by Sabrina Rue
She slapped him across the face. “We were childhood friends and though I knew you were not my Mate and I never loved you, I did trust you not to leave me to die with the newborn son you sired on me when I had no control.”
Climbing off the bed, she paced the room. “There isn’t one tender feeling left inside me for you, Ryan. The disgust I feel for letting you touch me may never fade. I’m ashamed that my children have a weak, deceitful Wolf for a father.”
He was shaking, sweating. “I-I…” She licked his blood lazily from her claws. “Please, Hope. Don’t do this. This isn’t you. It isn’t who you are. This is your sister’s influence.”
“Thank the gods.” Walking to Harmony, she whispered at her ear. Her sister stood and left the room. Then Hope returned to sit on the edge of the bed.
For several minutes, she sat in silence until her twin came back with a small table that held two things.
The moment Ryan saw what they were, he tried to get away. Hope straddled his body. She bent inches from his face and stared at him while he shook uncontrollably.
Growling, she declared, “By the time I’m done with you, there won’t be enough to prosecute.”
“Hope…please. Don’t do this. I’ve always loved you.”
“Your lies disgust me. You cut my children from me and left me to die.” She lifted his hand and held down all his fingers but one. “You have one chance, Ryan. If you lie, I’ll remove one of your fingers and cauterize the wound so there’s no hope of regeneration, even in Change.”
“You can’t use torture, Hope!”
She wasn’t done. “For every lie you tell me, I’ll remove a piece of your body in the same manner. It will take me a long time to remove limbs but I’ll get it done.”
“You’re crazy! Y-you’ve lost your mind!” he screamed.
“If you fuck with me, you’ll be nothing but a torso and a head by the time I’m done. I’ll drop you in the middle of rogue territory to see if you can defend yourself.”
She picked up a large pair of tin snips and positioned them around his pinky. “Where is my child?”
“I don’t know! You’ve got this all wrong! I’d never hurt…”
Hope cut off his pinky and Harmony handed her a butane lighter to cauterize the wound while he screamed unintelligibly.
“No, no, no…”
“I’m a Wolf female, Ryan. A goddamn Wolf. You stole one of my cubs and tried to kill the other. None of you ever should have hurt the Pack of Kassis blood. We’ll gut you one by one and I think all of you know it. It’s why you’ve brought so many rogues into Montana. They’re collateral damage.”
Patting his shoulder, she said soothingly, “It’s alright. We can try again. Montana Pack taught me incredible patience, Ryan.”
Pinning his bloody hand under her knee, she lifted his other one and positioned the sharp tool around his remaining pinky.
“I’m showing mercy by starting with your smallest fingers. I’m giving you a chance to make things right.” Clearing her throat, she smiled. “Where is my daughter, Ryan?”
Ultimately, Ryan was a slow learner and ended up losing another finger before he confessed. “Alright, alright.”
He sobbed but she felt nothing. When the gentle part of her heart trembled in pain, in shock at her methods, she reminded herself that she could have lost Justice within minutes of his first breath and that she’d never even held her little girl.
“She’s at Gregor’s northern home. He’s raising her as his own child. He only ever fathered Phoebe despite attempts to get female babes on other Weres and humans.”
“Why?”
“Th-there’s a rogue male he found young. He raised him in secret. He wants a strong female for him.” He swiped at his tears with his damaged hand.
“He’d bind my daughter without searching for her Mate?”
Gasping in pain, Ryan told her fearfully, “He plans to use her to repopulate the Pack. It had to be from your bloodline, you or your sister. You breed lots of girls.”
“Breed…by the gods, you disgust me.” She dropped the tool on the table and stood. “You volunteered, I assume.”
“He knew you’d trust me. Told me to use our childhood friendship to see if I could get a girl on you. I couldn’t believe you also had a male. There are already too many males.
Hope growled aggressively at him and he paled.
