Un.Breakable (Slayter Series Book 4)

by Reese Morgan

  Hayden turned her back on Adolf and put distance between them.

  Turning, she calculated her speed and the exact moment to jump in order to gain proper momentum. Lost in thought, she nearly missed the dark figure leaning against the surrounding trees, observing.

  She straightened, her back going as stiff as a board.

  “Don’t stop on my account,” Nicolas murmured pleasantly, his blue eyes mocking.

  Hayden looked imploringly at Adolf. The man simply raised his eyebrows, hardly encouraged to persuade Nicolas to leave. He would find it amusing to have Hayden fail in front of him. In fact, he’d consider this a learning experience.

  “It is his territory to do as he pleases. Besides, you always boast about wanting to be on equal level as the males,” Adolf ridiculed as he tapped his sword against the packed snow. “For that to happen, you need to learn how to jump.”

  Trying to block out the onlooker, Hayden sprinted across the clearing at Adolf.

  Usually, with Nicolas’ presence, she felt any feat possible. Perhaps, with his immediate proximity, she would clearly surpass the height Adolf expected of her.

  Unfortunately, as she jumped, she hardly even cleared Adolf’s shoulder.

  He had to move out of the way before she hit his face.

  Again, she landed on her back and she lay there with her face burning. It was the lowest height she’d cleared so far. She’d even done better on her first try.

  “I am needed elsewhere,” Adolf murmured down at her, casting a shadow on her person. “I believe they need someone to boil the water. It will be a far more productive task than what I’m currently doing.”

  “Adolf,” Hayden complained, sitting up and watching him retreat.

  He didn’t turn back around.

  She withheld a sigh, trying in vain to ignore the smirking male at her back. “Have you come to scold me about yesterday?” She stood up, trying to regain a semblance of pride back into her stance.

  “I believe everything has already been said on the matter.”

  His answer surprised her. She had thought he’d bring up the issue again and drive his point home. What she did with Julian was stupid, reckless, and it couldn’t happen again.

  “Unless, of course, you want me to scold you. That, I certainly can do.”

  At his seductive insinuating, her eyes widened and the tips of her ears burned. She turned to look at him, realizing he was no longer leaning against the neighboring tree. Pivoting on her heel, she caught sight of him slowly circling her, his gaze relentless.

  She faltered at the captivating—no—alluring sight.

  Usually one to stand on her own, she found herself floundering.

  Nicolas’ mouth twitched and he took pity on her. “You clearly could use some help.”

  “I don’t need help.”

  His gaze did not lose their intensity at her tenacious retort. “Come now, I’m an excellent instructor.” He stopped circling and took a stance near Adolf’s earlier position. “I’ve already watched your attempts. I have a few ideas to help.”

  Attempts.

  Hayden hated that he’d seen her, watched her make a fool of herself. She wanted to be a capable warrior to Nicolas, not someone who needed help jumping. Yet, a few months ago, she explicitly remembered him saying he’d respected her abilities.

  Moreover, there was no belittlement in his tone, only a desire to assist.

  To make her better.

  Adjusting her footing, Hayden looked into the trees, muffling her instinctive reply. She would not make a further idiot out of herself by getting upset with him and rebutting his offer. It was flattering Nicolas wanted to take the time to train her.

  “Alright,” she consented. “What would you suggest?”

  “Gaining more momentum.” Nicolas picked up Hayden’s discarded sword and drew a line in the snow. “You have incredible strength in your legs, but why not combine the strength of your arms as well? At this point, touch the ground with your hands and try to gain height through both upper and lower body.”

  Hayden considered the line.

  Personally, she wasn’t very fond of executing many flips in combat, but Adolf insisted it was how a woman could dominate in a fight. And Nicolas did have a point about relying on more than one power source.

  “Try it.”

  At his subtle order, Hayden threw him a sour look but readied herself anyway.

  She ran toward him, executing a variation of a cartwheel. Pushing off powerfully from her arms, her feet bounded off the ground once more before she sprung into a tight flip. She easily cleared his form and even had additional room.

