by Hazel Gower
Remy didn’t have to be told twice.
* * * *
Arden knew Remy was gone. He didn’t need to search the house like the others were doing. Devlin was driving to her house, but Arden knew she wasn’t there either. Remy had run.
Picking up the chair in the bedroom, he threw it at the wall and let his wolf free. Arden didn’t want to feel the pain he felt right now. His heart felt like it was broken into a million pieces.
Faith came into the room, her face white and tears falling. “She’s gone. Remy is gone. She didn’t even leave a note.”
Howling, he ran out of the room.
* * * *
Remy didn’t feel how she thought she would...free. A week passed then two, and the more time she spent away and the further she ran, the more anxiety and doubt plagued her. When she was at what she thought was a safe distance from home, she rang Faith and Sara from a pay phone. She didn’t talk long, because she was unsure of how far the shifters’ power reached. Even though she missed home and running felt wrong, she wasn’t ready for them to find her.
The last bus she’d gotten on took her to another state and out to the middle of nowhere. She was staying above a motel and working at their pub below. It was a small town, and the pub relied on the truckers that passed through and tourist heading to the bigger cities.
Remy liked this town, but it wasn’t home. She’d been there for over a month. The locals had just started to treat her as one of their own. She felt okay, not great or fantastic, but fine. She missed her friends like crazy. Remy spoke to Eve almost every night, but it wasn’t the same. Remy was starting to get antsy. Faith, Sara, and even Kirby were now short with her when she called—they were the ones who hung up, not her. She was tempted to talk to Arden, but scared of what that meant...that she wanted to talk to him and hear his voice.
A guy tapped the bar to get her attention, and she shook herself out of her thoughts. “Hey, woman, I want a beer.”
Remy nodded and pointed to the taps. The guy said he wanted the first. She poured the beer and placed it in front of him. He smiled and winked at her.
Later that night, just before they closed, Steve came in. He was cute, just under six feet, with green eyes and short, dirty blond hair. He lived in a coastal city about an hour and a half away. He was a police officer, and a few days after she’d started he’d come in with his partner to arrest two men who had started brawling. He’d been surprised that a little thing like Remy had been able to handle two men and keep them separated while they waited for the police. During the last week Steve had come in almost every day.
“Hi, Steve. We close in ten.” She smiled and went back to cleaning the bar. Wednesday they closed the bar early.
“I know. I came to see you.”
She froze in her cleaning and looked up at him. “Why?”
“Do you really need to ask?”
She shook her head and had no idea what she was going to say or do.
“I came to see if you’d have dinner with me.”
It was then that she noticed he wasn’t in his uniform.
Looking around, she saw the owner, Bill, a man in his late fifties-early sixties, watching her and Steve. He had a huge smirk on his face, and she knew she’d get no help from him.
“Argh.” She looked at Steve and knew she should try this. Have a date with a normal guy. See if she could do it without thinking of Arden. “Sure.” Her stomach churned, and she felt ill.
Bill walked over. “Remy, go. I can finish up here.”
“I can stay. I onl—”
“Go. Go have fun.”
Remy nodded and put the cloth and cleaning products down. She turned back to Steve. “Um…just let me get changed.”
Steve’s eyes raked her up and down, lingering on her breasts that were pushed up. He cleared his throat. “You’re fine in what you’re wearing.”
Remy looked down at her black jeans and tight blue tank top. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll grab my purse, and I—”
“No, you don’t need it. Let’s go.”
Bill chuckled and shooed them out of the pub.
Steve had a red Commodore sedan. He opened the passenger door and she got in. He drove out of the small town, and Remy nibbled her lips as her stomach got worse. Steve talked during the entire trip, asking about where she was from, if she was going to stay where she was, and if she liked her job. Remy told him mostly the truth, where she’d lived, what she did, and that she didn’t have a destination, she was happy just exploring. By the end of the long drive Remy could tell he was fishing for why she’d left.
