by A J Jarrett
Why did Rhett think he was him?
“Rhett, please, you need to stop this now,” Logan pleaded. “I’m with Finn. We’ve already mated. I’m not Lindsay.” Tears trailed down his cheeks. He prayed what he was saying was getting through to the other man.
The hand in Logan’s hair began to tighten, and he shrunk back as pain shot through his scalp. “Don’t you ever say that name to me again. You hear me?” Rhett shouted in his face. “I will forgive you for letting that snake defile you, but I will not stand for listening to you talk about him. He’s nothing.” He banged Logan’s head against the tree, the bark digging into his head.
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“I’m sorry,” Logan whined. It was his only defense. “I just don’t remember who Lindsay is. Can you please tell me about him.” Maybe if he let Rhett tell him about this Lindsay, he could use the information to get himself out of this mess.
The hard lines on Rhett’s face softened, and a smile graced his lips. “Lindsay was my mate. The love of my life.”
“That sounds sweet. Where is he now?” Logan had a sinking suspicion about Lindsay’s whereabouts.
“He died.” Rhett’s voice lowered. The pain was etched into the man’s face.
“How?” Logan wasn’t trying to be morbid by asking such personal questions, but he had to know.
“A fire. The farm that cornered ours caught fire, and Lindsay, being the good man he was, ran into the blazing house to rescue the family that lived there.” Rhett turned his tear-filled eyes up at Logan.
“He saved the man and woman and two of their three children.
Lindsay ran back inside to save their infant daughter.” Rhett drew out a long pause. “The house collapsed on him. Lindsay and the baby both died.”
Logan didn’t realize he had started to cry until he tasted the salty wetness on his lips. He could literally feel Rhett’s sadness. It was almost unbearable. How could he have lived so long like this?
“But we don’t have to think about that anymore.” A smile formed on Rhett’s lips. “I’ve found you, and we can be together again. For always.”
It was saddening to hear about Lindsay and the baby both dying, but that didn’t change the fact that he wasn’t Lindsay and Logan was in love with Finn. “Rhett, I’m not Lindsay.” Logan hoped he could make the other man see that.
“No, you’re not. But you’re the closest thing to him, and since you’re a direct descendant of Lindsay’s, the connection is there to put his soul into your body.”
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What the fuck? Logan stared into Rhett’s eyes and could see that the man believed every word he spoke. If what Rhett said was true, then Lindsay was a relative of some sorts to Logan. But it still didn’t explain how Rhett planned on putting Lindsay’s soul into Logan’s body.
“How do you plan on accomplishing this? You can’t just hope Lindsay’s soul jumps into my body.” Logan tried to be the voice of reason.
“With the help of a witch.” Rhett smiled wildly at him. “They said if I helped them, they would help me in return. And so far, they’ve kept their word. I just have to kill Finn to break your mating bond, and then we can be together. Isn’t that great?”
Logan’s breath came out in heavy pants. He felt like he was going to hyperventilate. Rhett planned on killing his lover. This was a nightmare he wanted to wake up from. He couldn’t live a life without Finn. Couldn’t Rhett see he was doing to Logan what had happened to him so long ago?
“Rhett, you can’t do this. If you kill Finn, you will cause me to suffer. Don’t you understand?” His voice caught as he tried to speak.
His throat was on the verge of swelling shut from the hurt he was feeling.
“It doesn’t matter what you feel. Once the witches cast their spell, you will no longer exist,” Rhett said without any emotion. The man didn’t care one bit what happened to Logan.
“I won’t let you do it. I’ll kill myself before you get the chance to get to Finn.” He was thinking fast and wasn’t sure how he would accomplish that while strapped to a tree, but he had to say anything if it got Rhett to not hurt Finn.
Rhett’s evil laugh was sharp and loud. Birds in a nearby tree took flight singing a lovely tune as they flew away. “You’re an idiot. It’s too late. If your precious Finn really does care for you, like I’m hoping he does, he’ll be here any moment to try and rescue you.”
