She took several deep breaths, her throat dry, heart pounding—and began to climb down the crude treads. Her gaze stayed on the rungs below her. No way was she going to let the bastard surprise her again.
Shay had never liked heights. It was probably a good thing she couldn’t see much through all the thick branches as she climbed lower and lower. Her hands burned, the damage to them making it painful for her to grip the rough rungs, but she kept going. Time wasn’t on her side. Tegan would come back. She wanted to reach the ground and be gone before he returned.
She wasn’t overly familiar with that part of her pack’s territory, but she’d seen plenty of maps at Rod’s house. It was his job to keep those cameras operational. Some of them were near the river. She just wished she could remember where each of them had been placed. That information had never seemed important before now.
She finally breached the dense branches and could see the ground. Exhaustion had her panting. The area around the base was thankfully clear of Tegan. She paused before traversing the lowest rungs, searching for any sign of movement. The only thing that stirred was the breeze. The river noise was much louder, now that she was only twenty feet in the air, free of the noise-reducing leaves and branches.
It was tempting for her to drop to her knees to kiss the ground when she climbed down the remainder of the trunk, but she resisted. She longingly stared at the water, incredibly thirsty, but instead she turned away from it, stumbling into the woods and toward pack territory. She was too afraid of running into Tegan to linger.
Shay kept moving, slowly but surely, her gaze darting around as she strained to hear any sound of Tegan. She also looked for hiding spots in case she needed to get out of sight.
A glint caught her eye, and she spotted one of the cameras. She quickly changed direction, stopped in front of it, and waved her arms. Hopefully, someone was watching the monitors.
“Please see me!”
Trayis had lost Tegan’s trail. It had been easy to follow for a bit, his stench the strongest where the crazy Lycan had realized he’d been scented and ran in fear. Before that, he’d traveled over the rocky shore of the river. The trail was gone.
He snarled, enraged.
Arlis and half a dozen of his pack spread out, looking for any sign of Tegan’s scent or footprints.
One of the sentries whistled. “Here.”
Trayis rushed over to see what the sentry had found. A partial print in the dirt. They fanned out again, looking for another mistake Tegan had made.
Ten yards away, someone picked up his scent on a bush, where he’d obviously brushed against it. It seemed Tegan had changed direction.
“This is the third time,” Martin snarled. “It’s like he was staggering around like a fucking drunk, even though he remembered to hide his tracks.”
“We aren’t giving up.” Trayis sniffed the air and kept his gaze locked on the ground. “Keep looking.”
The satellite phone one of the men had given Arlis rang. Trayis looked over, watching his brother answer it. Arlis met his gaze—and his eyes widened as he listened to whoever spoke. “Where?”
Trayis rushed toward him, his heart pounding.
“Got it. Section nine-two-four. Where the fuck is that?” Arlis smiled briefly at Trayis. “Shay’s alive! They have her on one of the cameras. She’s waving in front of it to get our attention.”
Relief hit Trayis so hard, he could barely breathe. “Where?”
“You said nine-two-four?” Martin pointed. “That way. Maybe a mile.”
That was all Trayis needed. A direction. He shifted, running as fast as he could toward where Martin had pointed. He leapt over a fallen tree, skirted a boulder, and kept running. He didn’t know if anyone followed, nor did he care. He had to get to Shay.
He frantically tried to pick up her scent—and finally caught it, slightly changing direction. He had to dodge more trees, rocks and bushes. Her scent grew stronger, and he locked on to it, picking up a sudden burst of speed.
He leapt over another bush and spotted her.
She spun, terror on her face, but then she cried out, “Trayis!”
Rage nearly blinded him when he saw her. She was injured. There was slight swelling and some blood on the side of her head, near her temple. She wore only jeans, bra and shoes, and he saw damaged skin on her exposed stomach and ribs. Her wrists were bandaged in rags—and he could smell her blood.
He catalogued all of that before he finally made it to her, skidded to a halt, and shifted back to skin. He rose up, swiftly pulling her into his arms, holding on tight. She is alive.