The restaurant he took her to was nice, but she could barely eat, because her stomach felt so off. Everything was so wrong. She stared at Steve and realized he was what she usually went for—he was hot. Well, she would have thought he was hot before, but since she met werewolves and shifters, Steve was average. The problem was she kept comparing everything about him to Arden. At just the thought of him her stomach eased and her eyes closed to picture him. She groaned. Crap, this wasn’t going to work.
“Are you okay?”
Remy opened her eyes to see Steve looking at her, concern clear on his face.
“Yes… No. I need air. I don’t feel so good.” She didn’t. Remy couldn’t do this anymore. She wanted to go home. She needed her friends, and although Steve seemed nice, he wasn’t for her. Remy was destined for someone else.
Steve paid for dinner and they took a short walk so she could clear her head and get some air. They were on their way back to Steve’s car when they heard cries for help.
Steve told her to stay there and call triple 0 and get help. Remy pulled out her phone that she only called Eve on and was about to call triple 0, when she heard the familiar snarl of a demon. So instead, she called Eve.
“Eve, I’m at Riverton. I’ve just come into contact with demons. On the third alley and corner of seven street.”
“Remy, run. There are shifters in that town. I’ll call now.” Eve hung up, and Remy knew she should do as Eve said, but she couldn’t leave.
“Fucking hell, I must be stupid.” Using her fire element, she heated up her body, then ran down the alley, swearing at the sight that greeted her. Steve’s battered body lay in a heap beside two women who cowered in a corner next to a car. They covered themselves as gray pig creatures with spiky, bat-like wings called minions flew at them. Four werewolves attacked three massive red demons, who were at least ten or twelve feet tall.
A yelp of pain had Remy jumping into action. She ran forward and lobbed a ball of fire at the minions and then another. Standing in front of the women and Steve, she killed all the minions before she ran over to a half-changed wolf who looked surprised to see her.
“Give me one of your iced weapons,” Remy demanded of the shocked werewolf.
He didn’t hesitate and gave her the one in his hands while they dodged demons’ tails. Heating her body up as much as she could, careful not to burn her clothes off, she slashed at the demons’ tails.
When one demon’s tail was cut off she knew what she had to do. She remembered watching what the others had done to kill a demon. Running around behind the demon, she jumped on its back, biting her lip to stop her cries of pain as the spikes stuck into her. She took a breath and climbed up the huge demon’s back. The demon started bucking and flung himself around. The werewolf kept him distracted, but his hands came around, trying to grab her, and she stabbed him and burned him.
Remy reached the top and told herself over and over that she could do this. Holding the blade, she circled his neck and pulled the blade toward herself. The blade was super sharp, and the demon’s skin at his neck was softer than anywhere else and the long knife sliced through. The demon’s blood had her screaming in pain as the acid hurt her. With no other choice, she heated her whole body, not worrying about her clothes. The blood hurt less and the fire over her body burnt the blood. When the demon’s head fell to the ground Remy
knew she needed to get off before the huge body followed the head. Taking a deep breath, she jumped, feeling the jarring pain in her knees as they took the brunt of her fall.
She looked around to see the wolves doing what she’d done, but now one group had an extra wolf which helped them kill the third demon. Going to the shifters who had one less, she threw fireballs at the demon and helped distract him as the wolves worked together to kill the demon.
When he dropped down dead, Remy gazed around her at the now changing wolves. She let the fire in her ebb, and she slowly felt the cool night air on her bare skin. The wolf who had given her a knife went to a bag in the corner and came back with a shirt.
“Put this on. Where is your mate?”
“Thanks for the shirt.” She ignored the wolf’s comment about a mate. Remy dressed in the shirt and sighed at her bare feet. She’d really liked those wedges, the heel was a great height, and the shoes had been comfy.
Steve came over to her, but he was staring at her like she was a freak, and she was. “That was… You were… Wow.”
Three wolves came down the alley and Remy knew they were there because of her call to Eve.
