by Eve Langlais
He chuffed as he loped past the civilized areas toward the wild forest, eager to enter the sheltering boughs, to inhale the scent of life and death. A place that felt like home.
A part of him realized his thoughts were not rational. Not human. He didn’t care.
Only one driving need had him racing toward the woods, ignoring the shouts of the soldiers behind him. His woman needed him, and he found the strength to increase his gait. The others, impeded by their humanity, couldn’t keep pace. At least they didn’t shoot him as he ran ahead. Their yells weren’t of panic because he ran.
Not even close. They were excited. They, too, felt the lure of the hunt. The thrill of the chase.
Tossing his head back, he uttered a long howl, a deep and resonant sound that lifted into the night and gave warning that he was coming.
I will find you.
And you will die.
As he crossed the edge of the woods, the very life within it enveloped him. It had a scent. Leaves—some growing, others decaying on the ground—fragrant and distinct. The odor of green growing things and mildewing bark. Of squirrel musk and chipmunk nuts. Even the fungi that took root in the damp pockets.
And twining through all those smells, his quarry. And Flo.
The scents drew him onward, and he barked in warning. Let them know he came. Let them bow before his might.
Sprinting through the tree trunks, he lost the soldiers. They had to go slower, hampered by their shitty night vision. They lacked his sure footedness, his instinct. His skill.
For once he didn’t fight the beast within. He embraced it. Encouraged it to come because he’d need the strength.
He weaved through the wooden sentinels, breath chuffing hotly through his nostrils, his blood pounding through his veins, pumping his muscles. He neared his prey, and excitement had him showing teeth. Teeth that ached in his gums.
He caught up to his targets in a small clearing, wide enough for the moon’s rays to penetrate, lighting the space in an eerie silver light. He paused on the edge and lifted his head, uttering a challenging howl.
In reply, the male he hunted, body hunched, tusks projecting from his cheeks, dropped his burden.
Nay, not a burden, but his female, who cried out as she hit the ground.
It was enough to send Luke barreling across the clearing in a rage.
He rammed into the other, and they hit the ground hard. Rolling and scrabbling. Fingers tipped in claws tearing for purchase. Tearing. Straining. Mouths snapping.
He had to watch the sharp tusks of the male he fought. Avoid their tearing points.
The thing—Stinky, his mind reminded—fought rabidly and without finesse, giving Luke an edge. He knew his teeth and claws weren’t the only things he could use to his advantage. Fight smart.
Words that someone once spoke to him and that he remembered. But he had no tools.
A blow from the side sent him staggering, the woman, getting involved, and much as it bothered him to hit a female, he had no choice but to shove her when she ran at him screaming.
It however distracted him from the real problem. Stinky rammed into him, driving him back until he hit a tree trunk. Hard. His head snapped back, and he bit his tongue. Which only served to make him angrier.
“Enough already,” he roared. Adrenaline coursed inside him, and he shoved at the beastman, his muscles pumped. He began to swing, ham-fisted, striking Stinky with meaty thuds. Over and over, pummeling him into retreat.
But the woman had time to recover. She threw herself around his knees, sending him toppling. Stinky took advantage and popped on top. Snarling, slobbering, and genuinely being gross.
Twisting, Luke managed to roll them so he pinned Stinky with his knees. Bone crunched as he pressed all his weight. He managed to manacle Stinky’s wrists, leaving him squirming and hissing under him.
Kill him.
The imperative filled him, and he pressed harder, ignoring the whimpers of the female who watched. His lip curled over his teeth, and he glared in triumph at the enemy beneath him.
Die.
The gaze of the beast met his. Eyes that were suddenly calm with acceptance. Even relief.
In that moment, the man within remembered this wasn’t a creature under him but a victim. A brother of science.
“No.” He tried to reason with the thing, his words guttural and rough. “No fight.”
He never had a chance to find out if he could reason with Stinky. A blow to the back of his head knocked him off the other male. The treachery had him rolling and snarling even as blood poured hotly into his eyes. Stinky’s mate had come to his rescue, the whimpering but an act.
No more weakness. No mercy. He snapped and took a step forward, a low growl rumbling. A raised fist was all it took. The female cowered then dropped to her knees, head bowed in submission.
“Why?” he snarled. But he knew that answer. The roiling darkness inside them. The animal instinct to guard. To dominate.
Except, in a pack of animals, there could be only one leader.
When Stinky moved, he didn’t look but felt his foot connect. Crack. The female gasped.
And yet the other man still wanted to fight. Rose to his knees, blood dripping from his jaw to growl a challenge.
The sound that rumbled from Luke had no word. Yet it rang with demand; submit.
Stinky lifted his chin, only to flinch as the female cuffed him and then purred a sound. Chastised, the male rolled to his knees and hung his head.
Defeated. Submissive to the alpha.
Me.
Luke lifted his head to the sky and howled.
He’d won. He’d prevailed and brought the enemy to his knees. He’d saved his female. He turned his gaze on her and smiled.
Wide eyes met his glance. Her lips parted. In awe. Respect. She uttered a feminine sound, “Eep!”
Then, to reward his prowess, his mate chose to play and bolted into the woods.
