by Kim Fox
Caelum bucked and squirmed and tried to get away, but Mack held him down easily and landed crack after crack into his face. The squirming became weaker and weaker as the punches did their damage, sucking out his energy.
This was revenge for Bryce.
Mack wasn’t going easy on anyone this time. There would be no stopping until this fucker’s brains were leaking out onto the dirty tiles of this gas station in the middle of nowhere.
He cocked his fist back and let it rip again. Slam! Slam! Slam!
Each punch sounded like a chunk of raw meat hitting the floor. It sounded like a baseball bat hitting a home run. It sounded like vengeance. There was no sweeter sound.
Slam! Slam! “You made me kill him!” Slam! Slam! Slam!
“This is for Bryce.” Slam! “This is for Logan!” Slam!
Caelum’s face was a bloody mess. His body was limp, but Mack didn’t stop. He pulled his fist back, but couldn’t get that last punch off.
Irish had recovered and the wolf shifter lunged onto him, tackling him off. He landed on top of Mack and punched him in the jaw. A thick stream of blood was dripping from Irish’s hairline and down his twisted-up face.
The cashier was gone, probably crouched on the floor behind the counter, hiding. The music was still blaring outside, muting the sounds of the vicious battle inside.
Mack grabbed the much smaller shifter and yanked him off, landing two hard elbows in his head as he pinned him to the floor with his knee.
His lion was furious inside, raging like a wild monster. Mack could barely think or hear anything beyond the fierce growling and snarling of his cat.
He couldn’t let him out while Caelum was still alive. The skin shifter could try to take him over once again and this time he might even be successful. Then, Mack would be at his mercy.
He pushed his furious cat back down and started landing hard swift punches on Irish. The shifter was holding his arms up, blocking the brunt of the blows, but Mack hit hard and some of them were getting through.
“Shit!” He turned just in time to see Caelum standing over him holding the blue popsicle fridge over his head. Mack got his arm up just in time as the bloody skin shifter threw it down on him. It landed with a thwack on his forearm, cracking the bone in half.
He rolled off of Irish and grunted in pain as he held his broken arm. It fucking burned. If he didn’t act quickly, it would heal all wrong, so he gritted his teeth and yanked his wrist down and then set it as best he could. It wasn’t perfect, but it would have to do for now.
He had bigger things to worry about. Irish was phasing into his huge wolf. The dog growled as he set his fierce eyes on Mack, and then lunged at him.
The store was a mess with mangled racks fallen over and broken crap all over the floor. The rap music was still blaring from the Humvee outside and Mack thought of Kara, wondering if she was still asleep, wondering if she was still safe.
Her image was yanked out of his head as the wolf flew down on him with his snarling jaws wide open. He was going for the kill, and Mack caught him just in time. He had no choice but to grab his sharp jaws with his two hands, grunting in pain as the dog’s teeth sank into his palms and fingers. He winced as he struggled to hold them open.
The wolf lunged forward again, his hot rank breath washing over Mack as he turned his head and grunted in agony.
His hands were on fire. Hot blood was leaking down his wrists as he held the mouth open. The wolf’s teeth were tearing through his fingers, burning them, shredding them. Mack gritted his teeth when he saw a white fang pierced through his palm.
It was enough of this shit. He threw his knee up, slamming it into the wolf’s stomach and making him whimper. He did it again and again until the wolf recoiled, taking his sharp ass mouth with him. Mack grabbed him and wrapped a strong arm around the wolf’s neck and squeezed as Caelum rushed forward. Mack cracked the incoming skin shifter with a hard roundhouse that staggered him. One more hit to the jaw dropped him to his knees.
He was about to finish him off when something caught his eye outside. Irish and Caelum weren’t alone.
Hardy, the huge grizzly bear shifter, was at the pump, nodding his head to the music as he filled the tank while DeMarcus, the giant polar bear shifter, was washing the windshield with the squeegee.
Mack’s stomach dropped when he saw them. Especially since his mate was in the car on the other side of their pump.
He needed his crew more than ever.