Rhett tilted his head and studied Logan’s face. “It’s kind of sweet
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when you think about it. You and your lover will die this night, but me and Lindsay will be reunited. Somewhat poetic.”
“You’re crazy,” Logan said as he shook his head, scraping his scalp on the tree, reopening the scratches already there.
“I might be crazy, but you’re the one going to die tonight. But I’ll make sure to kill your mate first for you to watch. The witch said that was the best way to help detach you from this life. To take away all you hold dear so you have nothing to live for.” Rhett held up two fingers. “Leo’s dead, there’s one.” He flipped down a finger. “That just leaves Finn.”
Logan was preparing to plead for mercy one more time when the sound of twigs and leaves crushing under foot neared their campsite.
His eyes welled up at the sight of Finn making his way through the clearing. Rhett still had all his attention on Logan and hadn’t noticed his mate’s approach.
“You do realize witches are notorious for lying, right?” Finn said as he drew closer to them. Rhett jumped to his feet and spun around.
“Not when there’s a blood oath involved,” Rhett said with such certainty that a chill ran down Logan’s back.
Finn sat waiting in the woods until the time was right to make his presence known. Warriors had fanned out, circling the area. Garrett even showed up with his next in command, the only man he trusted at this point, to assist in the capturing of Rhett.
Finn made it damn clear there would be no capturing, that this ended tonight. Rhett threatened his mate, and Finn was within his limits to take Rhett’s life as punishment. He also made it clear that none of his fellow warriors were to get involved. This was his fight and one he didn’t plan on losing.
Only when he heard Logan threaten to take his own life did Finn start toward the campgrounds. The cavalry was here to save Logan
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and he didn’t want his mate to get any ideas about trying to protect him at Logan’s own expense.
As he neared, he heard Rhett babbling on about witches and them promising the man to bring back his mate. It was nonsense. Witches would lie to save their own skin or for their own agenda. But when he pointed that out to the man, he never expected the response he got in return. A blood oath made with a witch was sacred. And a witch never broke an oath. Logan wondered what Rhett had done to get such a high honor from a witch.
“I have to admit I’m a little surprised you showed up, snake. I was worried I would have to come hunt you down,” Rhett said as he started to circle the fire.
Finn started to walk in the other direction, away from the man. He needed to keep Rhett talking so the warriors in the woods knew what the psycho’s plan was.
“I love Logan. I will always come when he needs me.”
“It doesn’t matter what you say, snake boy. It’s all for nothing.
You’re just going to die.” Rhett’s eyes gleamed in the firelight. They were void of all emotion. The man had truly lost his fucking mind.
Finn cocked an eyebrow at the man. “If I’m going to die anyway, why don’t you humor me and tell me what you offered this witch in exchange to get your dead mate back.” He saw the questioning in Logan’s eyes, but it wasn’t the time to explain.
Rhett started to laugh. “It’s a very interesting story. I guess I can tell you. You’re a dead man anyways.” He stopped pacing and stood still, gazing down at the fire. Finn inch
ed closer to where Logan sat on the ground tied to a large tree.
“I was living my miserable existence when I was approached by this man. He asked me what I would give to get Lindsay back. I was pissed at first, thinking the man was fucking with me. But he told me there was a way to do it. He explained that a relative of Lindsay’s would be born, a reincarnation of sorts. And that he could put Lindsay’s soul in this man’s body and I’d have my mate back, but I
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had to become a part of the wolf pack that resided in this part of Missouri.”
Finn started to do the math in his head. Logan was only twenty-six and wasn’t born until the late nineteen eighties. Rhett had been a member of the Carrington pack for a little over fifty years. That was a long time to lie and wait.
“That’s a lot to gamble on a word of a witch. How could you be so certain he wasn’t lying to you?” He had to keep Rhett talking.
