by Melissa Haag
“You could have asked,” Carlos said, annoyance lacing his words.
“But then I wouldn’t have been able to brush up against you.” I continued to search for a station with good music or interesting news.
“Isabelle, buckle up.”
Grinning, I found a station talking about the possibility of werewolves and then sat back. Carlos watched me in the mirror until I clicked in again.
“You’re such a worrier.”
“Only with you.”
He said the best things.
The two men on the radio claimed our attention for the next hour as they took numerous callers with opinions on the subject. It was entertaining, for the most part, until one man came on over the air breathing heavily.
“I got one,” he said to the host. The thrill and vindication in his tone sent chills through me. “I woulda thought it was just a big dog running through the alley before that white one showed herself on the news—”
“Grey,” I said, getting worried.
“I’m telling the others to listen,” he said.
“But when I saw it, I knew. I shot it and it turned into a f—” an annoying bleep covered the speaker’s word, “man as it fell down. Butt naked. I called the cops, said what happened, and they said they’d send someone over. Only it wasn’t just the cops who showed up. It was the Feds too.” The man was talking so fast and in the background, his steps echoed. He was running. Why?
“They circled him, guns drawn. The guy pulled himself off the ground and growled at them. Dumb sh—. He didn’t even try to hide what he was. They shot him up, but not to kill him. When I saw them dragging him into the back of one of their vans, I bolted. I’ve got pictures of this sh—.” The radio’s censors bleeped it out again, then went straight to commercial.
Neither Grey nor Carlos spoke.
“Is it one of your kind?” I asked.
“We don’t think so. No one has reached out to us. We’ve sent a call to report any injuries and instances involving humans.”
A minute later the radio host came back on air.
“Our anonymous caller has sent over his photos. They’re on the station’s website. Check them out, but hurry because I don’t think they’ll be there long.”
Talk turned to government conspiracy, and Grey reached over to turn the radio off.
“Winifred and Gabby checked the images. They believe it was an Urbat, one of the few remaining in the city, according to Gabby.”
Grey spoke with quiet regret, an emotion I didn’t share.
“They killed Ethan,” I reminded him. “They tried to take Gabby and me. Don’t expect me to pity them.”
“Not them. You. The six of you. If your purpose is to maintain balance between humans, werewolves, and Urbat, I think we’ve just made your job a lot harder.”
I sat back against my seat and looked out the window. He was right. We’d started a crap storm, and it was only going to get worse.
Appendix
The Judgements:
Hope — Gabby, recently reluctant mate to Clay [Book 1: Hope(less)]
Prosperity — Michelle, mate to Emmitt, son of Charlene [Book 2: (Mis)fortune]
Wisdom — Bethi, mate to Luke [Book 3: (Un)wise]
Strength — Charlene, Emmitt’s mother, wife to the werewolf leader Thomas [Book 4, (Un)bidden]
Peace — Isabelle [Book 5: (Dis)content]
Courage — [Book 6: (Sur)real, anticipated release early 2016]
The lights Gabby sees:
Werewolf — Blue center with a green halo
Urbat — Blue center with a grey halo
Human — Yellow center with a green halo
The Judgements:
Charlene — Yellow with a red halo
Gabby — Yellow with an orange halo
Michelle — Yellow with a blue halo
Bethi — Yellow with a purple halo
Isabelle — Yellow with a white halo
Olivia — Yellow with a brown halo
Note from the Author
One more book. Yep, that’s it. Then the series is over. If you’re not ready to say goodbye to the characters you’ve fallen in love with, be sure to check out the Judgement of the Six Companion Series, written from each man’s point of view. Thank you to all of the readers to demanded more! The Companion Series was written just for you. :)
Want a chance to win a signed paperback of one of my books? Then don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter at http://melissahaag.com/newsletter. I love doing random drawings from my mailing list!
And I will be forever grateful if you’d leave a review or tell a friend about this series. Your support keeps me writing.
Happy reading!
