by Olivia Arran
Thank fuck! Relief cascaded through me. She was trusting me to do this. Trusting me not to get myself killed. I knew how hard this must be for her; she was putting her heart in my hands.
“I won’t—get my ass handed to me, that is.” I grinned and kissed the end of her pert, upturned nose—the nose that had once snubbed me, was hopefully now mine to adore—and moving her to the side, faced Gary across the circle.
“Finally! I thought I was going to die of old age! I don’t know why you even bothered. When I win, she’s mine anyway. So, I hope you enjoyed your kiss, because it’s the last one you’ll ever get.”
I ignored his bullshit grandstanding. “You and me. I’ll be generous, you call the weapons.” Human or wolf. Fists or claws.
Gary blinked, the sudden change in opponent throwing him for a second, then he grinned at me, anticipation lighting his eyes. “I think we’ll start as humans, then shift. It’ll be interesting to see just how fast you can move. And I want to smash that pretty face with my fists before I bite it off.”
I just nodded, then started removing my clothing, watching Gary do the same. Shit! He was even bigger than I had thought, bulked up like he was on steroids or something. The thought that had been snagging at my mind clicked into place. “Drugs,” I hissed to Amanda.
The bastard was riding a pharmaceutical high.
***
Amanda
Drugs! Tarq’s words echoed in my ears, a skitter of panic tightening my chest. But it was too late now, the challenge had been accepted, Tarq had to fight him.
I watched the two men circle each other, feinting and jabbing out, both muscular in their own way, but Tarq’s body moved gracefully, his movements rippling and agile compared to Gary’s lumbering form.
If we’d been somewhere else, anywhere but here, I might have been able to appreciate the view, but I kept my eyes pinned to Tarq’s back, the scrolling calligraphy across his shoulders anchoring me.
In a split second, the men went from cautiously testing each other to grappling in the center, their bodies slamming together, fists flying, hands scrambling for a secure grip, their grunts and the sound of bone connecting with flesh echoing into the afternoon sky.
I gasped aloud as Gary’s fist connected with Tarq’s face, smashing his nose, flinging blood to the ground in a wet splatter. Tarq retaliated in a flash, his leg kicking out, sweeping Gary off his feet, fist jabbing at Gary’s kidney, following through with a second blow to the chest.
He wasn’t going for Gary’s face—why?
The men rolled in the dirt, crushing stones and moss in their wake, their limbs a tangle of vicious kicks and punches. Gary got another one in, connecting with Tarq’s eye, and my heart skipped a beat as his head flew back, threatening to dislocate from his shoulders.
Curling my hands into fists, I willed my mate on, to give this bastard the punishing he deserved. Then Tarq glanced up, his eyes cutting straight to me, and he grinned, the same easygoing, shit-eating grin that I knew and lov—
Wait! What? My mate—? Love? I didn’t— I couldn’t— But I still loved Max…
The sound of bone crunching pulled me back to the fight. Tarq had Gary pinned, his fists flying into the other man’s chest, his lips pulled back in a snarl. I could hear him growling questions, and struggled to make out the words over the sound of flesh hitting flesh.
“Where is Bert?” Thwack!
“Why are you working with him?” Thwack!
“What are his plans?” Tarq hit him again, throwing another in for good measure, but Gary remained silent, his deep-set blue eyes glowing with the conviction of the righteous. And the mad. He wasn’t going to tell us anything.
The man was insane, believing he was in the right!
“Damn it! Tell us what his end game is! What is his plan?” This time Tarq plowed his large fist into Gary’s cheek.
Gary’s head rolled to the side, then snapped back, his previously faded-blue eyes glowing silver with his wolf. “Time to party,” he growled, heaving Tarq off him and throwing him clear.
Gary’s skin rippled as he called the shift to him, his bones crunching and fur sprouting.
Tarq immediately started to shift, his back hunching as he dropped to all fours, his shift working much faster than Gary’s.
