“Huh? Oh, damn it! Ever since I used my magic, it seems like it’s pouring out of me now. Artemus is working with me to control it, but sometimes it gets away from me. Sorry,” Charlie blushed as he waved his hand at the fireplace and the flames returned to the normal size.
Blaze wasn’t sure if he should laugh or leave the room. After all, according to what they told him, it was Charlie’s magic that had saved the day during the attack. Although, it almost got the shifter hybrid killed too. He still wasn’t sure he believed Charlie had ridden in a tornado but then, stranger things had happened.
“I’m just going to go up there and fuck him into the mattress until he listens to reason,” Charlie announced as he stood.
“Well that will keep him entertained for about ten minutes and then what? You gonna tie him to the bed because if you are, I want tickets,” Blaze chuckled. He motioned to the now confused shifter to take a seat. “Look, I’ve known Sparky for a little bit, and the one thing I know about that man is he doesn’t take orders.” He held up his hand when Charlie started to speak, “he will do anything to protect the pack and those he loves within in it. He just has to do it how way.”
“But it’s my job to keep him safe. How do I do that and allow him to be—to be, Sparky?” Charlie asked exasperated. Blaze shook his head as he leaned forward to face the shifter. For a moment, he wondered if the shifter could read his mind and save them both some time, but then he figured Charlie was still blocking other’s thoughts as much as he could.
“Did it ever occur to you that it’s also, Sparky’s job to keep you safe?” Blaze saw the shocked expression on the shifter’s face. “My father once told me that being mates doesn’t work unless you view each other as equal partners. If he ever spoke to my mother the way you have been doing with Sparky, she would have had his balls on a platter—a silver one at that.”
Charlie nodded. “Sparky threatened me with the same thing when I told him he had to stay here tomorrow.”
“Well, there you go. You need to talk to your mate, and both of you need to realize that there is no control in a partnership. Not unless it’s in the bedroom, in which case, I really don’t want to know.” Blaze sat back and watched as Charlie processed his advice. The magi-shifter hybrid stood and faced Blaze for a moment before he nodded and left the room.
Holy Goddess, but there had to be something in the water around here. After the past few minutes, Blaze was ready to get on the road again. At least there he wouldn’t be giving advice to the lonely heart club around here. He stood and began to leave the room when he heard a shout from Jason’s office.
He turned just in time to see the shifter run toward him with his cell phone waving in the air. “It’s Sammy, and she knows where Jake and Shadow are!”
Blaze grabbed the phone and spoke to the she-wolf, “Where are you?”
“I’m at some ski lodge, wait—hold on, there’s a flyer here with advertising for an event on it. They’re holding a contest in Snow Valley. Does that help?”
“Are Shadow and Jake with you?” Blaze asked as he started walking toward Jason’s office. He didn’t know for sure where Snow Valley was, but he was pretty sure Jason could find it. “Find Snow Valley Ski Resort or whatever the name of the resort is in that valley,” Blaze ordered Jason. While the man began keying the information into his computer, Blaze returned to his phone call.
“Sorry I didn’t hear you, are you with Shadow and Jake?”
Sammy answered, “No, we were attacked, and they’re injured. I came ahead to find help. We were about two days out from the Howling Mine Company, just outside of Big Sky when they caught up with us. We had to stay human to carry the pups, but with any luck, they should be following my trail and be here soon.”
“Are you safe for now?” Blaze asked as he wrote down the information Sammy had given him.
“Yes, I think so. I’m in one of the outer cabins on the west side of the resort. It’s an A-frame cabin with a bear carved on the door. You need to hurry, if Alpha Clifton sent more sentries, Shadow and Jake won’t be able to fight them off.” Sammy sounded worried, which made Blaze wonder just how badly they were injured.
Jason spoke up, “We can be there in about an hour. I’ve got a friend with a military grade chopper who owes me a favor.”
“Stay put; we’ll be there within the hour. If you must run, go to the lodge and wait among the humans. Alpha Clifton won’t want to start anything with them around. He might not think much of them, but he won’t want another war—at least not until he’s ready,” Blaze ordered before he hung up the phone.