“Shay!”
She clung to him. “You found me!”
He let her go and dropped to his knees, staring at her stomach. There was bruising and scratches. He inhaled, picking up several scents. Some of them were Tegan but those were faint. He jerked his head up. “Did that bastard do this to you?”
“The head and wrists, yes. The rest, it’s a long story. I might have some broken ribs.”
He rose to his feet again. “I’m going to bite my wrist. You’re going to drink my blood.”
She looked stunned.
“It will heal you. Do you trust me?”
“Yes.”
He lifted his wrist, let his fangs drop, and bit into his skin. He gently turned her until her back was to his chest, wrapped his arm around her, and then lifted his bleeding arm to her lips. “Drink, doll. Now.”
She opened her mouth and let him press his torn skin to her lips. He held her as tight as he dared, beyond relieved that she was in his arms. He heard his brother and the rest of the search party coming, but he concentrated on Shay.
She was drinking his blood. His dick stirred at the thought, at the pull of her mouth on his flesh, but he ignored his arousal. There wasn’t a damn thing sexy about this moment. Shay was hurt, literally bleeding in his arms, and he wanted her healed.
She trembled slightly and stopped drinking. He pulled his arm back, seeing that he’d stopped bleeding. It was tempting to bite himself again to force her to drink more.
“How is she?” Arlis walked up to them, looking concerned. His brother glanced from his arm to the blood on Shay’s lips. “Good idea. You can heal any injuries.” He lifted his hand and motioned to the others. “Back off.”
Shay lifted her head, holding his gaze, and Trayis saw her tears. It tore him up inside. “I’m here, doll. I’m so sorry that crazy fucking Lycan got you.”
“I’m okay.”
He adjusted his hold then lifted her, cradling her in his arms. His attention went to her head. The cut there had stopped bleeding long ago but he could see the skin knitting together where it had been split. His blood was working. Then he lowered his gaze to her stomach, watching as the scratches began to heal.
“Thank you for the blood. I was thirsty but that wasn’t what I had in mind,” she quipped.
“Get her some water,” he ordered Arlis.
“On it.” His brother walked off.
“Vampire blood heals faster than a Lycan’s. What exactly did he do to you, Shay?” He didn’t pick up any scent to indicate Tegan had sexually assaulted her. That was a huge relief.
“He hit me in the head hard enough to knock me out, and I woke up tied to a rope tethered to a rickety old treehouse.” Her gaze lifted to the sky. “Way up.”
Rage consumed him all over again. “You climbed down?” He thought about her falling from a long distance. She was so fragile, and some of the local trees were immense. Shay didn’t heal as well as a Lycan. She could have died.
“I’ll tell you about it later.” Her gaze locked with his. “I’m really okay.” She gave him a brave smile. “I’m so happy to see you. Did we miss our flight?”
He lowered his body and just sat on the ground, cuddling her in his arms. Trayis needed to hold her. “All that matters is that you’re safe, and I have you.”
He knew they were being watched, could sense the Lycans surrounding them. It didn’t matter if the
y saw how much Shay meant to him. She was his mate…or would be soon. He rocked her gently. “How are your ribs feeling? You said they might be broken.”
“I feel better. They hurt less. I’m just really thirsty.”
Arlis came back and knelt in front of him. He opened a bottle of water and offered it to Shay.
“Drink slow,” Trayis reminded her. “You could get sick otherwise.”
She nodded, taking small sips. “Tegan is out there somewhere. He’ll be coming back. He’s crazy.”
“No, he won’t be.”
Shay held his gaze.
“We caught his scent and chased him. The bastard pulled a gun and shot himself in the head to avoid being forced to tell us where you were.”
He hated to see the horrified look on her face. “He had a gun? And he killed himself?”
“He’s not dead.” He would be soon enough. Tegan’s time was. He’d hurt Shay, kidnapped her, and Trayis wasn’t going to allow him to live.
