Storm (Rise of the Pride, Book 12)

by Theresa Hissong

  She didn’t want to bring up her ex, or her honeymoon. It’d been the first night of many that she wanted to forget, but the scars on her body wouldn’t let her. She had to clench her teeth because, even though she didn’t want to think about it, the memories played through her mind like a horror movie.

  Yes, Hawaii was pretty, but what happened to her was disgusting and not something she cared to bring up. She looked away from Storm when he entered so he wouldn’t see the look on her face. She didn’t even have to glance in a mirror to know that her eyes were wide, her nostrils flared, as she fought the impending panic attack.

  “Amaya,” Landon’s soft voice broke through her heavy breathing. “Let’s go this way.”

  Somehow, her old friend knew what was going on and herded her out a side door that led into what looked like a professional gym and training facility. He pointed to a bench that stretched the length of one wall. The sound of two deadbolts being thrown echoed in the room before his face appeared in front of her eyes.

  “Breath, Amaya. It’s going to be okay,” he whispered.

  Murdock ignored the screams from the two females and three males who were in the midst of their change. He’d rewarded his men and women for getting the five new recruits back to the warehouse safely. Those damn panthers were seriously putting a kink in his plan.

  He was up to seven Khat dealers in the region, but he needed more. More Khat on the streets meant more money in his pockets. The distraction of changing the females in the streets was turning out to be to his advantage. With the Shaw pride focused on protecting the women, he was able to slide under their radar and get the drugs into the hands of his human dealers quite a bit easier.

  He’d used the human dealers instead of his own species. Letting the humans take care of the drug trade helped him branch out farther and farther from his home base in Memphis. With wolves, they’d have to stay within a fifty-mile radius of him or they’d grow weak and die. Plus, humans were expendable. So far, he was distributing the substance in five different states, and more and more locations were being set up daily.

  He’d gone AWOL from the FBI three weeks ago, and he’d dumped all of his belongings to cut off his trail. The bullshit stint as an agent had only been a ruse to get knowledge of how they worked. Now that he knew how to hide, he doubted the government would be able to track him down.

  It was a powerful feeling, and Murdock was confident they’d never find him…and if they did, he had a plan for that, too.

  “My mate,” Magan, his newly turned female, hummed as she sat across his lap. “What is it on your mind?” Her broken English was the biggest turn on for him. His cock responded from her scent, and the wolf inside him demanded he pin her to the desk and mount her from behind.

  She was the one his wolf had chosen, and it was fate that her brother was able to get him the drugs he needed from Somalia. There was no love involved on his end. He didn’t work that way, but the animal needed to procreate to keep his bloodline moving.

  “We are safe now, my dear,” he replied, taking a fist full of hair at the back of her head. “You look amazing as a blonde, Mrs. Murdock.”

  “But my name isn’t Mrs. Murdock.” She feigned innocence just like he’d taught her. They’d made up a new alias, hiding in plain sight. Her dark, black hair was now platinum, and he loved it. “I am Mrs. Lauren Barnett.”

  “Yes, yes you are,” he growled, shifting her out of his lap. “I need to play with you, my bride.”

  With a quick jerk, he spun her around, pinning her to the desk as his wolf had demanded. The skirt she wore gave him easy access to her whenever he pleased, and it did please him.

  “We need to make a family,” he reminded her. “You were human, and you still ovulate like one. Unlike born wolves who go into heat, we can have many children faster. I plan on keeping you pregnant for a long time.”

  “Yes,” she hummed as he stroked inside her.

  Murdock knew the female wanted nothing more than to have ties in the states, and she was willing to give him an army of children to stay there.

  And that was fine with him. He had plans for every single one of them.

  Chapter Six

  Storm paced across the old, cracked linoleum floor as Landon and Amaya escaped into the attached gym. His boots made a thud with each step he took, closing in on the door leading to the female. He didn’t know what had happened, but a heavy hand on his upper arm stopped him when we started to follow them.

  “Let her have a moment,” Luna begged. Her eyes flickered to her mate’s hand as it held Storm in place. The strength of the healer was the only thing keeping him from rushing that door to put himself between Landon and Amaya.

  “I…” Storm choked, feeling her pain in the center of his chest. “I need to be the one in there with her. She’s going to be my mate.”

  “She doesn’t know you, Storm,” Harold reminded him. “I know it feels as if you’ve known her forever, because you’ve been searching for her for weeks. Let her heal in mind and body before you overstimulate her new senses with talk of mating.”

  Storm quieted after the healer’s words sank in.

  How could he get close to her? How could he make her understand what he’d felt when she had gone missing?

  The healer sent Luna on her way after a whispered discussion by the door. Luna was to check on the female Amaya had changed in the alley. They still didn’t know her name, or even where she came from before being taken.

  It broke his heart knowing Amaya would face the female once she completed her change. He had no idea what to expect, and as he wiped his hand over his face, he realized he couldn’t control what was going to happen between the two.

  He scented her before the door opened. Storm immediately scanned her face and was relieved it wasn’t wet with tears.

  “Amaya,” he spoke, his voice deeper than usual. His eyes threw amber sparks as she approached.