The werewolf that had given her the shirt growled and stepped forward, grabbing her. “Who is your mate?”
Remy didn’t like to be manhandled. She narrowed her eyes on the wolf and stared him down. The other wolves around them laughed, and a redhead said, “Ha, she can stare down Derek.”
Steve came up next to her. “Thanks for your help. You can let her go now. I need to get her home.”
“Back off, human.” The guy she was staring down—Derek, she assumed—snarled at Steve, although his eyes never left hers.
“Steve, it’s fine. I can handle these guys myself. I’ll give them a pat on their head and a scratch behind their ears and send them on their way.”
Whoops, that might not have been the right thing to say. Growls surrounded her, and Derek held her tighter. He broke their stare off because he walked them to the oncoming shifters.
She glanced around her, noticing one of the wolves looking after the women. “Does that mean I won since he broke the stare off?”
The wolves chuckled, and Derek snapped his teeth at her. A blond man and two dark-haired men stopped before them. “I’d let her go, Derek. I wouldn’t want to piss her mate off or his family.”
Derek let her go and she turned to see Steve behind the other wolves that weren’t letting him get to her. “Who is her mate? I’ve asked, but she hasn’t answered.”
“She is a Wolfen. She’s Remy Wolfen, mate to Arden Wolfen.”
“Fuck.”
Remy rolled her eyes as all the wolves behind her swore. She knew from Faith that Kane and Arden’s family was powerful, Remy just didn’t know how much. Judging by the look on the wolves’ faces in front of her, she’d say they were pretty powerful.
Remy knew she’d never get out of there if she told them what she was really doing there. “Hi. Nice to meet you all. I was just up this way visiting um…a high school friend. I should get back now and be on my way home. Thanks again for the shirt.” She took a step to walk away, but Derek stopped her.
“You suck at lying. Come on, looks like you’re coming with us. We’ll take you home tomorrow.”
Remy had intended to head home tomorrow anyway, because she was ready. She wanted her friends and missed them like crazy. She also knew she needed to help with the demon problem. “Fine, but I’m only coming because I’m ready to go home.”
Derek raised his eyebrow at her, and she got ready to stare him down again. He sighed. “I’m going to regret this.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “Say goodbye to your friend.” He emphasized friend.
Remy groaned when she went to Steve and the wolves didn’t leave. “Steve, I’m so sorry. It’s not you, it’s um…well, I’m going home. I should never have said I would go out with you. To tell you the truth, after tonight I know I never should have run. Can you please do me a favor and tell Bill thank you? He can keep what he owes me and give my things to charity.”
Steve studied her for a moment. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I’m one hundred percent sure. I’m going to be doing some groveling when I get back, but I need to go home.”
Steve went to her hug her.
“Don’t even think about it, human.” The deadly menace in Derek’s voice had Steve just smiling at her before he walked away. Derek nodded. “David, go help Allan with the women. I’m going to take this one home and book a flight for me and Dickson to take her back to her mate.”
The wanker dragged her down the street and didn’t say another word. By the time they reached his house, which was a huge beachfront property, Remy was fuming mad. The dickhead had ignored her the whole drive to his house.
The house was all beige and blacks. It was a bachelor pad. “Well, at least seeing the house has answered some of my questions. Do any of the guys I met tonight have a mate?”
“No.”
Aha, she got him to talk. “Why not? Are you not a pack?”
“I am the leader, and we live here as a small away team. The alpha for this state is in the big city.”
“Oh, okay. Can I use your phone to call my family?”
“Yeah, sure. Tell them I will personally escort you home tomorrow. You won’t get away from me.”
He so didn’t just say that. This guy was really pissing her off. She didn’t think she could handle being around him any longer.
Remy went to the phone and called Eve. “I’m coming home. I’m ready.”
Eve squealed. “Oh my God, this is so awesome. That means you’ll be home for my birthday. We can party together. You can have one last, big splash.”