“He was on drugs again,” Arlis added. “It can make our kind unstable. Especially the shit he stole from our healer, if he was mixing them together.”
“He was always unstable.” Martin walked into Trayis’s view. “Tegan just hid it well. I saw plenty of crazy in that bastard when I had to try to make something out of him.”
Arlis sighed. “You were right, Martin. I should have let you kill him. This could have been avoided.”
“Don’t bust your own balls, Alpha.” Martin came even closer and lowered his voice. “You like to see the good in people and give them second chances. It makes you a great leader. I don’t have your patience. That’s why I’d be shitty at your job.”
Trayis adjusted his hold on Shay. “Help me up.”
Arlis and Martin gripped his arms, pulling him to his feet with Shay. He couldn’t and wouldn’t let her go. Not until he could assure himself she was really okay.
“Thanks. Shay needs a bath, and I need some time alone with her.”
Arlis held his gaze. “I’ll contact your clan to let them know you’re going to be delayed.”
“Just a day,” Trayis decided. “Tell Wen or Tymber we’ll leave first thing in the morning. No offense, but I want to get Shay to my clan.”
Regret surfaced in Arlis’s expression. “I’m so sorry this happened.”
“I’ve dealt with some crazy in my clan, too. Remember my last visit in the middle of the night?”
Arlis nodded. “You came to pick up that human because of Wen’s fucked-up parents. Who could forget? I’m glad that worked out.”
“Me too.”
Chapter Fifteen
“I’m fine, Trayis.” Shay felt just a tinge of irritation at this point. He’d carried her the entire way from the woods to the guest trailer, refusing to let her walk. Then he’d cleaned her in the shower as if she were an infant. He’d washed her tenderly, slowly, checking over every inch of her skin—which was remarkably healed. Then he’d put her to bed and fed her, making her eat every bite.
“Humor me.”
She sighed and nodded. If forced, she’d admit it felt nice to be taken care of. It was also comforting that he cared so much. If there was ever a doubt, it had been laid to rest. She was grateful there wasn’t any bubble wrap in the trailer or Trayis might dress her in it head to toe.
Someone knocked on the door in the living area and Trayis snarled. “Your family is driving me crazy. What part of ‘stay away’ don’t they understand?”
She opened her mouth but he got out of bed, stomping out of the room. She listened as he unlocked the door, snarling at whoever was there that she was fine and not accepting visitors. For some reason, Trayis didn’t want anyone near her. She guessed it was an instinctual thing, after what had happened with Tegan.
He slammed the door and returned to the bedroom, sprawling out next to her.
“I’m all healed.” She showed him her wrists. The skin wasn’t cut or swollen anymore. In fact, his blood had totally removed every mark. “I feel great now.”
“You could have died.”
“I didn’t. I’m so grateful that you were out there looking for me. And obviously it was traumatic for us both. Crazy people exist in the world, Trayis. I’m alright. Everything is okay now. You can relax.”
“He could have killed you.”
“You’ve said that many times. He didn’t. Who was at the door that time?”
“It was my brother. We leave at six in the morning. Our flights have been changed.”
“I’m sorry we couldn’t go today.”
“It’s not your fault. I’m just glad you’re here with me.”
“Me too.” She smiled and reached out, taking his hand. “Thank you for feeding me your blood. I didn’t know that it could heal.”
“My father was a Vampire. Their blood heals injuries, if given in small amounts. Too much can change a human and turn them.”
“I figured, since I’ve heard how they make other Vampires.”
“Lycan blood protects that from happening to them. They can’t be turned by a Vamp. I didn’t give you enough to risk it, though, since you’re also human.”
“I appreciate that. I like sunshine and real food.”
He reached up and gently stroked her cheek. “It frightened me when I realized you were taken, Shay.”
“I’m okay.”
He nodded and let his hand drop. “You trust Martin, don’t you?”
“Of course. Why?”
Trayis’s eyes turned black. “I have something to do. Martin is going to stay outside to protect you while I’m gone. This won’t take long.”
“Where are you going?”