  “I’m sorry I had to step out,” she offered.

  “How are you feeling?”

  She looked better. When they’d found her, she was covered in dirt and grime. Her hair was a mess, and her clothes were torn and filthy.

  But today, she looked like the female he’d seen at Landon and Noah’s that night earlier in the year. Her hair fell around her shoulders, and he didn’t know if the curls were natural or from some sort of styling iron, but his fingers itched to touch a strand and wrap the reddish-brown lock around his finger.

  “It’s amazing what a hot shower and a good night’s sleep will do for you,” she admitted, glancing around him as the healer and Landon approached.

  “I would like to give you a physical just to make sure you’re doing okay,” the healer announced, pinning Storm with a hard stare. “It shouldn’t take longer than five or ten minutes.”

  “I’m fine, really,” Amaya blurted, glancing toward Landon.

  “Amaya,” Landon began, but she held up her hand. The gesture confused Storm. Why wouldn’t she want a medical exam after having her life changed so completely? He was born a shifter, and even he knew how overwhelming it could be.

  Toss in her kidnapping.

  He closed his eyes and shook the image from that camera at the office from his mind. He couldn’t think of that with her in the room. It caused him too much anger, and his beast was already prowling in his mind enough as it was with her mating scent filling the air.

  “I said I’m fine,” she replied.

  Harold nodded, accepting her word. “I respect your decision, but know Landon and I are always available should you change your mind.”

  She nodded her thanks and backed away as the men shook hands. Storm kept his thoughts on her decision to himself.

  “Are you hungry?” he finally asked once they were gone and it was only him and Amaya standing there in the living room.

  “Actually,” she replied, placing her hand over her flat stomach, “I am.”

  “Sit. I’ll cook you some breakfast,” he grunted and turned
for the kitchen. He had half a mind to kick his own ass for being so blunt. He should be softer toward the female. “What would you like?”

  Amaya silently followed him and waited until he backed away from the refrigerator before opening it, leaning over at the waist to see what was inside. Storm looked away as her curvy hips bent forward, causing her hair to fall over her shoulder to one side. The beast inside him snarled at her submissive posture.

  “I can make anything you’d like,” he blurted, making quick work of sticking his face into an open cabinet as he searched for a skillet, a pan, maybe a fucking rolling pin so he could knock some sense into him and his panther.

  “I’ll just eat some bacon and eggs,” she replied as she set the two items on the counter. “I’m always craving meat.”

  “That’s normal,” he muttered.

  “Normal?”

  The look on her face was full of confusion. It took him a second to realize she really was oblivious to what her new life was going to be like.

  “Did they even teach you about being a wolf?” he asked in shock.

  “They only taught me to kidnap women to be turned,” she sniffled. “No one told me anything when I was changed. Luna was the first wolf I’ve talked to since it happened. Not saying that Evie and Hope didn’t fill me in on a lot of things I needed to know, but talking to Luna helped me. I have a feeling there is still a whole host of things we haven’t even touched on, and it’ll take more than just a day to get all the information I need.”

  Storm was mortified. She was turned to be a machine…a soldier in Murdock’s army. “Let me cook, and I’ll explain more while you eat.”

  By the time her food was done, Amaya was fidgeting with a paper napkin and her eyes were wide from her thoughts.

  “Your diet will change,” he began, nodding for her to begin eating. “As a wolf, I know that your food intake will be more like mine as a panther. We need protein to be able to shift. Our animals are mostly carnivores. So, our human bodies must supplement the nutrition since we don’t always hunt. We are human, too. It’s our job to keep the beast inside us satiated.”

  “They fed us junk food,” she shivered. “Mostly fast food that was cold.”

  “That’s no way to live,” he reminded her. “Here at the pride, we are very careful about what we put into our bodies. When we hunt on the Solstice and Equinox, the males will bring home meat to be processed and divided out to the pride.”

  “Solstice and Equinox?” she frowned. “What’s so special about those days?”

  “Our pride follows the old ways by meeting on the nights of the Solstice and Equinox to announce births, matings, and anything else the alpha feels we need to know. The females of the pride spend the entire day preparing food for our night. After we are fed, Talon will command us to shift and hunt in the woods. It’s a bonding time for us as a family.”

  Family.

  Amaya hadn’t had any sense of a family for a very long time. Her parents had moved away to Washington state after she’d married Sam. Her mother had flown in when she was hospitalized to help her, but their relationship was strained.

  “How do you hunt?” She had to get her mind off of her past. There was no use living there anymore.

  “Oh, Amaya,” Storm sighed as he wiped a massive hand over his face. The panther shifter was gorgeous, and she’d be lying if she said she didn’t notice him.

  “What is it, Storm?” she whispered. When he looked up, she took a deep breath at the sight before her. She’d seen the other wolves when their eyes would change. Their hazy color had nothing on the bright, almost glowing, amber hue to the panther’s eyes.

  “It pains me they didn’t teach you how to be what you are now,” he said, pushing away from the table. “You are not human anymore, sweetheart. The animal inside you will rule you now, and you need to let it be wild and free.”

  “How do I do that?” Amaya pushed the food around her plate.

