Shattered Pack

by Erin, Aileen;

  “No. I think you’re right. Losing my mother would weaken me. Losing you would kill me. Whoever is doing this would want me weak first.”

  I didn’t like the sound of that. “If something happens to me, you can’t let that thing kill you. We haven’t had our ceremony. You can find another mate.”

  “What?” Donovan growled the word. “You think that’s so easy? I’ve waited my whole, extremely long life to find you. And you think I’ll just move on?”

  “I wasn’t…” Shit. It was so messed up that we even had to consider this.

  At least his anger overrode some of the panic I’d been feeling from him. Anger I could deal with. But panic? From Donovan? That freaked me out.

  We passed the Tesco and went through the roundabout, taking the second exit. Shops, cafes, and little stands lined either side of the street. Up ahead I saw a light blue awning. In white letters it said L’Ami. “It’s there. On the left.”

  “Yeah. I see it.” I parallel parked across the street and turned the engine off.

  Everything was quiet in town and people milled up and down the street like nothing was wrong. L’Ami’s outside wall was a large picture window that gave me a full view inside the teahouse. A few of the tables were occupied with people enjoying their meals.

  Everything was fine. Totally normal.

  I turned to him and shrugged. “I guess I was wrong.”

  “Ehm. Could still be right. Either way, we’ll be keeping a closer eye on her. I just have to convince her to come stay with us at the stronghold.”

  I was definitely going to let him handle that one.

  Now that we knew that his mother was okay—due to the total lack of a fey monster—I had a second to regret my outfit choice. I was a little sweaty and definitely not at my best. This wasn’t how I wanted to meet Donovan’s mother.

  “Come on. She won’t care what you look like.”

  I glanced at him, still only in his sweatpants. “You might need something else to wear.”

  He looked down as if he’d forgotten he was half-naked. “Let’s see what’s in the boot.”

  Donovan opened the back to search while I leaned against the car. “I should talk to them about putting shoes in here,” Donovan said.

  “I think I saw a shoe store down the street. Want me to grab you a pair?”

  “Might have to.” He pulled a shirt on. “I can’t go in without them.”

  “Okay. What size—”

  The sound of shattering glass stopped me cold.

  What the hell was that? And did it just come from inside L’Ami?

  I spun to Donovan. He was frozen, pulling a sweater over his head.

  I moved first, closing the distance to L’Ami. Before I reached the door, I saw Bhrunyz walking through the teahouse. He swatted a chair out of his way so hard it came barreling at me.

  I ducked, but the chair leg caught the side of my face. Screams followed, chilling my blood.

  Before I could leap through the mangled doorway, Donovan grabbed my arm, pulling me back. He jumped through first—shifting as he moved—but I was right behind him.

  Bhrunyz was more than nine feet tall and smelled like peaches and death. The light glinted off his leathery black skin. For a second, I’d thought his arms were long, but I was wrong. They were actually short, barely reaching his hip. His long nails were what cut into the ground.

  He loomed over an old woman. She sat facing death straight on without the slightest hint of fear. A few of the armchairs that once surrounded the lace-covered tables laid haphazardly on the floor, knocked over as humans rushed out through the kitchens.

  Bhrunyz was focused on one target. He didn’t care about the rest. Only Donovan’s mother.

  Donovan jumped at him, but Bhrunyz swatted my mate away like he was nothing. He crashed against the wall and slumped to the floor in a heap. He’d be up again in a minute, but that was going to be too long.

  Qusay was right. Running was the best option. But Riona didn’t look like she was in the mood to run.

  “Hey!” I shouted as I picked up a solid wood table. “Leave her alone.” I threw it at him as hard as I could. It broke as it slammed into his face. He roared as black blood oozed from his cheek.

  Oh, shit. I swallowed. Maybe not my best idea.

  His claws scraped the ground, ripping the carpet as he faced me. His body was thick, like a rhino standing on two feet, and two horns stood out on top of his head. Something toxic dripped from his jowls. The ground sizzled where the black goo touched.

  “Run!” I yelled to Donovan’s mother. “We can’t beat him. You have to run!”