“When a witch offers you a blood oath, they mean business. I thought you would know that.” Rhett shrugged. “I guess not. Snake shifters must be an unintelligent lot.”
“What did you offer them in exchange, Rhett?” Logan let the other man’s little digs go unnoticed. Now wasn’t the time to get his feelings hurt. They needed to know what the deal was.
“This witch said if I joined Garrett’s pack and was their spy, he would help get me Lindsay back. It wasn’t a hard choice to make. I was wandering around aimlessly, and this gave my life purpose. The only downside was I had to wait until Logan was born.”
“What did the witch want to know about Garrett’s pack?” He flashed his eyes toward the woods when he saw a pair of eyes glowing in the dark. They quickly dropped out of sight.
“He just wanted to know the pack’s comings and goings and if they could be persuaded to join up with the Dark Warriors. The man said a battle was forthcoming and anyone not on their side would die.”
Finn found that interesting. Only just recently had they discovered the uprising of dark forces and this mysterious coming. What were they all in for?
“So you’ve just been lying in wait until Logan was born?” He looked back to Logan, who sat enthralled with what was being said.
“Yes. I made the oath and waited patiently to have my mate back.
Trust me, if you lived as long as I did without the person you loved most in this world, you’d sacrifice your whole family just to have that
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love back. So waiting wasn’t that much of a hardship, especially when I knew what the final outcome would be.”
Finn could understand Rhett’s motives behind what he had done, but to turn his back on the council? That was just not acceptable. Not every paranormal became a warrior, but there was always a clear line drawn in the sand on what side a person stood with. And to give in to evil meant giving up your soul. Finn didn’t know if there was a way to come back from that kind of betrayal.
“You sold out your own kind for the hopes of a witch pulling off bringing your mate back from the dead?” Finn asked in disgust. “Did you ever think that your mate wouldn’t want this? That he wouldn’t approve of you sacrificing Logan?”
Rhett wasn’t aware that his dead mate had contacted Carter and that Lindsay did indeed disapprove of what Rhett was doing. If Rhett succeeded in killing him and implanting Lindsay’s soul in Logan’s body, there was a good chance Lindsay would deny Rhett his love.
And all of this would have been for nothing.
“Rhett, listen to me. We have a witch at our compound that can see into a person’s past and when we were in your bedroom, Lindsay contacted Carter. He doesn’t want this. Logan is his family. He doesn’t want him to suffer.” Finn moved even closer to Logan. “You need to stop this before you hurt more than you already have.”
“You lie!” Rhett shouted.
“No, I’m not, and think about it. You know I’m not. Lindsay was a good man, and I’m going to venture you used to be if he fell in love with you.” Finn gentled his tone. “Please there’s still time to save yourself.”
Rhett’s face went blank. He turned to look at Logan then back to Finn. He was quiet for so long Finn hoped that he had reached the man. But then the eyes of an out-of-control man on the edge met his.
“I don’t need to be saved but you do.”
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Chapter Seventeen
Finn braced himself as Rhett jumped across the fire and punched him square in the jaw. He heard Logan gasp but couldn’t see his mate from where he laid sprawled on the ground. He rolled to his side and climbed to his feet. Rhett stood a few feet away. His second nature was rising to the surface. He was neither man nor wolf but a combination of the two.
“We fight to the death.” Rhett’s voice had a harsh, gritty sound to it. “And by that, I mean yours. I can make Lindsay see the reasoning behind my choices. We loved each other once and we will again.”
The sadness in the other man was so strong and evident, a part of Finn’s heart broke for the other man. But this wasn’t the way. The only thing this would accomplish would be Rhett’s death because if he failed in killing the wolf, his friends wouldn’t.
Finn took a deep breath and allowed the change to flow over his skin. His hair receded until it was all gone, and his skin transformed into smooth scales. His nose elongated, forming his snake head, then his fangs fell down, dripping venom. Venom that would end another paranormal’s life. And he had every intention of gifting Rhett that one mercy. Nothing but death would end the man’s pain.
