by Lola Gabriel
“I thought that went without saying,” Ellery interrupted him. “The only thing that makes an eternal life sound bearable is the thought of eternal love with you.”
Grey tightened his hold on her for a moment and he kissed her neck.
“Then you’ll be my mate. You’ll join my pack and those will be your friends. It’s more than just friendship too. Your pack becomes your family.”
“That actually sounds quite nice,” Ellery said.
She thought for a moment. What else scared her about this? Admittedly, there was a lot less to fear when she pictured Grey turning her than there had been when she had thought it would be Alex doing it. She still had one more question she needed answering, though. She didn’t think the answer would change her mind about doing this; she just needed to know for her own peace of mind.
“Will it hurt? Turning?” Ellery asked.
“To turn you, I have to scratch you and then bite you. That will sting a little, but I won’t go too deep. Just enough to break the skin. I’m not going to lie to you. The first time you turn is agony, but after that, it’s painless. You don’t ever have to turn if you don’t want to, though. And when I first turn you, you won’t be able to turn because of the cuff. If you decide you do want to, we’ll go somewhere private, just the two of us, and I’ll be there through every step of it with you.”
“How will we know it’s worked if I can’t turn here?” Ellery asked.
“We’ll know,” Grey said.
He didn’t elaborate, but Ellery trusted the certainty in his voice.
“Okay. Let’s do it,” she said with a nod.
“We don’t have to do it yet. The sun is barely starting to rise. I’m guessing it’s only around five a.m. Let’s wait a while, see if Ariel manages to pull something else off,” Grey said.
Ellery shook her head. She knew as well as Grey did that he was only clutching at straws. There wasn’t anything else.
“I don’t want to do it in front of Lisa and Ava. I just want to get it over with,” she said.
“Okay. If you’re sure,” Grey said.
“I’m sure,” she said.
She shuffled around in Grey’s arms so she was facing him. She leaned forward and ran her lips over his.
“I’m sure,” she said again.
Grey nodded. He gently pushed Ellery’s skirt up a bit.
“It won’t be as painful here as there’s a big muscle right here, so it’s not like I’ll be getting close to the bone,” he explained, pointing to the front of Ellery’s thigh.
Ellery nodded. Her stomach was rolling and her palms were sweaty. She had never been so afraid in her whole life, but she knew she had made the right choice. It was this, or a lifetime of serving Alex. And something told her Alex wouldn’t be gentle about turning her either. Grey reached out and stroked her cheek.
“It’ll be okay,” he reassured her.
She nodded, although she wasn’t sure it would be. It would be a whole new life. Oh well, she thought to herself. I came here for a fresh start, and how’s this for the ultimate in fresh starts?
“This will sting a bit,” Grey said.
He rubbed his fingers over the skin on her thigh, and despite her fear at what was to come, Ellery felt her skin responding to his touch. Her thigh tingled and the tingles rose up her leg, awakening her clit again. She ignored the feeling, concentrating on what was about to happen.
Grey dug his nails into her flesh hard enough that she gasped and then he moved his hand swiftly downward, cutting three matching red streaks. Blood welled up on the surface of the three scratches. Ellery’s thigh hurt, but it was nothing she couldn’t handle.
“This is your last chance to change your mind?” Grey said.
It was a statement, but he phrased it like a question, his voice rising slightly at the end of his sentence. Ellery shook her head. She wasn’t backing out now.
She squeezed her eyes tightly closed as Grey ducked his head and kissed her where he had scratched her. She felt his lips open and then he nipped her skin between his teeth, gently at first. She rubbed her hand over his head, wanting to let him know it was okay. He seemed as perturbed by this as she was in some ways.
He bit down on Ellery’s thigh and she pressed her hand over her mouth to keep from crying out. Grey’s mouth left her thigh and she opened her eyes. Grey was peering at her, looking nervous now. He had a smear of her blood on his chin, and she reached out and wiped it away, smiling at him.
For the first few seconds after Grey bit Ellery, she didn’t feel any different, but then, in a flash, everything changed.
