by Fel Fern
“What do you mean by that?”
Logan had a feeling he knew what kind of welcome Raul’s wolves would give to these human mercenaries. He heard old anger in Raul’s voice, and that was good. Michella didn’t seem capable of rage, but Logan shared a similarity with Raul.
“I’ll try,” Logan murmured.
The hesitation must have shown in his voice.
“Don’t try. Do. From what Michella told me, I know this isn’t easy for you. You’ve never led so many wolves before, but believe in yourself. You’ve gotten them this far. You can reach the finish line.”
Tears filled Logan’s eyes. If they do make it all the way to Darkfall territory, he’d pull Raul into a hug and tell the stranger those were the words he needed to hear, that someone believed in him 100 percent and never doubted he’d do the job right.
Not bothering with small talk, Raul and he discussed where they would meet. Logan made sure he’d get the location right and put Raul on speaker while he opened his GPS. After ending the call, Logan felt more hopeful. Their chances of survival just went up.
“I take it from your expression it’s good news?” Martin asked.
“They’ll meet us on their borders. As long as we make it there, they’ll help fend off the humans. Did everyone see their maps?” They murmured in agreement, and Logan saw excited faces and frightened faces. They had a fighting chance, and it was enough knowing that. Logan turned to Davis. “Davis, Bran and you will head out first. We’ll follow.”
Davis nodded curtly. Silent understanding passed between them. Davis knew Logan paired him up with Bran for a reason. Bran seemed to listen to him the best, and Davis was powerful enough to look after the scared Omega.
“What? We need to go first? I don’t want to,” Bran protested.
“Come on, Bran.” Ignoring his protests, Davis slid out from the booth. Leading Bran by the arm, they headed to the back.
Logan’s heart hammered. Could they really make it out alive?
Looking at his wristwatch, Logan spoke after ten minutes had passed. His voice sounded calm enough, but in reality, Logan was a bundle of nerves. “Nathan and Kian, you guys are next.”
The brothers followed Davis and Bran’s path, leaving Martin and him alone. Logan looked at his best friend. Being strong and acting like a leader felt exhausting because he needed to consider everyone he took care of.
How did Ray do this all the time without having a nervous breakdown? Did he question the mood of others all the time? Ray was an Alpha, though, and capable of reeling pack members in. Logan didn’t know the first thing about leading anyone. What if along the way someone didn’t fall in rank? Logan lacked the power and strength for discipline.
No. This wasn’t the time to second-guess himself. Logan did his best, and that was all anyone could ask of him. He’d make Ray proud and show these persistent humans they weren’t to be messed with. Right now all he could do was focus on the present. He’d do everything in his power to reach Darkfall with the others, and after?
Logan could think about the future once everyone was safe from these damned human mercenaries intent on capturing them and turning them into science experiments.
“You’re doing a good job so far, Logan,” Martin reassured him. “I have a good feeling about this.”
“Let’s go.”
After paying the bill, Logan stood up. Shoulder-to-shoulder, Martin and he hurried to the back. Shooting a quick glance out the windows, Logan noticed the humans were nowhere in sight. His stomach lurched. Where were they? The van remained there though.
Could they be taking a break? Never mind, there wasn’t any time to change tactics. They pushed out of the kitchen. The smell of grease tickled their noses. Logan stuffed his wallet, phone, and whatever he had on him into his pack. Outside, the air smelled cleaner, fresh.
Seeing his pack mates in wolf form, Logan breathed a sigh of relief. There was Davis, with his red pelt. Bran was a smaller brown beast. The brothers were similar in size and had gray colored fur. Logan stripped down, slinging his backpack over his neck, and shifted.
Unlike the movies or books, the change was a painful process. Bones creaked, organs shifted, and fur covered his entire body. Once on all four paws, Logan felt stronger in his second form. As an Omega, he was smaller than average werewolves, but he made up for it with speed.
When the others didn’t budge and simply looked to him, Logan realized he’d been waiting, too, for Ray or one of the pack leaders to take the lead. Grief came out of nowhere and hit in him the gut again.
