Untamed Beast

by Jaden Sinclair

  “Congratulations. You figured it all out. You know about the crazy woman in the house. Now get the fuck out of here.”

  “Don’t forget about her damn crazy ass daughter,” he pointed a finger at her. “You’re going back, not me.”

  “I’m not going anywhere but in that house to end this shit.”

  “That, you’re not going to do.” He reached for her arm and just about had a hold of it until she jerked away. “Don’t push me on this Katrina. You’ve pushed enough as it is.”

  “Not pushing, I’m standing my ground. This is my mother, my mess.”

  “No, this is our mess,” he growled again, his eyes darkening. “She started this war with my kind. She took me, remember.”

  “You’re not the only victim here, Thorn. I suffered just as you did and so has Dannie. I have a right to get even.”

  “And how do you plan on doing that?”

  “I can fight, Thorn.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah, really!”

  “Funny how I’ve never seen you really fight, just sucker punch.”

  Katrina lost her control and swung hard and fast, hitting Thorn in the jaw with her closed fist. She’d struck with enough power to force him to take a step back. “Go to hell!”

  “Another fucking sucker punch,” he said, rubbing his jaw. “Damn I’m so tired of this shit with you!”

  “It wasn’t a sucker punch. I know how to fight. You don’t think she taught Dannie and me how to protect ourselves? She also thought that one of you animals might get out and try something.”

  “If you two knew how to protect yourselves, then why did we get a hold of you so easily? And you just wait till we get back to the cabin. I’ll show you just what this animal will do when it gets its hands on you.”

  “Hell will freeze over before you touch me again. And if you don’t think I can handle myself, just as Dannie handled Logan. I’m sure his shins still hurt.”

  “Enough!” He raised his hands up at her. “This isn’t the place to be having this fight.” She opened her mouth to tell him where to go, but stiffened when he did. “I take it you heard that?”

  “Yeah.” She nodded. “We’re not alone.”

  “Run!”

  He didn’t have to tell her twice. Katrina turned and started to run away from him and the house. At the same time, she heard a deep growl come from Thorn, then the shooting started. She spotted a hollowed out tree, dropped to the ground in a skid and went inside it, bringing out the gun she had at her back. Holding it up, she waited and listened for someone to come after her. No one did. Instead, what she heard was a lot of growling and men screaming.

  * * * *

  Thorn lunged at the men who came at him. He growled, let the animal inside out and grabbed one by the throat, twisted and ripped it right out, killing the poor bastard on the spot. His death didn’t seem to affect the others at all. They still came at him.

  Another attacked, Thorn grabbed hold of his arm before he could make contact and he bent it all the way behind the guy, snapping the bone in the arm like a stick. The guy screamed. Finishing him off, Thorn took hold of his neck and snapped it. He then picked the guy up and tossed him at two others, knocking them down. Before any of them could quickly react to it, Thorn rushed another, took hold of him by the throat also and positioned him as a shield. Bringing out a gun, he started to fire at them, taking out any who were standing in front of him down the hard way.

  The group which attacked them were all dead. Pushing his gun against the one he was holding and pressing the trigger, Thorn killed him also, letting the guy drop to the ground as well.

  Looking around, sniffing, seeing everything in red, Thorn picked up more of them in the woods. With a low, deadly growl at the back of his throat, he turned and took off running toward them. The one and only goal he had was to give Katrina enough time to get away. He knew he would be able to, but wasn’t too sure about her. He just hoped like hell that she listened to him and got away and wasn’t fighting these guys.

  Another little group came into his red line of vision. He snickered at how these pricks always seemed to travel in groups. Maybe they figured it was the best way they could take someone like him down. Stupid.

  With a nasty snarl, Thorn pounced upon two of them. He jumped right on them, knocking them to the ground, then with all his animal strength he raised both fists up in the air and came down hard at the back of their heads. Two more gone.