She could see better than she had ever seen in her life. She could see tiny cracks in the concrete floor that she hadn’t known existed before now. She could hear noises from outside the warehouse—bird song and cars in the distance. She could smell Grey much stronger than before and the smell of him set her pussy on fire. As she thought of Grey, her feelings flooded her in a wave, the love for him that she had already accepted multiplying by a thousand.
She felt something stirring inside of her and it felt weird, but good. The thing inside of her howled and then settled, and she realized it was her own wolf. It would live inside of her now.
She took a moment to consider how she felt. She was no longer afraid. She felt strong and empowered, and more alive than she had ever felt before. She looked at Grey and her stomach lurched. The wolf inside of her made a low growl of lust and Ellery threw herself at Grey and kissed him hard on the mouth. He returned the kiss. Ellery wanted to go further, but she knew Lisa and Ava could wake up at any second, and besides, she and Grey needed to get some sleep if they were to stand any chance in a fight with Alex’s men. She pulled away and smiled at Grey.
“That’s how you know it worked,” she laughed.
“And this,” Grey said.
He pushed her dress up again and the tingling in her skin was so intense that a shiver ran through her body. Even that lightest of touches made it feel like Grey was touching her everywhere at once and she let out a moan.
“You’ll get used to that. Once you’ve been a wolf for a while, you’ll learn to control it. The wolf controls your carnal desires. Control the wolf, and you won’t be like a walking hormone all the time,” Grey smiled.
“I think I can live with that part,” Ellery grinned.
“This is also how I know it worked,” Grey said, nodding down to Ellery’s thigh.
She felt her mouth drop open in surprise. The scratch marks on her thigh were gone.
“I can heal myself without even knowing it,” she whispered.
“Yeah. It’s not a conscious process,” Grey smiled. “It just happens.”
Ellery kissed Grey again.
“I don’t know why I was so against this. It’s amazing,” she laughed.
“Yeah, it’s pretty cool,” Grey said. He stifled a yawn and shook his head. “Sorry.”
“No, you’re right. We should try and get some sleep before this whole messy day starts,” Ellery said, voicing her thought from earlier.
Grey nodded his head, looking relieved. He lay down and held his arm out, making a pillow for Ellery’s head. She scooted closer to him and lay on her side, her head on his arm and her arm draped over his chest. She didn’t think she would be able to sleep. She had too much energy. But she could think of worse ways to pass the time than lying in Grey’s arms.
He put his hand over hers, tracing little circles on the back of her hand. Circles that spread delicious shivers up her arm. After a couple of minutes, he stopped, his hand slipping away and falling to the ground. His deep and even breathing told Ellery he had fallen asleep. She closed her eyes, listening to the rhythm of his breaths, letting them calm her and lull her into sleep too.
10
Grey jumped awake at the sound of the warehouse door slamming open. He felt Ellery jumping awake beside him. Ava and Lisa were already on their feet. They had obviously already been awake when the door burst open.
Tw
o men ran in, men Grey didn’t recognize. They were obviously part of Alex’s pack, or they wouldn’t be here, but they weren’t anyone Grey had ever seen roaming the streets or frequenting the bars Alex’s pack favored. They had to be guards, pack members so low down in the ranks that their only purpose was to be a part of Alex’s staff.
Grey was already getting to his feet as the men approached him.
“Who are you? What are you going to do to us?” Ava asked, her voice shaking with fear.
The men ignored her, focusing only on Grey. One of them pulled a set of keys from his pocket. The other one pulled out a gun. Lisa shrieked. Ellery and Ava looked on in horrified silence.
“We’re going to unlock your chains,” the guard with the keys said to Grey. “One wrong move and you will all be shot. Do you understand?”
Grey nodded. He did understand. Ariel had pulled her part of the plan off. This was the exchange. His hunch had been right. Alex wasn’t about to lose his head Matchmaker just to keep Grey in his warehouse.
The guard with the keys turned his attention to the three women.
“Get back,” he commanded.
