by S. K. Yule
“I think that was a rogue. If I’m right, we may be in big trouble.”
“A-A rogue? We need to use the walkie. Now!” Melony reached for the glove compartment and noticed it had been jarred open from the crash. The walkie was no longer inside, and she started searching for it frantically, figuring the impact must have thrown it under the seat or in the back.
“Um, we have another problem.”
Melony turned to Sherry. “What?”
“My water just broke.”
“Oh, Sherry. Please tell me you are joking.”
“No.” Sherry’s tearful whisper gave all the proof Melony needed that it was, indeed, not a joke.
“I’ve been having dreams about him coming early, but Piers and I talked about it and decided it was just nerves. Janine told me the same when I confided in her.”
So the unease she’d picked up on with Janine and Sherry had had some merit to it. Freaking great! This is just what she needed.
“I’ll find the walkie, and everything will be fine. Just stay calm.” Staying calm was easier said than done, but she had no choice in the matter. If she got all worked up, Sherry would as well, and that wouldn’t do either of them any good.
“I’ll try.”
Melony climbed into the backseat and searched for the walkie.
“I’m starting to have contractions, Mel!”
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Great! Just what I need. Can anything else go wrong? Ask and ye shall receive.
She cried out in relief as she found the walkie, but just as she picked it up, something slammed into the side of the SUV.
“What was that?”
“Mel! It’s the rogue. Hurry, call for help.”
She pushed the button on the side of the walkie. “Can someone hear me?
Please. It’s Melony.” No answer. “Please. Can someone hear me?”
* * * *
Lorent had been deep in the forest all morning while the others were in a meeting. It was his turn to patrol the property, and Brent was supposed to meet with him later to give him the details of everything discussed. He was about to head back when the walkie he had clipped to his belt hissed and a familiar voice came over it. He froze for a moment. What the hell was Melony doing on the walkie?
He slipped the walkie from his belt and pressed the button. “What are you doing on the walkie, Melony?” They usually only used the long-range walkies for emergencies.
“We’ve wrecked, and there is something—a rogue—trying to get into the vehicle with us.”
His blood ran cold. “Where are you? Who’s ‘we’?”
“Sherry is with me. We went to town, and on our way back, we wrecked.
Please, Lorent. We need help. Sherry’s water broke. I’m scared.”
“Tell me where you are.”
“Sherry says to tell you we are on the Nine Road cutoff.”
He closed his eyes. By his calculations, he was about twenty minutes from their location. Had he stayed back at Sanctuary, it would have taken him over forty minutes to reach them. “I’m on my way.”
He hit the call button on the walkie to set the ringer off, knowing someone in the meeting would hear it. Within seconds, Piers’s voice came across the line.
“Piers.”
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“This is Lorent. Get Knox and anyone else available to the Nine Road cutoff. Melony is there, and a rogue is after her.”
“What the hell is she doing there?”
“I don’t know. Don’t have to time explain, but there’s more, and you aren’t going to like it. Sherry is with her, and she’s in labor.”
“I’m on my way.”
Lorent heard the deadly calm in the other man’s voice, and knew the rogue messing with Melony and Sherry would die either by his hands or Piers’s. One way or the other, it was a done deal. There would be no reformation offer in this matter.
He shed his clothes, let his wolf come to the surface, picked up the walkie in his teeth after shifting, and ran flat-out toward Melony and Sherry’s location. What if he didn’t make it in time? No! Do not think that. He’d promised Melony he’d always protect her, always keep her safe, and he would do so, no matter what it took.
* * * *
“The contractions are getting closer.” Sherry cried out in pain.
Slam! The rogue hit the side of the SUV again, rocking it.
“All of the vehicles at Sanctuary have extra security. The windows are security glass and bulletproof. He’ll be able to get through it eventually, but hopefully it will hold him off until help gets here.”
Melony was happy to hear that, but by the way the rogue was repeatedly slamming into the side of the vehicle, she wasn’t sure it would last that long.
She scrambled to the back of the vehicle and found some blankets, then instructed Sherry to lie down in the front seat. She put one blanket under her head and the other over her to keep her warm.
“I can feel the baby coming, Mel. You have to help me.”
“No, no, no, no, no. You have to wait, Sherry. You can’t have your baby now. I don’t know what to do.”
“I don’t think he cares, Mel. I’m sorry. Please, he’s coming.”
Slam!
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She folded the blanket back, pushed Sherry’s long skirt up her legs, and pulled her underwear off.
“Oh. My. God!”
“What?” Sherry cried out.
“I can see his head!” Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit. What the hell was she supposed to do now?
Slam!
“Hold on. Do not push yet.”
She scrambled into the back of the SUV again, grabbed the other two blankets, and hurried back up to the front seat.
“Okay. When I tell you, I want you to push.”
Slam!
“Push!”
Sherry bore down, and Melony could see more of the baby’s head appear.
“Keep pushing. Keep pushing. Keep pushing. Okay. Take a break.”
