by T. S. Ryder
"I asked you a question. What's this about my babies and virginity?"
"I… part of the deal I made with Will to join our packs was that he would give you a child first." Lukas never thought he was much of a coward. If anything, he took to fighting too quickly at times. But right now under Elena's furious gaze, he felt himself quailing.
"You think you can just auction off my babies and my virginity just like that? As if I have no say in the matter? At the moment I'm not sure I want to have children with either of you. I'm not your property, I make my own choices when it comes to who has my body and when I'm going to have children. Not you!"
Will put a hand on her shoulder. "Elena—"
"No." She held up a hand and shook her head. "I don't want to hear either of your excuses. This is unacceptable."
"I'm a virgin, too," Lukas blurted. "I only wanted—"
"I said I don't want to hear it." Elena stormed from the room, leaving the two Alphas behind.
Lukas stared after her, his stomach knotting in on itself. This wasn't what he wanted. This was so beyond what he wanted that he wasn't sure what to do now. He could go after her and beg for her to listen, but he somehow doubted that it would be at all useful.
"Why did you have to go and say that?" Will snatched a pack of cigarettes from the table. "Just when things were looking up. Don't you know women at all?"
Lukas whirled on him. "Well, I'm sorry that I'm not as good a liar as you are."
"Liar?"
"You said you were going to quit smoking just for her to like you better, but here you are, already lighting up again!"
Will glanced at the cigarette and lighter in his hands. He looked stunned, as though he hadn't realized that he was holding them, but Lukas wasn't fooled. He clenched his hands. A growl rose up his throat, and it took all of his strength not to start beating the other Alpha on the spot.
"Why do you think you own everything? I've made compromises for this partnership, but you act as though you're king of the castle and deserve it all. Well, you don't. You're nothing but a sad, arrogant, useless man who has never done anything in his life! Why do you have to have Elena, when you already have two beautiful women who are more than willing to share you? If two Alphas can share the same Alpha female, it's not like two Alpha females can't share the same Alpha. Why don't you just go back to them and continue on with your self-indulgent life?"
Will's face was expressionless by the time Lukas was finished. He snorted. "You're the one who offered her to me, remember? You're the one who was willing to sell off his mate because you were so desperate for money. I know why. Your father embezzled millions from the pack to spend on his gambling habits and his prostitutes."
Lukas lunged, howling, but even as his fist connected with Will's face, a scream broke the air. Lukas' heart stopped. Elena.
Both Alphas raced towards the sound of the scream, stumbling a little from the punch Lukas had thrown. Elena's scream cut off abruptly, replaced by another feminine cry. Lukas' heart pounded in his chest. Why had they sent the patrol back to their families so soon?
Will got through the door first, Lukas following close behind. There was nothing in sight. No sign of Elena. Only Catherine laying on the ground, clutching her arm as blood seeped through her fingers. The female trembled where she was, and when Will rushed to her side, she grasped at him and began sobbing.
"I couldn't stop him. He took her. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
"Stop who? Who took her?"
Catherine shuddered as Lukas joined them, standing over the female and other Alpha. He had to resist the urge to drop to his knees and shake her. She was still sobbing.
"Where is Elena?" he roared.
Catherine flinched.
Will gave him a black glare and put an arm around the female. "Catherine, please. Tell us what happened."
"It was a man. He just… appeared out of nowhere. He grabbed her and said that he would have his love again, and then he transformed into a giant white wolf. It was the Geisterwolf. I don't know how, but the Geisterwolf took her."
Chapter Seven – Will
Catherine shook like a leaf, but Will was too consumed in his own mind to pay much heed to her. As soon as she had told them what happened, both he and Lukas had transformed, searching for any sign of the Geisterwolf and Elena. Just like during its nightly attacks, it left no scents and no trail to follow. There was a faint scent of Elena, but even that disappeared shortly after it got into the forest.
