifter, and Omega exchanged puzzled looks and followed us. Turning my head, I growled at them.
“Hey, sweetheart, how about giving me your attention? Didn’t you want to get me alone?”
I nodded. I couldn’t speak. Instead, I whined in eagerness, needing him to take me and claim me as his.
He stopped by the lake and removed his boots. “Strip,” he commanded.
My clothes became a forgotten pile at my feet. Desire and the cold made my nipples painfully hard.
He snapped his fingers. “Come here.”
I hurried to obey him. He was majestic, all muscles and golden hair. Lowering my hand, I wrapped it around his thick shaft and squeezed. Closing his eyes, he ground his teeth together and shook with the effort it took to hold himself still, but I didn’t want him still. I wanted him pounding himself into me.
“Put your arms around my neck and your legs around my waist.”
Finally! Quickly, I obeyed and rubbed my aching folds against his hard length, trying to guide him into my entrance.
“Hold on tight,” he said. Then, he was running. I gripped him tightly around the neck. He leapt high up into the air. “Hold your breath!” he warned.
I did just in time. I heard the splash seconds before freezing water hit my butt and thighs. Then, we were plummeting into the icy depths where panic took me. Trapped in the truck with no way out, I was certain that death came for me, but I wasn’t alone. My arms and legs were wrapped around Holden. When I opened my eyes, fearful of being in the truck, I saw Holden’s face. His eyes glowed a soft amber at me, and he winked. Then, with powerful strokes, he kicked his legs, propelling us to the surface. His butt muscles clenched beneath my crossed feet with each of his kicks. Then, we were breaching the surface of the freezing water.
Laughing, he rolled to his back with me on his stomach and did a lazy backstroke to shore where Sam, Colby, Hunting Wolf, and a few pack members waited with blankets. “Hold on, sweetheart. Otherwise, those cute little toes of yours will get muddy.” My teeth were chattering so hard that I didn’t attempt to answer. “Now, sweetheart, if you’re still interested, seeing as how you’re you again, I’m yours. You can take me six ways from Sunday.” Striding from the water, he braced an arm under my butt and shifted me into a bridal hold before transferring me into Colby’s arms and the blanket he held.
More concerned with getting warm than anything else, I covered my face with the blanket and tried to draw warmth from Colby. He walked quickly back to camp and sat with me on his lap in front of a crackling fire while Hunting Wolf rubbed my hair dry with a towel. Sam held a hot cup of coffee to my lips.
Holden and his men joined us. He said, “How about some breakfast?”
Laughter and sounds of life returned to the camp as the tension broke. Something passed between my husbands and Holden, but I was too cold to care. It was as though my body hadn’t had enough time to recover from my brush with hypothermia.
“That’s why I couldn’t change back into myself. My Wendigo knew that I was still recovering.” I cast a questioning look at Hunting Wolf, who nodded in silent agreement.
My clothing had been packed in the back of Sam’s truck. Only what I had tossed into the blankets with Hunting Wolf’s clothes and a few random items that I’d left in Colby’s truck were left to me. Sam, Hunting Wolf, and I were left with the clothes we had on our backs. Unfortunately, Colby had ripped my freezing wet clothes off of me when he’d dragged me from the lake. I was glad I had Elizabeth’s clothes to wear along with my socks and boots. My purse and knives had been in Colby’s truck. Thank goodness. Cecil had taken his pack into his tent. The medicine man of the Four Bears tribe was wise. After I was dry, dressed in borrowed clothes, and somewhat warm, I was encouraged to recount for everyone what had happened to me after getting locked inside of Sam’s truck.
“All along, he wanted to kill her,” Cecil said with a shake of his head.
The others were prevented from commenting by an unexpected sound. The howls of wolves reached our ears from the distance. Colby stood, turned toward the sounds, and as though from his toes pulled forth a deep answering howl that I felt throughout my body. From where Holden sat across the fire, I could see his jaw clench like it might break.
“He’s not yours anymore,” I said. “Colby isn’t yours, and those wolves aren’t either. They’re his.”
Staring at me with glowing eyes, he said, “He might have outgrown my pack, but you are bound to me as much as you are to them, and I’m still his sire.”
Angrily, Hunting Wolf said, “Rozene is ours, not yours.”
Raising his voice, Holden said, “Everyone here knows differently. You know it. You just don’t want to admit it.”
Hunting Wolf stood, eager for a fight, and I clutched at Sam’s hand. I’d had enough of fighting and was tired.
To me, Holden said, “Don’t get that look in your eyes. I learned my lesson the last time I took you against your will. I won’t do it again. That there was a mistake on my part. I intend to prove to you how much I care for you, how much I respect you. You, Mrs. Stillwater-Reeves, are the finest woman I’ve ever met and deserve to be treated as such.”