  Before she could move, Donovan dove in front of me. He leaped at the beast, biting onto its arm.

  Bhrunyz stumbled back a step, knocking into the table where Donovan’s mother had been. Now she was a beautiful gray wolf, ready to run, but Bhrunyz was standing between her and the door.

  Bhrunyz flung Donovan off and swiped at me. I threw my body to the ground.

  Donovan leaped over my head, and his jaws clamped down on the beast’s leathery hand. Shit. We had to get out of here before all three of us got killed.

  Soft whimpering sounded from the corner. I twisted just enough to see a mother huddled with her two small children. She squatted in front of her kids, pressing them in the small space between the corner of the room and a cupboard. The mother’s back was to the fight as she protected her kids from the beast.

  Shit. Just because Bhrunyz wasn’t after them, didn’t mean they wouldn’t get hurt in the crossfire. They had to get out of here.

  The beast roared, and a chair slammed into my side. Donovan snarled. I fought the urge to look back at him. Instead, I raced to the woman.

  “You’re going to be fine. Wait here.” They’d have to run past Bhrunyz to get the door. That wasn’t going to work. I grabbed a table and threw it at the front window. Glass shattered into the street. “Run.”

  The mom glanced to the beast, eyes wide with fear. She shook her head.

  I looked behind me. Donovan’s mother had joined the fight. She bit into the beast’s ankle, and he screamed. She let go just as he slammed his razor-sharp nails into the ground where she’d been.

  My heart raced. “Trust me.” I squatted next to her. “When I say go. Jump through the window. I’ll hand you the kids.”

  “I can’t—”

  “Yes. You can. The beast doesn’t want you. He wants her.”

  Something smashed into the wall next to us, hitting the cupboard. I dove over her as shards of glass and porcelain rained down.

  The humans’ sickly sweet fear scent grew thicker. I snuck a peek behind me. Donovan was distracting the beast. He’d jumped onto Bhrunyz’s back and was trying to claw his neck but having no luck. Bhrunyz’s skin was even thicker than it looked.

  “Time to go.” I pulled the mom up and shoved her toward the window. “Go!”

  I scooped up the kids—who screamed even as they clung to me like I was their savior—and rushed after her. She took a stumbling step forward. The lady was going to get herself killed. “Go! Go! Go!”

  As soon as she was out the window, I passed her the wailing kids. “Run!” She didn’t say a word but took my advice.

  Something hit the back of my head, and I saw stars.

  I hit the ground. Glass and debris cut through my thin leggings.

  This was it. I had to shift. My clothes ripped, tangling a little in my legs as I tried to get out of them.

  As soon as I shifted, Bhrunyz stopped moving.

  What the hell?

  He turned to me, and I shivered. Something in the way he looked at me—with his cold, solid black eyes—made me think he had a new target. But Riona was still alive. How could I get moved up the list?

  Panic held me until Donovan broke through my freeze. Run. He pushed the order at me, and I followed it, hoping that he and his mother were following behind.

  Bhrunyz materialized in front of me, and I skidded to a stop.

>   Donovan’s howl tore through me. Fur flashed as he leaped on the beast. Bhrunyz shook him off and he crashed through another shop’s window. I didn’t have time to think. Donovan would be fine. Bhrunyz didn’t care about him. But I was as good as dead if I didn’t move.

  I took off running, dodging cars as I tore through the roundabout. The sound of metal crunching followed me and hoped that everyone was okay. But I didn’t dare look back. I couldn’t slow down.

  I wasn’t sure why Bhrunyz’s target had changed, and it didn’t matter. I put everything I had into running as fast as I could, but no matter how I pushed myself, Bhrunyz’s scent grew stronger and stronger, until I was nearly gagging. I kicked up my pace and felt the ground rumble under my paws.

  He was right behind me. I didn’t know where Riona or Donovan were. They were probably somewhere behind me, but I was focused ahead. I had to keep moving. I leaped over a stone wall and into a field. Getting away from the town was key. This thing was after me, and I didn’t want any innocent people hurt.

  Luckily, I was faster than Bhrunyz. I spared a glance back. He wasn’t gaining on me. I could keep this up and get away.

