by B M Griffin
“Needy fuck, isn’t he,” Eric said.
Shayla felt the urge to rip the sneer right off of his ugly face. She clenched her teeth and flexed her fists while counting backwards from ten. She had to do this, and if she went all Hulked-out-rage on her ex then she knew that she wouldn't get anything helpful out of him.
She took the two steps that remained between her and his cage, and looked him in the eyes and said, “What do you know of Kevin’s plans?”
Eric’s lip curled up. “Come on, babe, you don’t actually believe I’m going to give away my alpha’s secrets, do you? And so easily. Do you not know me at all?”
“Unfortunately, I do know you. That’s why I agreed to meet you alone. I knew you’d never face off with another man. You’re too much of a coward for that. You need to tear down women to satisfy that ego of yours. Sadly, for you, I’m not the weak girl you used to know, and you can’t hurt me anymore. Now, tell me what I want to know or I’m out of here.”
“I see our boy, Adam, hasn’t taught you any manners. When you were mine, you knew your place. It’s going to be fun teaching you where you belong again, once Kevin takes this sorry excuse for a pack down and you’re back with me, where you belong.”
Shayla could hear his words, but that’s not what she was paying attention to. No, she was concentrating on the things that were running through his head. He really was a conceited sonofabitch, and the things he was picturing doing to her, had her stomach trying to curl in on itself. If she’d heard the things he was thinking a few days earlier, she would have run away as fast and as far as she could get, but she wasn’t that scared little girl anymore.
She was about to give up on this pointless back and forth with Eric, when she picked up on another voice in his mind. Shayla recognized the voice at once. It was Jim, Kevin’s beta. “We’re nearing the house. You better hope you can convince her to open that cage and let you out. This isn’t a rescue mission. Get out and help us take them down, or die in that cage. Doesn’t make a difference to me. You’ve outlived your usefulness as far as I’m concerned, and Kevin isn’t big on forgiving those dumb enough to get themselves caught. You wanna survive this thing, get free and bring that bitch with you.”
“I’ll be out of here in the next five minutes,” Eric thought. “Don’t worry about me. Worry about yourself, asshole.”
Shayla knew her eyes were glowing, and her wolf was clawing at her trying its damnedest to get free. When she walked over to unhook the cage door, a huge grin spread over Eric’s face. She was going to enjoy putting an end to his amusement. As soon as she pulled the door open, he was on her, his hand wrapped firmly around her throat, and she knew he was putting everything he had into cutting off her air supply. Too bad for him, his efforts were wasted. He was no match for her. She knew he was beginning to figure it out for himself when his shit-eatin-grin slowly slipped from his face.
Shayla wrapped her hand around his throat and pulled him nice and close. “Did you really think Adam would’ve left me alone with you, if he thought for a second you might have any chance of overpowering me?” She smiled. Her sharp, wolf’s canines already distended. Eric released his grip on her neck and brought both of his hands to his own throat, desperately clawing at her hand, but it was no use. “Thanks for the heads up, but our time is up now. I’ve gotta warn my pack that yours is on the way. Don’t worry, from what Jim just told you, I’m sure you won’t be missed.”
Eric’s eyes popped as shock registered on his face. He opened his mouth, and she was sure he was trying to speak, but she didn’t have another second to waste on him. She let the power she felt itching for release come to the surface. Without shifting, her whole body was immediately surrounded by purple flames. Eric didn’t even have time to scream before he crumbled under her touch, becoming nothing more than a pile of sand at her feet. Shayla knew that the emotions of what she’d just done would catch up with her later. No matter how awful he was, or how much he deserved the fate she had just served him, taking a life wasn’t something she’d ever wanted to have to do. Briefly the thought that this must be how Adam felt when he was forced to kill someone to save himself and those he cared about fluttered through her mind, but she shook it off. She couldn’t let her feelings slow her down. She took a deep breath, drawing her power back into herself, and took off for the stairs. Kevin’s pack would be here soon and she needed to warn everybody—now.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Adam
Adam checked his watch for what had to be the hundredth time since he left Shayla in the basement alone with Eric. Fuck! What had he been thinking? He made his way to the door, again, but this time before he could put a hand to knob, the door flew open and an obviously pissed off Shayla nearly knocked him over when she came running through the door. He grabbed her before she could send them both to the floor.
