Col: His Destined Mate

by Georgette St. Clair

  Lily’s screams were now hoarse, under the shrieking and crying of the two children, as Jordy grabbed Brady’s arm and jabbed him as well.

  “I only pressed halfway in both, Boss. Figured you might need the kids for later.” Jordy beamed with pride, as looked at Lily. “Relax, roomie. That means I only gave each of the brats about half a dose of a tranq dart. That’ll shut them up and keep them alive. At least for now.”

  Sure enough, she could see that two kids had slumped onto the gravel, each held aloft with Billy Bob fisting the backs of their tee-shirts.

  “Move them to the side, but where Katie can still see them.” Cadmus ordered, and he turned to Lily. “Let them serve as a reminder for what worse can still happen if I find our conversations are….unproductive.”

  Lily was sobbing now. Damn, damn, damn. She had to pull it together for the kids. Maybe by now Rika had called for an Amber Alert. Maybe Puma had reported her racing off in one of the cars.

  Too many maybes. She couldn’t count on the calvary coming. Right now, she was it for the kids, the only one who had a shot at keeping them safe. She forced herself to calm down. At least her crying had slowed down to hiccuping sobs.

  “Please. Don’t hurt them any more. I’ll do whatever you want.”

  “Oh, that you will, my dear.” Cadmus said silkily. He reached out again, grabbed her jaw with his fingers, pressing against the tender spots he had before. She distracted herself from the pain with the loosening of the knot behind her back.

  “So tell me, how many of them are there? Just the five I saw? Or more?”

  Lily swallowed. “Just the five.”

  “Can they all turn into animals? Or just the one?”

  Well she only saw Col, and Merek and Barric. So she couldn’t say about all of them, technically. “I..I don’t know. Honest.”

  Cadmus pressed his lips tightly, as if deciding whether or not she was telling the truth. His fingers pressed even deeper into her jaw.

  “How many do you know can turn into animals?”

  Ouch. “Three.”

  Behind Cadmus, she saw Jordy’s jaw drop. Billy Bob was wandering, kicking at the gravel.

  “Can they take on any shape? Or is it just the wolf?”

  “I don’t know.” His fingers tightened. Hers loosened the rope more.

  “Jordy,” Cadmus called out over his shoulder. “Take the girl child and—”

  “No!” Lily roared. “I’m answering your questions honestly.”

  Cadmus released her jaw, surveying her critically. The spots where his fingers dug in ached, but it was just as well that she couldn’t rub at them. “Right you are, Katie. Is that short for Katya? Katarina? Katrina? Katherine?”

  “Katherine.”

  “Very well. A better question then. I want you to tell me everything you know about the one that I encountered. He is the only one of the five with hair shorn in a military style, auburn colored. He turned into a massive wolf with auburn fur.”

  Col. He wanted to know about Col.

  “I don’t know what else to add to that.” Smoking hot? Made her feel cherished? Was the first to give her orgasms? Was the person she fantasized about having babies with? Cadmus started to turn menacingly towards the twins, and a barrage of words spilled out.

  “I mean, he’s the one having the most difficulty with contemporary idioms. His English is a mixture of the Medieval Faire and what he’s been exposed to on TV or blu-rays. He was raised by a demanding father. He’s had military training. That sort of thing?”

  Cadmus smirked. “That’s better. Highly irrelevant, but I suspect you know that. Although the military training confirms my impression. Now tell me more about his ability to turn into a wolf. Does he have any other magical abilities?”

  He made me fall in love with him.

  Hell. What a time to come to that realization.

  “I really can’t say —I mean, I don’t know. I wasn’t privy to that kind of information.”

  “Can he create other wolves?”

  Lily shivered at the thought of someone like Jordy having that ability. “I don’t know. They never talked about it.”

  “They.” A light gleamed in Cadmus’ eye. “Yes, tell me of the two others that you know of.”

  “One’s a big black wolf, and the other has brown and white markings.” Lily inwardly asked Barric and Merek for forgiveness.

  “Do you know if they have any weaknesses?” Cadmus peered into her face. Lily kept herself from looking away.