  He materialized in front of me. Shit. I was so fucked.

  Fear threatened to swallow me whole as I realized I was going too fast to stop. I was going to run right into him.

  I tried skirting around him, but his massive claws ripped into my side.

  I howled in pain as I tried to keep going. I didn’t know where I was heading. I just had to go.

  Donovan ran past me and leaped onto Bhrunyz again. I kept moving. Bhrunyz would shake him off and keep coming after me. I was his goal.

  And then the beast cried out.

  It wasn’t just any snarl, but a magical one. It burned along my skin as it locked my muscles in place. I was frozen mid-sprint in the middle of the woods. I couldn’t see Bhrunyz, but I knew he was still behind me. My limbs shook even as the magic held me in place. Fear had my heart racing. How in the hell was I going to get out of this one?

  Donovan howled. His power ripped through my muscles. The Alpha was ordering me to move. The bond between us was strong enough that Donovan’s energy overruled the beast’s magic. I nearly cried with relief as my limbs kicked into motion. I lunged into a sprint, glancing back as Donovan tried to slow Bhrunyz down.

  Donovan’s anger and fear beat at me as I dodged between trees, trying to get as much distance from the beast as possible. But it was useless. We both knew it. We weren’t giving up. I had to get away, but I had no idea how. The beast could transport whenever he wanted. It was just playing with me.

  Bhrunyz cried out with magic, and I froze for a split-second. The edge of the forest was just ahead and the field beyond it stretched wide into the horizon. Donovan’s power set me free. We moved over onto the field.

  It went on forever like that. Every time I froze, Donovan would unfreeze me. Bhrunyz couldn’t move his bulky mass very fast. Even with him freezing me, I gained a lot of distance, but every time I got too far away, he’d transport.

  Donovan kept trying to attack him, ram his feet, anything, but the beast’s leathery skin wasn’t the least bit hurt by claws or teeth. I was running as fast as I could and Donovan was attacking Bhrunyz, but nothing was working.

  Bhrunyz was on a mission to kill me, and he wasn’t going to stop until he’d finished.

  The beast got close enough to swipe me again. Pain burned through my left side. My skin grew warm as hot blood rushed from the gash.

  Donovan slammed into the beast. My mate was getting desperate and it was going to get him killed. I had to think.

  Running was getting me nowhere. It didn’t matter how fast ran or how long I could keep it up, Bhrunyz wouldn’t tire. He wasn’t going to stop.

  That meant that I had to stop.

  I turned around and sprinted to Bhrunyz. Donovan was still trying to knock him over but having no luck.

  My only thought was that Donovan had gone after Bhrunyz’s arms, legs, neck, and head. But when I’d hit his face with the table, Bhrunyz had bled. So it was possible to hurt him.

  My best bet was to go for his stomach. It was basically suicide, but I was basically already dead. It was only a matter of time. If I was lucky, his middle would be soft. Even if I didn’t manage to kill him, maybe I could get him to retreat.

  I watched Bhrunyz’s arms, waiting for an opening. Donovan ran at him, distracting him, and I had my in.

  I leaped onto his stomach. My claws ripped into his soft, fleshy stomach. Black blood oozed out as I fell to the ground.

  Something crashed through the field toward us, but I was paying attention to the beast standing over me. He yelled again, but this time there was no magic. He was hurt. I’d hurt him.

  But I was hurt, too. I tried to get up, but couldn’t move.

  Bhrunyz lifted his arm. His long razor-sharp nails hovered a foot above my head.

  I opened the bond wide and poured love through it. I was going to die, and Donovan needed to know how I felt.

  A metallic crunch echoed and glass shattered down on me.

  I didn’t know what happened, but Bhrunyz disappeared.

  He was gone.

  Relief rolled through me, leaving me feeling empty, cold, and exhausted. I whimpered, but I couldn’t lift my head.

  Donovan’s fear beat at me. “Meredith,” he said as his face came into view. He’d shifted. His hands shook as he felt along my sides. I tried to shift, but I didn’t have enough energy. I couldn’t do anything but feel my body as it throbbed in pain. The air was thick with the coppery scent of my blood, and I knew it was bad.

