And Savannah!
As an unshifted female she was particularly vulnerable. Lana would never forgive herself if something happened to her friend. She knew the best thing all around would be to throw herself on her father’s mercy and leave with them before there was more bloodshed. She didn’t want anyone to die because of her.
Her father was driving the big black SUV as she sat in the backseat with Anton. She jolted as Tomin braked to a stop and before she could blink, she was dragged unceremoniously from the vehicle. A ring of headlights illuminated the tree-edged clearing where days ago, Moon had made love to her. She was dragged into the center of all those lights, practically blinded by them. Shadowy figures moved past as the wolves circled Tomin, Anton and herself, no doubt wanting to watch the show. The onlookers remained naked and she knew that was to make for an easy shift into wolf-form once Mad and his men arrived.
As the harsh light swam around them, Lana noted that Savannah stood not far away, flanked by the men who’d taken her earlier.
“Dad, please listen to me,” she began. “I will return with you willingly if you’ll just let Savannah go. We can leave here and I’ll mate with Anton.”
Silence fell as her father studied her. Silvery brows rose high over his startling blue eyes. “You think to bargain with me, Lana?” He shook his head. “Oh no, I don’t think so. You have put me to quite a bit of trouble. Yes, I will be taking you home but not before teaching this wolf of yours a lesson. No one takes what belongs to Tomin Vronski and lives to talk about it. You have sealed his fate, and yes, your own as well.” He looked at Anton. “In the meantime, you must be punished by your mate. Anton, take her and do what you will.”
Headlights shined on an ancient oak near the edge of the clearing and Anton dragged her to it before forcing her to her knees. She faced the rough bark as he dragged her arms around the trunk of the tree, tying her wrists with a piece of rope someone had tossed him. With her cheek pressed against the bark, she looked out over the shadowy figures who filled the clearing, spotting Savannah right away. The lights flickered over her hair, catching the dark red, seeming to set it ablaze.
Have faith. Have faith. Have faith.
The phrases swirled in her mind and she hoped that Savannah would stay strong until help arrived.
Anton gripped her hair and yanked her head back until it hurt. “I hate this short hair. I think I will beat you for this too.” His grin flashed evilly before he shoved her head forward until it cracked against the wood. She barely had time to register the pain when Anton gripped the back of her tee shirt and tore it from her body, leaving her naked from the waist up.
Gods!
“Toss me a belt!” Anton yelled the demand and she heard the low sounds of men whispering. She heard a noise, a swish, and then the sound of the belt cracking as Anton whipped it through the air.
“No!” Savannah yelled out as her captors struggled to hold her still.
Be quiet. Be quiet. Savannah couldn’t help her and Lana prayed her friend would remain composed.
Leather whished and cracked through the air before striking across her bare skin. The incredible burning sensation was followed by another and another as Anton beat her with the strip of leather. Lana bit her lip against the pain but finally it was too much. Whimpering, tears rolling freely, she gasped and then as yet another blow landed, cried out.
“Nooooo! You bastards!”
Lana dragged open her eyes to see Savannah break free of her captors. Lana opened her mouth. She wanted to tell her to stop before Savannah was hurt but she never had the chance.
“Kill the bitch,” Tomin roared. A lycan who stood almost two feet taller than her petite friend pulled back a fist and hit Savannah squarely in the face. Savannah blasted across the clearing, the power behind that blow propelling her as though she were a rag doll.
A roar beyond the crowd of men went up. Snarls and snaps. Growls.
Wolves!
A huge black beast growled loudly as he leapt through the air, easily one of the biggest lycans she’d ever seen. His ridiculously sharp teeth sank into the back of the man’s neck. She heard a snap as the asshole crumpled to the ground.
Lana knew the identity of the wolf the instant he loped over to Savannah, nuzzled her face, and then stood over her in a protective stance. His head went back and his muzzle lifted as he howled.
If Sam Rainwater was here, then so was Moon.
