by JJ King
He grinned at me with bared teeth and lolling tongue, then charged into the fray with a howl that echoed throughout the entire auditorium.
As if called by his howl, the doors to the auditorium burst open and bodies poured in. I gasped as I saw wolves and humans, guards and what looked like professors, locked in combat. The guards were fighting hand-to-hand or teeth-to-teeth, their weapons no longer at their sides.
“Elena!” I heard the shouted familiar voice and my heart leaped for joy to see Rory streak down the aisle, narrowing avoiding two snarling wolves, and climb the stairs to the stage. She was dirty, bloodied, and alive. I grabbed her when she reached me and squeezed.
“Olds Ones, I thought you were dead!” Her gaze travelled the length of me and widened when she saw the bullet hole in my leg. “Is that a bullet hole?”
“Yeah, but it’s alright. I took the antidote.” I shrugged off her expression of shock and looked over at Bash and the mystery wolf who were still battling Viktor. “We need to help them.” I opened my mouth to tell her who he was but stopped because it was too long a story to explain in the middle of a war. Besides, I thought, how did I tell someone I was responsible, however adjacently, for the horror of this attack?
I didn’t have time to wonder for long. The fight on the stage, two wolves against one very insane individual, was raging and my blood was beginning to boil from the need to jump in. My skin tingled, flushing with a primal urge to defend and fight. My wolf was there, right under the surface, snarling to be let free. I grinned, who was I to stop her?
I opened to her. It wasn’t even a call and response, she was just there, bursting free from inside the flesh that made me human, dislocating and relocating my damaged bones until they were whole and strong again. I stepped out of my fallen clothes, loosed a furious growl, and sprang at the man that was no family to me.
His head snapped up at the last second, ruining my ambush, but giving me the perfect glimpse of his eyes and the shock that widened them. My teeth sank into the side of his neck, spilling hot blood into my mouth.
He howled and spun around, trying to shake me free but I wouldn’t let go. I wasn’t sure I could let go even if I tried. Desperation was hot and heady in me, washing away all doubt and fear. It was just me and him and his blood on my lips. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Rory standing next to Bash, her hands raised to her face in shock and terror.
My body slammed into a wall, hard enough to almost break my ribs, but still I hung on. The others stood back, watching, waiting, as Viktor charged around the stage, trying furiously to dislodge me from his neck. Time stood still and sped up, I wasn’t sure. All I knew was that I wasn’t letting go.
His muscles quivered and his speed slowed down as blood gushed from my bites and those left by Bash and this other wolf. I smelled his fear, so pungent and sickening, and satisfying. Still, I wouldn’t let go. When his legs collapsed, I shook him once, twice, then, finally, let go.
Viktor lay on the stage in a heap of blood matted fur and glared at me with eyes huge with disbelief. I could almost read his thoughts although, in truth, I didn’t want to even enter his sick mind or let him near mine. His pride was destroyed, his strength diminished, and his hatred of me was absolute. I felt arms wrap around my neck and heard Rory’s shaky voice thanking the Old Ones I was alright. I sunk into her and let her hold me for a moment as my breathing returned to normal. When I raised my head, Bash was there. He bumped his head up against mine and nuzzled my neck.
I was safe and alive. We all were. Relief washed through me.
Rory let go of me and pushed to her feet, then looked down at her shirt, which was now covered in blood, and sighed. “I really liked this shirt.” She walked away muttering and picked up a cloth she found on the floor then started rubbing furiously at the stains.
Bash’s scent surrounded me. I turned and found him watching me, his emerald green eyes bright with something we’d yet to put into words. Intense emotion welled in my throat as I breathed him in, then moved closer and pressed my nose into his neck.
Old Ones, I thought, reveling in his warmth. I could stay like this forever. My paws itched to be fingers that could touch and hold. I nudged Bash back, wanting privacy for some reason. He stared at me for a long moment then turned and padded off, disappearing behind a prop wall.