Melissa Haag
Clay:
Finding Isabelle and Losing Gabby
Scene Extra from (Dis)content
“She’s stopped moving,” Gabby said from beside me.
Squeezed into the car parked in a busy shopping area, our tensions were still high after our run in with Isabelle.
Gabby rested her head against my shoulder, tickling my beard with her hair. Over the last few weeks, since she Claimed me, we hadn’t had the time to talk about where we were in our lives or what we wanted from the future. It wasn’t something I would have normally thought of talking about, until this morning. Seeing Gabby crumble to the ground and being unable to do anything about it had ripped me open and left me raw. Her nearness helped ease some of the concern I still felt. But I knew my tension would remain until Gabby and I were back home and she was safely going to school once more.
“I think we should give her a little while to calm down,” Bethi said from the seat behind us.
I didn’t need to turn to look at Luke to know what he was thinking. He’d been vocal since shaking Bethi awake that we leave Isabelle alone. Bethi had been just as adamant that we retrieve her.
“There are Urbat not far from where she is,” Gabby said. “I’m not sure how long we can wait.”
“Keep an eye on them,” Bethi said. “We can’t let them get to her.”
Gabby inconspicuously laced her fingers through mine. I gently squeezed her hand, giving as much comfort as I was taking. Every night when we lay in bed together, I told her that I loved her. She no longer tensed up at the words. She’d accepted me, despite what I was sure was her accidental Claiming of me, but I knew she wasn’t yet ready to be my Mate.
Mate. The idea of a permanent bond with Gabby still made my heart race, as did the idea of losing her. I turned and pressed my lips to her forehead. This morning had been too close.
We sat quietly for almost an hour before she spoke again.
“We need to go know. They turned back and are heading right for her. Something must have tipped them off.”
Grey started the engine and backed out as Gabby gave him directions. Her heart accelerated, and I knew she saw was upsetting her. When I gave her hand another light squeeze, she turned to meet my gaze. Worry flooded her soft brown eyes while the scent of her light fear teased the air.
“It’ll be all right,” I said quietly as we pulled into the parking lot of a hotel.
I would make sure of it.
As soon as I opened the doors, I could smell the others. According to Bethi, these were the ones after the girls. The same ones who had sent a wolf to challenge me for Gabby. My canines lengthened at the thought of anyone trying to take Gabby from me.
“Two of them,” Carlos said, already heading for the hotel doors.
Grey waved for us to follow Carlos. Reluctantly, I let go of Gabby’s hand. I would have rather had Gabby stay in the car with Grey.
“This isn’t a good idea,” I said, walking close to Gabby as we entered the hotel. Fear still drifted from her, clouding her usually sweet sent.
“I agree,” Luke said.
Normally, I would care less if Luke agreed with me. I didn’t like him and doubted I ever would. That he now had a Mate of his own didn’t erase the fact he’d hit on Gabby.
Bethi rolled her eyes at Luke but kept walking, following Carlos down the hallways.
“She only knocked us on our asses because she’s scared, Luke. It wasn’t personal.”
“Like hell,” Luke said under his breath.
I had to agree. Again. I took anything that happened to Gabby very personally.
“I think they are already in the room with her. It’s hard to tell with so many floors,” Gabby said.
“How much further, Gabby?” Carlos asked.
“End of the hall, I think.”
When we neared, I let my claws lengthen. Gabby brushed against me, unknowingly making my possessive anger worse. I wanted to grab her and get out of there.
Carlos pushed the door open, the wood splintering under the strength of his anger.
“Empty,” he said, turning toward Gabby.
“Then it’s gotta be the room above us.”
We hurried up the emergency stairs, and I saw Carlos inhale deeply. I did the same, scenting the other woman, too. If she was in there, then so were the others. I nudged Gabby behind me and saw Luke do the same to Bethi.
Carlos didn’t pause. He crashed through the door, Grey just behind him.