“They’re coming!” she said.
His skin was crawling. His bonded wolf fighting its way to the surface with the need to protect her. “Shay, what happened?”
“There’s no time, Adam. They are coming here, now!”
Adam’s brain required a few run throughs of her words before comprehension finally kicked in. “Shit! I’ll send someone down to guard Eric. We need to find Jared right now.”
Adam tugged her arm, but Shayla didn’t budge. When he looked at her like she was crazy she said, “Eric’s dead.”
There was a disconnect in her voice he’d never heard before, but one that he knew all too well from his own experience. Eric was dead, and Shayla had killed him. Her face was blank and he knew that she’d blocked the emotions that were surely hidden beneath her masked exterior. They would have to talk about this later. Shayla would have to let those emotions go, so they didn’t have the chance to grow and eat away at her.
Adam tried to pull her in for a hug, but she held her hands up to stop him. “I can’t. Not right now, okay.” He nodded in understanding. “Let’s go get Jared. We don’t have much time.”
“Okay. I think he’s out front.”
“No,” Shayla said. He looked at her, his eyebrows raised. “He’s in the back hall with Megan.”
Adam rolled his eyes. “Of course, he is.”
Shayla laughed softly and he flashed her a quick smile, before they both switched right back into business mode.
They found Jared exactly where Shayla said he would be. It wasn’t lost on Adam that Shayla’s gifts were growing, and growing fast. Jared had Megan pressed firmly against the wall, one arm around her waist and the other against the wall beside her face, and they were devouring each other like they were the air each of them needed to breath. Adam understood the feeling—Shayla was his air, but this was so not the time for a high school make-out session in the hall.
The two of them were so focused on each other, they didn’t register Shayla and Adam approaching until they were right beside them, and Adam called Jared’s name. Jared glared at them until he registered the look on Shayla’s face.
“Kevin’s pack is on the way here,” Adam said.
“Fuck!” Jared’s eyes landed back on Megan and Adam knew he was worried about her. She couldn’t protect herself against a single werewolf, and they had one of the largest packs in existence headed their way. Even with Adam and Shayla’s ability to take out anyone with the right touch, they were still severely outnumbered and likely to lose people. Megan didn’t belong anywhere near this fight. Jared looked back to Adam and Shayla. “I’ve got to get her out of here.”
“There’s no time,” Shayla said. “We can lock her inside the cage in the basement.”
“No.” Jared looked at Shayla like she’d lost her mind. “They will find her the second they go after Eric.”
“No,” Shayla said. “They don’t care about him.”
Megan stepped forward; her face scrunched up in disgust. “I’m not hanging out with that asshole. God knows how long y’all will be.”
Shayla looked at Adam and he squeezed her hand, hoping his touch wou
ld give her the strength she needed to get through this night; to get through this very moment. Every time she had to tell someone else Eric was dead; he knew the guilt reared its ugly head at her again. Shayla looked at Jared and then Megan, “That won’t be a problem. Eric is dead. It’ll just be you down there, and as long as you keep the door locked, the werewolves won’t be able to get passed the silver bars to harm you.”
Megan’s eyes had turned to saucers and Adam could see her wheels turning. He knew that she was gearing up for a game of twenty questions, and he had to put the kibosh on that shit before it got started. “It’s the safest place for you, Megan, but you need to get down there right now. Kevin’s pack will be here any second.”
“I’ll take her down,” Jared said. “I’ll make sure she’s secure and meet you up front. Can you let the rest of the pack know?”
“Already done,” Shayla said.
Jared just offered his thanks and hurried Megan toward the basement, but Adam stood there dumbfounded trying to figure out when Shayla had a chance to tell everyone about the incoming threat.