  “We will hunt together,” he growled. The sound didn’t scare her as much as she thought it would. No, it was a comforting sound. The scent coming off his skin helped, as well.

  “When?” she blurted, excited at the chance to change into her wolf again. Or, maybe it was the wolf expressing its happiness as the possibility of being let out into the wild again?

  “Eat first,” he ordered, jutting his chin out toward the plate. “I can take you for a run after you are nourished. Hunting is limited to larger game during the pride hunts, but I can still teach you how to use your senses to find them.”

  She forked some eggs and popped them into her mouth. The scent Storm was giving off filled the room, and she had the sudden urge to rub her body against his.

  It was his mating scent, and the wolf inside her mind howled with the knowledge they were possibly mates. Hell, Amaya still couldn’t believe it was that easy to find the one person, well, shifter, that was destined to be yours for the rest of your life.

  It wasn’t that she was skeptical. She’d studied animals all of her life. There were several that mated for life. So, why should it be any different for the shifters?

  The thought of getting naked in front of him caused her pause. He didn’t know about her scars. How would she explain them to him, because she knew the moment they were seen, everyone would want to know what had happened to her.

  “I have a question…about shifting.” Her cheeks turned hot, but he only pinched his brow at her question. She hadn’t been around him much, but she already knew he wasn’t much for talking. “Can I shift alone?”

  “If you’re worried about someone looking upon your skin with lust, I will personally pulverize them if they do.” His words were matter-of-fact, and she couldn’t help but smile at his statement.

  “I just…I’m very shy,” she admitted. It wasn’t a lie, but it was. She used the excuse because of how ugly she looked.

  “I will give you my back until you have shifted,” he promised with a raise of his hand like he was taking an oath.

  She nodded and dug back into her plate, keeping her senses attuned to him as he moved about the kitchen, cleaning up after himself. When she was done, he swiped the plate up from the table before she had a chance to do it herself.

  “Thank you.”

  “Do you have anything you’d like to do before we shift and run?” He removed his shirt, and the answer she had died on her tongue. He was built like a stone statue. His abs were…well, they were expertly defined on a hairless chest. “Amaya?”

  “Um, no,” she replied. “No, I’m good. It’s fine…let’s go.”

  The cold wind slapped her in the face the moment they exited the building. Storm kicked off his boots and unbuttoned his jeans. She had to look out to the woods quickly to keep from staring at any more of his human body.

  “You can shift around the corner of the building. It’s not seen by anyone on the land,” he offered. “I’ll wait here for you.”

  She hurried along as he tucked his thumbs in the waistband of his jeans. There was a small picnic table at the side of the building, and she used it to store her clothes. It took a moment to remember how to get the wolf to come out, but within a minute, she was joining him at the entrance.

  The large cat with a shiny coat sat on his rear end, patiently waiting for her to take the lead. He huffed and looked toward the woods, focusing on a trail. She’d already run that one with the two female panthers when she’d accepted Talon’s blood the day before.

  Now, she had no obligations to the other wolves or the alpha. She could shift and run as an animal, and Amaya had no idea what she was going to do. The animal inside her head howled again. It was time for the wolf to come out and play.

  Emery Lane opened her eyes with a jerk, but a pressure against her mind kept her on the bed. It was warm, warmer than she expected.

  She started to speak, but a weird panting sound echoed in the room, and her mouth wouldn’t make the sounds she was trying to produce.

  “Ma’am,” a man’s voice c
alled out. “I need you to stay calm.”

  Stay calm?

  Telling someone to stay calm had the exact opposite effect!

  As her eyes cleared, Emery noticed she could see better…like she could count the imperfections in the ceiling above her. A scent crossed her nose and she lifted her head. It smelled like raw meat and freshly baked bread.

  “You were kidnapped three days ago, and you’ve been through a change,” the man with a stethoscope around his neck proclaimed.

  A howl echoed inside her mind, and it scared her enough to make her jerk. But she didn’t just jerk…she scrambled backwards and landed with a thump against the cool tile floor. When she looked down, a scream echoed through her mind.

  There were paws attached to grey fur…like a dog. She tried to scream for real, but the only sound was a high-pitched yelp.

  “Woah, it’s going to be okay.” The man, who looked like a doctor, hurried around the bed with a syringe in his hand. “You have to listen to me, or I’m going to have to give you something to calm you down. We don’t have much time.”

  She was a dog…a fucking dog! What the hell had happened to her? She couldn’t remember anything past helping that woman to her car.

  “Rogue wolf shifters are terrorizing the area, turning females into animals,” he began, still holding his hands out in front of him. That syringe was pinned between his thumb and palm. “They are forcing the ones they change to harm humans and gather more to be turned.”

  Oh, God!

  “We saved you and got you here to finish your change. You will not be a part of the chaos that is going on out in the streets, but we couldn’t stop the blood exchange in time. Because of that, you are now a shifter.”

  A shifter?

  “I know you’ve heard of the panther shifters in the area. There are wolves, and they are rogues. One of them lured you to an alley and forced you to drink their blood. It caused a change to your body, and you are now like them…us. It’s going to be hard, but I need your human mind to force the animal to go away so you can shift back. Can you try?”