But shit! Gary had halted the shift, was maintaining half form! Standing well over six feet, nearly touching seven, he towered over Tarq, his still human hands tipped with lethal claws.
“Tarq! He’s not shifting! You have to stop!” I screamed the words, darting forward into the circle, placing myself between the two men. “You can’t continue until he’s finished. It’s not honorable—”
Gary smashed a hand into the side of my head, sending me flying back into the crowd, my ears ringing from the force of the blow. “I don’t do honorable, sweetheart,” he growled, his voice even deeper than before, gritty from the shift.
Warm liquid trickled from my ear, and I swiped it away, not caring, my whole attention focused on the huge gray wolf that was finally shaking off the last of his shift. I had bought him time, but could he take on Gary’s half-shifted form?
The gray wolf looked at me, whining as he caught sight of my hand, sticky with blood.
Kin hands helped me to my feet, holding me as I swayed. Monica, I noted, clutching her arm in appreciative support. “I’m fine. Finish him, Tarq.”
Then he turned, just in time to dodge out of the way as Gary swiped a clawed hand through the air, Tarq leaping forward to sink his teeth into his enemy’s arm, ripping and snarling as he used his massive jaw to crush and splinter.
Gary shook the big wolf free and grabbed for him, sinking his hands into either side, piercing skin and muscle.
Tarq snapped his vicious teeth at Gary’s face, wriggling to get free, but Gary had him skewered. Kicking out his powerful hind legs, Tarq raked them down Gary’s stomach, splitting his skin, but still the bastard held on, not letting go.
Then Gary started to drag his claws upwards, slicing through fur and flesh, aiming for Tarq’s chest.
I had to help him! I had to—
The bond! I opened the gate inside my mind, flooding the Beta bond with everything I had, all my strength, my power, my hatred for Gary.
Tarq jolted in Gary’s arms, his back stiffening, his tail quivering.
But I couldn’t tell if it was because of me, or from being torn in two.
***
Tarq
Fuck! It hurt, like razorblades stripping my skin from the bone. Actually, that was exactly what was happening…
I heard Amanda scream, but it seemed far away in the distance, my entire being swallowed up by the pain coursing through me, owning me. I had to get away!
If I died, then my mate would carry that guilt, and there was no way I was adding to that burden, or giving her up—not when I finally had a chance!
I kicked again, my feet slipping and sliding against Gary’s blood-soaked skin. I had inflicted damage, but not enough! The bastard held me pinned like a suckling pig roasting on a pit. And he was going to carve me up.
But what could I do? In half-shifted form, he had the advantages of both human and wolf.
His claws sliced upward, driving closer and closer to my heart.
Strength flooded me, poured into me, filling me—Amanda! It was as if her wolf was running through my veins, her essence flooding my senses. How was this happening? The bond should trickle, allowing me to pull on power, not stuff me full of it!
But shit, I was glad it was happening. Drawing on our combined strength, I channeled the energy, forcing my shift to retreat, my spine cracking as it straightened, paws lengthening into fingers. Fingers tipped with wickedly sharp claws.
Then, I dug my metaphorical heels in, willing things to grind to a halt. No one had ever halted the shift backwards before, not that I knew of. But I had to maintain half-shift, or I would be dying as a human in this bastard’s hands.
“What the fuck?” Gary’s hissed curse w
as like music to my ears.
The shift was holding, morphing my body, my muscles swelling and stretching until I stood face to face with my foe.
There was still the pesky matter of his claws being buried in my chest, so I grabbed them, forcing them out, inch by inch.
“How did you—?”
“The love of a good woman can give a man untold strength, not that you’d know anything about that. Love is not in your vocabulary,” I growled, then slashed out, aiming for his jugular.
Gary ducked, his shocked expression wiped from his face, replaced with one of contempt. “Love makes you weak. Susceptible to pain.”
“You wouldn’t know.”
Our fists connected, our limbs flying faster than the human eye could follow. Sweat flew, blood painting our bodies as we slashed and grappled, twisted and stabbed.