His words shocked me and sent a blush to my cheeks. I was mortified over my earlier behavior, but I knew his bite had caused the reaction in me, just as he had intended for it to happen the first time he had bitten me, alone in his secluded cabin. The strength of my own will, my reason, and my love for my husbands had been enough to help me to remain true to myself then, but what had come over me moments ago wasn’t anything my will and reason could handle. It had been an animalistic urge, an instinct, and I needed to find a way to fight it. If Holden hadn’t done right by me by dunking me in the freezing lake, along with himself, I’d have broken my newly pledged vows and wouldn’t have forgiven myself. The look I saw in his eyes silently attested to his understanding of that. Lowering my eyes to the metal plate on my lap, I ate the deer meat that I’d been given. Maybe, Cecil could help me.
When Colby returned his attention to us, his eyes glowed a faint blue. A naked male approached our camp on foot. “Your na
me is Kacey, right?” Colby asked.
Kacey had brown hair and eyes along with the sinewy muscle inherent of every werewolf I’d ever seen. “Yes, sir.”
“What’s so wrong as to bring you all of this distance?” Colby asked.
“Town’s under attack. We’re holding them off, but we’re outnumbered at least a hundred to one and need help.” His eyes were filled with desperation.
Holden slowly stood and focused on him. Incredulously, he asked, “What could possibly pose a threat to a pack of werewolves?” However, he and everyone but me could smell Kacey’s fear.
“We don’t know what the fuck they are.” Looking at me, he said, “Pardon me, ma’am.” Then, he continued, ignoring the snorts from the males who knew about my proclivity toward profanity. “They attacked at night and left drained, mauled husks of every carcass they left behind. We’ve got the survivors barricaded inside of the hotel, but all of the cattle, sheep, chickens, and even some of their fucking house pets are dead. These monsters eat everything living they can sink their fangs into. Hell, if I didn’t know better, I’d say they were vampires, but they sure as hell don’t look like anything out of any movie I’ve ever seen.”
Hunting Wolf said, “Night hunters.” He strode over to Colby’s truck and turned on the CB radio. “Deputy Wolf to Sheriff Avonaco.”
I held my breath and waited.
“Avonaco here. Over.”
“The night hunters have returned. Over.”
“What’s the plan?”
“Safeguard Silver Springs. Rozene and I will unmake them. Over.”
“10-4. Over.”
Hunting Wolf closed the truck door and strode toward me with serious eyes and his long black hair blowing behind him. I stared back with wide, frightened eyes.
Sam said, “Now, wait just a minute. You’re not taking Rosie off alone to battle night hunters! I haven’t forgotten how you and your brothers described them in vivid detail to the tribal elders.”
“Nor have I,” Cecil said.
“As bears, our people fought against them and died. Night hunters can kill a bear as easily as a wolf.” Hunting Wolf held his hand down to me. “I would not ask for you to do this if there were any other way. Should they touch us in our Wendigoag forms, they will die. Together, we can clear them out and save those who still live.”
I took his hand. I was frightened, which he could clearly see, but I nodded my head that I would help.
“And what if it snows or there comes a cold rain? What then? What happens if one of them night hunters attacks her as she is now? Her touch is as gentle as a kitten’s,” Colby said. He had his jaw clenched in anger.
“He’s right. She got cold, scared, and couldn’t shift on her own or even with your help. She needs me whether you’ll admit it or not. Me and my boys are coming with you,” Holden stated.
“You and our brothers battled with arrows and axes. The night hunters can be killed with weapons. Correct?” Sam asked.
Hunting Wolf nodded. “Yes, but they are fast, vicious, and fight in frenzied droves. All it takes is one of them, while you’re busy fighting off ten or more of them, to sink its teeth into you. They’ll drain you dry too fast for you to heal from it. I’ve seen it.” His eyes had filled with pain.
Sam held his chin up and stared into Hunting Wolf’s eyes. “I’m curious how they’d stand up against high-powered automatic assault rifles and rooftop snipers.”
Holden said, “Hot damn! Moses and Tim, take a team, get weapons, and meet us at the hotel. John, do your thing, boy. The rest of you, pack up and head out. We’re wasting daylight.” Holden winked at me. “Don’t you worry, sweetheart. Moses and Tim fought in World War I and World War II. They know their shit when it comes to weapons and artillery. Old John there was a colonel during the Civil War and served under a general. He can plan and implement an attack. As for me, I’ll guard your back and make damn sure you stay shifted.”
I sought out Hunting Wolf’s eyes. What if having Holden so close was more dangerous to us than the night hunters?
Camp was broken down, and several of the wolves had already sped off on their bikes. Colby and Kacey had gone with them, riding double. The goal was to get back to the hotel before nightfall. They believed they could do it on the motorcycles.
“Where are they going to find weapons?”
Hearing me, a man said, “Oh, they’ll find plenty. Don’t worry about that. A town with survivors is sure to have a few stockpiles.”
I hoped he was right.
Sam, Cecil, Hunting Wolf, and I were driving back in Colby’s truck. Looking out the window at the passing scenery, I said, “I thought this was over, and we were going home.” Home was where Puck, Macduff, and our undecorated Christmas tree were waiting.