“You were both supposed to Mate within the Pack. Gregor was livid Slade signed a contract with Texas. Then he arranged for you to go with her! He had no right!”
“He had every right as my father!” she screamed in his face. Then she stood and said with deadly calm, “Gregor’s home. I want all the details you can remember right now.”
“I gave you what you wanted.”
She smiled and snapped her teeth. “I can skip your fingers and take that dick you think is so special…how about that? Rogues would use you as their very own fuck-toy, Ryan. Perhaps it would appease my horror for letting you touch me.”
“Fucking bitch. Like I wanted your virginal responses. I have a Pack whore who knows just what I like. Dealing with your innocence made my skin crawl.”
She clucked her tongue at him. “Such bullshit. You and I both know you panted after me like a goddamn dog for years and were angry when Father denied you.”
“It’s not true!”
“You can’t rewrite history just because it makes it hard for you to get it up, Ryan.” Stroking her fingers through his hair, she whispered, “Tell me about Gregor’s house so I can walk away and never see you again. I have shit to do.”
In the end, he told her everything. When he was done, Hope stood up and left the room without a backward glance.
His fate was up to her sister. She wished him luck.
CHAPTER SIX
Hope walked up the stairs, through the house, and out of the first exit she found. Running for the woods, she collapsed on her knees and vomited violently.
Strong hands smoothed over her hair, down her back.
Fingers in the dirt, she sobbed brokenly for innocence lost. For a life that had raged out of control for far too long.
The cost…
The cost of it was too high. Her soul was tired, her body was broken, her life had been filled too long with blood.
Her own and others.
Talon didn’t speak. He didn’t try to pretend he understood. He was a source of strength, a source of Pack, who was silent and patient.
Nothing could have prepared her for such a male happening into her chaotic world. She was unsure what to say to him, if she could even look at him after…everything she’d done.
Today, yesterday, and so many days back and back.
How did she move on from the choices, the mistakes, she’d made not once but a hundred times?
The lump of lead, what once was a heart, felt hot and heavy inside her. She rubbed her palm over it as her tears fell into the earth under her face.
Spitting several times, she sat back but didn’t face him. She stared at the gnarled bark of the tree in front of her. He handed her a handkerchief and it made her smile despite the horror.
What a gentleman.
Wiping her mouth, she returned to tracing the imperfections of the tree and tried to quiet the screaming in her mind.
Finally, she whispered, “I don’t r-regret it. I can’t. I won’t.”
“There’s no person on this Earth who’d expect you to.”
“No matter the monster it makes me. I’d do it again. I’d have carved him limb from limb if he was stronger.”
“I would have helped you.” She turned to him in surprise. “Had he been less of a coward, I’d have left that room covered in his blood. Does that make me a monster, Hope?” She shook her head slowly. “Nor does it make you one, Mate.”
Tears continued to slip silently over her cheeks and he held her face, wiping them away with his thumbs.
“You’re a mother. You’re also, against your wishes, a warrior. Many mi
ght not think those two pieces can co-exist.” His smile was gentle. “I believe no two pieces are more likely to.”
“Where’s the line?” Her voice was barely audible. “W-what if I don’t have a line?”
“The line is on the other side of your children, Hope. You’re not a person who’ll easily forget the lives you’ve taken, the blood you’ve spilled. The life you live when it’s behind you will show the strength of the woman as well as the Wolf.”
For a minute, she stared into his stunning pale green eyes. He was so beautiful and even more so in absolute stillness.
“How do you know, Talon?”
He winked. “I’ve been around a long time.”
A small bubble of laughter burst in her chest and it made the hot lead ease a bit. “I don’t mind.” Swallowing hard, she said with a careful smile, “You’re still gorgeous.”
“Unfortunately, I have a cock the size of a baby dill so I’m afraid you’re in for a mountain of disappointment.”
This time her laughter was full and her grin felt bigger than her entire face. “I don’t care.”