* * * * *
Rainwater’s stark announcement that the women had been taken was instantly followed by Savannah’s frantic call.
“Hurry, Moon, hurry! We’re under attack.”
Those words had the power to chill him. The connection instantly went dead and Moon wasted no time in rallying the troops. Rage welled up, heavy and intense, as he gripped the steering wheel and raced back to his place, the others following close behind. The scene that met them once they arrived replaced that chill with the need to seek revenge on those who had killed his men, terrorized his friend and threatened the love of his life.
Yes…love.
Mad couldn’t imagine spending the rest of his life without Lana by his side. She was funny, sweet, loyal to the bone. Sickened by what might be happening to this woman who filled his life with unbelievable joy, he instantly worked to determine where the Snow Wolves had taken his mate.
“They headed off this way,” Cactus Mackey said as he pointed into the distance.
“They are close,” Rainwater added, his face a grim mask. “Near water.”
The creek. Yes, it made sense they’d take Lana to a familiar place to set their trap. After Rainwater’s earlier intuitive pronouncement, he wasn’t about to doubt the man’s instincts. As several lycans began to care for the injured and dead, Moon and the others determined a course of action.
Gabriel Dunham shook his head. “It seems our brother Sam is as psychic as his sister Julie and I have no doubt that he is right. Let’s head out to that creek. How far is it? About half a mile?”
“Yeah,” Moon said. “Driving is too dangerous. I’d rather surprise them.”
“Then shifting, it is, amigo,” Ringo added. Immediately he began to strip and the others followed suit. Mad tossed his clothes aside and shifted too, then raced from his yard following just behind Rainwater, who had gotten a head start. The only lycan who retained human form was Katalin, who ran beside her mate. Mad growled low, the ground cool beneath the pads of his paws, a sense of urgency whipping through his system and propelling him to run faster.
They’d just spotted headlights in the clearing when Lana’s cry reached them. Mad immediately stopped as the savage need to kill burst through his mind and then he ran, ran, faster than he’d ever moved before. The sight that greeted him was of a belt swinging through the air to land on his mate’s skin. Blood dripped over her flesh.
Snarling, he raced toward the scene in time to see a massive lycan strike Savannah. Her poor little body flew through the air, inspiring another urge to maim, to kill. Rainwater growled low, his massive jaws snapping as he leapt into the air, killing the man instantly.
Imagines of death, of blood, filling his brain, Moon leapt into the midst of the Snow Wolf pack, thoughts of revenge riding him hard. Anton shifted instantly to meet him on the field of a battle, which raged all around them. Moon gnashed his massive teeth, slinking low, prepared to attack.
Lana’s former fiancé did the same, the two of them circling and parrying. But Moon soon tired of the game as his bloodlust grew. Leaping high, he propelled himself forward, finally sinking his teeth into Anton’s neck. Anton was strong though and twisted away then launched his own attack.
All around him, lycans battled it out with brute force and a huge measure of skill. Delicate Kat Dunham, using her telepathic skills, lifted one wolf with only the power of her mind and sent the beast flying until a tree stopped his momentum. Another, she lifted high only to let her mate, Gabriel, take him down, effectively removing him from the fight. Cactus and Sara fought side by
side, the female taking on as many as three wolves at a time with spectacular ease.
Lana’s scream ripped through the air, mingling with the animalistic growls of battling wolves and Mad stilled. In the distance, he watched her father approach her, his fists tight as if he would strike his daughter.
Enough!
Mad narrowed his gaze on Anton and, pushing off with the strength of his hindquarters, launched himself at the other wolf’s throat. Within seconds it was over. Anton’s days of bullying and beating women into submission ended as his blood seeped into the ground.
Unable to feel a scintilla of regret, he ran to Lana and placed himself between her and Tomin Vronski. He shifted back into his human form and faced the man down.
“Hold it right there.”
Tomin stopped, his expression hard and unbending. “Are you the man who dares to come between me and my daughter? She belongs to me, you fool. As Alpha my word is law.”