The change came swiftly again, this time from wolf to human, leaving me shivering and naked on stage just a few feet from Viktor. The sight of him made me feel instantly feral, so I bared my teeth and growled, “Stay down,” even though he wasn’t getting up anytime soon, then turned to grab my clothes.
I was waiting for Bash to finish dressing and glaring at Viktor when Headmistress Donahue appeared in the auditorium below, her usually perfectly coiffed hair a mess of tangles and blood. I caught her gaze and sized her up as she did the same, and decided I’d never seen her look better. She climbed the stairs and came to stand next to me to purvey the aftermath of the fight. The place, I noticed, was destroyed, but the guards, or the ones in this room at least, were down and being tied up.
“Ms. Jensen,” her voice was shaky but in control.
“Headmistress,” my reply echoed hers. A moment later, I shook my head, realizing that in all the panic I’d forgotten the reason I’d gone through all of this. “Ms. Donahue, Xavier was shot protecting me. He’s in the old books vault in the library.” I dug the bottle and a needle out of my pocket and put them in her hands. “This is the antidote for silver poisoning. Can you get this to him? Please?”
She nodded gravely and paused for just a moment, her eyes dark and worried. “Is he…” she trailed off and I understood what she wanted to ask.
I shook my head. “I don’t know. But, the faster you get this to him, the better chance he has.” I closed her fingers around the bottle. “I hid the key to the vault in the big plant just outside the door. Go.” I nudged her forward and heaved a sigh when she turned and began to run.
“Well,” a voice that made goosebumps spring to life on my arms said from just over my shoulder. “Looks like we have a few things to talk about.”
I whirled around to see a woman with messy auburn hair and blue eyes step out from behind a prop wall, pulling a robe from the set over her naked shoulders. My lips dropped open as I realized this was the wolf that had fearlessly leaped into the fight with Viktor to defend me.
My voice cracked as I spoke her name, so I tried again and this time got it out.
“Katherine?”
Chapter 25
Katherine LaFlamme cocked an eyebrow at me and laughed. “Who’d you think it was? Donahue?”
I shook my head, too stunned to respond with a witty quip. I doubted I’d have been able to come up with one even if we weren’t knee deep in blood and terrorists. I looked around for some kind of intervention or intermediary, but there was just me and the first daughter of the Canadian Alpha, who also just happened to be my personal hero. My nerves crackled like Pop Rocks.
A thought filtered through my nerves. How utterly stupid was it to be nervous after the day I’d had? My lips quirked. I squared my shoulders and tried again.
“Thanks for the backup out there.” I nodded towards Viktor and saw Bash standing over his still fallen wolf form. He was talking to a man I didn’t recognize but seemed to sense my gaze and lifted his head to smile at me. His gaze darted between me and Katherine, and I saw curiosity and respect flicker in them before he turned back to his own discussion.
“Glad we showed up in time. It was pretty close, I’m sorry about that.” Katherine sized me up and nodded towards my leg. “Gunshot?”
I nodded. “Yeah, but I got the antidote in right away so I’ll be fine.”
Katherine smiled. “That’s good. We’re going to need more of it to treat the wounded. I called in a few favors there.” She ran a hand through her hair and looked amused to find it a nest of knots. After a moment of trying to finger comb it, she gave up and shrugged.
“I thought you were gone,”
I said, remembering the talk from the meeting. Katherine was an important woman with a ton of responsibilities, including a husband, daughter, The Sisterhood, and the work she was doing to help her mother. People loved to gossip about her here.
“I was delayed,” Katherine responded with a shake of her head. “Another hour and I would have been on my way back to Wild River.” She sent a seething glare in Viktor’s direction. “I’m glad I was here, though. I’m just sorry it took so long to figure out the attack wasn’t about me.” She said the words flippantly then paused and her eyes widened ever so slightly.
It hadn’t been about her. No, people were dead because of me and, apparently, she knew that as well as I did. The weight of the day dropped like lead into the pit of my stomach.