  Before she could celebrate, she abruptly dodged Nicolas’ flying fist.

  His foot came out and knocked her legs out from under her. Fortunately, she was close enough to the ground that she simply braced herself on her hands and executed a backflip to regain balance.

  Blocking another punch with her forearm, she nearly grunted with the sheer force.

  Nicolas was fun to spar with, simply because he was tough on her. She had no delusions he held back, but he knew exactly how hard to push in order to make her better.

  She danced around him, a tight grin in place as she avoided his onslaught. It was her quickness against his brutality. Though he was just as quick, he didn’t possess her small body stature that allowed for quick and abrupt avoidances.

  Grabbing his arm in a vice-like grip, Hayden lurched forward in a flip.

  The action would twist his arm, perhaps even snap it from its socket. Only, as predicted, he mimicked her flip-like movement to prevent such an event occurring.

  Hayden anticipated his countermove and abruptly dropped his arm. She jabbed him in the ribs and flipped over his shoulders. As she landed on the ground, she quickly nudged her boot against his upper back and pushed him forward.

  A choked, startled laugh escaped his mouth as she caught him unawares.

  “Careful now,” Hayden teased. “Do try to stay on your feet.”

  “You little minx.”

  Nicolas turned. His eyes were bright as he lunged at her. Before she could retreat, he grabbed the end of her braid and pulled her forward. Her back hit his chest and he abruptly wrapped his arms around her.

  A large, muscled forearm pressed against her throat, forcing her head to lean against his shoulder. A rush of exhilaration surged through Hayden as his body completely engulfed hers, encompassing every last inch.

  His teeth found her ear and he bit down.

  Hard.

  Hayden squirmed, breathless.

  “Am I interrupting?”

  She started. Her thoughts abruptly jarred back to reality at their unexpected visitor. Asher stood across from them, having just emerged from the trees. His face was unreadable, though she knew he was both uncomfortable and upset.

  “What a very silly question,” Nicolas drawled smoothly.

  He hadn’t released Hayden, but his attention focused intently on Asher.

  A part of Hayden felt guilty, not only because she knew Asher once harbored feelings for her, but because his presence reminded her of Cole. She was not uncomfortable in Nicolas’ arms, quite the contrary, really, but it did bring up a plethora of emotions.

  “We’re ready to leave,” Asher said briskly.

  “We will be there momentarily.”

  Not wanting to be anywhere near them, Asher turned and quickly retreated.

  Hayden glanced at Nicolas, already noticing him watching her, scrutinizing her. As if sensing the direction of her thoughts, Nicolas slowly extracted his arms, taking with it the heat and the sense of protection.

  “Where are we going?” Hayden asked, veiling her disappointment.

  Why did things need to be so difficult?

  So heavy?

  “We, along with a few others, are going to rescue your father.”

  Her mind sharpened and her feelings of unease lightened. “Julian told you Logan’s location.” She hadn’t thought her brother wo
uld trust the traditional werewolves with such sensitive information.

  Nicolas’ eyes brightened. “He told me.”

  Told only him, Hayden wagered, remembering Julian’s insistence of trusting only Nicolas. Then again, Nicolas had ways of persuasion.

  Perhaps he coerced Julian for the information.

  “Did he willingly tell you or did he have his own, private interrogation?”

  The Alpha male remained unreadable. “If he’s going to stay with us, close to you, in particular, someone had to ensure his intentions.”

  Her eyes turned half-lidded with skepticism. “Did you learn anything else from his pack members during the interrogation?” she asked, trying not to visualize the torture. “Any other infiltrators or supporters of Celeste?”

  “They were separately interrogated.” Nicolas urged her to continue walking by brushing his hand lightly across her arm. They walked side by side, Nicolas always one-step behind to watch her back. “We were able to identify two others who supported Celeste.”

  Hayden grabbed her discarded coat and walked alongside Nicolas.

  She couldn’t imagine what the others had gone through, having witnessed the torture and having to participate. She understood the necessity of the act, however, that did not mean she was comfortable with it.

