Everyone froze and stared at the sword. It couldn't have hit Nathan's heart, because he was still breathing, but it must have come close. A gush of blood welled out of the pack leader's sizzling chest when Nika pulled the sword free.
Nathan staggered back, clutching his wound. His face turned a sickly grey. Being one of Fenris' get, he'd suffer from the silver in the sword just as any other of his kind.
He looked at his werewolf thugs and pointed at two of them. "Kill them," he said in a pained voice.
Garrick grabbed his sword out of Nika's hands and shoved behind him. The two werewolves moved to attack. The third werewolf—now in human form—helped Nathan toward the entrance of the building.
With the need to protect his mate at all costs beating at him, Garrick viciously swung his sword two handed, necessary because of the chains still binding his wrists.
The weapon gave him the needed advantage he hadn't had earlier. Neither of the two werewolves could get close enough to sink their claws and teeth into him without feeling the bite of his blade.
One of his opponents suddenly changed tactics and reached for Nika. She whimpered, and Garrick turned his back on the second werewolf and moved to intercept the other. He lunged between the beast and Nika, jabbing his sword into the werewolf's stomach. The beast howled in pain, but Garrick quickly put it out of its misery by stabbing it through the heart. The werewolf dropped to the floor dead.
Nika shrilly screaming his name was all the warning he had before the second werewolf was on him. The beast dug its claws into his sides and tried to take the back of his neck in its jaws. Garrick howled, unable to jab his elbows into the stomach of the creature because of his bound hands. He threw back his head and slammed it into the werewolf's forehead. The move gave Garrick enough time to break free of the beast's grasp and to bring up his sword. He rammed the blade into the werewolf's chest.
Letting the beast drop to the floor, Garrick sank to his knees, unable to hold himself up on his feet any longer. Blood dripped down his sides and into his fur, adding to what was already there from his previous wounds. He tried to shift to his human form to heal himself, but he was still unable to.
"Garrick!" Nika shouted as she came to kneel in front of him.
He lifted his head to meet her concerned gaze. "I still can't shift."
"There's too much blood. We have to get you some help."
"We need to get in contact with my brothers-in-arms, but first I have to take care of the bodies. I need you to help me drag them outside."
"Why?"
"I need to call Tiw's fire to get rid of them so no mortal will come across them.
Tiw is the sky father, so his powers are much stronger outside."
Garrick painful pushed himself to his feet. Nika quickly moved to his side and put an arm around his waist to help steady him. Knowing Nathan would be long gone, Garrick managed to will his sword away after the second try. Calling on what little strength he had left, he hooked the first dead werewolf under the arms and dragged him toward the building's door. Nika grasped an arm and pulled along with him.
Between the two of them, they managed to get both of the dead beasts out into the night.
Looking up at the night sky, Garrick called, "Tiw, I have need of your fire."
Blue god-fire engulfed the bodies of the werewolves, and Nika jumped. As it burned hotter and brighter, he pushed her farther back. Once the fire had turned the bodies to ash, an unnatural wind blew it away, leaving no evidence behind.
"We have to call your friends, Garrick," Nika said softly as she once again put her arm around his waist to help him stay upright.
Garrick looked down at her. His blood had stained her T-shirt. She looked shaken, but he was pleased she didn't seem to mind touching him now, even though he remained in his werewolf form. It wasn't as if there was anything he could do about it anyway. He lifted his gaze and did a quick scan of the property. The building they had been in was a barn. The farmhouse sat a short distance away.
"Let's try the house and see if there is a working phone inside," he said.
"The barn looked as if it hadn't been used for a while. Don't you think the house would be abandoned as well?"
"Maybe, but I have a feeling the werewolves might have just killed the owners."
As he hobbled along with Nika under his arm, Garrick kept his senses open for any sign of Nathan and the other werewolf. He sniffed the air, scanning from side to side, but he didn't see or smell anything out of the ordinary.