Shit. Logan couldn’t be sentimental, but it was Ray’s powerful and large beast he imagined, with him following behind. Someone, Martin, nipped at his ear, making him blink. He sniffed the air, smelling the cooking food inside and the humans. His nose caught the scent of something rank farther away.
The other humans, the mercenaries, smelled of old blood. He suppressed a shudder, but he couldn’t show fear now. Besides, Raul believed in him, restored the confidence Logan needed. Logan owed this stranger a hug.
Logan let out a snarl. It was time to move. He ran into the thicket of trees, away from civilization, and one by one, the others followed.
Chapter Four
A gunshot sounded in the distance, followed by the sound of hounds barking, doing little to ease Logan’s nerves.
Why would the human mercenaries announce their presence?
To taunt them, were they sending a message it was futile to run? The hounds worried the hell out of Logan, too. The human mercenaries proved too smart for their own good.
Did that mean they anticipated Logan and his pack to continue on foot if they had dogs with them?
Logan gritted his teeth. This wasn’t the time to be panicking. Panting, he ran until his leg muscles burned. Behind him, he heard the others trying to catch up. Hearing a whimper, Logan came to a stop, turning his head to see Bran’s small, brown wolf on the ground. Davis growled under his breath. Nathan looked at Logan pointedly, as if silently telling him they should leave Bran behind.
Hell if that would happen. Logan padded to Bran, giving his body a nudge. Martin followed and Bran found the strength to stand on his own again. Davis nudged at him. Faint laughter came from behind them.
Fuck, the humans started to get on Logan’s nerves. It was tempting to rush at them, but judging by their scent, they had guns on them, along with numbers. They’d decimate Logan and his wolves without problems.
Logan turned tail and ran once more. In his mind, he visualized the map and prayed to God he led his pack in the right direction. Navigating these unfamiliar woods felt a lot different than following Google maps in search of a particular restaurant. If Logan had to be honest with himself, he wasn’t even sure if he went the right way. Didn’t they pass that same tree with that rock bed?
Shit. Logan might end up leading them all to their deaths.
Gunfire sounded from their right, alarmingly close, followed by the barking of dogs. Logan growled to his companions, hoping they’d understand the need for urgency. He pushed himself faster, harder. Logan had been a runner all his life, but the others weren’t. Bran yipped behind them again. Logan slowed down, but Davis came by his side, shaking his head.
What the hell? Weren’t they in this together?
Logan couldn’t begrudge Davis and the rest though. In their world, the strong survived. To his relief, Martin helped him give Bran the push he needed. Jesus, Bran acted like he didn’t want to fight to live, like he’d rather curl up in one corner and die. Wasting annoyance or anger at Bran wouldn’t help anyone though.
A gun roared once again. Logan whipped his head, a growl of fury tearing from his throat when he saw Martin go down, blood spreading across his left flank. He ran to his best friend. Bran lingered behind him, whimpering. Logan would get no help from him. Martin lay on his side, breathing hard. Logan assessed his injuries. He’d known Martin since they were kids. No way in hell Logan could go on without him. Screw the others. Davis would le
ad them to safety.
When Martin began to shift, Logan snarled at him in warning. A human hand replaced Martin’s fore paws. Martin gripped his muzzle.
“Leave me. Fuck it, Logan. Go with the others,” Martin rasped.
Logan stubbornly stayed. The first of the men in black came from the trees, rifle pointed at them. The hounds surged forward, barely held back by leashes.
“What do we have here, three little wolves?” a voice remarked.
It was the same man with ink on his face who gave him an appraising look back at the diner. Logan bared his teeth, using his body to shield Martin. Bran hid behind him. God. Logan couldn’t protect them both.
Howls sounded from behind him. Logan risked turning his head to see Davis, Nathan, and Kian running at them. They came to a halt when the guy with the facial tattoo pulled the trigger. Logan thought he missed at first, but no, he was giving a warning.
It was effective because the others froze and more mercenaries pointed rifles at them. Logan silently counted the humans in his head. Five of them, all with high-assault rifles, and there were three more holding the leashes of the dogs.