  As they descended toward the edge of the territory, Hayden spied a group of men loitering nearby. They prepared themselves with weapons, clearly planning to accompany Hayden and Nicolas to liberate Logan.

  Aside from Hayden and Nicolas, there were twelve other men.

  Asher was there, along with a couple members of his pack. Unsurprisingly, Julian was present, standing next to Falco and Kieran. Hayden was surprised to see Falco, only because he’d just returned to his pack after months of absence.

  The dark-skinned Alpha stood proudly, watching Hayden as she ascended towards them. A small, nearly inconspicuous grin lifted his lip in way of greeting.

  Otherwise, his expression stayed blank.

  She wondered if he harbored ill feelings towards Nicolas. Even though Joseph and Devan had agreed to work with Nicolas and eliminate Ian, Falco’s pack Omega, Nicolas and the rogues were the masterminds behind it all.

  It reminded her of Nicolas’ insistence of choosing dark paths for good intentions.

  “No,” a fair-haired male claimed abruptly, his attention solely on Hayden. He shook his head passionately at the bewildered males around him. “I thought we agreed on no females.”

  Hayden realized Rylee Donovan was absent.

  She felt a bit disappointed at that.

  “And we thought it was rather obvious that Hayden’s presence was a given. We didn’t think it necessary to inform you that she was coming,” Julian countered sarcastically. “Clearly, we misjudged your ability to draw practical assumptions, Quinn.”

  The man reddened at Julian’s sardonic response. “If she’s going, then I’m not going.”

  Hayden raised her eyebrows, hardly insulted with his juvenile comments and behavior. She was accustomed to others underestimating her worth.

  It just gave her an element of surprise, and she preferred it that way.

  The man, Quinn, turned his heel and retreated. She’d never seen him before, but judging from the way he interacted with Julian, she figured he was a member of his pack.

  “Your absence will be of little consequence,” Nicolas intoned to the man’s back.

  That stopped the man short.

  He turned around, his eyes nearly deranged with anger and humiliation.

  “Your actions speak volumes regarding your level of concern for her safety.” He threw a hand in Hayden’s direction as he faced off against Nicolas. “You would rather bring her along and risk her safety, versus keeping her here.”

  For his part, Nicolas remained unaffected by the reproach.

  “I can protect her better when she’s by my side, versus hundreds of miles away.”

  Hayden shifted, her boots making large indentations in the snow. She hoped Nicolas was merely humoring him and that he decided to bring Hayden because he had confidence in her abilities. Not out of instinct to protect her better.

  “Quinn,” Julian warned. “Shut up.”

  Quinn chose to dig the issue deeper. Nicolas insulted him, now he felt the intense need to do the same. “You, especially, Slayter, should know a male needs to keep their mate close. Otherwise, others, like you, will take advantage of the distance.”

  Stilling, Hayden stared, wide-eyed.

  He wasn’t seriously considering threatening Nicolas, was he? Looking around at the others, she noticed similar expressions of trepidation and wary amusement.

  One does not hand Nicolas a shovel to dig their grave.

  Not unless they were prepared to face the consequences.

  The man took a step closer, his gaze cooling into uncanny intimidation. “Let’s hope karma doesn’t come back and bite you in the ass for what you did to your parents. You better keep an eye on her, Slayter, who knows who will strike her down when your back is turned.”

  Sensing as if he won that round, Quinn dismissed Nicolas with a turned shoulder.

  Before Hayden could take proper action, a hand withdrew her sword.

  When her mind finally caught up to the situation, Quinn’s head flew off his shoulders. She took a startled step back, watching as the body fell to the ground, headless.

  Werewolves, who’d gathered in the near proximity, all shouted amongst each other and ran to get others. Some stayed behind and outright stared at Nicolas as he calmly replaced Hayden’s sword back in its holster.

  “His first mistake was threatening her. His second mistake was turning his back on me.” Nicolas raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow. “Let’s get going, shall we?”