Luke and I had only made it into the room as Carlos tossed the first mongrel out the window. The girl, Isabelle, hadn’t even had a chance to tug her friend toward the door when the second one cleared the broken glass. I understood Carlos’ anger and concern as he watched her.
Bethi stepped around us. Gabby moved to join her, gently touching my arm as she passed. A wave of reassurance washed over our connection. She was getting the hang of being Claimed.
“We need to leave,” Carlos said, still looking at the girl.
“Come on, son,” Grey said, moving to help lift Isabelle’s friend. The guy didn’t look so good. But then, humans didn’t hold up well to chokeholds.
“Isabelle, I’m Bethi,” Bethi said, stepping forward quickly. “I dream our past lives. Mine, yours, hers.” She nodded toward Gabby, making me want to tuck Gabby behind me, out of harm’s way.
“More of them are coming,” Gabby said, the fear in her scent spiking.
Bethi nodded to show she heard, but kept addressing Isabelle.
“Gabby can see their locations and the locations of the others like us. We need to leave. We can’t let them find us.”
I palms grew damp and tensed, waiting for that feeling to wash over me again and bring us all to our knees. The need to shield Gabby had me stepping closer to her. But bone weakening feeling didn’t come.
“Yes, let’s leave,” Isabelle said, suddenly too agreeable.
Bethi and Luke moved out to the hallway as Grey helped Isabelle’s friend. No one seemed suspicious of Isabelle as we quickly left the building. I didn’t like it but kept quiet, until the hair on the back of my neck started to stand up.
“How many?” I asked quietly as we trailed the group.
“It’s hard to say. They are moving in from all over. Twenty? Maybe thirty?” Gabby said softly. Her gaze remained slightly unfocused as she continued to watch.
We followed Isabelle as she led the way to her car. Gabby glanced at Grey and motioned for him that we needed to hurry. He nodded and moved away as Isabelle’s friend slid into the front seat. Isabelle tried taking the keys to drive, but Carlos took them first.
“I’ll drive,” he said.
“No thanks,” she said, holding out her hand.
“We don’t have time for this,” Gabby said. “They’re grouping to the east. We need to go.”
Gabby’s fear wrapped around me. Her fear and the feeling creeping along the back of my neck had me eyeing the parking lot, watching for signs of movement.
“Fine,” Isabelle said. Carlos opened the back door and waited for her to get in.
Gabby turned, snagging Bethi as she moved to the car. I had to hurry to keep up with the pair.
“We need to move. Now,” Gabby said.
Grey was already in the front seat with the engine running when we reached the car. Luke beat me to the back seat, sliding in beside Bethi. I quickly got in the front.
“Tell me what you’re seeing, Gabby,” Grey said as he backed up.
“They are closing in from all directions. Turn right out of here,” Gabby said from behind Grey. “Speed Grey. Don’t stop for anything.”
I turned slightly in my seat. Her eyes were wide and her face pale. I sent a wave of reassurance and love over our link.
“How close are they?” I said, watching her.
“Very close. Wait. There’s a small opening. Here! Grey, turn here!”
Grey jerked the wheel hard, and I faced forward to watch the trees lining the old side road. I spotted movement to the right a second before four half-shifted men sprinted from their cover. They ran straight for our car, the leader jumping up on the hood and hitting the window with his fist. As the glass splintered, Grey slammed on the brakes.
All hell broke loose. The man on the hood went flying over the top of the car as we came to a stop. Wolves poured from the trees. The glass beside me folded in as an arm reached for me. I growled, my half-shifted mouth and extended canines ready for the fight. Claws raked my skin as the owner of the arm tried to grab my shirt. I thrust the arm down, hearing a quick snap of bone.
Glass splintered around us as more crashed upon the car. Arms reached through glass while others pulled at the windows to make bigger openings. Grey growled and thrust his door open, using it to push men and wolves back. Behind me, a passenger door opened.
