You’re siding with one of them?”
Alexander looked Stuart over. “May I?”
Stuart nodded.
Alexander peered into
Stuart’s eyes. “I would like to run a few tests; would you consent?”
“Yes, I will do what you want,” Stuart agreed. He turned to face the rest of the men. “I didn’t go with Pierce willingly; he
threatened to hurt my friend
Victoria if I didn’t join him.” Stuart looked around the men and spotted Derek. “I didn’t know you were a part of this, but when Pierce told me what he would do, I had no choice. Is your mother all right?”
Derek nodded. “I took her out of Washington. Thank you, for protecting her. If I had known she was in danger from Pierce, I would have moved her sooner.”
“He didn’t know you were a part of this; hell, I didn’t either.” Stuart tried to smile. “All that matters is that she’s safe.”
Wayne took a look around. The desert had turned into a field of sinkholes. He took Conner by the hand and picked Ethan and Gage up with the other arm.
“It’s time to go home.” ~~
Petey and Carl watched with binoculars from a dune buggy situated miles away. Petey put the binoculars down and looked around. The desert had taken a beating. Pierce hadn’t come up from the destruction; neither had Brian or Greg. Stuart had been taken prisoner. Petey shrugged and started the dune buggy.
“So, where to?” Carl
reclined in the seat. “El Paso, we have to meet up with the rest of the group.”
“Dude, we need to cut and run!” Carl balked. “I’m sorry; did you not see the size of that
werewolf? That was a fucking created one!”
Petey exhaled in frustration. “I’m not blind, asshole. Just
because Pierce is gone doesn’t mean we have no one to answer to. We re-group with the others and wait for instruction.”
“This is our chance to get away, Petey. I don’t want to take orders anymore.”
Petey looked out over the Arizona desert. “Let’s see where we end up.”
“We just gonna give up on the kids?”
Petey snorted. “They aren’t rogue; hell we killed their families, they’ve got no one. You really want to be saddled with two kids?”
Carl wrinkled his nose. “Nah.”
“Well, then,” Petey put the buggy in drive. “Let’s go.”
~~ The first two days back in Denali, the little boys were
showered with gifts from not only Riley and Mateo, but Caden and Kellan as well as all the others. They seemed to take their move from the mines to an actual
bedroom in stride. Wyatt’s family friend Nadine was in heaven and doted on both boys at all times. They were enamored with Conner, and when Aidan appeared they had the same bemused looks on their faces - as if Conner and Aiden were both angels.
Wayne smiled as the boys played with the wolf pups of Denali. They seemed to be
acclimating quite well. Tristan sat down on the bench next to him and Wayne turned to see a look of sadness on his face.
“Parents are dead, aren’t they?” Wayne asked, knowing the answer.
Tristan nodded. “I searched murders with missing children involved.” Tristan looked over at the boys. “Ethan Knox and Gage Croft were children of a pack in hiding. Now they have no one.”
“Not true, they have us. Make it legal, Tristan.” “James is already cutting through red tape.”
“Good, they don’t need foster care. Being werewolves at such a young age,” Wayne shook his head. “I wonder if they’ve shifted yet.”
“Are you going to bite
them?”
Wayne considered it. Shaking his head, he glanced over at
Tristan. “It’s too soon, it would be too painful. I’ll give them that protection later.” A loud howl of pain came from inside the cabin and Wayne peered over his
shoulder.
“Alexander still injecting Stuart Macavoie?” Tristan asked.
Wayne nodded. “The man is going to be in agony.”
~~
Ross stood outside the door to Conner’s old room, balling his fists. The sounds of Stuart’s screams reverberated around the entire cabin. It had been two days of constantly injecting him with Wayne’s blood, and Wayne had bitten the man repeatedly in an effort to reverse the effects of the rogue bite since Stuart hadn’t progressed very far. Ross closed his eyes as another agonizing cry came from behind the door. He hadn’t left, not once. He couldn’t do it and he had no earthly idea why. Conner came down the hall with a tray of food and stopped in front of him.
“You want to take it in?” Conner lifted the tray up.
Ross nodded.