He turned and saw Alpha Grant leaning against the doorframe. For a moment, Blaze wondered if the man was going to rip into him. “Mind if I and a few of my enforcers tag along?” Alpha Grant asked with a smirk on his lips.
Blaze wanted to ask where the alpha was who growled at anyone who tried to take control but decided against it. “Not at all, wheels up in,” he glanced at Jason who grinned and replied, “ten minutes!”
Blaze quickly left the Alpha house so he could gather his team. He saw the alpha mate walk out onto the porch with a pronounced hitch to his step. Suddenly, the alpha’s good mood wasn’t such a mystery. Again, there was something in the air around here. He was glad to be going before it started to affect him.
♦ ♦ ♦
Jake was in the lead, and he was worried. They had been traveling for only a couple of hours when they’d heard the howls. There was another group of wolves heading their way. Rather than follow directly on Sammy’s trail, the two shifters had instead done everything they could to hide it. They had made a trail to lead the wolves away.
It was getting darker, and so far, they hadn’t seen or heard their pursuers. He heard the black wolf behind him stumble for the fourth time in the last thirty minutes. He needed to find a place they could spend the night and defend if they had to until hopefully, help arrived. He dropped back and nudged the black wolf toward the higher ground.
Shadow nodded his head and moved uphill. Each step seemed to take more out of the wolf as he stumbled his way up the mountain. Jake stayed behind, encouraging the wolf forward until they finally reached the top. He glanced back down from where they’d come and noticed dark shadows heading in their direction. Just great. He almost jumped when Shadow butted up against him and pointed his head in the other direction.
Jake looked down into the valley below and saw what had to be a ski lodge. He knew this is where his sister probably had holed up. He could see the determination in Shadow’s eyes as they both realized they would have to make a stand right here. Jake shifted, “Well, Sundance, it looks like we may get to go out in a blaze of glory—what do you say?”
Shadow’s shift took a little longer. He swayed for a moment before he managed to get his footing. “Perhaps we should consider a different film—ever see Indiana Jones?” Jake looked at the large boulders on the plateau they were on. He smiled for the first time in what seemed like forever.
“You know, if we make it through this, I might just have to let you warm my balls,” Jake replied as he began to study the terrain more closely. He chuckled at the confused look on Shadow’s face. Maybe Sammy was right, coming out of the shadows could be scary. But, once you were in the light, everything seemed to be fine.
Shadow huffed, “You are one weird wolf. We don’t have much time if we’re going to do this.” Jake nodded and just prayed to the goddess that they survived this. If he was going to come out of the closet, there was only one wolf that could open the door. He just had to live to open it.
The two wolves worked together, placing larger boulders near the edge. As they worked, they could see the shining eyes of their opponents gathering below. At last count, it looked like the alpha meant business this time as at least ten wolves had gathered. Shadow had mentioned that the wolves he’d seen at the mine weren’t the sharpest tools in the shed. Jake just hoped he was right because if they were well trained, this wouldn’t work.
Sha
dow sank down behind one of the boulders. His head dropped to his chest. Jake walked over and knelt beside him. “How bad is it?”
Dark eyes glittered in the moonlight as they looked into Jake’s golden-brown eyes, “I can’t stand on my leg any longer. I can push the boulders, but I won’t be able to stand and fight.” Shadow grabbed Jakes arm, “If they make it past the boulders, you have to promise me you’ll run.”
“No! Are you crazy?” Jake answered immediately.
“Crazy, maybe I’ve always been a little,” Shadow chuckled, “but we both know if they get past us, then Sammy and the pups will be next. You have to get to Sammy and protect her until help comes.”
Jake shook his head. “We stop them here. I won’t walk away from you this time, Shadow. Not after all this time. I’m tired of fighting or fearing who I am.” Before the other shifter could respond, Jake leaned down and captured the man’s lips. At first, Shadow tried to resist, but after a moment, he opened and began to kiss back.