When Shayla looked at him, Adam knew she’d read his thoughts, and she looked like she was surprised he didn’t already know the answer to his unspoken question. “I just told them.” She tapped her temple. “You’re the one who taught me that we could communicate with our other pack members through our thoughts. I can’t believe you didn’t think of it before me. Sometimes I wonder if I’m actually the one teaching you how all of this works.” She winked at him as she started to walk away.
Adam stared after her for a minute, like a commoner in awe of the queen. When he snapped out of it, he hurried his pace to catch up to her. “You do realize that most of us don’t have that kind of range.” Shayla looked at him, clearly not sure what he was referring to. “I mean, to talk to the whole pack at once with our minds. I have to focus on the person I want to communicate with, so using telepathy with more than a handful of people is usually out of my grasp. You’re amazing.”
“Normally I’d be very flattered, but that will have to wait.” She looked him in the eye. Her beautiful eyes, normally the calm to his storm, were like two purple suns shining bright as day. “They’re almost here. I can hear their thoughts. Kevin thinks they’ve got this in the bag.”
Adam felt his own power engulf him, lighting him up from the inside out, and he knew his eyes were the matching blue suns to Shayla’s purple ones. “Yeah, well, he doesn’t know we’ll be ready and waiting for him,” Adam said. “We’ve got the element of surprise. He’s going to have a much bigger fight on his hands then he’s prepared for.” Adam and Shayla took off at a run to meet their pack and take on Kevin and his wolves head on.
****
Their pack was waiting outside the house, many of them already in their wolf forms. Everyone’s haunches were up, they were pacing back and forth, watching the perimeter for intruders, their growls filling the air like thunder on a stormy night. Adam called their attention to him. “They’ll be here any minute. Get the house covered front to back. Stay alert.”
Everyone quickly moved into position, those who hadn’t shifted did so immediately. Adam heard the front door creak, and Jared was by his side in a second. His voice was low when he spoke, “You think we’ve got a chance?”
Adam glanced at Shayla. “Yeah, I do.”
Shayla didn’t say a word, but when she shifted and took off for the trees in front of the house, Adam didn’t waste a second before he was right behind her.
They were surrounded. Adam wasn’t surprised. Cowards liked to hide behind others, and Kevin Hall was the very definition of a coward if he’d ever seen one.
Shayla’s head was darting from side to side and he knew she was looking for the ring leaders of this shit-show just like he was. When her ears went flat and she took off, clawing through the rows of their enemy with the ease of a seasoned warrior, Adam knew she’d spotted her target.
Jared must have seen her take off too, because his voice suddenly filled Adam’s head. “Go. I’ll stay back here with the pack. They won’t get through our line.”
Adam plowed through the wolves who stood between him and Shayla. He focused on keeping his power in check. He knew that some of the werewolves under Kevin’s command had no choice. He’d stolen so many packs, and forced his will on so many innocents that Adam knew there had to be some of them who were only fighting, because they couldn’t deny their alpha’s order to do so. If they could take out Kevin it would free those wolves and hopefully, their next alpha wouldn’t take away their freewill so flagrantly.
He spotted Kevin at the top of the hill. The arrogant ass hadn’t even shifted, more than likely assuming he wouldn’t have to lift a finger to win his own fight. He was looking down on the chaos that he’d created with his arms crossed over his chest, and a smug smile on his face. Adam made a beeline for Kevin, images of ripping his over inflated head off of his shoulders dancing through Adam’s head. This fuckwad had put Shayla in danger. He’d sent her ex to kidnap her; her ex who’d nearly killed her. Because of him, Shayla was now cursed to be a werewolf forever.
As Adam made his way toward Kevin, taking out every wolf in his way, the thought that it was too easy briefly crossed his mind. He didn’t slow down, though. He couldn’t. Not with the S.O.B. so close.
When Adam was about five feet from his target, he heard Shayla scream his name in his mind. Instinctively, he turned in her direction thinking she was in trouble, but Shayla was quickly making her way towards him.
“Adam! Run! Get back! Get back!”
Adam looked back at Kevin. Jim and Sharon had joined him out of nowhere, and the three of them were much too giddy for his liking. He turned away from Shayla and started back in Kevin’s direction.
