Dalton (Fairplay Shifters Series Book 5)

by Serena Meadows

Melody tried not wince when he got up close, but when he reached out and touched one of the sores on her wrist, she couldn’t help it. “That must hurt,” he said, then added, “Too bad you can’t shift and heal those.”

  Melody knew that Demetri had the upper hand right then but promised herself that she would personally see that he paid for what he did to her. But she had needs, and they came first. “Can I please use the bathroom?” she asked, her voice soft.

  Demetri pulled a pair of handcuffs out of his back pocket, “You should thank me for bringing these,” he said.

  He gave her just enough privacy, then rushed her through a meal of dry oatmeal and cold coffee. “Back you go,” he said, grabbing her arm and pulling her roughly to her feet.

  Melody thought about fighting him but knew that now wasn’t the time. She’d gotten a good look at his camp and knew where they were; it wouldn’t be hard to lose him in the woods, especially once she got rid of the pouch around her neck. When she was back in her chains, the pouch around her neck releasing a smell that was sickly sweet, she began planning.

  It wasn’t long before Demetri was back in the shed; as soon as he walked through the door, she lifted her head and focused all her energy on his eyes, willing him to look into hers. She knew that her only hope was to get him to unlock her chains, and the only way she’d figured out to do that was to use the power of her eyes.

  She’d practiced filling her head with images of the two of them together, hoping that she wouldn’t blow it by letting her real feelings through. When he finally looked into her eyes, she focused all her power, filled her head with images she’d rather not have had there, and stared at him.

  His eyes got big, and he sucked in a deep breath, then looked away. “Nice try, but I’m not that easy,” he said, walking over to her. “If I want a piece of you, it’ll be because I want it, not because you tricked me.”

  Melody tried not to smile; she’d clearly gotten through to him, and if she’d done it once, she could do it again. Looking down at the floor, she tried to look disappointed, but was just waiting for the next opportunity to work her special magic. Joslin had been right; as distasteful as it was, she’d found a way to make her eyes work for her and not against her.

  ***Dalton***

  After a night spent pacing the little computer room, the trace finally came through as the sun was rising. It didn’t take long for Daniel to figure out where Demetri’s signal had been coming from and to send out a team to scout the area. Dalton wanted to go with them, but Daniel held him back.

  “We have to know what we’re walking into before we can come up with a rescue plan. We still have an entire day to put something together,” he said, making Dalton sit down at the kitchen table. “Let’s think logical and plan well.”

  Dalton had to admit that Daniel was right, but sitting there doing nothing was frustrating, especially now that he knew where Melody was. He’d quieted his imagination, but that didn’t mean that his worry was gone; in fact, the longer she was gone, the more he realized just how much he loved her.

  It had been a mistake not to tell her, not to say it the minute he felt it, but she was so fragile, so apt to run that he’d stopped himself. Now he wished that he hadn’t, hoped that there would still be time, time to tell her how he felt, time to live the life they were destined to live together.

  “We’ll find her,” Daniel said, his voice full of anger, “and when we do, that shifter is going to die.”

  It wasn’t long before they heard from the team Daniel had sent up to the transmission coordinates. When the call came in over the radio, Dalton jumped to his feet, the hours of waiting making him jumpy.

  “What did you find?” Daniel asked, putting the radio down on the table so Dalton could hear.

  “He’s got her in a feed shed about six miles from the big pasture; you know the one, it’s built back into the rocks,” the man said. “He’s got his camp set up in front of the shed, and guards placed all around it.”

  Dalton didn’t like the look on Daniel’s face. “I know the place,” he said, letting out a few cuss words before saying, “It’s going to be hard to get in there, nearly impossible.”

  “Well, there has to be a way, and we’re not going to find it sitting here. I’ve waited long enough, Daniel; I’m going up there and save Melody before it’s too late,” Dalton said, getting to his feet.

  Daniel nodded his head, “We’re going with you, we’ve waited long enough.”