Gary faltered, strain marking his brow, the partial shift depleting his strength, and I lunged, my claws sinking into his neck.
“You’ll never know the love of a good woman,” I growled, tightening my hold.
“And, you’ll never know why this is all happening. Where Bert is. Who he really is,” Gary snarled back, his hands straining at mine, claws shredding and tearing, trying to loosen my grip.
I hesitated, his words sinking in. If I killed him, we’d lose any advantage catching him might have given us.
He must have read my indecision in my eyes, because he growled, continuing, “If you keep me alive, I will escape. Then I will hunt down your woman and take her like the animal she is. I will fucking destroy her, until she is begging to be put out of her misery. Which I eventually will, but not until she has given me a pup or two…”
Red flickered across my vision, painting the world in a haze of fury. No way was he touching Amanda, raping her, breeding her like she was worth nothing! I couldn’t allow it— I wouldn’t— I—
“Tarq! We need him. Alive!” A soft voice spoke to me, close, so close I could almost—
“Amanda?” I croaked out, my head whirling around, finding my mate standing right next to me. “I have to. You know why!”
“You won. We won. Don’t worry, he’ll get what’s coming to him—later, on trial before the Shifter Council for his crimes. I don’t like it—fuck that—I hate it, but we need to know what he knows. Please.”
“I’ll have her, and every woman in your pack. Everyone you love will suffer if you don’t end me now!”
“He wants this. Listen to him, he’s begging for you to kill him!” Amanda laid a hand over the one that was pinning Gary, my other one holding his other hand safely back. Her hand was so small, so fragile compared to mine.
But she was asking me for something, reaching out to me. It was something I could give, and even through the rage that coated my mind, I could see the truth in her words.
I nodded my acceptance, and she sagged with relief, her lips curling up in a smile, faltering slightly as she added, “But what do we do with him?”
I knew immediately. “Oliver.”
Her brows arched in question at my vague answer, and I chuckled, wanting to hug her to me, despite the man dangling from my arm.
“I’ll explain later when there are no prying ears. First, though, we need to put him out of action.”
“How do we do that?”
“I’m still here, you know. I can hear you,” Gary snarled, trying desperately to free himself, but he was no match for the strength coursing through me.
Then his shift faltered for the final time, him shrinking before my eyes, bones reforming until he dangled mid-air in human form.
“That makes it easier!” Amanda shrugged, then pulling back her arm, punched him in the head, knocking him out cold.
Tossing him onto the ground, I signaled Mark to come over. “Watch him. If you see any sign that he is waking up, trying to shift, knock him out again—don’t wait until he’s conscious. He’s too strong. You got it? I’ll call a friend to come pick him up.”
“Got it,” Mark replied, glancing at Gary with distaste. “I might misjudge it sometimes, y’know, think he’s waking up when he isn’t…hit him a few times.”
Amanda wordlessly handed me her phone, and I placed the call, thanking the Mother that Oliver was a man of few words. Snapping the cell shut, I nodded. “He’s on his way. Should be here in ten minutes.” Faster, if Oliver had his way. He was a man who liked his work.
The pack milled around, whispering furiously and glancing over at us. I could pick out the odd snippet from their conversations, and from the sounds of it they were slowly starting to accept Amanda as their Alpha. It was a step in the right direction, a sign that things were starting to come together. That it was all going to be okay—for Smithrock, anyway.
Amanda led me out of the circle, her hands dancing over my wounds, inspecting each and every one. “What’s his deal? Oliver?”
“He’s the pack fixer.” That’s all I needed to say. All I could say, but she understood, her confusion clearing instantly.
“Is that why he—?”
“Is so quiet? Standoffish? Surly? Disconnected? A pain in the ass? Yep.”
“I hadn’t guessed.”
“Well, not all packs have one, or need one. Oliver was a fixer long before he came to Colstone. He still keeps his hand in, usually for the Council. I’ve been told it becomes a way of life for them, the wolves that choose that path.”
Amanda shuddered, and I wrapped an arm around her shoulders, loving how she leaned into me. Like it was the most natural thing in the world. Maybe things had changed. Maybe, with time, I stood a chance with her.