And so they had come back to the house, to get as much information as possible from Catherine. Not that she was being much use. She was as distraught as they were, and just kept repeating what she had already told them.
"He appeared as a man first. What did he look like?" Lukas asked, his gaze intent on Catherine's face.
"Tall. Brown-haired. He had a scar on his cheek."
Will picked up the cigarette and lighter that he had dropped before they ran out at Elena's scream. His hands shook as he lit the cigarette and pulled in a deep drag. Lukas shot him an annoyed, angry glance, but the other Alpha ignored it. Knowing what the Geisterwolf's human form looked like wasn't going to help them at all.
"Call Xavier." He strove to keep his own fear from his voice. "He should know why the Geisterwolf was able to attack after sunup. It's never done that before."
"How can you be so nonchalant about this?"
"What?" Will glanced up to see Lukas now glaring at him. "You think I'm being nonchalant?"
"You are being nonchalant." Lukas stepped forward, fists clenched. "You're sitting there smoking as though there is nothing wrong! I should never have approached you to join the packs, it's clear that you care nothing for Elena!"
Will got to her feet, a growl rising in his throat. "I care nothing? You're the one who said to her face that he'd rather have another mate!"
Lukas roared, springing forward. His fists flew, but Will was not caught off guard this time. He sidestepped the blows, sinking a fist into Lukas' stomach. A rush filled him and he bared his teeth in a snarl. It felt good to act on his impulses, rather than always burying them and acting like he didn't care. Lukas huffed out a breath and stumbled back, face paling, but Will followed up, punching hard into the other Alpha's face. Will felt something crack.
"Stop!" Catherine screamed. She jumped to her feet and grabbed her own face, eyes wide. "Will, stop, you'll hurt him!"
"That’s the point!"
Blood poured down Lukas' face. He slammed his palm into Will's sternum. His breath whooshed out of his lung and his heart did a strange double beat. The other Alpha's face was twisted in fury. Another blow, but this one Will blocked. Every frustrated, helpless feeling that had been building in Will since the Geisterwolf first arrived came pouring out as they traded blows, snarls and growls filling the air as their teeth lengthened and fur began to sprout along their backs.
"Stop it! Stop! This wasn't supposed to happen!" Catherine turned away, hiding her face.
Will shoved Lukas away from him and bent over panting. The other Alpha did the same. The features of the Wolf in them both faded as they stared at one another.
"We can't fight." Will shook his head. "This isn't helping Elena. We need to find a way to get her back before the Geisterwolf kills her. Fighting each other is just a waste of time."
Lukas straightened and nodded. "You're right. I'll phone Xavier, see if he knows anything. You have a good point, it shouldn't have been able to attack after sunrise. The only think I can think that when we made her angry it grew stronger…"
"We can deliberate that when Elena is back with us, safe."
Catherine grasped Will's arm. "But surely she'd be dead already by now."
Something in her voice made a red flag go up in Will's head. He turned towards her, frowning, as Lukas made for the telephone. Catherine stared at him with uncertainty in her eyes as he studied her. Why were she and Harriet here in the first place? He told them to stay away.
He'd taken away their keys and t
old them that it was over. Catherine never did anything without Harriet's approval, and Harriet would never have come here to show her support towards Elena as his mate. She was a beautiful woman, but full of her own ambition. She was willing to use everyone around her for her own means.
"You said that this wasn't supposed to happen. What did you mean by that?"
Catherine swallowed hard and stepped back from him. Her eyes darted around the room. She was an awful liar. It was one of the things Will liked about her, that he could see through her head to whatever plots Harriet was cooking up. So what was making her look so pale now?
"Answer me. Are you and Harriet involved in this?"
"I…" Catherine shrank from before him. "Harriet said she was just using you, and I could see the way she acted she doesn't love you like we do."
Lukas strode over and shook Catherine. "What did you do?"