  ***Melody***

  Demetri had been in and out of the shed multiple times that day, and each time, she’d managed to make contact with something inside him. It hadn’t been easy to look into his eyes and feel the evil radiating from him, but it had also allowed her to catch glimpses of his memories.

  What she’d seen in those memories was a different man, a man who loved a woman who left him for someone stronger than he was. A man who’d embraced evil just to stay close to the woman he’d loved, only to have her die before he could stop it.

  Left with only her child, he’d done his best to care for her, but as she grew, she began to look like her mother, and the betrayal had turned his love sour. Finally, unable to bear the sight of her, he’d given her to a family of shifters, along with the amulet her father had given him, and walked away.

  This knowledge had come over Melody slowly, in bits and pieces when she stared into his eyes for those few seconds he’d allow it. Now she wasn’t sure what she could do with that information, but she also knew that her eyes had worked their magic; Demetri was slowly coming under her spell.

  But her time was running out; the sun would be setting soon, and Demetri had made it clear that if he didn’t have Charlie by then, he’d made her pay. When the door opened the next time, it banged against the wall and flew back in Demetri’s face. He cussed and threw it open again, stalked into the room and straight for Melody.

  He grabbed her by the chin, and squeezed, making her cry out. “Looks like your boyfriend doesn’t like you as much as I thought,” he said, then pushed her head into the wall again.

  She was ready for it this time, but it still hurt, and stars appeared before her eyes. “It’s not dark yet,” she said, trying to meet his eyes.

  “Don’t try that shit on me, I already told you it won’t work,” he said, but she felt the connection between them for a few seconds and threw all her power at him.

  She felt desire flare in him, but then he looked away, and the spell was broken. He paced back and forth in front of her a few times, then looked down at her. “I’m thinking that I need to send a little reminder, something to make sure they know I’m serious.”

  He pulled his phone out of his pocket. “Isn’t technology a great thing? And this phone has the most amazing camera. I think I’ll send your boyfriend a little video. I just have to decide what I want to do to you in that video. I’m tempted to take you outside, strip you naked and take you in front of the camera, but he might not want you back then,” Demetri said.

  Then walked across the room and grabbed her breasts, pinching the nipples until she cried out. “It could be great fun; I’m sure you’ll fight like a wildcat.” Then he laughed. “That’s a good one, get it?”

  Melody could only stare up at him, so scared that he might do what he said, she couldn’t think. But then he walked away. “Instead, I think I’ll just give you a good beating, a couple of black eyes, a fat lip ought to do the trick,” he said, just before he closed the distance between them and backhanded her across the face.

  Melody could barely open one eye, and she could feel the blood dripping down her face from her nose when Demetri began taking pictures. “That was fun, we’ll do it again soon, and maybe next time I’ll follow that up with something else,” he said, putting the phone in his pocket.

  Slumped against the wall, afraid to let the tears come, knowing that if she did, they’d never stop, Melody took deep breaths until they passed. Her face hurt, her nose was throbbing, and she could barely see out of one eye,
but she wasn’t giving up.

  Demetri was nothing but a coward; afraid to face her in her real form, he’d disabled her and hurt her, but he wasn’t going to win. And if he tried to rape her, she would fight, she would fight until she was dead, but she’d never let him have her, not alive.

  To block the pain, she let her mind wander to Dalton; she missed him more than she ever imagined she would. She longed to see him, wanted to tell him how she felt and wished that she had when she’d had the chance. Remembering what it felt like to be held in his arms, she closed her eyes and thought about Dalton, willing him to come for her.

  Chapter Twenty

  ***Dalton***

  They were standing in the trees, half a mile from the little shed, watching Demetri pace back and forth in front of his fire. The last rays of sunshine had just begun to fade, and they all knew that time was up. No one doubted that Demetri would hurt Melody if his demands weren’t met and if they didn’t do something soon, they might end up watching.

  “We have to find a way to get her out of that shed,” Daniel said, looking around the group. “Any ideas?”