Chapter Eighteen
Ohmygod. Ohmygod.
Margaret’s breathing heaved and huffed, whistling with panic as she ran for dear life away from the monsters in the clearing.
Yes, monsters. The ones who captured her and the one who came to her rescue.
Or did he come for something else? Hard to tell with that savage light in its eyes. The fierce snarl on its face.
Terror had her running as they fought. Away from it all.
Her panic-driven steps took her deeper into the woods. She lost all sense of direction and had no idea where she was.
Not that she had any idea before her flight. When the smelly thing took her, he dumped her upside down over his shoulder and then loped away, the jostle enough to make her nauseous. It didn’t help her addled brain when she got dumped on the hard ground. Her disorientation as she blinked at the thing that challenged it.
The thing with green eyes.
She couldn’t think of it. Didn’t want to remember what came to her aid.
Who…
It couldn’t be. All those times he’d claimed he was a monster, she’d said no. He didn’t look like a monster. Didn’t act like one. Until he arrived in that clearing.
In shape, he was still Luke, tall and broad, wearing the same sweatshirt and pants as before. But his face…
His features had a sharper cast to them, more lupine in nature, wicked, too. His teeth glinted in the moonlight, and his eyes glowed.
Glowed motherfucking green.
Which was why, when Luke engaged the other creature in battle, she took off running.
He is a monster.
She’d not believed. She’d thought him delusional, and all along he told the truth. She couldn’t handle it. Feared it.
Feared him.
Branches whipped her skin as she ran. But the pain of them wasn’t why she cried. Terror accounted for part of it, but mostly it was heartache.
I loved him. Past tense, because how could she love a…a…wolfman. Because that was how he seemed and how he sounded when he ut
tered that chilling howl.
She couldn’t hear any sounds of fighting behind her. She could hear nothing at all but her own harsh pants as she ran. Ran to where? There was nowhere safe.
If the monsters didn’t get her, the exposure in the woods would. Even if she did find her way back to the clinic, she was no safer. She had seen their secret. Chimera would never let her leave. She knew too much.
Would he lock her away like he had Luke? Would he experiment on her, as well? Put her in a coma like those other patients that he might inject her with mad-science concoctions?
Would—
“Aaahh.” Her sharp scream cut through the night as arms lifted her from the ground. She thrashed and kicked.
A voice tried to soothe. “Flo, it’s all right. It’s me. You’re safe.”
“Let me go. You—you—monster!”
The word saw his grip loosen, and she pulled away from Luke, only to whirl that she might keep him in sight.
There was scant moonlight here, and yet she saw enough.
Saw the fading glow in his eyes, the sad curve of his lips. The rounded defeat in his shoulders.
And she felt shame.
“Luke, I’m sorry.” She reached out, only he flinched and her chagrin deepened.
“Sorry for what?” was his bitter retort. “Telling the truth? I am a monster, Flo. I tried to tell you.”
“And I didn’t believe,” she said. “I’m sorry. I should have listened.”
He wouldn’t look at her. “I’m kind of glad you didn’t. It was nice to feel almost normal for a while.”
Saying she was sorry again wouldn’t cut it. Couldn’t fix the hurt she heard in his words. “What are you, exactly?”
“A mish-mash of DNA from all kinds of creatures. But the dominant gene seems to be wolf.”
“You’re a wolfman.” It sounded crazy to say it aloud.
“Yes.”
“A killer.”
He snorted. “Only if threatened.”
“Are you feeling threatened?”
His nostrils flared, and he shot her a glare. “Are you asking if I’m going to hurt you? Because the answer is no. I would never fucking hurt you. I came out here to save you.”
“Thank you.” A trite reply for what he’d done. “What happens now?”
“To me or you?”
“Both. I know your secret.”
“You could pretend you don’t. Fake it well enough and Chimera might even believe you.”
“But you don’t think he’ll let me go.”
He shrugged. “I don’t really know.”
“What about you? Are you going to run before they catch up?”
“Is there any point? What do I have to look forward to, Flo? You said it, I’m a monster. Where is there for me to go?”
The defeat in him hurt. Hurt because she knew she was the cause. And why did she fear him?
Someone had changed him, not by his choice. Yes, it was damned scary. Yet at the same time, he was still the man she loved. A man who never lied about what had happened to him. A man who never hurt her.
“Why did you come after me?”
“Why do you think?” he snapped. “I care for you, Flo. I wasn’t about to let that monster have you.”
She took a step forward. “How do I know I can trust you?”
“You can’t.” The words emerged blunt and gruff. “I’m not human anymore. Sometimes I feel more beast than man. I should have never gotten involved with you.”
“Then why did you?”
“At first, I thought the dreams weren’t real.”
“And after?”
He shrugged. “I couldn’t resist you.”
The stark honesty in his words hit her. As did what she knew about him. He’d never hurt her. On the contrary, twice he’d risked himself to save her.
She trusted him more than she trusted pretty much everyone else in her life. So why was she pushing him away?
She closed the gap between them. He tried to turn his face when she went to cup his cheeks. She wouldn’t let him escape. She grabbed him. Forced him to face her. Met his green gaze with her own.