  “You’re going to be okay,” Donovan said, but from his nuclear level of panic, I wasn’t so sure he was telling the truth. “Just rest. I’m going to take care of you.”

  “What the feck was that?” I heard someone say before I passed out.

  Chapter Twenty

  I woke up hungry. Starving. Still terrified. I sat up quickly, head spinning.

  “Shhh,” Donovan said. “You’re fine. You’re safe.” He pressed a kiss to my forehead, and my heart slowed to a more reasonable pace.

  My stomach growled. “But I’m seriously hungry.”

  He handed me a plate of sandwiches loaded with way too much meat. I scarfed one down in record time, and reached for another.

  “You scared me,” he said as I grabbed my third.

  Now that the edge was off the hunger, I could breathe a little easier. I looked around the room to find us alone and in his bed. “How long was I out?”

  “A full day. I used a compulsion to keep you asleep. Your sides are healing slowly. The medic used a fey balm on them, so it’s not as bad as human slow, but you’ll need to be cautious another day or two.”

  I stretched and my sides screamed, but at least I didn’t feel like I was on fire anymore. It wasn’t so bad.

  Donovan handed me a glass of water, and I downed it. Finally feeling a bit more normal, I relaxed back into the bed, I sighed. “What happened?”

  “McTavish, the garda from the other night, rammed the fecking beastie with his bloody car. I think you’d hurt him pretty badly, too. His black blood scorched the ground.”

  “So he’s gone.”

  “For now. But he’s got your scent and he’ll be back. Soon. I’ve been too afraid to leave your side. I didn’t even want to sleep. If he came while you were under my protection… I couldn’t leave you alone, and I don’t trust anyone anymore.” Rage boiled over, flowing through our bond. He took a breath, trying to hide it from me, but it was too late. My mate was way past angry. “But I woke you up because we can’t wait any longer. I’ve called a mandatory pack meeting in a few hours.”

  “You did?” Usually pack meetings were only held at the full moon, but sometimes exceptions were made. I’d call a fey beast attacking the pack a big enough problem for an exception. But with Donovan so mad, it wasn’t going to go well.

  “I did.” He squeezed my hand. “I’m the Alpha he
re. I’d forgotten what that meant. I felt so guilty about being gone that I shied away from my role. I wanted to weed out whoever was doing this, and save my relationship with the rest of the pack. I’ve never wanted to rule out of fear, but I can. Especially when your life is on the line. I don’t need to waste time sorting out who has the brooch when I can order them to hand it over and make anyone who has a problem with me leave.”

  This was a dangerous game to play. He knew it, too. Once you start ruling that way, the trust was broken. A pack never recovered from it. “Are you sure you want to open that can of worms? I’ve seen packs ruled by fear, and they’re cold. It’s not a healthy relationship between Alpha and pack.” Not healthy was the nice way of saying it.

  “I’m the Alpha. I can order them to do what I want when there’s need. And ordering the traitor to come forward is a legitimate command.”

  “I know, but there’s a reason you haven’t done that already and we both know it. You haven’t been here. Almost the whole pack is against you now, and that’s not entirely their fault. They don’t trust you because you haven’t been here to actually be their Alpha in a very long time. So when you call a mandatory meeting and start throwing around your power, your pack is going to grow more and more resentful until someone else turns traitor, too. It’ll be a dangerous cycle that I don’t think either of us wants to be a part of. If you’re going to do start throwing out commands, then you might as well hand over the pack to the traitor.”

  “I don’t care anymore.” He didn’t yell the words, but his tone was vicious. Suddenly I wasn’t worried for myself anymore. The pack was going to pay a steep price if they weren’t careful. “You didn’t see what I saw yesterday. You were running for your life and I couldn’t do anything to stop him. You almost died in front of me, and I couldn’t do anything.” He clenched his jaw shut so tightly that I could see the muscle tightening under his skin. His eyes flashed glowing blue as his wolf rose to the surface. “I tried to play nice. I tried to give my pack the benefit of the doubt, and yes, I felt guilty for not being here more. But not anymore. They can all rot.” He was breathing hard as he tried to control his wolf.