  “Chocolate chip cookies?”

  The blow landed on her cheek with a loud slap, forcing Lily’s face to one side.

  Where she saw a small auburn blur fast approaching, from behind Jordy, Billy Bob and Cadmus. She blinked but the blur was still there, moving.

  Maybe she was concussed after Cadmus practicing his backhand on her face.

  It came in closer, getting larger, taking shape before her eyes.

  She tasted the copper tang in her mouth again, but she felt the loops loosening around her fingers. She closed her eyes, working the knot, and then opened her eyes.

  Now she could see it clearly, right as it leapt in her direction.

  It was Col.

  Chapter Fifty-Four

  His wolf instinct had guided him to her, his Destine. Only to see and sense the horror before his eyes, as the gravel shot out from under his massive paws.

  He recognized by scent the two children Brady and Clover, his Lily, his abductors, and one other.

  He had been wrong.

  The man who had been his abductor was now holding his Lily captive. It appeared that her only involvement with his abductor had been in an attempt to capture her at the lingerie shop. He had misjudged her. And Goddess willing, it would not be a fatal mistake.

  As Col closed in, he was able to see that she was tied to a chair, helpless, much as he had been tied down to something immobile that day. And so he pushed his massive muscles to move faster, even as his craven abductor raise his hand. And slash it down, striking the bound female with the back of it.

  That man had just dared harm his Lily.

  Col vowed to tear off that offending hand with his fearsome jaws, before ripping the rest of the man asunder with vicious teeth and claws.

  His Lily saw him first as he neared, as he closed the distance before he could attack. He snarled, launching his powerful body at his abductor, to the screams of the short female. The other man from the cave pushed his stocky body into his abductor, out of the way as Col crashed into him in a flurry of fangs and claws.

  But he heard a loud bang, as a searing hot pain lanced through him. Another, and he recognized what it was, though never like this.

  Gun shots.

  He’d been shot.

  He would not let it matter. He could not let it matter. He would be as his Brodher Barric, and allow his rage to carry him through to finish his task. May the Goddess provide, that his healing abilities in his wolf form fast outpace the number of bullets which struck him. Or at least heal him enough so that he might free his Acchushla, and see her safe from harm.

  He became pure wolf, pure Waryeor, fighting as he was born and bred to do, biting and slashing at his enemies, uncaring of the multiple missiles barreling their way into his body.

  And then a high pitched yell pierced through his Waryeor rage.

  “Stop, wolf. Or Katie’s dead.”

  He withdrew quickly. The stocky one, who had come to the aid of his abductor was on the ground, covered in claw marks and struggling to rise to his feet. His abductor had clearly used magicks, for he showed little effect of the melee that had just come to a halt.

  But the stubby female was bold. She was brandishing a gun in one hand. She had been the one shooting at Col, and now she was pointing the weapon at his Lily. His beloved had somehow loosed herself of her bonds, and, as heroic as ever, had thrown herself in front of the two children in an attempt to protect them.

  “Please don’t do this, Jordy,” his beloved
beseeched her.

  “Shut up, Katie or whatever your name really is,” the girl sneered. “So now we know that the wolf can understand us, right, Boss?”

  “Good job,” his abductor said, the sound stirring a memory. Col would never forget that voice. The same voice from the cave. Filled with malevolence and silky evil. And now it was addressing him.

  “Wolf creature, take human form so we might properly….converse.” The man smiled, smug now with having two smaller females and two children to hide behind.

  No longer in battle mode, Col could feel the wounds caused by the gun radiating pain in his body. He knew not how many there were, only that there were many. In wolf form, the wounds were already starting the process of knitting together. But in human form, he might succumb to the damage before they could heal.

  The female known as Jordy shook her gun towards his Lily’s head menacingly.

  “No, Col. Don’t!” his Lily shouted.

  There was no choice.

  The molecules around his body grew dense, and a wave of energy pulsed out. Each wound magnified in pain, and seared through his more vulnerable human form.