At the house, they walked up onto the porch. He noticed the door had been boarded up, along with the window next to it. The house was abandoned, after all.
"Now what?" Nika asked.
"You leave me here and see if you can flag down a car on the road. Get the driver to take you to the closest phone. I'll give you the number to reach the others."
Nika shook her head. "No. I'm not leaving you here alone. Nathan could come back and bring more werewolves."
"I doubt that. He's in no condition to try to finish me off. There's silver mixed into the steel of my sword. Silver is deadly to his kind. Even though his wound wasn't to the heart, which would have killed him instantly, the silver is poisoning him. Nathan won't be in any shape to do anything but hide to lick his wounds."
"I'm still not going to leave you," Nika said adamantly.
"It's the only way," he said. "I can't let any mortals see me like this."
I've told Raed and the others what has happened and where to find you. Tiw's voice filled Garrick's head.
"Did a voice just speak in your head?" Nika squeaked.
Garrick let out a raspy chuckle. "Yes. That was Tiw."
"So I'm not all of a sudden becoming schizophrenic?"
No, you are not, Nika, Tiw said with a laugh. Three of the other warriors are on their way.
"Then we'll stay put," Garrick said. "I can't shift, Tiw. Nathan injected me with something to prevent it."
It's only temporary. Come morning, your body will have burned the drug away without leaving any permanent damage.
"Good to know."
You and your mate are safe now. The others will arrive shortly. I'll talk to you both tomorrow.
Garrick felt Tiw's presence fade away. He looked at Nika. "So help is on its way.
And I guess you'll have to put up with my arse being furry for a while longer." Much to his surprise, Nika dropped her hand from his waist to his tail and gave it a yank.
"I have to admit I like your tail," she said lightheartedly.
He turned them away from the door of the house and walked down the porch stairs. "For someone who was terrified of me not too long ago, you seem to have adjusted quite well and quickly."
"It's either that or scream my head off. Tonight, I've had more shocks than I think I can handle. It'll probably really hit me later. All I'm worried about is staying out of Nathan's clutches. He and his werewolves are scarier than you are."
Garrick turned to face her and put his other arm around Nika, holding her tight against his chest. "Tomorrow will be soon enough for you to face everything else."
He just hoped Nika would still be as accepting once the strain of the night wore off. After seeing the faint outline of Tiw's mark on her back, he wouldn't be able to let her go.
* * * * *
Nathan felt the acidic silver slowly poison his organs as it pumped through his bloodstream. The wound to his chest continued to bleed profusely. He couldn't shift to his werewolf form, mostly because it wouldn't remove the silver from his system. The shift would heal him, but he was better off bleeding some of the silver out of his veins.
He needed to get back to the den where he had the antidote for silver poisoning, something else he'd perfected over the years.
Lost in agony, he at first didn't realize Stephen—the werewolf who now supported him—wasn't taking him across the large field that separated this farm from the one where their den was located. They were headed into the woods that ran parallel to b
oth properties.
"You're going the wrong way," Nathan snapped. "I have to get to the den before the silver has a chance to spread any farther than it already has."
With a growl, Stephen grabbed Nathan's head and slammed it into the nearest tree. Lying stunned on the ground with blood dripping into his eyes, he snapped his teeth at Stephen.
"Remember who I am," he said angrily. "I'm your pack leader. I turned you."
"Well, mate," Stephen said, "that's about to change." He dragged Nathan to his feet by his throat. "I've never much liked being ordered around. I prefer to be the big man on top."
"You dare to challenge me for pack leader?"
"I more than dare. I intend to take it away from you."
"To get the others to follow you, you'll have to challenge me at the den while I'm in fit condition."
"That's another thing about me—I don't follow anybody else's rules but my own.
As for getting the rest of the pack to accept me as their leader, I think when I bring them your severed head they'll be more than ready to declare me leader."