“I don’t get it, how someone could choose that for a life. I can’t imagine hating myself that much. Even with what happened to you and your mom—you didn’t. You chose life, not death. But hey! You are an Alpha! How the hell did you reverse to a partial shift?”
I swung her around until she was pressed to my chest, her luscious body snug against mine. “It was all you, babe. You lent me the strength, I just channeled it.”
She screwed her face up and I could see she was going to argue. My feisty mate just couldn’t let things go, not once. Hell if I knew what had happened, whether I was an Alpha or not—and to be blunt, I didn’t really care. I had everything I needed right here in my arms. I silenced her upcoming outburst, stealing her breath away with a kiss of promise, pouring my love for her into my lips, begging her with all my heart, all my soul, to give us a chance.
She pulled away—dammit, she was always pulling away! But what she whispered next nearly stopped my heart.
“Yes.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Amanda
I nearly laughed out loud at the stunned look on his handsome face, but his puffed up eye and broken nose stopped me short. “Does it hurt?” I murmured, my fingers brushing across his wounds, careful not to hurt, but testing for telltale winces.
“Not as much as you not telling me what you mean by ‘yes’,” Tarq growled, grabbing my hand and stilling my wandering fingers.
“Give me a minute,” I said, glancing around the clearing at my pack. They looked lost and confused, and I couldn’t blame them. I had been preoccupied with everything that had gone on, and it was time for me to give them my full attention—but first I had a few things deal with, namely the man in front of me. “Everyone go home, we’ll be back soon and I’ll answer any questions you have. Take this time to talk and connect with each other as pack mates. We have a long road ahead of us, learning how to trust and rely on each other, but we’ll get there—I promise, as your Alpha and your fellow pack mate,” I called out, sending a pulse of strength out through the bonds that connected us, that wove us together as a pack. When they started to move away, their faces a little happier, each step a little lighter, and relief flooded me. Every one of them now held a piece of my heart, and I swore would do right by them.
That left only Kate, Mark and Jed.
“Amanda…” Tarq growled, pulling me back to him. “You were saying?”
“You called?” a deep, quiet voice murmured, tinged with amusement.
I couldn’t pull my eyes away from Tarq and the glint of promise that echoed through the Beta bond.
“Over there, Oliver. You got here fast,” Tarq growled, his gaze not leaving mine.
“What can I say? I love my job,” Oliver replied.
I had never heard him speak so many words, not all at once. Or at least, I didn’t think I had.
I glanced over and watched as the tall, silent man heaved a still unconscious Gary up onto his shoulder, and turned to leave. “Thanks, Oliver.”
“Anytime. And congratulations,” he called over his shoulder, sprinting from the clearing, the weight on his back clearly not giving him any problems.
Jed and Mark melted away into the forest, their hands raised in silent salute.
We were finally alone.
Awareness of how close I was pressed to Tarq, how naked he was, thrummed through me. His cock, pressed tight between our bodies, lengthened, hardening against my stomach.
“Amanda…” he growled, his voice hoarse with need.
I couldn’t tease him any longer, not in that way anyway. I finally admitted that my heart had made its decision. No longer willing to wait for my mind to catch up and adjust, it had decided for me. Looking back, I could see that I had started falling for him from our arrival at Smithrock, I had just been too stubborn to admit it.
When he had fought Gary, and I had forced the bond wide open, it had been like connecting a circuit, the energy flowing between us, circulating, never-ending. And it had carried emotions, the essence of the man that Tarq was, not the good-natured, easygoing oaf he played at being—the real him. The one that had been staring me in the face ever since we had arrived in Smithrock. The one he had been trying to get me to see. But like a fool, I had buried my head in the sand, closing my eyes, because I couldn’t see—not if I wanted to be able to walk away. Knowing now why he wouldn’t force it, why he backed away so easily—it completed the jigsaw, the pieces slotting into place, competing the picture of the man. My mate.