“Fuck,” Martin muttered under his breath. “Logan, you should have left me to die.”
As if.
Fuck. Logan harbored the same sentiments. He wasn’t sure whether to be pissed off at the others for coming back so they’d all end up together, or marvel at their loyalty. What did he say earlier? That they were in this together? Logan didn’t want the others dying uselessly, so where did that leave them, captured?
“Don’t make this harder on yourselves, little doggies,” the tattooed guy said.
Was he the leader?
The other humans didn’t speak, only kept their steady fingers on the triggers of their guns. Logan smelled silver and knew they were at a severe disadvantage. They were fast. Logan had seen Ray shot by silver before, but from an assault rifle? They’d die before they could reach these humans.
Logan padded forward, although he’d never been more terrified in his life. Three rifles followed him, but it looked like tattoo guy didn’t give them orders to shoot. Clearly, they wanted Logan and the rest alive. They were more valuable that way.
The reminder these humans wanted them as test subjects didn’t sound encouraging. Being tortured with inhumane experiments sounded like a fate worse than death, but going with these humans might also be a better choice. Along the way, Logan and the others might find a means to escape.
Was surrender really the right choice?
* * * *
When the lean and slender wolf with the light gray pelt bravely walked up to the human leader, Raul Reyes knew this was Logan, the young man on the phone he spoke with an hour ago. Logan was the second smallest of the six frightened wolves there, yet he came forward. That took fucking guts, and Raul approved.
His wolf wanted to lunge forward, put himself in front of that brave little pup and tear every last one of these humans to shreds. Raul reeled himself back though. He needed to wait until his pack brothers moved into position. After Logan ended the call, he told Michella the situation.
Alessio, the pack Beta, looked annoyed Raul interrupted a meeting between the regional pack leaders, but Raul didn’t care. He was Michella’s protector anyway, not Alessio’s.
Oh, he and his best friend Dino followed orders from Sergio and Alessio well enough, but they were the Gamma’s wolves first. Their bonds went all the way back to the past.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t take care of this on my own,” she had said. “Raul, please help these strays as best as you can, but make sure not to risk yourself and your men.”
Michella didn’t need to ask. After Raul heard Logan’s voice, Raul knew he’d do anything to protect this pup, this stranger. He’d lived long enough to see fellow pack members lose their mate over the years. It wasn’t pretty. Since shifters picked one mate for life, when one died, the rest followed. Not everyone possessed the same strength Logan did, to pull the plug on his old mate and try leading the rest of their pack to safety.
Why did Raul harbor these strange and overprotective feelings for an Omega he just met?
One of Raul’s greatest assets as a pack enforcer had been his levelheadedness and firm control over his beast. A violent shifter who gave into his or her beast wasn’t any better than a rabid animal, but one who thought and planned, that was a different story. Fuck, he wished Dino was beside him.
Dino and he always worked together, but they couldn’t risk leaving Michella alone, despite the fact she was with her brothers. Long ago, both Dino and he promised David, Dino’s older brother and Michella’s ex-fiancé, they’d protect Michella at all costs. Not just the Darkfall Mountain pack’s Gamma, she was the heart of the pack. Those who didn’t have the guts to approach Sergio and Alessio went to her.
Raul had to do this on his own and reel in these strange emotions. His hackles rose the moment the tattooed human bastard pointed the barrel of his gun right between Logan’s eyes. Something inside Raul snapped for no explanation. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt so much rage.
Oh right, a couple of months ago when a foolish human hunter had the guts to stick a knife inside Michella. She still had the ugly scars, but even the anger he felt that time didn’t compare to the pure white-hot fury that had been unleashed now.
Raul opened his mouth, and a rumbling growl tore out of him, loud and full or primal wrath. The tattooed human tensed up, frowning. Fear, Raul could smell it on the humans there. These pups wouldn’t provide them with much fight, they knew that, but these fuckers ought to try facing down real predators.