Ava and Lisa shrank back immediately. Ellery shuffled back slightly, but not far enough to satisfy the guards.
“Now!” the guard with the gun yelled, pointing the gun at Ellery. “These are silver bullets. They’ll kill a shifter in seconds. But they’re pretty damned lethal to humans too.”
Grey nodded to Ellery, afraid she was going to attempt something stupid and get herself killed. If a bullet didn’t hit a vital organ on a human, there was a chance they could survive a gunshot wound. There was no chance for a shifter. If they got hit by a silver bullet, they were as good as dead. The few shifters who managed to survive being hit by a silver bullet usually had only a scratch. Even a flesh wound could kill them.
Ellery moved back and stood with Lisa and Ava. Grey was relieved she was following his instructions. The worst thing he could imagine was her getting herself killed now when he was so close to freeing her.
“If any of you three try anything, it’s the same deal. You’ll all be shot and killed. Is that clear?” the guard with the keys asked the women.
They all nodded.
“We’re not going to try anything,” Ava confirmed. “No one needs to be shot.”
The guard nodded, satisfied with her promise. They were used to the prisoners complying so they had no reason to doubt Ava’s word. The guard with the gun kept the gun on Grey, but his attention shifted between Grey and the women. Grey wondered momentarily if he could take down the two guards quickly enough to save everyone and then use the keys to unlock the women’s chains. He decided it was too risky to even try it. The guard only needed one lucky shot and he could lose Ellery.
Within less than a minute, Grey’s ankle cuff was off and the two guards were leading him toward the door.
“It looks like you have friends in high places,” one of the guards commented as they left the warehouse.
He slammed the door behind them and Grey glanced back over his shoulder. He hated having to leave Ellery behind, but he knew that if he tried anything without the back-up of the pack, he was signing all of their death warrants.
“I guess so,” Grey said when it was clear the guard was waiting for an answer.
The two guards marched him back across the industrial complex. People were milling around now and Grey felt eyes on him everywhere. People even peered out of windows to get a glimpse of him as he was escorted past the buildings.
“See how famous you are?” one of the guards remarked as they reached the edge of the industrial property. “That means we all know your face now. And if any of us sees you within a mile of this place, you’re dead.”
The matter-of-fact way he said it told Grey this wasn’t so much a threat as it was a casual statement of truth. He shrugged his shoulders, equally casually.
“Yeah. I figured as much,” he said.
“Go. Before we change our minds,” one of the guards sneered at Grey, pushing him the rest of the way out of the industrial complex and laughing when he stumbled slightly.
Grey debated calling the guard’s bluff, taunting him, reminding him he didn’t get any say in what went on here, and whether or not Grey lived wasn’t his choice to make. He decided against it. He had no idea where Ariel was with Kiefer and if Kiefer had already been handed over, then maybe the guards would be allowed to kill him. Alex was hardly known for playing fair, and he would likely reward the guards for ending Grey’s life rather than be annoyed that they’d made the decision without his direct approval. Saving Ellery was much more important than Grey’s pride, so he just turned and walked away from the guards, resisting the urge to look back.
Grey kept walking, planning on heading back to the hotel and gathering the pack to make a plan to save Ellery. He knew there was a chance the pack would rebel and refuse to help him, and if that happened, he needed to know quickly so he could make a new plan. One that would likely end in him being killed. Ariel had said she was with him and he knew some of the others would agree to help him, even if they were reluctant to do it. He just had to hope it was enough, because he couldn’t force the pack to risk their lives to save Ellery.
He had been walking for a few minutes when he heard his name being called. He looked around but he couldn’t see anyone. The call came again. He recognized Ariel’s voice, but he still couldn’t see her. She stepped out of the trees that lined the industrial property’s perimeter and laughed softly.
“For someone with wolf instincts, you’re so fucking blind at times,” she said, shaking her head.
“It’s not like I can see through tree trunks. I don’t have X-ray vision, you know. And I was hardly expecting you to be hanging around here,” Grey countered. “What’s going on?”