But he was all alone for this one.
The two bear shifters got him so distracted that he didn’t notice the wolf slip out of his grasp. Irish’s dog caught his footing, reared back and then sunk his teeth into Mack’s shoulder.
“Arrgghh!” he grunted in pain as he reached back and grabbed a handful of the furry wolf. He yanked him over his shoulder, flipping him and sending him flying forward. The flailing dog shot like a rocket over the counter and smashed through the window, sending cubes of broken glass raining down all over the counter and the cashier who was hiding on the floor below.
Both Hardy and DeMarcus turned and watched in shock and confusion as Irish’s wolf skidded to a stop on the ground.
Their eyes darted up and spotted Mack through the broken window. They immediately rushed over to join the fight.
“Fuck!” Mack grunted as he leapt on top of Caelum. The skin shifter was still wobbly and dazed so it was easy for Mack to wrap his hands around his throat.
He had to kill him. Not just for Bryce, but if he and his mate wanted to survive, he had to eliminate the skin shifter. He couldn’t safely bring out his lion until he did.
Mack squeezed Caelum’s neck hard, choking the life out of him. His eyes went wide and his mouth opened like a fish out of water, taking nothing in. He squeezed as Caelum’s skin turned fifty shades of blue, all the while thinking of Bryce and Logan’s arm and everything this man had taken away from him. He deserved to die.
Even Grant would agree there was no moral gray area in this case. It was black and white. Caelum had to die.
Hardy and DeMarcus burst into the store as Mack squeezed until his forearms burned.
The shaking cashier popped his head up just in time to see DeMarcus phase into an enormous snarling polar bear.
“Holy fuck!” he shouted before ducking back down again.
Hardy grinned as he cracked his nails and ran forward with his fist cocked.
Mack released Caelum. He had to or that incoming fist would have sent him flying back through the wall and into the beer fridge. He ducked out of the way of Hardy’s punch just in time and jumped to his feet.
He had fought Hardy about half a dozen times now and the two were evenly matched. Mack hated that. In his view, he was the toughest, baddest shifter in the world and anyone who came close to matching his skill needed to be shown who the real king of the jungle was.
Hardy rushed forward, but then suddenly reared back, cocking his head to the side. “That smell…”
All right, kitty. Your turn.
Skin shifter or not, Mack knew he couldn’t defeat these four shifters in his human form, especially all beaten up as he was. He had to let his lion take over.
He slapped his shoulders a couple of times, pissing his cat off even more, and was about to let him come out when he saw something that had his stomach drop.
“No,” he muttered when he saw Kara running across the parking lot toward him. What was she doing? She should have been running the other way!
They’ll take her…
Mack pushed Hardy away and then leapt on the polar bear, punching him wildly and desperately trying to take the huge animal down before his mate walked in.
But he was too late. The bell rang as Kara opened the door.
Her eyes darted past Mack to the giant grizzly bear shifter behind him. “Hardy!”
“Kara?!?” Hardy’s face dropped. He suddenly rushed forward and lunged at her, but instead of hurting her, he picked her up in a hug and spun her around as tears sp
illed from his eyes.
Mack’s mouth fell open as he watched. “Kara?” he spat out. “Wha—?”
His mate turned to him with the brightest smile imaginable. “This is Hardy! This is my brother!”
Chapter Nine
Mack
Mack felt like he was going to be sick. “Your brother?”
He couldn’t believe his eyes. Kara was in Hardy’s arms and they were crying happy tears as they hugged each other.
“Where is everyone else?” Hardy asked, holding her at arm’s length. “Mom, Dad, Henley, Bellamy…”
The excitement seemed to evaporate out of Kara as she looked up at her big brother with sad eyes. “They’re still locked in the compound. Dad helped me escape.”
The huge polar bear in front of Mack began to tremble and shake, and soon it morphed into a huge black man who was staring him down.
With a gulp, the cashier popped his head over the counter and gasped when he saw DeMarcus’s enormous body standing there completely naked. He quickly dropped his head back down with a yelp.
“When was this?” Hardy asked, not letting her go.