I glanced over at Viktor and thought about everything he’d told me, about who I was, how I’d been saved from the fate of my family, how The Sisterhood had hidden me and protected me all these years. A million questions leapt to my tongue.
“Is it true?” I asked, deciding to just get it out in the open. If Viktor was right, my entire life was about to explode and I needed to know how hard to brace. “Am I who he says I am?” Everything around me narrowed in on Katherine and the answer she’d give, the answer I already knew in my gut. A soft buzzing sound filled my head.
Katherine regarded me with soulful eyes that seemed to apologize for what she was about to say. “It’s true,” she said softly, keeping her voice low. “He’s your biological uncle. Your father’s brother, and Alpha of Russia.”
The buzzing intensified and I had to draw in several deep breaths to clear it. “Which makes me…” I trailed off, wanting to hear it from her lips.
“Heir to the Russian Alphaship.” Her gaze stayed steady on mine. I saw her reach for me through the buzzing and pulled away before she could touch my arm.
I shook my head. Denial was a powerful ally in the moment, I thought absently, deciding I’d run with it for now. Who could blame me? My entire life was a fabrication, and my parents, the man and woman that had raised me from an infant, had lied to me every single day of my life. I’d started the day Elena Jensen from small town Newfoundland and was ending it the fucking heir to the Russian Alphaship.
“No,” I said with as much firmness as I could manage. “I… um…” I looked around like a child, looking for something or someone to take me away, and focused in on Bash. “I have to go right now. But…” I forced myself to look at Katherine and offer her a smile. It felt so fake, I knew she’d see right through but couldn’t bring myself to care. “I’ll see you soon. Okay?” My gaze met hers and in her eyes I saw worry and understanding. Unable to stand there any longer, I turned and walked towards Bash.
He looked up and raised an eyebrow but didn’t ask questions. He just opened his arms then wrapped them around me tightly when I buried my face in his chest.
“Let’s get out of here,” he whispered.
I let him lead me off the stage, only once looking back to see Katherine’s body guards hauling Viktor, still in wolf form, onto a stretcher to be taken away. I sagged against Bash, too exhausted to do much more than lift one foot after the other.
♀♀♀
We checked on Daniella on the way back to the dorms and found her sitting up in the nurse’s office and officially annoyed. I figured if she had the energy to be annoyed, she was well on her way to being back to normal. Bash must have agreed, because after he’d seen her safely to her room, he followed me to mine.
I stood in the middle of my room and stared at my bed with a strange sense of otherworldliness. It was like I’d never seen it before. How could something so normal exist in the same world I’d lived in for the last few hours?
The door clicked behind Bash, locking that confounding world out and us in. I turned slowly and raised my gaze to his, then just let myself fall.
He caught me, in every way possible. His arms came around me and cradled me as we sank to the floor in a heap. I laid my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes.
I was too tired to cry. I’d spent the day running away from imminent death and now I was supposed to act normal, but I didn’t know what normal was anymore. So, instead, I inhaled Bash’s scent and felt safe in his arms.
His hand touched my hair gently and began to stroke. The feel of him, the smell of him, it was soothing and made my skin tingle in a way that chased all the nightmares away. I hummed with pleasure and shifted on his lap.
We sat face to face and looked at one another, while our breaths mingled sweetly. I raised a hand to his face and tucked a strand of his gorgeous black locks behind his ear. I loved looking at him and noticing the way his cheekbones cut sharply and his eyes glinted with whatever he felt in the moment. Right now I could read his eyes as easily as I could my own heart.
I leaned in and touched my lips to his.
His mouth opened to me, inviting me in, and I sank further into him. My hands moved up, over his shoulders to his neck, then delved into his hair to pull him in closer. Closer, so much closer.
He blocked out everything else, so it was just me and him and the way he made my body sing. I arched into his palms when they ran up my spine and deepened the kiss.
He tasted like honey, like sweetness with a tinge of smoke. I adored it and wanted more. My tongue tempted his mouth, teasing then drawing away, playing a game beyond my experience.