Sherry panted, and didn’t say a word.
“You ready to push again?”
Sherry nodded.
“Push! Come on. Keep pushing. He’s coming, Sherry. Your son is almost here.”
“No. I can’t push anymore.”
“Yes, you can. You can do it for him, Sherry. Now push.”
Less than a minute later, Melony held a tiny baby boy in her arms, wrapped in one of the blankets. She’d cut the umbilical cord with some scissors from the first aid kit under the seat, and had tied the end off with a piece of string holding some gauze together after soaking it in alcohol. She didn’t know if she’d done anything right, but prayed the baby was okay. If he wasn’t, no one would ever forgive her.
“Why isn’t he crying?” Sherry asked frantically.
Slam!
“I don’t know!” He had a blue tinge to him, and Melony was worried, but she didn’t want to alarm Sherry.
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The baby was breathing, but the breaths were shallow. Then she remembered something she’d seen on a television show about babies. She turned him to the side and patted his back, then rubbed it in circles before patting it again.
“Come on, baby,” she whispered. “Your mommy is waiting to see you.”
She continued rubbing his back and patting it. Just when she thought all hope was lost, fluid dribbled out of his mouth, and he coughed before letting out a loud wail. Within moments, his color went from grayish blue to a healthy pink. Relief washed through Melony as she rubbed him down, wrapped him back in the blanket, and handed him to Sherry.
“He’s beautiful.” Tears streamed down Sherry’s face.
“He is beautiful. Just like his mother.”
“Mel?”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you.”
; “Thank me when we make it back to Sanctuary.” Then it dawned on her that there hadn’t been a slam to the side of the SUV for several minutes.
Had the rogue realized he couldn’t get in and given up? She hoped so because she had to figure out a way to get them out of here. She didn’t know how far away Lorent was, and Sherry and the baby both needed medical attention.
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Chapter Eighteen
Melony crawled into the back of the SUV again and looked out the windows. She didn’t see any sign of the rogue.
“What are you doing, Mel?”
“I’m going to go get help.”
“No! You have to stay in the car.”
“I have to get some help for you and your son. He needs to be looked at by the midwife to make sure he’s okay.”
Melony knew Sherry couldn’t argue with that logic no matter how much she wanted to. Her baby was the most important thing right now.
“I’ll be all right.”
“Be careful, Mel.”
Melony reached for the handle on the back passenger side. “As soon as I’m out, you engage the locks again.”
“Okay.”
She closed her eyes for a moment, took in a deep breath, and said a silent prayer. Please let the rogue be gone. Please let me be able to get help for Sherry and the baby.
She slipped out the door, and the eerie quietness of the woods chilled her, immediately making her wish she’d stayed inside the SUV. Her instincts warned her danger was lurking, but she couldn’t turn back now. She closed the door as quietly as possible, but the soft click and locks engaging shortly after sounded like a cannon in the silence. She put her back against the side of the vehicle and worked her way around to the front. The baby started to cry inside, and she froze and waited. If the rogue was still around, the noise would surely draw him out.
She cocked her head to the side. Silence. She took in several deep breaths, gathered every ounce of courage she possessed, and sprinted up the embankment and down the road. You had to wear the damn boots with the heels, didn’t you? She had run several feet, just starting to gain confidence that the rogue had fled, when she heard a sound behind her.
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She glanced over her shoulder, and choked back a scream when she saw a large wolf chasing after her. She ran until her lungs felt as if they’d burst, but her attempt was futile. She was hit from behind and sprawled headfirst onto the road. She flung her hands out just in time to keep her face from hitting the ground, and turned over on her back to find a naked man with a scraggly beard and stringy brown hair standing over her.
He was huge, and her heart stuttered. Is this how she was going to die?
Or would he kidnap her and do much worse than kill her? She swallowed hard.
“Get away from me. The others are on their way, and they will kill you if you touch me.”
He smiled. “You have the scent. You are mine.”
“No. I’m not.” She wasn’t his. She was Lorent’s. And that’s when it dawned on her. If she got out of this alive, she’d tell Lorent she wanted to be with him. She’d lost so much time with him already, and now she may never get the chance to be happy with the man she loved.
He sniffed at her again, and the wicked smile that curved his lips made her skin crawl.
“I thought I recognized that scent. I think I met your mother.”
Melony’s heart thundered and anger hit her hard when she realized she was looking into the blank stare of her mother’s murderer. She wanted to claw out those black, empty eyes right before she ripped his cold heart from his chest.
“You killed my mother,” she whispered.
“I believe I did, but it was only because she refused to tell me where you were. Mommy was very protective of her little girl, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t convince her that you were mine.”
“Again, not yours. I belong to another.”
The rage that contorted his face made her think that it may not have been a wise thing to taunt him with that bit of info.
“I met your mother quite by accident. I’d been passing through the area when I caught your scent on her. The lovely blue scarf she was wearing smelled strongly of you.”