“Sure. You say that now. Until I think I’m driving you through the bed and you don’t even realize anything is happening.”
Sitting up on her knees, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. He hugged her hard enough to hurt and she never wanted him to stop.
At his ear, she whispered, “Thank you, Talon.”
Holding the back of her head, he answered, “You’re welcome, Hope. Let’s get you healthy and then we’ll go get your children.” He kissed her temple. “Whatever it takes.”
He started to release her to stand and she tightened her hold. “Wait. Please don’t let me go.”
Gripping her even harder, he stood with her in his arms. “I’ll never let you go, Hope. I’ve waited so, so long to hold you, to hear your voice, to breathe in the scent of you.”
With her face at his neck, she inhaled deeply of evergreens, damp earth, and everything that would forever signify home, her place in Pack, and the future she’d stopped believing in.
He carried her into the bathroom she showered in and set her gently on her feet. “Brush your teeth and wash your face. The sooner the doctor helps you, the faster you heal.”
She did so and he lifted her to the counter. “That you’re with me at last doesn’t seem possible.” He smoothed her hair. “When you’re better, we’ll get on the road. Which of our children do we go after first, Mate?”
Blinking rapidly, she let the implication wash over her.
“I meant every word of my vow, Hope.”
“I-I need to get Justice first. He’s in Arizona.”
“Will you trust us to keep him safe while we rescue his sister?”
Tugging her lip between her teeth, she chose her words with care. “He’ll be safe. You don’t have to worry.”
He held her gaze without speaking for almost a minute. “You said he’s different.” She nodded. “He’s almost three?”
“Y-yes. Only three.”
“I look forward to gaining the resolution of your mystery.”
“Mm hmm.”
He didn’t push but lifted her off the counter and carried her back to the room where he’d originally placed her. There was a male Were he didn’t know on the other side of the room.
For the first time, Talon growled aggressively and gripped her to his chest as if he might run from the room.
The slender blonde put his palms out. “I’m Mated, Alpha Stonehill. I wish only to help your Mate.”
“I-I apologize. I didn’t recognize you.” He loosened his arms around Hope and laid her on the bed. “Where’s Redbird and her daughter?”
“They’re on the way. I’d feel much more comfortable if you were on the other side of the bed, Alpha.” He chuckled nervously. “Give myself a fighting chance, so to speak.”
With a rough exhale and a nod, Talon took up a position on Hope’s other side.
The doctor smiled at Hope and took her hand. “My name is Phillip Church. I’ve been a doctor for our kind since World War II and I’m going to take excellent care of you, Miss Kassis. Tell me about the initial injury and the symptoms you’ve experienced since receiving it.”
Stumbling over her words, she told him the same story she’d shared with her sister and Harmony’s new Pack earlier.
By the time she was done, Dr. Church had a furious look on his face and was producing a low growl at the back of his throat that he didn’t seem aware he was making.
“I’m going to take the metal shard out and do what I can to stitch you up. You’re going to feel so much better when we’re done. I’ll administer anesthesia…”
“I burn through it too fast. A trait we inherited from our father. I have darts in my bag. They’ll knock me out for about forty-five minutes. Then I’ll need another.”
“Understood. After the procedure, when you’re less groggy, going into Change will speed your healing…”
“No!” The sharply uttered word made both males still. “I-I can’t go into Change.”
Sitting close to her, Talon stroked the back of his fingers over her cheek. “Why? Tell me why, Hope.”
“H-Heat out in the open…it’s really dangerous for females.”
He nodded. “I can only imagine, Mate.”
Staring into his eyes, she explained, “I usually hid in water treatment plants or landscaping companies to cover my scent. I’d handcuff myself to the equipment.”
Her body stiffened at the memories but she didn’t break eye contact. “My last Heat, I was exhausted, hurting. It had gotten so erratic without sleep and nutrition. It took me by surprise.”
“You didn’t have warning,” he said quietly.