The last thing Nathan saw was Stephen shifting to his werewolf form and his jaws clamping around his throat to rip it out.
Chapter Twelve
Nika sat on the window seat in Garrick's bedroom inside the mansion he called home and watched him sleep. He lay stretched out on the bed still in his werewolf form.
It was just past dawn, and she could no longer to sleep. Not that she'd slept much before she'd gotten out of bed. Thoughts of what had happened during the night wouldn't let her rest.
About twenty minutes after Garrick's and her conversation with his Anglo-Saxon god, Tiw,—she still found it amazing that she'd heard an actual god's voice inside her head—a black Land Rover Range Rover pulled into the yard of the abandoned farmhouse. Three large men had gotten out of it and approached them. They had turned out to be Wolfric, Dolf and Brand—three of Garrick's brothers-in-arms.
At the sight of Garrick, they'd taken over the charge of supporting him and getting him into the Range Rover. Once they'd all piled in, Wolfric had made the introductions while Brand drove. Dolf sat in the back with her and Garrick. Dolf had been the one to tell her all of Tiw's warriors, along with the two women who had become mates, lived together in their mansion like an extended family.
When they arrived at their home, Nika had been knocked speechless by the size and beauty of the mansion. It was a showplace home. She'd soon found out the inside was just as spectacular as the outside after she'd been ushered through the front door.
The large, open-concept foyer with its check marble floor, curving oak staircase, and crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling, had her looking around gawking.
Nika hadn't had long to do much admiring before Wolfric and Brand had helped Garrick up the stairs and into his bedroom. She'd followed behind and stayed out of the way when the men put Garrick in his bed. She had cringed a bit when they pulled back the sheets and blood from his wounds soaked into them. But she'd kept her mouth shut when the men didn't seem to care.
Shortly after that, Raed and Algar had arrived and introduced themselves. Their mates had been sleeping, and they had reassured her Lexi and Kamryn were anxious to meet her. Obviously, they already knew about her.
Raed did a quick check of Garrick's wounds and declared they were slowly healing and would be gone once Garrick could shift. He'd then bandaged Nika's wound, before the men left her alone with the werewolf who was her mate. Too tired and not wanting to sort through how her life had changed, she'd climbed into bed beside Garrick and tried to sleep.
Now she could no longer keep those thoughts away. Nika ran her gaze over Garrick again. With him being stuck in his werewolf form for hours, and used to seeing him like that, she wasn't afraid of him. Actually, she liked snuggling against his warm fur as she'd done during what had been left of the night. That form was just a part of what Garrick was. As he'd told her, he was still the same man inside the werewolf.
With the threat of death at the hands of the bad werewolves no longer hanging over her head, Nika thought of how close she'd come to losing Garrick. If he'd been mortal, a few of his wounds would have killed him. Thinking about that had her admitting how she would have felt if she had lost him. It would have devastated her.
She loved Garrick, and she didn't want them ever to be separated. He'd pushed his way into her life and stolen her heart. She was more than happy he hadn't listened to her when she'd told him she wasn't ready to start a new relationship.
Garrick stirred on the bed and opened his eyes. He reached across to the side of the bed where she'd slept. Only encountering empty space, he gazed around the room until he saw her at the window seat.
Nika got to her feet and moved to sit on the bed beside him. "How are you feeling?"
"Sore," he said in his gruff werewolf voice. "What time is it?"
"Very early in the morning. I couldn't sleep anymore."
His gaze searched her face. "I'm sorry you had to find out about me like this, Nika. If it had been left up to me I would have done it much gentler."
She smiled. "It's okay, Garrick." She ran her hand along his furred chest, careful not to brush one of his wounds. "I can handle you being a werewolf. I was actually thinking with you in this form, it would be kind of nice to snuggle on a cold winter's night."
Garrick gave her a wolfish grin. "I can do that, but right now, I need to be back in my human body."