  “I could shift into something small like a mouse and sneak in there, but I don’t know what we’d do then,” Jake said, remembering the picture they’d seen of Melody, her face bloodied.

  “We need her outside where we can get to her,” Dalton said, then picked up the satellite phone, “I’m going to call him and tell him we have Charlie; when he brings her out, we’ll rush him. I can’t think of any other way.”

  “He’ll kill her before we get to them,” Daniel said, shaking his head.

  “Not if I use magic to conceal us,” Dalton said, “I know a concealment spell that should get us close enough to grab Melody before Demetri knows we’re there.”

  “Then make your call; it’s almost dark,” Daniel said, shifting into his mountain lion form and streaking off into the forest.

  Dalton picked up the phone, his hands shaking, and dialed the number he’d gotten from his cell phone. It rang and rang, and he was beginning to think Demetri wasn’t going to answer when he picked up.

  “Pushed it to the last second, didn’t you,” Demetri said, the anger simmering in his voice. “I have half a mind to cause a little more damage to you precious girlfriend for making me wait. Hope you enjoyed those pictures.”

  Dalton felt his rage building but pushed it down. “Where do you want to make the exchange?” he asked, forcing each word out.

  “Since you worked so hard on that little pasture up on the mountain, why don’t we meet there?” Demetri said, his voice smug. “And just in case you haven’t figured it out yet, I know what you’ve been up to; I’ve been keeping an eye on you for a while.”

  Dalton wanted to slam the phone down, but resisted the urge, his eyes locked on Demetri where he stood talking on the phone not half a mile away. He was unaware that Dalton could see him and continued to bait him. He watched the man, knowing that they had the advantage, that soon he’d be able to take his revenge on the man for what he’d done to Melody.

  When Demetri finally fell silent, his threats echoing through Dalton’s mind, he said, “It will take me some time to get there; wait for me.” Then he hung up the phone and took several long deep breaths, fighting the urge to march across the clearing and beat Demetri right then.

  ***Melody***

  When the shed door flew open the next time, Melody could see that it was dark outside, and she began to shake with fear. She knew that there was no way that Annabelle would let them turn Charlie over to Demetri and now she was willing to take his anger for the girl, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t scared.

  As soon as she saw his eyes, she knew that she’d done her best to charm him but failed. He stomped across the room and slapped one of the handcuffs on her wrist, “Lucky for you, your boyfriend finally came through,” he said, fastening her hands behind her back.

  Her muscles screamed in protest when he lifted her to her feet, and she gasped with pain, nearly falling to the ground. “Stand up and walk; we’ve got a little hike ahead of us, and I’m not going to carry you.”

  Melody did her best to stand up, but her legs wouldn’t work. “I’m trying,” she said, just as Demetri’s fist came up and connected with her stomach.

  “Maybe that will help,” he said, dragging her out of the shed and throwing her on the ground.

  Melody lay with her bruised cheek against the ground taking deep breaths, sure that she was going to puke, but the feeling passed as the throbbing in her stomach eased. The cool night air washed over her, bringing her some relief and clearing her head. She knew that this was her chance to escape, that she had to do something before Demetri came back.

  She was just about to spring to her feet and start running when she sensed movement in the night. Lifting her head, she looked around the clearing, her eyes piercing the darkness but she couldn’t see anything. But the feeling persisted, so she stayed still, sensing that help was on the way.

  She heard a zipper close and then Demetri’s footsteps and braced herself for the attack she knew was coming. This time he kicked her in the back, and she was sure she heard her ribs break, but she bit back the cry of pain and held her breath, not willing to give Demetri the satisfaction of knowing he’d hurt her.

  He grabbed her by the wrists and hauled her to her feet, then steadied her until she could stand alone. “Now we’re going to hike,” he said, giving her a shove to get her moving.

  She cried out with pain and heard the sound on indrawn breath a few feet from where she stood. Resisting the urge to turn and look at where the sound had come from, she said, “Is that all you’ve got?”