“All right,” Conner smiled, handing the tray over to him. “What is it about this guy? I’ve never seen you act like this.”
“I don’t know,” Ross shook his head. “I just feel like he doesn’t deserve all this.” Ross sighed, running a hand through his hair.
“Well go on,” Conner pushed him lightly.
Ross opened the door and peeked inside. Stuart was on the bed, his hair plastered to his skull with sweat. His face was sallow and he looked emaciated. Ross set the tray down on the nightstand and sat on the edge of the bed.
Smoothing the man’s hair back, he took his hand gently. Stuart’s eyes opened and Ross looked in green eyes with a hint of yellow.
“Hey,” Ross said softly. “Hey,” Stuart croaked.
“You want some water?” Ross picked up the glass and helped Stuart to sit up a bit. He held the glass as Stuart sipped the water.
“Why?” Stuart lay back, closing his eyes.
“Why what?”
“Why are you helping me? I’m a rogue.”
“Alexander thinks he can reverse it, with Wayne’s help.” Ross pulled the comforter up higher as Stuart began to shiver. “Why are you helping me?”
Ross blinked in confusion. “I…I don’t know,” Stuart’s even breathing alerted Ross that the man was finally getting some sleep. He sat at the side of the bed and looked into the face of the man he’d almost killed. Dark hair framed a strong jaw and square chin. Why was he helping this man? Ross sat back regarding the rogue. He had no fucking clue.
~~ Chance stood by the lake, arms stretched out, and palms up. The power was coming, he could feel it. The air was charged all around him. Logan stood with the rest of the packs by the tree line; even the Salvatore brothers had come to bear witness. None of them knew what would happen and Chance had told them to stay as far away as they could. He knew Logan wouldn’t go far, they had argued about it. Chance glanced at his watch, the second hand was moving closer and closer to
midnight. He’d be twenty-one in mere seconds. Warm hands
enveloped both of his and Chance looked over at his mother. His father held his other hand; they had come to bear witness to his
initiation. The clouds parted and the full moon shone down on them. Chance lifted his head skyward. The stars were out and a mist seemed to gather together, drifting down in a funnel of some sort.
“This is your destiny,” Melanie spoke softly.
Chance nodded, readying himself for whatever was coming. The funnel seemed to stretch down, like a hand reaching out and the first touch sent a tingle down Chance’s spine. His parents moved away as the white mist surrounded him. A gust of wind hit Chance full force as the second hand reached midnight. The air seemed to
change, and the hairs on the back of his neck stood straight up. The wind swept up around his feet and circled him. He was in a vortex of water, mist and air. Loud howls reverberated through the forest as the wildlife of Denali came from every corner to witness the event. A bright light shot up from Chance and into the sky, seeming to reach to the heavens.
Logan’s mouth dropped open as the light seemed to hover high in the sky and, in that next moment, came slamming back down hitting Chance full force. Chance’s arms flew out to his sides and a large explosion r
ipped through him, sending energy towards the trees. The forest bent from the force, and then slowly righted itself. Logan stepped forward; an arm restrained him.
“Wait,” Wayne shook his head.
Logan felt the air crackling with power and the forest sent back the energy. Chance’s body was hit with what looked like a lightning bolt. Chance’s body actually glowed for a few seconds before it ebbed away, leaving a sweaty and exhausted Chance barely standing.
“Wayne,” Logan growled.
“Go,” Wayne nodded.
Logan ran to Chance, barely catching him before he tumbled to the ground. Logan picked up his mate. Chance was breathing
slowly, his eyes closed. Logan looked over his shoulder at
Chance’s parents.
“Is it done?”
Melanie nodded. “Yes, he’s got the entire Christianson line flowing within him. Take good care of our son, Logan. We’ll be back.”
“You have my word,” Logan bowed his head to Chance’s father as he approached. “Sir.”
“Call me Phillip. My son couldn’t have a better mate.” Phillip caressed his son’s cheek.
“Thank you.” Logan lifted his head, meeting Phillip’s eyes.
“Happy birthday, Chance.” Phillip kissed his son’s forehead.
The group stood back as Logan walked by them with Chance in his arms. Aideen wiped at her eyes and turned to her son.