“I love you, Luke Harris. Even if you are the wolfman.”
“You don’t know what you’re saying.”
“I’m saying I accept you for you who are. Remember what you asked me in the dream?”
“It was wrong. I can’t ask you to run with me. It’s not a life. I won’t do it to you.” He shook his head, breaking free of her touch, and she knew he lied.
“Don’t I get a choice?” She gripped him again, stared at him until he met her gaze. Until she could see the longing. The hope tempered with defeat. He thought he didn’t deserve her. He was oh so wrong. “I love you. And if we have to hide to be together, then we hide. As far as it takes to keep you away from Chimera and his clinic.”
“Running away means leaving everything behind,” Luke reminded her.
“I have nothing that means more to me right now than you.”
“I might go crazy yet, like those lost souls in the woods.” His true fear emerged in those tight words, and yet she didn’t let them scare her.
“I won’t let you.” She’d find a way to keep him sane. To keep his primal urges at bay.
“If we go, it has to be now. We won’t get another chance,” he said, turning his head to peer behind him.
“Then I guess we go, but where to? And how?”
“Out of these mountains and on foot, I guess.”
“But it’s so far.” She chewed her lip, daunted by the idea.
“Would you rather return to the clinic?”
Back to a place that might put her in a locked room with no escape? She shook her head. “Let’s go.” Now, before she changed her mind and thought about the folly of it.
Linking fingers, they began walking through the woods, Luke’s pace brisk. The pressing weight of the darkness and strange forest made her babble.
“Thanks for the soup. Glad I ate it before coming to find you.”
“What soup?”
“The one you left outside my door with the note…” Her voice trailed off. “You didn’t leave the tray, did you? Or that note telling me to meet you outside.”
“Like fuck I did. There are monsters in the woods. I would have never told you to come out at night. But that means someone did.” His expression hardened. “Chimera.”
“But why?”
“Who the fuck knows why. Sick fuck. He’s planning something.”
“Planning what?”
He didn’t reply, instead cocked his head.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Engines. Probably some guards on ATVs.”
“What do we do?” Because they couldn’t outrun machines.
“Hide. Now,” he barked, shoving her toward a shadowy hump. “There’s a log there. Duck behind it and cover yourself in leaves.”
“What about you?”
“I can handle myself if you’re not there distracting me.”
She snared him by the shirt and hauled him close. “Don’t you dare die on me now.” She pressed a hard kiss against his lips, feeling his chuckle vibrating.
“I don’t intend to die. Now hide, Flo. Before they see you.”
She scurried to conceal herself, her heart racing again, her nose tickling as she ducked behind the moldy log. But she didn’t bury herself in leaves. She glanced over the edge and saw Luke standing there, waiting.
Waiting for what?
The roar of a motor grew louder, and a light pierced the shadows split in streams by the trees in its path. Rather than conceal himself, Luke held his hands by his side and slightly crouched. Surely, he didn’t plan to fight?
As the ATV burst into view, he moved. Jumping into the air and somehow landing on the driver. The two went tumbling to the ground, out of sight, and the ATV kept going, coming right at her. She ducked behind the log and flinched as the vehicle hit it. Then stopped.
Its dual headlights sh
one past her and blinded her to what happened. But she could hear.
Hear the growling. Bestial and fierce.
The guard cursing, “Fucking monster. I’m going to blow your head off.”
The sickening crunch.
And then nothing.
She peeked over the edge of the log, her hand curled around a rock she found. At first, she saw nothing. A shadow moved into view, standing in front of her.
The combat gear not Luke’s.
The voice said, “On your knees, or I’ll shoot.” Terrifying even if not directed at her.
Around the bulky shape, she saw Luke appear, his eyes glowing frightfully bright. His hands laced over his head.
“I’m obeying,” said Luke. “See. Dropping to my knees. No need to be trigger-happy.”
“You killed Burton.” A statement that Luke didn’t deny.
“I did.”
“Fucking monster.” The guard held the gun to Luke’s head, and she closed her eyes to what happened next.
Chapter Nineteen
Luke stared in disbelief at Margaret, who still held the rock in her hand. The soldier lay crumpled at her feet.
She’d saved him.
Saved the monster, in more ways than she might realize. Now to save her.
He stood quickly. “We need to go.”
She blinked.
“Flo?”
She dropped the rock, her eyes wide with shock.
“Flo…” Said more softly. “We have to leave now. If you still want to.”
His words snapped her out of the staring daze. She nodded.
First thing, he wrenched the headlights off the front of the four-wheeler. Then took care of the taillights. No use making them into a target.
When he was done, he found Flo holding a gun by the barrel, offering him the butt. “We should probably take this,” she said softly.
“Good thinking. He tucked the gun in his waistband. “Climb on.” He straddled the ATV and waited for her to perch behind him, her arms locked around his waist, before he took off. He hated the loudness of the engine, but loved how it ate up the terrain, taking them farther and faster than they could have on foot.
They managed to go miles into the mountains, far enough that the distant helicopter searching never caught their track. Far and long enough that they ran out of gas and ditched the vehicle to keep moving on foot.