He consumed me, the feel of him, the taste of him. I wanted it all, I needed him. When his hands came to the edge of my shirt, I raised my arms into the air so he could tug my shirt off.
His skin on mine was like Heaven. His lips moved, leaving my mouth to trace kisses over my jaw, my throat, my shoulder. I moaned and threw my head back, giving him access to my vulnerability. His tongue lapped at me and I cried out for more.
My head swam but it wasn't like before. This was heat and pleasure, beauty and love. I pulled Bash’s shirt over his head and tossed it away.
His naked chest made my body quiver. He was perfect, every single part of him. The expanse of his shoulders, the contour of his muscles, and the scent of his arousal drove me into a frenzy. I sank my teeth into his shoulder.
He cried out and the sound of his arousal and pain was a heady mixture that made my body ache for more. I ran my tongue up his neck and recaptured his mouth, then whispered in a voice I barely recognized, “I need you.”
His hands came around my waist and lifted me effortlessly as he stood and walked the few steps to the bed. A moment later I was flying through the air, tossed onto my mattress while Bash’s wolfish grin tickled a laugh out of me.
“Oh no,” I said, arching my eyebrow with a grin. “The big bad wolf is going to eat me up.”
His eyes went impossibly dark and the desire in them wiped the playfulness from me. My gaze darted lower, travelling down his body to his hips as he unbuttoned his jeans and lowered them.
I swallowed hard, suddenly too aware of the space between us. “Come here,” I whispered, then shivered with excitement.
He moved like a predator, his gaze locked on mine, and stood at the foot of my bed just watching me for a long moment before reaching for my shoes. One by one, he pulled them off and tossed them to the floor, then began working slowly, gently, at the rest of my clothes.
My skin vibrated, becoming more sensitive with each item he pulled free. The rasp of my jeans as they skimmed over my hips made the room spin.
I lay on the bed with nothing but scraps of lace covering me and opened my arms to him.
Bash slid onto the bed and moved to hover over me. Needing to touch, I ran my hands up his biceps and over his shoulders, drawing him down for another kiss.
His breath mingled with mine, heating the space between us, scorching my lips. When he moved to my neck and started the slow descent down my throat, I nearly erupted. My hands moved to his hair, grasping, pulling, and needing so much I could barely stand it.
I moaned when his lips found my breasts through the lace. He teased me, dipping his tong
ue under the edges, moving his hands up the sides of my body until I was nearly blind with desire. I almost sobbed with relief as he unhooked my bra and sucked a nipple into his mouth. And when he pulled my hands from his hair and pinned them above my head, colors exploded behind my eyelids.
The sounds ripped from my throat were primal and they only forced me higher, pushed me closer to the edge. Bash’s breaths came in gasps now, but he took his time, feasting on me, driving me insane. When he moved lower and skimmed his tongue around my belly button, I bucked my hips and wrenched my hands free from his hold to delve into his hair again.
His mouth did wicked things to me. He drove me up and held me on the edge of insanity with tongue and teeth and fingers that played me like a violin. I sang for him, and then I screamed.
And as I rode the wave of pleasure down, he shifted his body and filled every part of me.
My heart froze for a moment that seemed to stretch into eternity, and my mind exploded into a million fragmented thoughts of him and me. Then he moved and all thoughts faded away.
He braced himself on his forearms and wove his fingers through my hair as he moved with me, meeting each thrust of my hips with his own. His eyes, so beautiful, looked into me so deeply it felt as if he could touch my soul. My heart swelled with love.
I wanted to say the words, they danced on the tip of my tongue, but I knew it was too soon. We’d been through Hell together and emotions were complicated.
So, I fit my mouth to his and swallowed his moans as we made love. And when he threw back his head and shouted with release, I leapt with him then held him in my arms.
We lay in a heap of glistening sweat and naked flesh for a long time, letting our breathing level out and our racing pulses calm. Bash tickled my arm with his fingers in long lazy strokes that made me sigh as my eyelids fluttered shut.