  Standing up quickly ready to take two more down he was stopped by something shooting into this neck, then he got hit with one powerful jolt. Every muscle in his body stiffened as electricity radiated throughout his whole body, stopping him from fighting. As he stood there, shaking with the volts, one of the men came up to him and hit Thorn hard across the face with the butt of his gun. The blow knocked him down to the ground.

  “Hurry and stick this son of a bitch,” someone called out.

  A foot came out and landed on his throat, then he felt something stick him in the arm. Within seconds, he started to feel weak. The electricity stopped, but that didn’t mean he could get up.

  “Give me the cuffs.”

  His vision started to get blurry and all willpower went right out the door. Thorn couldn’t do shit as he was cuffed, then chained from his neck to his wrists. Roughly, someone grabbed him and picked him up. The same feeling of helplessness hit him. The same kind he had when that bitch had him caught right after a full moon and he was chained and fucked by Katrina. He couldn’t even walk. His feet dragged behind as the men carried, half dragged him to a waiting jeep. They weren’t gentle either when they tossed him in the back. One guy even sat down on his stomach when they all got in.

  “Back to the house,” someone said. “She’s going to love this one.”

  * * * *

  Katrina waited just a bit longer and then she came out of her hiding place slowly. Looking around she didn’t see anyone at first, then she spotted only one man still hanging around in the woods. A look out.

  Instead of using her gun, which would just draw attention, she looked around for something else, hopefully a log but instead she found a very large rock. Bending over to pick it up, she kept her eye on him the whole time. As quietly as she could, she walked up behind him and then with all her might swung wide and hard, hitting him on the back of the head. He dropped instantly.

  Going down to the ground next to him, she rolled him over and started checking him for anything that might help her get into the house. She pulled out a set of keys, a couple knives, and then saw a small ear piece in his ear. Taking it out she brought it up to her own ear and listened.

  “Maintain radio silence. You will only listen, not report,” someone said. “The girl is still out there. Keep your eyes open and once I’ve dropped off our package, we will join you to locate her. The boss wants her found as well as this one. Out.”

  “Good luck with that one, asshole,” she said, standing back up.

  Katrina was about to walk away, but then decided to keep this one alive would not be good. For when he woke up, he might let them know she was heading to the house. Taking his own knife, she bent back down, closed her eyes and stabbed him in the chest. He grunted. Keeping her eyes closed she pulled it out and left at a jog towards the house.

  Because they had lived there at one time, she knew of a few tricks to get in and out of the house unnoticed. She even knew about the hidden side door her mother’s customers would use when they didn’t want to be seen. With fingers crossed, she hoped the men her mother had hired didn’t know about this door.

  Making her way to the house took longer than if she had the truck, but she still made it and without anyone seeing her. Finding the hidden door took a bit longer than what she would have liked, but she also found that as well.

  Inside the cellar she went, walking very slowly with fingers against the wall to guide her. It was so dark she couldn’t see her fingers, but she relied on her memory for this. When she touched another d
oor, she smiled in the dark. Definitely, she had the right spot.

  Gently pushing the door open and peeking through a crack in the opening, she saw two young boys in cages. From the looks of them they were only beaten and didn’t act like they were drugged like so many who had the misfortune to come into her mother’s hands. Waiting, watching them, she took a chance that they were alone and came out of her hiding spot. Once she did, they instantly came alert.

  “Who are you?” one of them demanded.

  “Shhh…” She put a finger up to her lips as she got closer to them. “Keep your voices down. How many are down here?”

  “One, and he’s right behind you.”

  Katrina turned fast with a knife in her hand. She didn’t even think or blink, she just threw it right at him. It landed in his throat, just as she had been taught to do. He made a few gurgling sounds then dropped.

  “Shit!” one of the boys gasped.

  Pulling out keys, she went to the cage and started to work on the lock. “Has she drugged you two yet?”

  “No, only beat the shit out of us.”