  Demetri stared at her, then grabbed her face and squeezed harder than he ever had before. “All I have to do is squeeze just a little bit harder, and you’ll never have a conscious thought again. And I may just do that before this is over, but for now, I need you alive. Now get going,” he said, giving her another shove.

  The pain in her ribs radiated through her body but she managed to take a step, then had to stop. “I can’t walk,” she said through clenched teeth, trying to stall.

  Demetri raised his hand to hit her, but before the blow could land, he was thrown to the ground. Stunned, he laid on the ground for a second before he sprang back to his feet and began looking around him. Melody, seeing her chance, began to hobble towards the woods, but each step she took made her lungs burn and her ribs ache. Finally, unable to go any farther, she slid down under a tree and lay there panting.

  Demetri was still standing there looking around, but when he saw her, he started towards her, but before he could go two steps, he was knocked off his feet again. This time when he stood, the air around him shimmered, and he shifted into a snarling wolf.

  Its teeth bared, saliva dripping from its mouth, it stood up on two legs and howled into the night. Soon it was joined by a pack of snarling animals, each just as fierce as their leader. Melody gasped and began to panic; she still didn’t know who or what was out there tormenting Demetri and she was afraid it was Dalton.

  Then her worst fears came true, and the air shimmered just feet from Demetri, revealing Dalton standing straight and tall, power radiating from him in a bright circle of light. Suddenly, her fear vanished. Dalton’s eyes were glowing, and even from where she lay on the ground, she could feel the electricity in the air as he raised his hands above his head.

  Behind him, the air began to shimmer as if a wave of heat had suddenly washed over the clearing and then she saw the mountain lions standing behind Dalton. Joslin, standing proud and tall behind them all, began to make her way over to Melody, never even glancing at Demetri who snarled at her as she got closer.

  Demetri raised his shaggy head and howled into the air and instantly his pack was in motion, running full force at the mountain lions who raised their own heads and cried out. Hearing the cry, more mountain lions came out of the woods, their teeth bared, ready to do battle with the wolves.

  Melody
watched unable to move as Dalton and Demetri stared at each other, each looking for a weakness to exploit, each determined to destroy the other. Desperate to help Dalton, she looked around her frantically hoping to find a stick to lean on, but the ground was bare.

  Instead she inched her way up the tree, pressed her back to the bark until she was standing. Just then, one of the wolves spotted her and sprang for her; she cried out and threw her hand up. Before it was on her, it went flying into the forest. The smell of burned hair hung in the air, as she stared after it, then looked around to find Joslin standing just a few feet away.

  Dalton, distracted by her cry, looked over to where she cowered against the tree, and before she could cry out to warn him, Demetri reared up on his back legs and lunged for him. Sobbing his name, Melody tried to get to them as they tumbled over the ground, but after only a step, she fell as the pain was too great to bear.

  Joslin rushed to her side and said a spell over the handcuffs that popped them open. Melody reached for the leather band around her neck and gave it a huge tug, snapping it with a satisfying sound, and she threw it into the forest. Taking deep breaths, she felt her power returning, her ribs beginning to heal, and shifted.

  Her body healed almost instantly, her power surged, and she lunged for Demetri, hitting him in the side and knocking him off Dalton. Ignoring the urge to run to Dalton, she stood and faced Demetri, snarling and growling, her golden hair standing on end. Around her she could hear fighting, snarls of challenge, cries of pain, and knew that she had to do something fast.

  Dalton struggled to his feet and limped over to where she was standing, he looked down at her, and their eyes met. Instantly she felt the love flowing between them, knew that Dalton was prepared to die for her, and that she would die for him.

  He smiled at her and said, “Let’s make sure that doesn’t happen.”

  Melody rubbed her soft head against his palm and purred, hoping he understood what she was feeling. Dalton nodded, then together they turned to face Demetri, who was poised to strike but looked filled with indecision.