For a moment in time, nothing else seemed to exist. He enjoyed the feel of Jake’s five o’clock shadow as it rubbed against his face. The other shifter pressed his naked body closer to Shadow. Their cocks rubbed together as they both moaned. Jake grabbed Shadow’s member and began to pump him while he pressed their bodies closer together. There wasn’t time for this and yet for Shadow, there was all the time in the world.
The two shifters continued to rub against each other until with a soft cry, Shadow exploded all over Jake’s chest. After a few quick pulls on his own cock, Jake followed soon after. As his breathing began to calm, Jake glanced over the boulder they had been using to shield them. “Well, that was fun, but it looks like company is coming, dear. Time to set the table, don’t you think?”
Shadow grinned, “Sure thing, sugarplum, how about we wait until they get about halfway up, then we’ll serve the appetizers.”
“One service of oyster rock-a-faller coming right up,” Jake said softly as he took up his position.
♦ ♦ ♦
Blaze sat in the 1960 Chinook Helicopter along with Dove, Falcon, Tank, Alpha Grant, Sparky, and Dakota. There were three more sentries whose names Blaze couldn’t remember, but it didn’t matter. He had a feeling they needed to get to Sammy sooner, rather than later. Gunner, the pilot and Jason’s buddy from the war was flying them. The moon was bright tonight, which would make flying a little easier, but also would make hiding a bit more difficult.
Jason had called ahead to the owner of the lodge and explained that the army would be using one of the meadows for some night training. The owner was fine with it and even mentioned which meadow the air force had used the last time they’d had maneuvers in the area a few years back. The meadow turned out to be on the western side of the lodge which worked out perfectly.
“ETA about ten minutes,” Gunner announced over their headsets.
“I miss Oreo and Nut Cruncher,” Dove groused as he began to check his weapons.
“Why did you leave them behind?” Falcon asked. Blaze wondered as well. Ever since Mack and Dove had been working together, they had come up with some of the best animatronic weapons he’d ever seen.
“He grounded me,” Dove muttered.
“What was that? I didn’t hear you,” Falcon chuckled.
Dove crossed his arms over his chest. “He won’t let me use them for the next thirty days because I blew up Frick during our last mission. Are you happy?”
“Do I sense a little storm brewing in lover’s lair?” Falcon continued to tease the disgruntled shifter.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Our relationship is purely professional,” Dove remarked. Blaze shook his head, looks like whatever voodoo was hitting Jason and Charlie had managed to find its way to Dove. He didn’t know if they were semme’ mates, but he knew Dove spent most of his downtime over at Mack’s lair.
“Hey, guys, six o’clock,” Gunner announced over the headphones. Blaze glanced down and almost lost it. As they passed over the plateau just west of the lodge, he could see two men pushing boulders down the side of the mountain. It could only be Shadow and Jake.
“Boss, it looks like there’s a few sneaking up on them from the sides, what do you want us to do?” Falcon asked.
“Can you drop us behind them?” Blaze asked the pilot.
“Sure, the lines are already rigged.”
Blaze looked at Alpha Grant and waited for his approval. The alpha nodded, “Okay, Blaze, you and your boys drop in behind. The rest of us will land and find Sammy. We’ll all meet up at the chopper.”
Blaze grinned, “It’s time to lock and load boys—let’s go!”
Chapter 7
Sammy gazed out the window and gasped when she saw a large helicopter hover over the plateau she had been on earlier in the day. Even though she was in human form, she still had better vision than normal humans. They lowered some men from the hovering machine onto the plateau. It could only mean one thing; Alpha Clifton’s sentries had found them.
She moved quickly to get the pups ready to travel. She wasn’t sure how much time she’d have, but if they had to run, she would be ready. The man named Jason that she’d talked to had told her that a large helicopter would be coming for them. She didn’t think Alpha Clifton had access to one, but then she had to be careful just in case.
Sammy jumped when the phone rang. For a moment she thought about not answering it, but then it might be important. She glanced at the pups to make sure they were secure before she answered. The voice on the other end snarled, “Hi Sammy girl, it seems like you took something of mine, and I want them back.”