  Without another word, he began to descend the cliff.

  With her heart in her throat, Hayden looked up and caught the gazes of all the other men in the group. They looked at her, some accusingly, others far too void to get a sense of what they were thinking.

  Not knowing what to say, Hayden simply turned and followed Nicolas.

  She should have been horrified, disgusted even.

  Maybe even scared of him.

  She realized that part of her died a long time ago. She felt as if the goodness that she’d once possessed was now tarnished and blackened.

  Why else would she feel as if Nicolas’ actions were justifiable?

  * * * *

  Asher kept staring at her.

  Hayden remained facing forward as she traveled with the other men. The blond-haired beta’s scrutiny was hard to ignore, as it was both reproachful and disappointed. The other men hadn’t said anything to Nicolas regarding his actions, though Kieran had warned him of possible repercussions upon their return.

  Nicolas hardly gave it much consideration.

  She knew Nicolas was not a nice man. She had no delusions otherwise. So why did she feel the need to explain Nicolas’ actions to Asher? To the others? She constantly defended Nicolas, claiming he was a good man with even better intentions.

  Unfortunately, Hayden had to face reality and stop putting Nicolas on a pedestal.

  Nicolas was no hero.

  He was her personal dark guardian.

  The eldest Slayter was unafraid to kill in cold blood, unashamed to manipulate, and entirely willing to destroy other people’s lives. All just to keep her—and Cole— alive.

  He was not a good man by any means.

  “Elizabeth usually stays here year-round,” Julian informed as they trudged through the heavy woods. “She told Celeste she wanted no part in the war but was willing to keep Logan prisoner. From what I’ve heard, they are keeping him comatose.”

  Her ears perked up at that.

  Celeste was a woman bent on total control and domination, wasn’t she?

  Everything she touched, she wanted to control, to suppress. Mold in her own image. Nothing had a chance to nourish under her guidance. Perhaps that’s why Julian felt
the need to buck against her after years of suppression.

  Her brother caught her eyes and a grim smile crossed his features. “You don’t look well, Hayden.”

  From the front of the group, Nicolas looked back, having overheard Julian.

  She balked. “I’m fine.”

  Face hardening, she avoided their observation. If anyone should feel upset, it should be Julian. Not only was he hunting after both his parents, with the intentions of stopping his mother, but his pack had also taken quite the beating.

  Half of them had betrayed him, another just beheaded in front of him.

  Oddly enough, despite his strict stoicism, he seemed to accept all of it.

  Had he approached them with the notion he needed to make sacrifices in order to firmly shake off Celeste’s influence and become his own man? Alternatively, were they putting too much trust in him? Did he intend to betray them?

  She looked at Falco’s back, wondering at his intentions.

  Then she thought of Devan back at the reservation.

  With the pack. Her pack.

  There were too many people to watch closely.

  “You said you would tell me the other reason you wanted to stop Celeste.” Hayden slowed and walked with Julian at the rear. She noticed Nicolas’ shoulders tense at her distance, though he did not turn around or slow the group down.

  Julian gave her a look, his lips thinning. “Not here.”

  “When will you tell me?” Hayden demanded, keeping her voice down despite her rising anger. “Maybe it would make trusting you a bit easier.”

  “A bit easier,” he repeated bitterly, his features darkening. “Half my pack was sacrificed for your cause.”

  “They weren’t loyal to you,” she countered. “You really wanted to live with them always watching you, reporting back to Celeste? You asked for my help weeding them out. The least you can do is tell me the reasons why you want to stop Celeste.”

  Judging from the way his chest swelled, he wanted to argue further on the topic. Surprisingly, he just exhaled slowly to suppress his temper. “Maybe I’ll tell you after we kill Celeste.”

  Hayden stopped short. “We’re not killing Celeste.”

  He stopped with her, a bitter laugh escaping past his lips. “Is that why you are constantly phrasing it as stopping Celeste?” His voice rose in volume. “There is no stopping her. I’ve come to accept her imminent death. You should also swallow Logan’s—”