“You’ve done well, Rion. You’ve protected your pack and all those who follow you.”
“Thank you, Mom,” Wayne grinned.
“We should be going,” Melanie put her hands out to
Aideen. “Thank you for everything you have done for my son.”
“We’ll always protect him, Melanie. You have our word.” Aideen squeezed Melanie’s hands.
Wayne turned to the group. “We have a long day tomorrow. Everyone should get some rest.”
Noah brushed past Ross roughly on his way back to the cabin. He was stopped halfway up the path by a very angry-looking Hayden.
“What?” Noah barked.
Hayden narrowed his eyes and growled. “Whatever the
problem is with you and Ross, fix it. Right now.”
“He’s protecting that rogue!” Noah shouted.
Hayden shifted in the blink of an eye. He lunged at Noah and pinned him to the ground, snarling in his face.
“Get over it; that rogue is different from the others. You’re treating him as if he’s defective. Remember how you felt when you were treated the same way for being gay?” Hayden backed off, huffing quietly before turning and running into the darkness.
Noah sat up, shocked at his beta’s anger. He stood, wiping the dirt from his pants. Ross stood a few feet from him, a look of hurt etched on his face. They’d been friends for a long time and Noah dropped his eyes. “I’m sorry, Ross.”
“Yeah, you should be.”
Noah spun to see Jesse Salvatore shaking his head sadly at him.
“Jesse…” Noah stepped forward. Jesse backed away, then turned on his heel and walked up the path to the cabin. Noah sighed, cursing himself. An arm wrapped around his shoulder and Noah took in the familiar scent of his best friend.
“It’s cool, I get it, Noah.” Ross squeezed Noah’s shoulder.
Noah tried to smile, he returned the squeeze. The other two Salvatore brothers were making their way up the path. Justice stopped in front of Noah.
“Stay away from Jesse, Noah. He’s human and I want him to stay that way.”
“I would never turn him!” Noah balked.
Justice leaned into Noah’s face. “You’re a rogue killer; you have enemies in every damn state. I can’t take the chance that Jesse will be caught in the crossfire. Stay away, Noah. I mean it.”
Noah’s shoulders slumped as Justice and Jaxon resumed walking up the path. When he turned, he could see Jesse waiting for his brothers. The younger Salvatore locked eyes with him before turning to leave with his brothers.
“Hey, it’ll be okay.” Ross tightened his grip on Noah’s shoulder.
“Well, this is just one big fat fucking mess, huh?” Jude stood in front of them, hand on his hip. “The guy I can’t stand just spanked you, Noah.”
Noah growled. “Jude…” “Back off, Noah.”
Jude spun around to see Hayden, dressed again.
“I can fight my own battles. Cock.” Jude grinned at the irritated look on Hayden’s face. “Night, boys.”
Hayden stood with Ross and Noah watching Jude walk back towards the main cabin. Arms came around him and he relaxed into the embrace of his guys.
“He’ll come around,
Hayden.” Noah squeezed Hayden’s shoulders. “I’m sorry; I know I acted like an ass.”
“Just remember,” Hayden looked at Noah and Ross. “Nothing is black and white.”
Hayden walked up the path a few minutes later. Jude was resting against one of the trees, staring up at the moon.
“I thought you were going to bed?”
Jude turned to eye Hayden. “I think it’s hilarious that you gave Noah a smack down for something you yourself have done.”
Hayden balled his fists. “You know, Jude, I was younger then. I was trying to come to terms with who I was. I’ve grown up, we both have. I can apologize over and over again for my behavior as a kid, but you’ll never forgive me, will you?” Hayden searched Jude’s face. “I didn’t think so.”
“What did you expect? You say a couple of nice things to me and I forget everything you put me through?” Jude snorted. “Not likely, Cock.”
“Who’s being a prick now? At least I’ve stopped being that jackass.” Hayden stepped in front of Jude. The smaller werewolf shrank back from him and Hayden realized Jude was still scared of him. He stepped back a few feet, keeping a distance he hoped Jude was comfortable with.