  “Good, then you can go and get some help.” With a twist the lock came free.

  “There isn’t time for that,” one of them said. “I heard her say some guy is coming and will be here soon. You need help, then we’re it.”

  “What can you do?” she asked.

  They looked at each other, then right before her eyes started to change. Skin stretched, hair started to sprout all over their bodies, fingers and feet expanded. They also grew in height, and their heads changed as well. Their necks got thicker, longer, the front of their faces expanded. Right before her eyes she saw them change into standing wolves.

  “Wow,” she breathed out. “You guys really can do that.” One of them snarled and she wondered for a moment if that wasn’t a smile. “Okay then. Go do you’re, um, thing I guess. I’ve got to find Thorn.”

  They parted. The two new wolves went out the way she had come in and not too long after they left she heard screaming and deep growling. Shaking her head, she turned and walked away from the cages to go upstairs. As she took the steps, she brought out the gun, cocked it and braced herself for anything.

  By the time she reached the main floor she knew something bad had to be happening. Beside the fact that she could hear Thorn yelling the lights were also flickering. Fear hit her then and she truly became scared of what she might find once she found him.

  Heading for the main floor stairs she was about to go up when she heard the pounding of feet. Quickly finding a spot to hide she pressed herself up against the wall in the shadows as more men came running down the stairs with guns. Clearly, the guys she let go were making one hell of a mess outside if more men needed to come out.

  Closing her eyes, breathing deep and willing the fear away, she pushed away from the wall and went up the stairs. When the lights flickered again Thorn’s yelling resumed. She didn’t want to know what her mother might be doing to him. She just wanted it to end.

  Katrina checked each room but he wasn’t in any of them and neither was her mother. Feeling so frustrated and not knowing what to do, she stopped to think for a moment and her brain finally told her. If her mother wasn’t torturing him in the basement, then she had to be in the attic.

  Walking with new purpose in her steps, Katrina went to the door that led up to the attic. She opened the door with her gun pointed but there was no one behind it. Behind the door, she heard Thorn screaming. Taking the steps two at a time, she went up. At the top, the sight nearly made her drop to the floor and cry.

  Thorn was chained up by his wrists, standing in a tub of water, naked from the waist up, a long slice across his belly. Behind him, a guy stood with battery cables that were attached to a battery. Her mother stood in front of Thorn with a knife in her hand. She cut at Thorn, then the guy behind would shock him. The sight sickened Katrina.

  Taking a deep breath, she walked out in the open, took aim and shot the guy who had the cables in hand right in the head. He dropped like a ton of bricks and her mother swung around.

  “Katrina!” Vintina gasped.

  “Let him go,” Katrina ordered.

  “You know I can’t do that dear.” Vintina smiled.

  “All our life you have tortured them and used them. You let the hate you have for a few of them do this to you. If you hated them so much then why did you have me?”

  “Put the gun down, dear, and we’ll talk. I’ll tell you everything you want to know, including about your father.”

  “No.” Katrina shook her head. “I’m done listening to you and your bullshit. Let him go.”

  “This animal can’t be left to live, you know that.”

  “I will shoot you, Mother, if I have to.”

  Vintina’s smile got larger. “No, you won’t.” She turned fast and that knife she had in her hand went right into Thorn’s stomach.

  Katrina screamed and squeezed the trigger. One shot rang out and it sounded ten times louder than what it was. Vintina stiffened right in front of Thorn. Behind her, she heard the pounding of feet, then hands on her arms. The gun dropped from her fingers just as her mother slowly slid down to the floor. Katrina went down as well, then she screamed at the top of her lungs, her eyes glued to her mother’s now slumped and lifeless body.

  “Hurry, we don’t have much time!”

  The hands that were at her arms helped her to get back up to her feet. Stable she shook them off and went to her mother. Rolling her over Katrina looked into the face that for so long gave her nightmares.

  “He’s bleeding bad man.”