“Yeah, well, you’re not the Alpha here, old man, are you?”
“How dare you speak to me this way?”
“I dare anything I goddamn please. This is my land. You may think you own Lana but you don’t. You never did. She belongs to me and not because I see her as a possession. I see her. I see all the good things in her that obviously you never did. I would never mistreat her as you have done. You’ve treated her like garbage. Funny thing is, you’re the one who is trash and I think it’s way past time somebody took you out. You’re starting to stink.”
“Mad!”
Moon looked down to see Lana standing beside him. She was nearly naked and bloody, her lip was swollen and her white spiky hair was covered in red. Someone had obviously cut her bindings because lengths of rough rope dangled from her wrists. Instinctively he reached for her but she sucked in a painful breath that made him pray for patience. “Sweetheart, he hurt you.”
She nodded then looked in her father’s direction.
“You are such a disappointment, daughter. Just like your mother.”
“I’m proud to be like my mother. She was kind and sweet. I don’t know how she could stand you. I just wish I’d had the courage to leave long ago. I’m only sorry that your blood runs through my veins.”
Tomin stepped forward, his face contorted with rage, and raised his hand to strike her. “Unh uh, Dad, I wouldn’t if I were you,” she whispered. “You might want to look around. I think this fight is over and you lost. Get it? You lost. If you hit me, it’ll be over for you in about three seconds flat. Count on it.”
Tomin seemed to collect himself and finally looked behind him. Members of the Snow Wolf pack lay dead all around the area and the rest had been subdued.
“I think I’d listen to your daughter, old man. It’s over… Well, almost. You see, we Texas shifters have a little thing we call pack justice. You didn’t dirty your hands with all the fighting around here tonight but maybe it’s time for you to participate just a bit. We’ll give you a nice head start but if I were you, I’d start running now. ”
For the first time, Tomin looked alarmed and Moon knew that if Lana’s father looked into the eyes of the Texas shifters, he’d find nothing but there but death waiting for him.
Moon turned away from Tomin Vronski. He was done with him. Lana was who was important now. Touching her face then tenderly stroking her swollen bottom lip, he finally brushed his lips over her forehead. “Let’s go home, darlin’.”
He took Lana’s hand and they walked the half mile to his house in silence. He’d had enough bloodshed tonight. All that mattered now was that it was over and Lana was safe. As they walked through the front door they stopped and looked at each other. When Lana rested her head against his chest, he lifted her, careful to avoid the raw wounds on her back then carried her up the stairs as the wolves began to howl.
Chapter Eleven
Several days later, Moon slipped into the master bedroom to see Lana sitting near the sliding doors leading to the patio. Days ago, he had carried a big, comfy chair up here, placing it near the sunshine and hoping she might enjoy it. She’d been hurt by what Anton and her father had done to her but her wounds now were much deeper than anything physical. As a fully shifted lycan, the raw places on her back had healed quickly though she still bore the faint outlines of a belt on her back.
Every time Moon looked at them he wanted to kill Anton all over again.
Lana didn’t need his anger now though. She just needed to know that she was home and she was loved. Not a day had gone by since the night of her abduction that pack members had not stopped by to see how she was doing. They had embraced her and considered her one of their own.
Late-afternoon sunlight poured into the room, lighting her pale hair. She was a stunning woman even with the slight dark circles under her eyes and Mad hoped for a night when she’d sleep through the hours peacefully. It hadn’t happened yet.
Walking up to her, he sat on the floor at her feet and rested his head in her lap. Instantly her hands reached out to settle in his hair and Moon just took a second or two to breathe her in. He’d known he loved her before everything went down but now those feelings were even stronger. So easily, she could have been lost to him forever. The world of what-ifs had poured through his brain for days. What if Savannah hadn’t been able to call? What if Sam Rainwater hadn’t proven himself so gifted? What if he’d just not arrived in time?
The questions were killing him.
“Hey you,” she whispered.