“Sounds great. I’ll keep my phone turned on, and you can call me to tell me when and where.”
* * * *
Arden knew he was at a fucking intervention. His family and friends were there, the women were the only people missing. He’d known after what he’d done to Ava the other day, almost hurting her when she came to help him, that he was goner. That he’d turned feral. He tried to muster up a feeling, but he didn’t care. It had been months and Remy hadn’t come home. He’d been holding on because he thought she would. Now he’d run out of time, and he was going to be put down.
He listened as his friends tried talking to him, but he really didn’t give a flying fuck what they said. Arden wondered if they’d let him go out fighting. He’d fought every night, and he was brutal. He knew some of the new recruits at the base were terrified of him, but again, he didn’t care.
He stood and walked toward the exit. When he heard Remy’s name, he froze. She’d been taken by demons and so had Ava, Sandra, and Lexie, Duke’s mate. He listened as the women told their mates that Remy had been coming home, and she’d met them at a bar that they’d stopped at because their car had broken down. The demons had come in the bar and attacked. Before the last words were out Arden was walking to the garage where they kept all the cars.
He shouted to Devlin to come. “What the fuck is the fastest car we have?”
“The Ferrari Enzos.” Devlin winced. “No. Arden, they are not for rescue missions. You’ll wreck them.”
Arden shrugged. He’d bought the car to have fun in. Devlin was the car guy and he’d said the Ferrari Enzo was the best, so he and his brothers had bought one each to enjoy. He got in his own and Blake got into the passenger side.
“Let’s go. We’re following Rane,” Blake said.
Arden didn’t need to be told twice. He sped out of the garage and followed Rane.
* * * *
Okay, so maybe Remy shouldn’t have run from Derek and Dickson, but they’d pissed her off beyond boiling point and by the time the plane landed she knew if she didn’t leave them she’d kill them. They hadn’t been able to get a flight until late in the evening, which meant she didn’t get home until late. Remy had put up with them giving her the silent treatment, and when they did speak it was one word, clip
ped and short. So in the airport rush she ran and lost them, got in a taxi, and headed toward home, calling Eve to find out where they were.
They had broken down on the way home and were stuck at a pub. Eager to be with her friends, and happy the cab ride would be cheaper, she directed the taxi driver to the new destination to meet her friends.
Remy arrived not long before demons attacked, and she’d fought with everything she had but lost. She was now sitting in a dirty dungeon like place deep under the ground with special metal chains wrapped around her wrists. Remy had tried burning them off, but they wouldn’t melt.
Remy glanced around the room to see a bunch of scared women. Lexie was chained to the opposite side. “How long do you think we’ve been down here?” Remy asked.
Lexie shrugged, and the chains jingled. “I don’t know. I passed out too. I only woke a bit before you. Do you think the men will find us?” Remy could hear the shaking in Lexie’s voice.
“Yes, they wouldn’t leave us.” Remy hoped and prayed the wolves found them. She promised herself if she got out of there she would help fight demons. She would mate Arden and make it up to him for running. She prayed and begged the fates that be for what felt like hours.
When the ground above them started to shift and shake, the women around her screamed, but not Lexie, she yelled, “Get them to shut up, Remy. It’s Logan, I know his pull.”
Remy wasn’t sure who Logan was, but she thought Kirby had a brother named Logan, and she trusted Lexie. She tried to shush the women, but they didn’t listen. Getting frustrated, she screamed, “Oh, for Christ’s sake, shut up. They’re the good guys, and if you keep your whining up I’m going to fucking knock you out.” Remy had no idea how she’d do that but she’d figure something out.
A hole opened up above them, and two men fell down, rolling to the side. Arden jumped down and didn’t even gaze around, he just came straight to her and gathered her to him in a hug, kissing every inch of her face.
For a moment she let herself bask in his affections. “Yeah, yeah, you missed me. Go get something to break the chains so we can get out of here.”