“A few days ago.” She looked at Mack and his heart swelled in his chest. “We’re going back there now.”
Mack spotted the wolf outside. He stumbled up to his paws and shook his body, sending tiny glass cubes flying everywhere. Irish’s wolf turned back to the shop, lowered his head with a growl, and began running back toward them.
“You’re going back?” Hardy asked, looking horrified. “Why?!?”
“Mack was going to break in and help them escape.”
Hardy’s jaw dropped open as he turned to look at Mack. Those two shifters had been at each other’s throat every chance they got, and now that they shared a common thread named Kara, nothing was making sense anymore.
Suddenly, the wolf leapt through the broken window, snarling as it bounced off the metal counter and lunged at Mack.
Mack shot his hands up to defend himself, but the wolf froze in mid-air, only to be jerked back with a yelp a split-second later. Hardy was holding his tail while still staring at Mack in disbelief.
“You were going to help my family escape?” he asked as the wolf looked over his shoulder, growling at him.
“I didn’t know it was your family.” Mack turned to Kara, still waiting for an answer. “That’s your brother?”
Kara nodded proudly as she looked up at Hardy. She was looking up at him like only a little sister could. Her eyes were full of awe and pure admiration as she watched her big brother.
Irish’s wolf lunged forward once again, but Hardy had a firm grip on his tail. He yanked him back and then grabbed the scruff on the wolf’s neck, pinning him in place. “Phase back, Keegan.”
The wolf tried to shake his head free with a growl, but one stern look from the grizzly bear shifter had him reluctantly phasing back into a scrawny Irishman.
“He’s with my sister, Irish,” Hardy said as he finally let go of him.
Irish’s light eyes narrowed on Mack. He looked pissed.
He grabbed a pack of Jolly Ranchers off of the rack and angrily threw it at Mack. They bounced harmlessly off of Mack’s hard chest.
“Okay, then,” Hardy said, rolling his eyes. He turned back to his sister. “So, you two are friends?”
“Mates,” Mack corrected in a firm voice.
Now it was Hardy’s turn to look like he was going to be sick. “You… mated… with him?”
Mack couldn’t understand it either. She deserved better.
Caelum started to wake up as DeMarcus and Irish put on their clothes. The skin shifter was still lying on the floor, but he managed to push himself up to a sitting position. He was holding his head and moaning.
“What the fuck did you do to him?” Hardy asked, spotting Caelum for the first time.
Mack’s body tightened as some of his anger came rushing back. “He killed my friend.”
Hardy’s brow furrowed. “I remember seeing your lion kick that kid off the building, not him.”
A flash of rage surged through Mack. “What did you say?” He was seeing red as he stepped forward.
“Your shifter hearing broken?” Hardy asked as he stared him down with cold eyes. “I think you heard me just fine.”
Kara jumped between them as the two mountains were about to collide. She put a hand on each of their heaving chests and held them apart.
Mack stepped back. There would be time to shut these guys up for good, but it wouldn’t be while Kara was in the room. He wanted her to be safe, more than he wanted these four shifters to pay.
She was grimacing as she looked around the trashed shop. Ice cream was melting all over the cracked tiles beside the fridge that was flipped on its side. Broken chips coated the floor and the metal racks were mangled beyond repair. The magazines were knocked over and there was broken glass everywhere from when Mack sent Irish’s wolf flying through the window.
“Can we go somewhere to talk?” she asked, sounding a little frantic.
Hardy was still staring Mack down, cracking his knuckles as he sized him up. “Yeah. Let’s go talk.”
“Stop it!” she shouted, shoving a finger into her brother’s face. “I would have died if Mack wasn’t there to help me. He wants to help our family escape, so cut it out!”
Hardy continued to stare Mack down until Kara grabbed his shirt, huffing in frustration. “Can we just go? Please?”
She tried to pull him toward the door, but the grizzly bear shifter wouldn’t budge. “Fine.”
The broken glass on the floor crunched as DeMarcus and Irish followed them out.