  Col stood erect on two legs as a Waryeor, his weight evenly distributed, but he did not know for how much longer he could stand, bleeding profusely as he was from multiple wounds. The dark blood was starting to pool on the ground, not soaking into the gravel fast enough.

  He staggered, and his only thought now was to move towards his Lily. With his last breath he would endeavor to protect her.

  But then the female named Jordy swung her gun from his Lily towards him.

  “Stop,” Cadmus’s voice rang out. Everyone froze in place. Jordy had redeemed herself somewhat by kidnapping the two brats, and for getting the man-wolf to stop its attack. But the day was still young. There was still far too much time for her to fuck up.

  And killing the magnificent man-wolf, who had just blasted them with some pulse of magickal energy with his transformation to human form, would be a major fuck-up.

  Jordy looked at him, a question in her eyes, as her down-turned mouth slowly opened and shut, opened and shut, like a fish in a tank. She was at least smart enough not to voice it out loud.

  No matter. Once he had ritually drawn out the life-force from this beast, or simply presented him to His Terrible Majesty, he’d be back on top, with his pick of much more competent recruits. The Infernal Gods willing, many of the current Merciless would be shifting their allegiance back to him as the undisputed leader.

  And Micah would be out in the cold.

  Now that he finally had the man-wolf in his grasp, it was just a small matter of tying him up. And then the man-wolf would lead him to the others. As for the ones now cowering on the ground beside Jordy—

  He slid a heavy-lidded gaze to Jordy. “The wolf creature stays alive for now. But the other three are disposable. It’s time to take out the trash. Kill them.”

  A shit-eating grin slit Jordy’s face. “I am on it, Boss.” The sun glinted off the gun as she swung her arm from the man-wolf towards the woman and children.

  And then all seven hells broke loose.

  “NO!” The man-wolf roared, and before Cadmus could react, the creature flung itself at Jordy.

  A shot rang out, as the woman screamed.

  Chapter Fifty-Five

  To Lily’s horror, a red spot bloomed on Col’s abdomen as he knocked Jordy over. Cadmus’s scream of frustration filled the air as Col and Jordy both crashed to the ground in front of her. Lily instantly recoiled, her first instinct to use her own body to shield the two unconscious twins. The red continued to blossom on Col’s unconscious form as he lay on the gravel, and her mind seized with terror. She couldn’t remember—couldn’t think if he had said — would he be able to survive a gunshot at such close range? Let alone all the other wounds that were now pumping out even more blood from his sudden exertion.

  The gun! Jordy had let it go as Col landed on her and — Thank God. There it was. Lily spotted it only a few feet away on the ground. It was shining brightly, with the sun directly on it.

  She lunged for it, but Jordy had the same idea. The shorter girl had propelled herself in the same direction, and her outstretched arm blocked Lily’s even as her body landed, painfully, on the gravel. They both scrambled, the small rock pieces shooting out like shrapnel, but they fell short of reaching the gun. Lily pushed out at Jordy, in an attempt to prevent her from scrambling to her feet first, and the other girl threw her weight onto Lily.

  They rolled together on the ground, each trying to prevent the other from being the first to reach the gun. A glimpse of Col’s inert body at eye level, and Lily was filled with an unyielding fury.

  She’d had enough of being threatened and beaten. And if this girl here felt it ok to hurt little kids? Fuck her. And fuck her for wounding Col.

  She wasn’t holding back any longer. She pummeled Jordy, despite the cheap shots that the other girl was taking at her. Lily absorbed the knees to her belly, the pulls on her hair, she didn’t care.

  Fuck this bitch.

  She was dimly aware in the background of the sounds of a car engine nearing, the excited barks of several wolves growing louder. And then the shouting. Billy Bob’s, Cadmus’s. That was just noise. All she could focus on was saving the kids and Col from the immediate danger that was Jordy.

  But then more gunshots rang out.

  Lily jerked her head to see Billy Bob with a gun, shooting at three—no, four large, growling wolves that were attacking Billy Bob and Cadmus. The black one and the one with brown and white markings let her know that Barric and Merek were here. The silver one and the golden-brown one had to be Aylwyn and Tybalt. All had gnashing teeth and claws, intent on inflicting as much damage as possible.