"Harriet took her away. You deserve a proper mate, one that will give you everything you desire, not demand her own way constantly. And you were always fighting for her, the Geisterwolf will kill you if you keep defending her. I don't want her to die, but it's the only way to keep you safe."
Will couldn't breathe. Out of everything that had been going through his head of late, he hadn't thought much about how his actions would affect Catherine and Harriet. He hadn't thought they would come after Elena.
But now as he stared at Catherine's pleading eyes, he saw the truth. He wasn't some sort of impressive, rebel Alpha who did his own thing. He was a monster that used people for his own ends. His blood ran cold. He would have used Elena the same way, as a broodmare to give him children. Even though his feelings had been changing towards her, those thoughts had remained the forefront of his mind.
It was his carelessness with the feelings of those around him that had caused this. Harriet had taken Elena because of it.
Lukas gripped his shoulder. "Will, snap out of it! We need to get Elena back before sundown."
Will shook himself from his horror and nodded. There would be time for regrets later, but not now. It was morning, which meant that they had lots of time before the Geisterwolf returned for Elena, but they didn't have any time to waste. He didn't think that Harriet would kill her herself, but did he really know her all that well? She never really let him know her. She was too cunning for that.
"Where did Harriet take her?" Will asked Catherine.
"But she's no good for you."
"Maybe not," Will said, not wanting to waste time on arguing with her. "But she is Lukas' mate. Does he deserve to lose her? Does she deserve to die for something she didn't ask for? Her father signed her away as a baby for a piece of land. She didn't ask for any this! Catherine, please."
His ex-girlfriend's face was pale. She swallowed heavily. "Harriet was taking her to the old abandoned sawmill by the lake."
Relief broke over Will. He nodded. "Thank you. Lukas, we'll take my car. It's faster."
"I'm the better driver."
Will knew it was true. After he retrieved his keys, he tossed them to the other Alpha. As they headed out to the car, Catherine followed. Tears rolled down her cheeks.
"Will?"
He turned.
"You never loved me, did you?"
Will shook his head. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for using you the way I did, and I'm sorry for using Harriet. You both deserved better than how I treated you. I blame myself for all of this. You're a great girl, Catherine. Don't every let a man treat you the way I did again."
"I loved you."
"I know. And I'm sorry."
Lukas leaned out the window. "We don't have time for this."
Will slid into the car. They headed off, and all he could do was sit and stare out the window, hoping they wouldn't be too late. The old sawmill was several hours away, and with all the equipment there… well, if Harriet did have a homicide on her mind, then they needed to move quickly in order to get there in time. And if they didn't…
"I love her," he blurted.
Lukas was silent.
"I didn't think I was capable of love. But I love Elena."
"I love her, too. I have since the first time I saw her picture. I had such dreams built in my head… I thought I could handle the three of us because you'd be her mate in name only. But I don't know anymore."
Will sighed. "We need to get her back. That's the most important thing. Everything else… We'll have to discuss with her."
Lukas nodded. They continued in silence.
***
They arrived at the sawmill halfway through the afternoon. As soon as the car was parked, the two Alphas burst out and ran inside the old building. Will came up short at what he saw there.
Elena was tied in the center of a circle of candles, her eyes wide as she struggled uselessly against her bonds. Harriet crouched just outside the circle, her skin deathly pale, her usually pretty face looking haggard and worn, with dark wrinkles under her eyes and sharp teeth in her mouth.
"Harriet," Will said, stepping forward. "Let her go. I don't want to hurt you."
"Harriet is no longer here," the woman said, her voice hoarse and cracked. "You mistreated her and lost her. But by her sacrifice, I have returned. And by your mate, I will have my mate again."
Her head threw back, and a deep, echoing howl rang through the sawmill, shaking the very foundations. And then her body twisted, shifting in a giant white wolf. Will stepped back, eyes widening in horror. The Wolf separated from Harriet, and his ex-girlfriend dropped to the floor.
The Geisterwolf howled again and charged him.