Garrick flung back the sheets, and Nika eased back a bit. He slowly sat up. She held her breath, hoping it would work, as his body began to blur. This time the shift worked, and soon, a naked Garrick in human form took the place of his werewolf one.
All his wounds had disappeared with no dried blood to show where they had been.
Seeing the relieved look on Garrick's face, Nika threw herself into his arms. "I might have gotten used to you in your werewolf form, but I much prefer you like this.
Then I can do this." She captured his lips with hers and kissed him deeply.
Garrick kissed her back, twining his tongue with hers, until he had her moaning.
He then pulled back. "I want you, Nika, my mate. Let me show you how much I love you."
Her breath caught. "I need you to. I can't stop thinking about how close I came to losing the man I've fallen in love with."
"It takes more than a few werewolves to take down your mate," Garrick said with a smile. "Come." He slipped off the bed and pulled her to her feet to stand in front of him. He pulled her bloodstained shirt up and over her head. "I want to be inside you, but we both need to wash the stink of prey off us first. How does a shower sound to you?"
"Heavenly," she said.
Nika quickly reached for the button of her jeans and undid it. While she stripped out of the rest of her clothes, Garrick watched her every move. By the time she was as naked as he was, his cock had become fully erect, jutting out from his body. At the sight of his erection, she grew wet.
Garrick took a deep breath. "The smell of your arousal makes me ache to sink my cock inside your sweet pussy."
"I want you there, now," she replied huskily.
He took her hand and led her to the en suite bathroom. Garrick started the shower and lifted her into the tub before he joined her and closed the sliding glass door.
He moved her under the warm spray until her hair was wet. He grabbed the bar of soap from the soap dish and lathered it up in his hands, then began to wash her body. His large palms glided over her skin, taking particular care when he reached her breasts and pussy. His touch turned her on even more.
Her front done, he turned her into the spray of water to rinse as he brushed aside her long hair. Nika felt his lips reverently kiss the place high up on her right shoulder where Tiw's mark was.
"What does it look like?" she asked.
He kissed the spot again. "I can see Tiw's mark clearly now. It looks exactly the same as mine."
"I guess that means we're really mated now?"<
br />
"Almost. Once Tiw gifts you immortality, then we'll be truly mated."
Nika turned to face Garrick. "So we'll have forever together?"
"Yes."
"Good, because I want that."
"We'll have our chat with Tiw about it, but not until after our shower."
She smiled. "I have to agree with that. We're far from done in here."
She took the soap from Garrick and lathered up her hands, then put the bar back in the soap dish. She pressed a kiss to his chest as she ran her palms down his sides to his hips. Nika skimmed her fingers across his lower abs until she reached his cock. She wrapped her soapy hands around the shaft and gave it a thorough wash. It jerked in her grasp, and Garrick moaned.
When she was done, Nika allowed the water to wash the soap away. She then went down on her knees and took Garrick's cock in her mouth. She sucked and stroked him until he moaned as he rocked hips.
Nika stood and looked at him. His eyes had changed, going wolf. Garrick held up his hands, letting her see his claw-tipped fingers. "See what you do to me? You make me lose control."
The thought that only she did that to him excited her. "Take me, Garrick. I want to feel you deep inside me."
With a growl, he captured her mouth, sucking on her tongue until she whimpered. Lifting her off her feet, he urged her to put her legs around his waist. "Lock your legs behind me, Nika. I'm going to give you exactly what you want."
Once she had done as he'd told her, he positioned his cock at the entrance to her body and surged inside to the hilt. Holding onto her bottom, he moved her up and down his shaft. Nika strained against him, tightening her pussy around him. Bracing his feet on the bottom of the tub, Garrick pistoned into her. His cock grew even harder.
With each of his hard thrusts, Nika felt her climax build. She clutched his shoulders, loving the feel of her mate taking her, filling her with his thick cock. She moaned. "I'm almost there. Don't stop."
Wolves of East Anglia: Reluctantly His Page 9