“Adam, no!” Shayla’s screams filled his mind again.
He looked back, but before he could register what was happening, a series of explosions sounded off all around him, making his ears ring and his eyesight go all Val Kilmer in At First Sight. He felt something slam into him. At first, he thought it was another blast from the explosion knocking him to the ground, but the weight didn’t lift for too long to be that. No, it was more like another person had landed on top of him, another werewolf, but he couldn’t see a damn thing. He took a deep breath and her scent finally registered over the smell of smoke and fire—Shayla. Wait. What the hell was she doing? What if the explosions weren’t over? Panic took over his mind and body. All of his pain was shoved out of the way by his need to protect Shayla. She was going to get herself killed!
Adam tried bucking his body to get her off him. It took numerous attempts before he felt the weight holding him down lift, and he was free to move. He felt a foot. Yeah, it was a foot, or a paw, come down on him, but it was gentle, then Shayla was in his mind. “Don’t try to get up, Adam, you’re hurt. Stay down. I’ll take care of this.”
It wasn’t that he questioned her strength, but there was no way his wolf would let him lie there while his mate fought their enemy on her own. Even if other members of their pack stood at her side it wasn’t good enough. He wouldn’t just lay there while she fought in a fight, she never should have been drug into.
Adam focused on his power; focused on pushing it outward to heal his limbs. The darkness slowly receded as his sight came back bit by bit. As soon as he felt enough strength in his legs, he brought himself back to his feet and looked for Shayla. What he saw nearly knocked him back down on his ass. There were at least twenty werewolves surrounding a single wolf—Shayla. She wasn’t afraid, no, she was damn near terrifying. Her entire body was made up of the purple flames he’s seen when Jim and a few of their pack had attacked them at their home the day before, but it was more than that. Instead of looking like her fur had gone up in these bright purple flames, it seemed like her entire being was made up of nothing but this fiery, flaming power. The immense power she was putting on display was intensified by her size. It was like trading in a Ford Pinto for a Hummer. She stood at leas
t a couple feet taller than all of the wolves surrounding her. Adam was sure the wolves had been issued orders by Kevin to fight to their deaths, because there was no way that anyone with half a brain would not run as far and as fast as they could to get away from Shayla. No, they had to have been ordered to attack her by Kevin, a command they couldn’t deny.
Adam looked around for the piece of shit and found him still standing to the side, and watching as his pack fell one by one as they attacked Shayla and quickly lost the fight. His eyes were glued on Shayla, a sly smile on his wicked face, and Adam could practically hear the gears turning as he tried to come up with a way to get Shayla under his control. He was one power hungry sonofabitch.
He looked back to Shayla and their eyes met. “I’m okay,” he told her. “Are you good?”
“I’m fine. They can’t touch me.”
“I’m going after Kevin. It’s time to end this.”
“Adam, you’re bleeding. Let me…”
“No. That fucker’s mine.”
Adam took advantage of Kevin’s distraction. He was so focused on Shayla, he wasn’t paying attention to much else around him. Adam looked for Kevin’s usual guards, but he didn’t see Jim or Sharon anywhere. He tried to find their scent, but there was too much blood in the air for him to distinguish one werewolf from another. He made his approach slow and cautious, relying on Shayla’s grand presence to keep the attention of his enemies while he went for their leader.
It happened when he got close enough to push himself from the ground, and set himself on an airborne collision with Kevin. Right after Adam pushed off the ground with his hind feet, he heard a loud boom that echoed through the night air and drowned out all of the fighting chaos that surrounded him. Something ripped through his side. Fire? No, it couldn’t be, but fuck if it didn’t feel like flames were ripping him apart. The power of the impact sent him flying to the ground. He managed to lift his head slightly off the ground, but it was like lifting a fifty-ton truck. His eyes were doing their Val Kilmer disappearing sight thing again. He caught sight of a shadow leaning over him, but he couldn’t make out the feature, just that it was a man and he was holding something in both hands. Before he could convince his eyes to focus on his onlooker, the curtain was lowered and there was nothing but darkness and it was pulling him deeper and deeper into its abyss.