“I’m sorry, Jude. I really am. I never meant to cause you pain.” Hayden shifted nervously; the thought of telling Jude why he’d been such an ass was right on the tip of his tongue. But it was
obvious Jude didn’t feel that way about him. He wasn’t going to subject himself to rejection. “I just hope someday you’ll see I’m not that kid anymore and you’ll be able to forgive me.” Hayden backed away further. “Goodnight, Jude.”
Jude leaned against the tree trying to calm his racing heart. Okay, so Hayden was the kind of guy he’d fuck and come back to for more. But this was Cox the Cock; there was no way in hell he’d ever admit that.
“Night.”
~~Chapter Seven~~
Chance opened his eyes to see Logan’s bare chest in his face. He smiled, wrapping his arms around the man he loved. Logan sighed in contentment, wrapping his arms around Chance. The sun shone through the gap in the curtains and Chance smiled. Everything
seemed…different.
Chance snuggled closer to Logan. He’d almost lost him. The memory of Pierce stabbing Logan made his heart ache. Pierce. He’d killed Pierce. Chance took a deep breath and squeezed his eyes shut. He’d killed another human being with his powers, three of them in fact. Not to mention the ones he didn’t even know about. The ones who had gotten stuck in the mines when he’d…well…exploded.
“They weren’t human, Chance.” Logan opened his eyes and studied Chance’s face. “Don’t beat yourself up for it.”
“How can I not? Look at what I did to them,” Chance whispered. Logan sat up in the bed and cupped Chance’s face. “I want to show you something. Will you come with me?”
Chance nodded. “Yes.” After taking a shower and making out with Logan for what seemed like hours, Chance
emerged dressed and ready to go wherever Logan was taking him. They walked up the path to the main cabin and Chance cringed at the loud agonizing howls coming from within. He gripped Logan’s hand tighter.
“That’s Stuart Macavoie.” Logan opened the door for Chance. “We are trying to cure him and it’s a bit…painful.” Logan led Chance through the cabin and stopped in front of Stuart’s d
oor. Ross stood in front of it, looking pale and weary.
“Any change?” Logan asked. Ross sighed, looking down and toeing the carpet with his shoe. “Depends on your definition of the word ‘change’. His eyes are lighter, but the pain is becoming worse for him.”
“I’m sorry, Ross,” Logan put his hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Do you have the files?”
“Yes, they’re on the dresser, in there.” Ross pointed to the room behind him.
“Can I show Chance? He needs to know.”
Ross nodded, opening the door. “Sure,”
Chance stepped into the darkened room. Stuart was on the bed, thrashing back and forth. Chance stepped towards the bed and Logan’s hand slipped into his.
“Don’t get too close,” Logan whispered.
“I won’t hurt him,” Stuart croaked.
“I don’t think you would intentionally,” Logan said, keeping his eyes on Stuart.
Chance walked to the edge of the bed and sat down, taking Stuart’s hand. Stuart had a kindness in his eyes that reached into
Chance’s heart. He wanted to help this man somehow. Chance closed his eyes and took both of Stuart’s hands in his. Concentrating on the man on the bed, Chance tried to ease his pain. He heard a small gasp from Logan and opened his eyes to see Stuart sleeping,
breathing easily and almost
content.
“What did you do?” Logan whispered. “Your hand was glowing.”
“I don’t have a clue. I just hoped he’d feel less pain.” Chance stood up and turned to see Ross watching Stuart on the bed.
“Thank you, Chance.” Ross raised his eyes to the younger werewolf. “He’s been in pain for days, hardly sleeping.”
“I’m just glad I could help,” Chance took Ross by his shoulders. “You’re a good man.”
Logan took the files from the dresser and took Chance’s hand. “We’ll be in the dining room if you need us.”
Chance sat at the large oak dining room table as Logan went to get them some coffee. The first file was labeled ‘Pierce Barnes.’ Chance moved the file closer and, with a deep breath, flipped it open. A mug shot of Pierce was in the top right hand corner and a list of his crimes started at the top of the paper and continued all the way down. Chance closed his eyes, willing himself not to throw up. This was the man he’d been in love with, had kissed and made love to. It disgusted him.
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