For the first time in her life, Sammy let fear freeze her to the spot. How in the hell had he found out where she was? Worse, if he knew, then the men coming to rescue her could be walking into a trap. She had to warn them somehow. Without saying a word, she hung up the phone and quickly put the pups into the backpack. She put her clothes around them and put the pack on before she exited the lodge and shifted.
The question now was, should she run toward where she saw the helicopter land or go to the lodge like Jason had suggested. “Goddess, tell me what to do!” She pled as she looked fearfully around the cabin’s property. In her gut, she felt that running toward the helicopter was the better choice. Jason may have thought Alpha Clifton wouldn’t engage the humans, but some of the doctors he had working for him on the third floor at the asylum had been human.
Besides, she knew he’d kill everyone at the lodge to get what he wanted. The man was beyond crazy at this point. She had a better chance of trying to get to the alpha and his team. Decision made she took off at a dead run toward the meadow. “May the goddess protect us all,” she thought as she ran into the night.
Jake watched as some of the wolves, who now seemed to number closer to twenty began to climb toward the plateau. “Watch your back,” Jake hissed as he got ready to push his first boulder. “Only half of them are coming up.”
“Huh, maybe they grew a brain while we were running from them,” Shadow whispered back. At least the shifter was still conscious and aware. For a while, Jake had been afraid the wolf would be too injured to even help with the boulders.
“Remember, keep some back like we discussed,” Shadow reminded Jake. They figured there would be more than one attack up the hill. After all, who would have thought they would stick around to send more boulders crashing down. They hoped their attackers would think they had run after sending down the first round.
“Ready—set—Let’s Rock and Roll!” Jake shouted as he pushed the boulder he was hiding behind down the mountain. He heard Shadow grunt but smiled when his followed shortly after. Jake moved behind the next boulder he was going to send down and watched. He pumped his fist into the air as he saw his boulder take out four of the ten wolves slinking up the mountainside.
Two of the wolves ran back down the mountain, but Shadow’s rock hit the others. For a moment, it was quiet as the sentries regrouped at the bottom. “Eight down, only
twelve more to go,” Jake whispered.
“It won’t be as easy this time,” Shadow warned.
“I know, but hopefully they’ll think we’ve run. We need to wait until they are further up the mountain before we send down the next batch,” Jake whispered back. He saw Shadow give him a thumbs up sign, but he was concerned. The warrior was leaning more heavily on the boulder he was sitting behind. He just hoped the shifter had at least one more round in him. Otherwise, Jake would have to just run over and help.
It seemed to take hours, but in fact, it was probably only a few minutes before the next group of wolves began to head up the mountain. Jake peered down and noticed there were fewer at the bottom this time. Great, that could only mean one thing. Some of the bastards were trying to sneak up on them from the sides.
“Watch your back; some are missing!” Jake said softly. He held his hand up as he watched the remaining wolves cautiously make their way up the hillside. There were only six this time. Still, it meant there would be fewer they had to deal with when the final battle finally arrived.
Jake dropped his hand and began to push his boulder. He watched as it began to roll but noticed Shadow was having trouble with his. This time he didn’t bother to watch. Instead, he ran to help the other wolf send his stone down to kill as many as they could. Without a word, he put his uninjured shoulder behind the large stone and pushed. It moved and began to roll toward the unlucky wolves.
“Strike!” Jake whispered to Shadow as he saw all six wolves go down. The only problem now was, where did the rest of the bastards go. He glanced over to see Shadow sink to the ground. It was clear he wouldn’t be able to fight. Jake was afraid he wouldn’t be able to take on the rest, but he had to try. He hadn’t fought for LeRoy, but he would for Shadow.
Two wolves broke cover and began to advance toward Jake. He shifted and stepped in front of Shadow. He growled and showed his teeth daring the other two to come get him. He knew they wanted to draw him off so they could get to Shadow. It wasn’t happening. For once, he wouldn’t let his emotions guide him—he was using his mind.
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