Irish took out a one dollar bill and tossed it onto the counter that was covered in broken glass. “For the Jolly Ranchers.”
They continued outside and Mack followed them out. Caelum stumbled out a few seconds later, holding his ribs and grimacing in pain.
“I know a place we can go,” Hardy said, heading toward their Humvee. “I think we all could use a cold beer. Kara, you’re with us!”
Mack’s lion growled inside. “Like hell she is.”
DeMarcus and Irish were helping Caelum into the Humvee as Hardy’s eyes snapped back onto Mack. “She’s my sister!”
“She’s my mate!”
Kara walked over and put a hand on Hardy’s arm. Jealousy flushed through Mack as he watched. He didn’t like her touching anyone but him.
“I’ll go with Mack,” she said softly. “I’ll meet you there.”
Hardy flashed him a dirty look and Mack had to resist the urge to stick his tongue out at him.
They all got in their trucks and Mack followed them out, leaving the trashed gas station behind.
He was squeezing the steering wheel as doubt swirled around inside him. “Let’s ditch them. We should just stick to the original plan.”
“They can help us.”
“We don’t need them.”
“Yes, we do.”
Mack exhaled in frustration as he stared at the back of their Humvee. That was a military grade vehicle, issued by General Hunt.
“These guys are no good. They’re bad men.”
“That’s my brother!” she snapped. “You have no idea what he’s been through! They took us… They took everyone he’s ever loved to get to him. Yeah, he’s probably done some bad things, but it was all to protect us. To keep us safe. Wouldn’t you do the same? If they had someone you cared about?”
Mack sucked in a breath. If they had Kara… He knew there was nothing he wouldn’t do to keep her safe.
“Okay,” he said, giving a little ground. “Maybe your brother is all right.” Fuck, that was painful to say. “But the others… That skin shifter…”
“Is probably going through the same shit.” She shook her head as she looked up at him. “Just because you do bad things, doesn’t mean you’re a bad person.”
Mack stared ahead. “That’s exactly what it means.”
“No, it doesn’t. I know you have shifter vision and
you can see everything, but you really need to open your eyes a little more.”
The spot that Hardy brought them to was the bar area in a bowling alley. The constant crack of balls hitting bowling pins was the only sound cutting the awkward silence as they all sat in the back booth.
Mack had his elbows on the table and was looking at the dried blood on his hands. The wolf’s bites were almost healed and he began picking the scabs off his palms.
“Paper cut?” Irish asked with a grin.
Mack narrowed his eyes on him from across the table. This punk was lucky that Kara made him promise that there wouldn’t be any violence. He heard Kara make Hardy promise the same thing.
The waitress returned with the beers and a huge smile that seemed wildly out of place. “Here you go!” she said in a chipper voice, showing her molars as she placed the beers on the table. Nobody said anything. Nobody moved. You needed a chainsaw to cut through the tension.
“Thanks,” Kara finally said as she forced out a smile. “Can you bring another round? I think we might need it.”
“Sure!” The waitress took her tray and skipped off. The guys each took a sip of their beers, but Mack left his untouched in front of him.
Caelum was still wincing and letting out the occasional moan as he lowered his bottle to the table. His face was black, blue, and starting to swell. Mack’s red fingerprints were still marking his throat. All of the other shifters had pretty much healed completely, but skin shifters didn’t heal quite so fast.
Mack cleared his throat, wanting to know something that had been on his mind for a long time.
“What happened to the kid?” he asked as he looked around the table. “The blonde one you had in the chopper?”
They all looked away with guilty eyes and Mack’s heart seemed to slow to a stop. A dull ache hit the back of his throat and the energy drained out of him as they seemed to confirm what deep down he already knew: Bryce hadn’t survived the fall.
“He was dead when we got in the chopper,” Hardy said in a somber voice. “Hunt brought him to the lab, but he’d been dead for hours.”
Mack’s head swirled as he listened. Dead for hours? He suddenly leapt forward, spilling a beer as he reached for Caelum’s neck. Bodies exploded into action as his hands closed around Caelum’s bruised throat.