Gabby screamed. The sound tore through me. I turned my head in time to watch her disappear into the crowd of urbat. My control slipped. The change consumed me as I burst from the car. Men grabbed at me. I clawed and savagely tore into anyone trying to stop me from reaching Gabby.
She yelled again, further away. I roared. A wave of love washed over our connection.
I fought harder. Bones snapped and blood poured. Still they came. A wall of bodies determined to keep me from her. Until, suddenly, the wall was gone. And so was Gabby.
I howled at the same time someone else did. Turning, I saw Grey near a gore covered Carlos. Carlos was shaking, the tremors so violent, I wondered how he was still upright. I realized I wasn’t much better off. They’d taken Gabby. I hadn’t protected her.
“We’ll find her, but we need to move, now,” Grey was shouting at Carlos.
Bodied littered the ground. Sirens howled in the distance. With a shudder, I pulled back the change.
“Here,” Bethi said, thrusting a package of baby wipes at me. “I’ve learned it pays to start carrying something for cleanup with you guys around.” Her voice warbled as she spoke, and I noted the long bloody blade in her other hand.
I took the package and quickly swiped the blood off my face. Luke tossed some clothes at me. I tugged on the pants then finished dressing as we moved away from the scene.
Carlos moved beside me.
“Where are they?” he asked.
I concentrated on the connection Gabby and I had.
“East of us.”
He nodded.
We stayed within the cover of the trees as we jogged east. The sirens were a distant wail when we stepped out onto another street.
“We need to move faster,” Carlos said.
I glanced at Bethi, the one slowing the group down.
“Go. Get them. If you don’t, everything we’ve done so far will have been pointless. They can’t have them.”
The girl was shaking hard now. Seeing it scared me.
“Let’s go,” I said a second before I took off. I didn’t care who witnessed my unnatural speed. Only Gabby mattered.
* * * *
My heart nearly stopped when we found a van pulled over on the side of a road. Two men lay on the ground, and the redhead was slowly crumpling to join them. Carlos rushed to her. I barely paid them attention. My focus was riveted on the interior of the van. In the shadows, Gabby lay still on a bench seat.
&nbs
p; “No. Gabby.”
Moving into the van, I gently lifted her into my arms. Her heartbeat reassured me, but only a little. She was so pale and still, her shallow breathing barely moving her chest as I carefully stepped out of the van.
“What happened to her?” I said, looking at Isabelle.
The redhead had puke stains on her shirt and looked just as pale. She also looked guilty as hell.
“Is she breathing?”
I nodded.
“I happened to her. We couldn’t go with them.”
She sounded like Bethi. I glanced at the men on the ground, the ones who had taken Gabby. I wanted to kill them. One of them moved, and I growled but before I could even think of setting Gabby down, Carlos stepped forward and finished them.
“Thank you,” I said softly. He nodded once and went back to Isabelle.
It took some persuading, but once he had her in his arms, we ran back to the group. The whole time, Gabby didn’t move. Not even a twitch. Fear clawed at me. Would she ever wake up? Just what had Isabelle done to her?
I’d watched Gabby lay sick and motionless too many times in the short time we’d been together. The helpless fear that consumed me the first time it had happened hadn’t eased with each occurrence. It had only gotten worse. How many times could she lay in my arms like this before there came a time when she wouldn’t wake up?
Sam. Gabby’s out again.
What do you mean?
Like at the Compound. She’s breathing but not waking up. She doesn’t look good.
We’re close, son.
A few seconds after we joined the others, three vehicles pulled up. Winnifred and Sam both rushed over to check on Gabby.
“What happened?” Sam asked.
Before I could answer, Isabelle spoke up.
“I couldn’t kick open the door without help. She’s not hurt. Just the opposite. She’s floating so high, it’ll be awhile before she’s back. As long as she’s still breathing, she should be fine.”
Fine? I didn’t like Isabelle’s attitude, or the fact that she was walking toward us. She’d knocked Gabby down twice now. It was hard to be mad at her, though, when I knew she’d saved Gabby by also knocking out the men who’d taken them.