Ariel beckoned to him and stepped back into the trees. Grey followed her and she led him to a small clearing. Luke, Evie, and Graham waited for him there.
“We made the switch,” Ariel said. “So Kiefer is back out in the world causing fuckery. But at least Alex kept his word. I was kind of afraid this would all go wrong and you wouldn’t be released.”
“How did you manage to capture Kiefer?” Grey asked.
“Kiefer is arrogant. He thinks he’s untouchable. So his home is mostly unguarded. The few guards he had there were newly turned and inexperienced. We got past them easily enough. We had a potion from a witch Evie knows. We had to pour it on Kiefer and it kept his powers at bay. It’s only temporary and it’s likely worn off by now, but we got it on him while he was sleeping and it lasted long enough to get him here and make the deal,” Ariel explained.
Grey nodded thoughtfully.
“Can we get any more of that potion?” he asked Evie.
Evie shook her head.
“Not quickly enough to save your girl. Ariel brought us up to speed on that one. It takes around three months to brew the potion and that was Jasmine’s last bit,” Evie said.
“Right,” Grey said. It made his life a little bit more difficult, but the potion had never been something he had considered until now, so it wasn’t like he had really lost anything. He kind of felt like he had, though. “We need to get back to the hotel, gather the pack, and come up with some sort of plan. Assuming anyone will actually help me with this.”
“It’s all taken care of,” Ariel said. “The whole pack is in.”
“I… I don’t understand. Everyone was so against me taking on Alex,” Grey said.
“Yeah. And they all pretty much still think this is a suicide mission. But when I told them about Ellery, they all agreed we have no real choice now. You’re our alpha, Grey, and if you’ve found your mate, it’s our duty to protect her as we protect you.”
Grey paused for a moment as a ball of emotion bubbled up into his throat. He didn’t know what to say. Ariel was right in theory. It was his pack’s duty to protect him and his mate, but he had never been the sort of alpha to enforce those rules.
&n
bsp; “I speak for all of the pack when I say that we’re not doing it because it’s the rules. We’re doing it because we care about you,” Evie said.
Grey nodded and muttered his thanks, still a little overwhelmed by the gesture. He cleared his throat, forcing the emotions away and getting himself back together.
“So where is everyone?” he asked.
“In place. Ready and waiting,” Graham said.
“Okay, go back to the beginning. What’s the plan?” Grey said.
“When we went to get Kiefer and applied the potion, we didn’t tell him our real plan immediately. He didn’t recognize us and so we told him that one of the women he had taken was the girlfriend of one of our pack members. We quizzed him for information about how Alex does this thing. He didn’t suspect a thing, and he believed that giving us the information we needed would save him. I almost felt bad for him in the end until I remembered he’s a murderous, arrogant prick who sells women. Anyway, he told us that Alex will go to the warehouse himself to select his next mate. He will only have two guards with him as he likes to convince himself the mating ceremony is really a choice for the women. He likes to think the ceremony is real and the women aren’t just going along with it because they know they’ll be killed if they don’t. Weirdo, huh?” Ariel said.
Grey nodded and gestured for her to go on.
“So our plan is actually pretty simple. You, Evie, Graham, Luke, and I will go around to the back of the industrial complex and enter through the hole in the fence I told you about. We’ll sneak down close to the warehouse and watch for Alex entering. When he does, we’ll go in there and stop him from taking any of the women. We’ll kill him and his two guards. Obviously, there’s a chance Alex will have back-up waiting and that’s where the rest of the pack come in. They’re positioned in small groups all around the perimeter of the place. They’re currently using wire cutters to make more holes in the fence. When Alex enters the warehouse, I have a flare which I’ll set off. That’s their signal. They will all enter the industrial complex at once from different directions and cause disturbances which will hopefully distract any back-up guards long enough for us to finish Alex off and free the women. If they don’t encounter anyone, they’ll all make their way to the warehouse, and if the plan succeeds, it will finish up with us all meeting in the warehouse or at the spot we’ll enter through.”