“It was suddenly there and I ran as long as I could, fighting my Wolf and what she wanted. She needed and I couldn’t push her down. The chase…it made her so much harder to control.”
Slipping his palm along her neck, Talon said, “It’s alright. Your heart rate is out of control. Breathe through your stress.”
Tears welled in her eyes. “The hunters cornered me and I blacked out for just a second. The rogue was in front of me rather than behind. He got me on the ground with the other one a-and I managed to focus long enough to Change.”
Lifting her hand, she rubbed her temples.
“I fought free and ran. Wedged my smaller body between two concrete columns.” Thinking about that experience was the only terror she was unable to fully hide. “The Heat brought others. I stayed in Change so they couldn’t get me out.”
Her entire body shook.
“The second day, the males started fighting each other. The sound of it…terrible and exciting in a way I can’t explain and try not to look at too closely. By the time my Heat let me go, there were only the original two hunters left.”
“Oh, Hope…”
“I lost my mind a little. There was no room to reverse the Change, I didn’t have clothes, food, water.” Gritting her teeth, she hissed, “I came out feral, biting, clawing. Wounded them enough to get away. Then I crawled into a drain tunnel for a couple of days to heal.”
“Your Wolf was still dominant?” She nodded. “You haven’t gone into Change since.”
“Every time I think about it, I remember that tiny space I was wedged into.” She pressed her fingers against her eyes. “The worst part was how badly I wanted out. It was an itch under my skin that got worse and worse. I-I could smell them and my Wolf wanted what they had.”
Dropping her hand, she stared at Talon. “I knew I’d fought them so long, made them keep chasing me, that they’d be sure to hurt me so much worse if I gave in to the Heat.”
Dr. Church patted her shoulder. “Everything will be better now, Miss Kassis. The pain, your Heats, all of it.” He gave her a reassuring smile. “I’ll give you extra antibiotics and nutrients so your Wolf can work.”
Leaning over, Talon kissed her forehead. “The next time you go into Change, it will be with me. I’ll keep
you safe and we’ll work you back to it. It heals so much, Hope.”
She nodded.
“I’m going to get everything ready. You relax and don’t worry about any of it.”
Inhaling deeply, she focused on ridding herself of a dangerous weakness. Something that made it harder for her to run long distances and sapped her strength in a fight.
When the knife shard was removed, she might never be able to have another child but she’d be a good mother to the children she already had.
An hour later, the room was readied and the doctor watched as Talon pierced Hope’s jugular with a tranquilizer dart.
Her last thought as the world faded away was that she’d never seen such a beautiful male.
* * *
Blinking against unexpected darkness, Hope struggled to recall where she was. A warm body was pressed to her side. Strong arms cradled her.
For just a moment, she panicked. Inhaling deeply, the scent of him filled her lungs and calmed her heart.
Remembering, she whispered, “Talon?”
At her ear, he murmured, “Rest. Don’t worry about anything but resting and healing, Mate. Everything else can wait, love. Sleep and then food when you wake.”
Strangely, she wanted to stay right where she was, beside the man in the bed with her, and just close her eyes a little longer.
In more than four years, she’d never felt such peace.
CHAPTER SEVEN
The following morning, Hope slipped into a raging fever. Talon never left her side unless her sister was in the room.
Stripping away her shirt as well as his own, he wrapped her close to his body so his Mate could absorb as much as she needed from him.
He monitored her heartbeat, every inhale, every exhale, and the way the fever caused her to shake and sweat. He gave her water every half an hour that she swallowed reflexively.
Dr. Church hooked up an IV of antibiotics and high-powered nutrients to supply her with what she wasn’t eating.
Sometimes, Talon murmured to her softly to remind her that he was near, that she was safe.
Nightmares wracked her frame occasionally but what fascinated him most were the conversations she held with her little boy. It was only her side but he was enthralled by the way she talked to a child of not quite three years.