“Then let this begin,” Finn hissed as his tongue flickered out of his mouth, tasting the air.
Rhett attacked in a flash. He snarled and chomped down his massive jaws, just barely missing Finn’s throat. Finn’s snake body moved without sound, with easy grace, and he spun around and struck. But Rhett was too quick. He grabbed Finn around the throat and tossed him back.
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The sound of feet moving forward drew Finn’s attention. In the low lighting, he could make out Klaus coming up behind Logan to free his binding. Rhett was too distracted to notice. Knowing his mate was now safe, Finn let loose for the fight of his life. He rounded on Rhett, putting the man’s back to the tree where Logan sat, not wanting Rhett to take the attack near Logan.
“You can’t beat me, you fool.” Rhett slashed out with his claws tearing the flesh across Finn’s chest. Finn stumbled back from the blow. “I have nothing to live for but this. I will be the victor.”
Finn regained his footing and edged closer to the wolf. Rhett didn’t have anything to live for, and that did make him a dangerous man. Losing a mate could drive a person insane, and by the looks of it, Rhett was one of those poor souls. Even if the witch could perform the spell, it wouldn’t matter because Rhett would be dead.
Rhett came running at him again, and Finn swung out and punched the man in the chest. He faltered for a moment then continued forward. Finn stepped to the side and kicked out his left foot, landing the blow at the small of Rhett’s back as he passed by.
Rhett howled out in pain but didn’t go down. It was like the man was on a pure adrenaline rush, able to withstand any amount of pain Finn threw at him.
They started to circle one another again. Finn darted his attention to the tree to make sure Klaus had gotten Logan free. A sigh passed his lips, and he thanked the gods that at least Logan would be safe.
“Where is he?” Finn’s head snapped back to Rhett, and the man was looking toward the tree where Logan no longer sat.
“Someplace you will never reach him.” Finn ran forward and dropped his shoulder, taking Rhett to the ground. Fists started to fly, making it difficult for Finn to bite Rhett. Just one bite would end this, but the man was a force to be reckoned with. His lunacy made him ten times stronger than any other paranormal.
Rhett bucked his hips up off the ground, causing Finn to lose his balance. He fell hard to
the side, hitting his head on a jagged rock in
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the process. His vision became blurry, and his breath rushed out of his lungs. Pain shot from the top of his head down to the tips of his toes.
Rhett flipped to his feet and reached in the pack he had sitting next to the fire. Finn watched through hooded, heavy eyes as he pulled out a long, shiny blade. It had a wide serrated edge and was about twelve inches long, just perfect for removing another man’s head from his shoulders.
Finn tried to get up. But every time he tried, his vision swam before him. Blood trickled down his neck from the gash on the back of his head. The more he tried to move, the more the world beneath him swayed. He fell onto his back and stared up at the night sky. He prayed the other warriors would come to his rescue because it looked like he was going to need their help after all.
“I guess you just weren’t strong enough to defeat me.” Rhett walked closer until he stood above Finn then placed his boot-covered foot on Finn’s chest, holding him pinned to the ground. “I’ll find him.
Mark my words I will.”
Rhett started to bend over, with the knife held high. The blinding pain encompassed Finn’s body, and he couldn’t move, not even to shout for help.
Come on, guys! Anytime now would be great for a rescue. Finn wanted to send up a smoke signal or whistle for his friends to come help him out. As Rhett moved closer to him, the sound of rustling in the bush drew both his and Rhett’s attention.
Logan came crashing through the shrubbery. His savior was his mate.
“Please, Rhett don’t do this,” Logan cried. “Dear god, don’t.”
With Rhett’s attention on Logan, Finn made his move. He grabbed Rhett around the ankle and sat forward. Finn struck hard and fast, piecing Rhett right through the thick leather of his boot. The poisonous venom oozed into the puncture marks on Rhett’s body, and the effects were immediate. The man fell to the ground in a heap. Finn