  But Cadmus seemed to be enveloped, maybe armored, with some kind of blur, a close cousin to the one at the lingerie shop, right before he—

  Jordy took advantage of the distraction, and sharply jabbed Lily in the solar plexus. The sudden intensity of the blow was enough to take Lily’s breath away, and Jordy scrambled for the gun.

  A streak of snarling silver hurled itself at the shorter girl, and Lily screamed as she saw the glint of metal in the girl’s hand. Shots rang out, and red bloomed against the white fur.

  With a loud roar, the silver wolf opened its massive jaws and clamped down on the girl’s screaming head, shaking it fiercely.

  The screaming stopped.

  At least Jordy’s, at any rate.

  Lily was finally able to move, and she rushed over to where Col lay unmoving, trying to remember her First Aid and CPR training. She needed to check that he was still breathing, and then stanch the bleeding if he was, or else start chest compressions. Beyond, the battle raged, and she tried to block out the sounds, listen for Col’s breaths, see if his chest was moving.

  Thank God, it was rising and falling. Col was breathing. Now to stop the bleeding — A sudden change in the background noise had her whipping her head up. Barric was over Billy Bob’s prone body, his muzzle bloodied from pulling out —oh my God, was that viscera? — with his jaws. The metallic smell of copper saturated the air, and Lily fought the impulse to gag.

  The golden wolf and Merek were trying to get at Cadmus, but were held back by whatever that blur was around him. A blur that was starting to spin, and slowly turn into a twister like the one she had seen last night.

  Like the one that had killed Rey.

  “Get away from him,” Lily shouted.

  The golden wolf and Merek acknowledged her warning by bolting a short, watchful distance away, steering clear as the twister expanded, grew more opaque. Sparks started shooting out, but not hitting any of them. The blur continued to spin, picking up speed before there was a sudden flash of light that lit up the entire interior of the carport.

  And then it was gone.

  As was Cadmus.

  The battle was over. The golden wolf pulsed out a wave of energy, and Tybalt appeared. A similar pulse from the
black wolf resulted in the welcome sight of Merek’s giant form, and the brown and white wolf transformed into the even larger Barric.

  “You must needs shift Col immediately, Vixar. His wounds are grave.”

  Tybalt moved towards Col, as Merek and Barric ran over to the silver wolf, now prone, its jaws still covered in blood. Beside the silver wolf were several bloody lumps on the ground. Lumps that were formerly Jordy. Lily turned her head away.

  Tybalt was already over Col, and his brow furrowed. A pulse of energy knocked Lily back, and when she recovered, she saw that a huge auburn wolf lay in Col’s place.

  He was still unconscious, but the rise and fall of the massive chest was easily discernible. The blood was still flowing from multiple spots, but even to Lily’s eyes it seemed to have slowed down.

  She reached out over to one enormous paw, and it twitched under her fingers, as if Col knew it was her.

  She looked up at the crunch on the gravel where Billy Bob’s body—or what remained of Billy Bob — had been. Miller had arrived, and he nodded at Lily. He was throwing a tarp over Billy Bob’s remains. Good. Lily guessed that he would do the same for Jordy’s, and she fought down the gorge in her throat.

  The silver wolf had been moved closer to Col, and Merek was now kneeling in between the two wolves. He looked at Lily. “You must needs move away for now, so that I may draw upon the War Pack to aid healing for these two Waryeors.”

  Lily instantly withdrew her hand from Col’s fur, and scrambled to get back to the children, who were mercifully still unconscious and breathing. She gathered them up against her shaking body, her eyes still frantic and on Col.

  Tybalt’s voice rang out.

  “Do it.”

  Merek stretched out his arms over the two wolves and closed his eyes. Tybalt and Barric circled, keeping watch to avoid any other surprises. She remembered Col telling her about Merek being best able to channel healing energy from the others, and directing it where needed. And from where Lily sat, huddled with the two kids, she could feel the spread of a warming glow, as if there were a bonfire where Merek was.