  The word bleeding snapped her out of her shock quickly. Looking away from her mother to Thorn she watched as the two she helped out of the cages were now working on Thorn. They already had the chains off him and were now pressing a cloth to the knife wound.

  “We need to go, right now!” Katrina said. “Can you carry him?”

  “We got him.” One grabbed a jacket that was tossed on the floor and wrapped it around Thorn’s body.

  The three of them made their way back down the stairs, to the main floor and out the front door. Katrina saw her mother’s car and pointed to it. She quickly got into the back seat and they put Thorn in with her. When they did, something fell out of the jacket. A cell phone.

  “Keep pressure on the wound. I know a hospital that treats our kind.”

  She nodded and pressed against his stomach. He moaned, then shocking enough opened his eyes and looked right up at her.

  “I thought I told you to run?” he rasped out.

  “Yeah, well when have you known me to do a damn thing you’ve said? Besides, it looked like you could use some help once more. I swear you’re going to owe me your soul if you keep this up.”

  Thorn smiled and then his eyes closed. Holding the rag to his bleeding wound, she brought the cell phone up and pressed send to the one and only number in it.

  “Hey man, how’s it going?” Logan’s voice rang out on the other end.

  Katrina closed her eyes at the sound of his voice. “It’s Kaz,” she said. “Something’s happened.”

  “What’s wrong?” Logan demanded.

  “Where are we going?” she asked the one who was driving.

  “Tell him Shifter medical. He’ll know.”

  “Logan?” she asked.

  “Still here.”

  “We’re going to Shifter medical. You know where that is?”

  “Yeah, I know where that is. What the hell is going on?”

  “Good, meet us there, and, um, and call Kane, please. He should be there also.”

  “Katrina, what happened?”

  “Thorn’s hurt bad. Please come.”

  “We’re on our way.”

  She hung up and pressed her face into Thorn’s wet hair. “You better fight you damn stubborn animal. Damn you better fight or else or I swear I’m going to kill you myself.”

  Chapter Nine

  They pulled up in front of the emergency
entrance. Thorn woke up again, and this time Katrina kept him awake. She told the brothers to go. For one they were naked, and second, she didn’t need them to have to answer a bunch of questions right now for which she had no answers.

  It took a lot of strength getting Thorn out of that backseat. With his arm draped over her shoulder, her holding as much of his weight as she could, and trying to press against the knife wound all at the same time, as they walked into the hospital together.

  The first one to spot them was Kane. How the hell he got there so fast was beyond her. But once he saw them he came running, catching Thorn before he fell face first to the floor.

  “Need some help here!” Kane yelled, taking Thorn in his arms.

  Nurses came out of nowhere; one even had a gurney, on which they carefully placed Thorn. Breathing fast and hard from carrying him, Katrina lost it all and started to crumble to the floor, but someone caught her.

  “I’ve got you.” Logan quickly had her in his arms, holding her up as best as he could. He practically carried her over to a chair and sat her down. “Let me have a look. You hurt?” Instead of answering him, she shook her head.

  “Kaz!” Dannie’s voice rang out and it was sweet music to her ears.

  Katrina got back up, located her and ran into her arms. The instant Dannie had a hold of Katrina she broke down crying. She couldn’t hold it back and didn’t even try. She held onto her sister tight and cried on her shoulder. It took some time before she was able to speak.

  “It’s over,” Katrina said against Dannie’s shoulder. “It’s over.”

  “What’s over?” Dannie asked.

  “It’s over,” Katrina repeated.

  Someone grabbed her arm and pulled her from Dannie’s arms. Kane came into view. “What happened?” he demanded.

  “It’s over,” Katrina said again.

  Kane took hold of both her arms and gave her a shake. “What happened?”

  “Kane, ease up,” Logan said. “I think she’s in shock.”

  Kane took hold of her chin, looking her right in the eye. “Katrina?”