Moon looked up at her. “Hey back, gorgeous. You’ve been awfully quiet up here. Figured I’m better see how my best girl is doing.”
“I’m okay, Mad, really. You don’t have to keep checking on me. How were the services?”
Moon sat back and scrubbed his hands over his face. He’d lost five pack members in the fight with the Snow Wolves and today they’d been laid to rest. Their deaths weren’t easily explained to the humans living in the town of Sweetridge but with help from the local cops and the county coroner a wrecked vehicle had been produced along with a falsified report that the men had been returning from a fishing trip when the driver fell asleep at the wheel and crashed the SUV, killing all five. The wolves knew the truth though. They’d been lost fighting to protect one of their own.
“Everybody in town turned out. These guys were well-respected.” Moon thought of the wives, children and even grandchildren left behind and his heart ached for them. “They died the way they lived, with honor.”
Tears filled her eyes.
“I’m so sorry.”
He knew where her mind went and he couldn’t take it anymore. Guilt was as destructive as fear and she didn’t need that emotion in her life. Moon stood and scooped her up then sat in the chair with her in his arms. She settled against him, her breath moving over his skin as she sighed. “The lycan world is often violent and you know that. Guilt about this is fucking worthless. Don’t go there, darlin’. This wasn’t your fault.”
“But it was. My father—”
“Was a bad man but you aren’t responsible for that. My men knew what they were up against and volunteered. That’s what pack does. When someone is in trouble, we all show up to help.”
“Logically, I know that. I just wish it hadn’t happened.”
He knew he needed to change the subject. He rubbed his hand down her back, then settled a palm on her hip. “I saw Savannah today.”
Lana sat up a little. “How is she?”
“Well, her nose is still broken and she has two pretty big shiners but she’ll be all right. Since she’s still an unshifted female, she’ll have to heal the old-fashioned way but she’ll get there. I stopped by her folks’ house where she’s staying for a while and they are hovering and feeding her cookies.”
Lana finally smiled. “I’m glad. She needs some extra TLC after what she has been through. Speaking of cookies, she’s a tough one. I don’t know what I would have done without her that night. I’m just glad she’s okay. ”
They sat together in silence, Moon
simply loving the way she drew breath in and out of her lungs and the perfection of her body as she nestled in his arms. Though she hadn’t asked, he knew she wondered at the fate of her father.
“Did my dad—?”
“He won’t bother you anymore, sweetheart.”
“Was it fast?”
Moon hadn’t asked for nor had he been given details. “Yes.”
Several moments passed before she spoke softly. “It’s sad that my dad never loved me. You know, I keep thinking about that. What kind of man doesn’t love his child?”
His heart broke for her. Tightening his hold, he pressed a kiss to her temple. “I don’t know, baby. I think most people have love in their hearts and the ability to care about others. There are those rare folks who just don’t get it, a switch turned off maybe. I think your father was like that. I doubt he ever cared for anyone but himself.”
“Then I feel sorry for him,” she whispered. “But, Mad?”
“Hmm?”
“I kind of feel sorry for me too.”
Damn if the woman didn’t break his heart. He’d been waiting for the tears to come and they finally did. All he could do, in the end, was hold her.
* * * * *
Later, he tucked her up nice and tight in bed. She was clearly exhausted from her ordeal. He had just straightened, preparing to leave her in peace when there was a soft knock on the door and Ynez poked her head into the room. “I’m sorry, Señor Moon, but Sara and Kat are here to see Miss Lana.”
He frowned. “I don’t know about that.”
“No, Mad, it’s okay. I know they’re leaving today and I want to say goodbye.”
What could he do? He owed these women everything. “Tell them to come on in, Ynez.”
In a few minutes, the sisters came into the room and he stood there like a damn lump while they oohed and aahed over his mate. Each of them carried brightly wrapped gifts with enormous bows on them. The last time he’d given a gift, he’d shoved the damn thing in a sack and called it a day, but women, he knew, did things a little differently.
MadMoon Page 11