“We overcame one threat and came back full circle. The dark one isn’t the only demon who wishes to hold dominion over the earth upon which we toil. In banishing him, his enemies will flourish.” Hunting Wolf took my hand. “When we battle at each other’s sides, draw upon the strength of the attacking night hunters. The life sources of those who touch you will strengthen you and make you faster. They are mindless, evil creatures whose only instincts are to feed upon the living and breed. Unmake them quickly.”
Nervously, I asked, “What do they look like?”
As if pained by the memory, he said, “From a distance and when they stand upright, they appear somewhat human, but at a closer glance there is a wrongness to them. Their skulls are elongated, sharp, yellowed fangs fill their mouths, and their ears are pointed. Their arms are long and end in claws as sharp as the ones on their feet. They run through the night on all fours like beasts, but they are hairless and cold. Their breath smells like rotted meat, and their blood runs thick and black. The only thing they fear is the daylight. Its touch burns them to ash.”
His words froze my hands and turned my stomach into a rock.
Cecil asked, “So, what happens when bright lights shine on them or into their nocturnal eyes?”
“I do not know. When last my brothers and I battled them, electricity had not yet been invented, but our fires served as a minor deterrent.”
Sam pushed the truck to go as fast as he dared, and we made the rest of the trip in silence.
Chapter Seven
The hotel was abuzz with activity. The men had strategically arranged metal drums filled with combustibles around the perimeter and had them prepared to be lit. Having survived the war, several of the hotel’s patrons had in fact been in the habit of stockpiling weapons and ammunition, just as it had been suggested to me by a pack member whose name I hadn’t yet learned. Moses and Tim were overseeing the loading and testing of those weapons, and the sharp repercussions were making me jumpy. Except for me, the town’s surviving women and children had been relocated to the second floor of the hotel where they were being kept under guard. Their men refused to take shelter with their families and insisted doing so would be cowardly on their parts. They were too proud for common sense. It didn’t matter to them that they didn’t possess the healing abilities of werewolves or bear shifters. Old John had sent those men to the roof with orders to shoot any night hunters that entered into their range. Hopelessness faded from their eyes to be replaced with purpose, but fear had entered my own heart.
“Sam,” I said as I hid my face against his chest.
“Everything is going to be okay, Honey.” He stroked my hair.
“Oh, Sam. You heard what he said. These monsters are the reason they made the deal with the dark one hundreds of years ago. Their tribe was full of bear shifters, and their fiercest warriors were killed. Their wives and children were killed. Please, Sam. Please, stay inside. Make Colby and Cecil stay with you. Hunting Wolf believes the two of us can wipe them out. If I were to lose either of you…. It would be the death of me. I couldn’t take it. I couldn’t. Please, shoot from the top of the building or from a window.”
He gripped my arms and stared down into my eyes. “Get this through yo
ur stubborn head. I will be at your side during the moments ahead and throughout our lives. You will never battle against anything alone.”
“Sam,” I pleaded.
Chief Stillwater-Reeves got an affronted look on his handsome face. “You doubt my furiousness in battle?” Squashing me to his chest, he said, “I will prove to you that I am a deadly predator. Once we are victorious, I’m going to strip you naked, drizzle you with honey, and lick you clean.”
“Sam, this isn’t a joke. The night hunters can kill you. They can kill Colby. Don’t let pride tear us apart.”
“It won’t. This isn’t about pride. It’s about doing what’s right. It’s our duty to defend the weak. Furthermore, you can keep us inside, caged and presumably safe, no more than we can do the same to you, and don’t think for a second that we haven’t thought about it. We can’t go through life hiding from our fears, Rosie. We have to face them together as a family and fight.” Lifting his hands to my hair, he brought his lips down to mine. I never wanted our kiss to end.
“I love you, Sam.”
“I love you, Rosie.” He kissed me again. “The sun begins to set. You should shift into Elizabeth’s form. I’ll get your belt and knives. I sharpened them for you just in case.”
I wiped at a stray tear that fell once his back was turned and willed Elizabeth forth, and she answered. From the rooftop, several whistles reached my ears. “Shit.” I’d forgotten that, as Elizabeth, I had stripped at Holden’s command before he’d jumped into the lake with me wrapped around him like a sex-crazed boa constrictor. Now, several men on the rooftop were gawking at me through the scopes of their weapons. I flipped them off, covered myself with my hands, and ran inside the hotel. Colby’s laughter followed me. In a first-floor supply room, I found a maid’s uniform. I rolled my eyes. I’d be going into battle as housekeeping, but beggars couldn’t be choosers. Pulling the black and gray shirt from its hanger, I pushed my arms through the short sleeves and fastened the front before pulling on the matching pair of polyester, elastic-waisted cargo pants. An old pair of rainboots were in a corner by a bucket, so I borrowed those too. At least, I wasn’t naked. The boots were half a size too small and pinched my toes as I trudged back outside. Laughter threatened to spill out of Sam, but he held it in check while he fastened my knife belt around my waist.
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