He hesitated. “Tegan is still alive. I won’t allow that to stand, Shay. He took you, hurt you, and could have killed you.”
She let that sink in. Packs had rules. Some of them were harsh but necessary. “I understand. He’s crazy and dangerous. I guess they aren’t going to get him help.”
“You’re thinking like a human again.”
“I realize that. Though, we do have a pack therapist, who perhaps could have helped Tegan.”
“He ordered me to murder Arlis and his enforcers. Tried to trade your life for theirs. My brother will kill him if I don’t.” He didn’t look away from her. “I want to kill him for what he did to you. No one hurts you, Shay. You’re mine to protect.”
She knew it was necessary. Tegan had clearly had two mental breaks close together, and she’d witnessed both. First when he’d used stolen drugs and gone after her in the office. Then again when he’d attacked her and kidnapped her from the cabin. Being punished the first time hadn’t worked. Tegan had become a threat not only to her, but to the entire pack with his insanity and stupidity. Humans would be at risk, too, if he were allowed to escape.
She nodded. “I understand.”
“Do you?”
“I do. I deal with pack correspondences, remember? He’s not the first Werewolf the packs have had to put down. And we have Graves. It’s sometimes his job to take down dangerous Werewolves. Tegan had a chance to get himself straight, but instead he only made things worse. We’ve survived and remained hidden from humans by following strict laws. We police our own, and there’s no long-term prison for Werewolves. They follow the rules or they’re killed. There’s no gray area. We can’t allow there to be. Tegan earned his death.”
The black bled out of Trayis’s eyes. “I don’t want you to feel responsible in any way. You’re not. This is all on Tegan.”
“I understand. I really do. God only knows what horrible thing he’d do next if he were allowed to live. He’s crazy, stupid, and can’t be reasoned with. I tried. And no one forced those drugs into him. He chose to take them. I’m fine with it, Trayis. I was raised in a pack. I get it.”
“Good.” He scooted closer and placed a kiss on her forehead. “Rest. Martin is right outside.”
“I’m safe now that Tegan isn’t running around.”
“I don’t care. I’m using a guard w
e both trust. I won’t risk anything happening to you. Humor me, Shay. I had a bad scare.”
She nodded. “Okay.”
“Good. I won’t be gone long.”
“I’ll be here.”
She watched him climb off the bed and leave, listening to the door close at the other end of the trailer.
Trayis was going to kill Tegan. Part of her was glad she hadn’t been invited to watch that go down. She might live with a pack, but she still didn’t like violence.
A good five minutes went by before she heard the door open, and Shay sat up. It surprised her to see Marcia coming down the short hall toward her. She smiled when she saw her foster sister.
Tears filled Marcia eyes. “Martin let me sneak in while Trayis is away. He said to get my ass in, don’t stay long, assure myself you’re really fine, and then get the fuck out.”
“I’m okay.” She slid out of bed and stood.
Marica gently hugged her, let go, and then visually inspected her. “You don’t appear any worse for the trauma you suffered.”
“Trayis gave me his blood.” She lifted her arms. “My wrists were fucked up from the rope and I had a head injury. I’m fine now.” She didn’t mention the damage she’d taken slamming into a branch after jumping from the treehouse.
Marcia looked surprised. “You drank his blood? And I worried he’d be the one biting you.”
“He’s part Vampire. His blood heals if it’s taken in small amounts. My injures began to heal right away.”
Marica smiled. “That’s cool. Especially for you. That means he can heal you super-fast if you’re ever hurt. I guess I can stop worrying about you leaving, at least a little.” Then she tensed, growing somber. “Did Tegan do anything else to you? You should talk to another woman if he—”
“He didn’t sexually assault me.”
Relief had Marica sighing. “I’m glad. We were so worried.”
“Tegan was just crazy and refused to listen to reason, still convinced you, Kale, and I had been plotting to screw him out of the enforcer position. Oh—and Kale got it? That’s what Tegan said.”
Trayis (VLG Series Book 11) Page 19