Chapter Eight – Elena
Elena struggled against the ropes that bound her. She gnawed at the rope on her wrists, but all she managed was to scrape her skin raw with her teeth. When the Geisterwolf clashed with her two alphas, her heart froze. Fierce snarling filled the sawdust-scented air. Harriet was slumped at the edge of the circle that she had drawn around Elena, but the human only had eyes for the fight.
Will and Lukas worked as one against the creature, one darting in and tearing at its throat while the other circled it and grabbed its hindquarters, pulling it off balance. The Geisterwolf's blue eyes turned blood-red. It pounced on Will, tearing at his neck before it was abruptly gone.
How quickly it disappeared would have been more comforting if she knew it wasn't coming back. But it could reappear as quickly as it had appeared.
The two Alphas circled for a moment, their heads swinging from side to side, noses twitching as they attempted to scent out the creature. But nothing further happened, and they both turned their attention to Elena. Her stomach twisted into hundreds of knots as both came to her. Will used his teeth to gnaw through the ropes while Lukas licked her face and the scrapes on her arms. It felt so comforting that Elena was almost ready to burst into tears by the time she was free.
She threw her arms around Lukas' neck, holding tightly. They were both so brave and bold, so willing to fight for her. Will Shifted and stroked her hair for a moment before he moved to Harriet's side. Elena shivered, looking at the body.
"She set this all up and chanted some sort of incantation," she told the Alphas. "She said shew as going to do the Geisterwolf's work for him and summon his mate, but when she was halfway done, she started screaming. She clutched her head and fell, and then when she looked up, I knew it wasn't her anymore. I don't know what happened…"
Lukas shook his head. "She chose her own fate."
Will knelt beside Harriet and checked for a pulse. His shoulders slumped. "She's dead."
"She brought it on herself," Lukas said again, but this time his gaze was focused on Will. "And she was trying to kill our mate."
Our mate. Elena liked hearing him say that.
Will glanced over at them, and his gaze lingered on Elena. There was such sadness in them that she couldn't repress a shiver. He nodded slowly, although the movement was lethargic. There was a brief moment when Elena swore she could see tears in his eyes before he stood abruptly and turned away from t
he other two.
"She may have chosen her fate, but that doesn't mean I'm guiltless. I should have treated her better. I should have treated them both better. I never intended to mate either Harriet or Catherine, but I let them believe that I might. This is my fault. All of this is my fault."
Elena shivered but moved from Lukas' comforting arms to go to Will and put her arms around him. "It's not your fault that the Geisterwolf is after me."
"Isn't it? Bad enough that you were being mated to Lukas against your will, but adding me to the mixture only made it worse. And it’s a White Wolf, Elena." Will's eyes were desperate as he searched hers.
"I don't know what that means."
Lukas joined them. He bent and closed Harriet's eyes. "White Wolves are very rare. Out of all the Wolves I know, only one family has a penchant for White Wolves to be born among them."
"Mine," Will said. "The Geisterwolf could very well be my ancestor. It could be going after you because I decided that you were my mate, without asking you. All this is my fault. If I wasn't such a pig-headed, stubborn—"
Elena pressed a hand over his mouth. She hated that he was blaming himself. "It's not your fault. You couldn’t have seen this coming."
Will pulled her into his arms and kissed her deeply. Her skin sizzled and if it weren't for the fact that the Geisterwolf's attack and Harriet's dead body lying on the floor, she would have suggested that they stay a while. Both Will and Lukas were already naked, after all. But now was the wrong time to even think about it.
"We're not going to let the Geisterwolf hurt you," Lukas said. He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. But unlike previous times, he didn't try to take her away from Will, instead seeming content to sandwich her between them. "And after this is all over, I will annul the contract that my father drew up. You don't have to be my mate… I'll lease the land to your father."
"But—"
"But the important thing is we won't let that thing hurt you," Will said. He stroked her face, his eyes fiery. "We won't let it hurt you."