Without a care for his own safety and breaking his promise to Michella, Raul rushed out of his hiding spot. Even before the humans could react, he only had one target. The tattooed bastard went down, gun clattering to the ground, trying to kick and claw at him. His opponent reached for the knife tucked in his belt, but Raul saw that coming. He’d fought and tangled with all kinds of scum in his lifetime.
Better to go for a sure kill than hesitate. Thinking of Logan, he was barely keeping it together when this asshole pointed the gun to his head. Logan, who probably didn’t give a shit about his own life, made Raul mad. He went for the enemy’s throat, tearing brutally at skin.
Guns went off in the background, the hounds off their leashes. One bullet found its way into Raul’s shoulder, but he’d taken worse. Once the sightless corpse of the human stared back at him, mouth wide open in shock, Raul spat the chuck of flesh out and met Logan’s gaze.
The Omega stared at him in shock. Seeing a downed human fumbling for a gun near Logan, Raul acted on reflex. He tackled the smaller wolf to the ground. The bullet seared across his fur, but didn’t hurt anything vital. Thankfully, one of Raul’s men took the human down.
There would be no mercy for these humans, Raul knew. Two months ago, the very same humans decided to set up shop near Darkfall territory. One of the captured Omegas turned out to be one of their wolves’ mates.
It didn’t matter though. No one got away with kidnapping defenseless shifters on their land. Raul had been part of the rescue mission. He’d seen the victims these humans reduced to broken things. Some had been trapped in between being human and animal. Others were trapped in their animal forms, but were unable to return.
They made short work of the mercenaries. It wasn’t Raul’s wisest move to date. He’d always made sure there were minimal casualties in battle, but none of his pack members looked seriously injured. Michella wasn’t the kind of leader who’d demand what drove him to recklessness and tell him there were consequences for his actions, but she’d give him one of those contemplative looks that would make him groan. She always saw far too much.
What would she make of this? What would Dino?
Logan whimpered under him. Raul got off him, but before Logan got away, he pressed his nose to the side of Logan’s neck, inhaling his scent. God, did the Omega smell so good. Once Raul had a whiff, he couldn’t stop. From there
, it would be downhill. His human screamed at him to back off, to think rationally about imprinting his scent on a complete stranger, but his animal shared no doubts. Only one word repeated in his head like a mantra.
Ours. Mine.
It didn’t help Raul’s unpredictable mood one bit when Logan didn’t push or draw away. Raul felt the little wolf sniffing him, pawing at him. The light gray fur brushing against him began to give way to something soft, pliant human skin. Raul snarled softly. He would have sworn under his breath if he was in human form.
Instead of a wolf, a slender young man with short, blond hair and the most startling blue eyes Raul had ever seen on a human, looked at him with more curiosity than fear. This pup ought to be afraid though, because Raul had never felt this combination of conflicting feelings toward anyone.
It didn’t help that Logan settled on his knees, the sight of his sweat-soaked body amazing. Raul imagined his pup just like this, between his legs, nuzzling his thigh, begging for his cock.
Wait a second. He was calling Logan his pup now? One of Logan’s wolves, a red one, bared teeth at Raul, prompting one of Raul’s men to react, snapping teeth at the red wolf in warning. Raul opened his own jaws to let out a rumbling growl that warned everyone there to back off and not move.
“You’re Raul, right? Thank God,” Logan whispered.
The pup pulled him into a hug, as if it didn’t cross his mind to fear Raul. Shit. Warm human skin touched his, and Raul was gone. He discarded his animal half. Once fully human, he tackled Logan to the forest ground, straddling him.
Chapter Five
One moment, the largest wolf he’d ever seen, with a jet-black pelt, had been sniffing him. The next, a man took its place. In wolf form, Raul was even larger than Ray.
How was that possible? There were bigger and more dangerous men than Ray?
In human form though, it was hard to take his eyes off Raul. All six feet and half inch of Raul had been padded in muscles, each one gleaming with sweat on his golden skin. Daring to look, Logan swallowed, taking in the powerful calves and thighs, the monster of a cock hanging between Raul’s legs.