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It had been her fault. She’d forgotten about the scarf she’d given her mother as a Mother’s Day gift. It had been in her room for months, as she’d found it on sale right after Christmas at one of her favorite shops.
“You’re an animal,” she sneered at him, uncaring if she pissed him off more at this point.
He laughed at her, which only spiked her anger further.
“Thanks for the compliment, babe.” He sniffed the air again. “I wonder if you knew Mommy Dear was fucking the good doc.”
“Dr. Carson? He was married.” What the hell?
The rogue shrugged. “Your point?” He laughed again. “Although I have to say Mommy and Doc got into a pretty heated argument while I was hiding out in the cage, waiting for my opportunity to talk with her. Seems Mommy wanted to end things since the doc refused to split from the old lady like he’d been promising. Human men are so predictable—weak. He should have simply taken what he wanted and made her deal with it.”
So that’s what had been wrong with her mother. She’d been having an affair with a married man. That explained the late-night calls, the sudden disinterest in her studies, and the stress that had started marring her mother’s features. The anger was now boiling inside her, making it hard to breathe.
How could Dr. Carson have used her mother like that, and how had her mother allowed it? Her mom might still be alive if he hadn’t been stringing her along, but even that didn’t change the fact that Melony’s scent had been the ultimate cause of her mother’s demise. Guilt washed through her, and she wanted to scream and cry in frustration.
When the rogue bent toward her, the movement immediately snapped her from her thoughts. She brought her foot up and kicked him in the nose with her heel as hard as she could manage. Now she was happy she’d worn the heels. She scrambled to her feet, but just as she made it fully upright, his hands wrapped around her throat. His eyes were wild, and she knew without a doubt he was going to kill her.
“Bitch!” Blood trickled out of his nose and ran in a small stream down the side of his face.
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Suddenly, she remembered what Lorent had taught her, and instinct took over. She tucked her chin between his hands and her throat, bent her knees, twisted to the side, brought her arm up and down over his forearms and then up in an arc until her fist connected with his temple.
He let out a roar that sent fear slithering down her spine, but let her go.
* * * *
Lorent crashed through the trees in time to see Melony execute a perfect punch to the rogue’s temple. Pride swelled in him, but was quickly replaced by anger and fear when she fell backward on her rump and the rogue leapt after her.
Lorent dropped the walkie and charged after him, fury turning his vision red. He leaped through the air and knocked the rogue to the ground before he could grab Melony. Lorent quickly shifted and stood over him, arms held out from his sides, ready for the impending fight.
“Lorent, is that you?” The rogue laughed out loud. “Better get off me, boy, before I give you another ass-whooping. You do remember those, right?”
Recognition hit him hard. Rufus. Lorent had witnessed this scum perform countless brutal acts, and had been on the wrong end of his fists on more than one occasion. Payback was going to be sweet because he had news for old Rufus. Times had changed, and he was the one about to get his ass whooped.
“I’m not like you. I don’t think I’m a badass because I can hurt those that are weaker. In fact, that only makes you a sniveling coward. You, on the othe
r hand, are big enough to pick a fair fight with. Now get up. When I kill you, at least no one can say I didn’t give you a chance.” He shook in rage.
“You? You think you are going to kill me?” Rufus laughed as he got up.
“Oh yeah.” Lorent punched Rufus, and the rogue flew backward with the force of the blow and crashed into a tree. “Get back to the SUV, Melony.”
He growled as he started for Rufus again.
“Lorent! No! Please come with me!” Melony cried out.
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“Go! Now!”
She sobbed, but ran toward the vehicle as he’d instructed.
Lorent turned back to Rufus just as the rogue charged him. He grunted when Rufus’s head drilled into his gut, and his arms came around his middle, driving him to his back, where they both skidded along the rough road from the momentum of the impact. Lorent plowed his elbow down into Rufus’s cheek and leapt to his feet. Rufus screamed out in fury and grabbed for Lorent’s feet, trying to bring him back down, but Lorent skillfully evaded him.
Rufus gained his feet, and this time when he charged, Lorent was ready.
* * * *
Melony cried as she watched the fight through the windshield of the SUV. Lorent and the rogue—Rufus, Lorent had called him—threw punch after punch at one another. Every punch Rufus landed, Lorent landed one harder in return. She was surprised that the fact both men were nude didn’t distract her in the least. Her worry burned away any other thoughts but for Lorent’s safety.
“They are going to kill one another.”
Sherry’s eyes were wide as she cradled her son to her chest and watched the fight with Melony. “I don’t think they are going to kill each other. I think Lorent is going to rip Rufus a new one.”
A loud bang came from Sherry’s window, and they both jumped and shrieked.
“It’s me, Sherry. Open the door.”
“Thank God!” Melony unlocked the door, and Piers practically ripped Sherry’s door off the hinges.
“Baby, are you okay?” He asked before hugging her to him, careful not to smash the small bundle she held against her.
