by Marilu Mann
He stopped dead in his tracks when the scent hit him. “Shit, shit, shit. Joie!” He bellowed her name, praying his nose lied to him. “Joie!” His voice more frantic, Slade raced into the shed, stopping when he realized it was totally empty except for the animals in their cages.
Back into the yard, then into the house where the old woman stood, staring at the counter. Slade saw the beginning of their meal then saw the shotgun propped against the doorframe.
“Shit!” He yanked his clothes off frantically without saying anything else to the old woman. Shifting seemed to take twice as long and as soon as his transformation was complete, he raced into the yard, nose to the ground.
Slice and Frank. Shit, it was them. They have Joie. Slade’s brain processed the scents and provided its own gruesome scenario. New Orleans, they’ve taken her to the compound. Maggie! Fuck!
Slade shifted quickly back to human, ran back into the house and grabbed a piece of paper. He hurriedly wrote a series of numbers on the paper then shoved it at the old woman.
“They’ve taken Joie. I’m going to get her back but I probably won’t be able to come back with her. Take this. If I don’t come back, call this phone number and give whoever answers this code number. There’s enough money in that account to take care of the two of you for the rest of your lives.” He pulled his jeans on, fastening them quickly, then slipped his shoes back on.
“You just get my girl back, boy. You just get her back.”
To his horror, the old woman crumpled into a chair at the table, crying. He didn’t know what to do to comfort her and didn’t have time to do it anyway. Slade gripped her shoulder until she looked at him, tears tracking down her face.
“I’ll get her back.” He ran into the bedroom, grabbing his leather jacket and the keys to his bike. In moments he’d hit the road for New Orleans. The scent trail hadn’t been that old, they were only about an hour ahead of him.
He’d have to find someone to help him, though, and that would take some time. Prayer had never been a friend of his, but he heard himself saying, “Please, please, please,” as he throttled the bike as high as it would go, fishtailing out onto the main road and leaning forward over the handlebars.
* * * * *
Joie sat up in the back of the car, studying the two men in the front seat. One man, the driver, looked clean-cut, more like a cop than anything else. The other had hair as long as Malcolm’s had been before she’d cut it and what she could see of his upper torso was covered in tattoos.
The second man glanced into the backseat and grinned at her. “Welcome back. What’s your name?”
“Joie Landry. What’s yours?”
“You can call me Slice. He’s Frank. You know who we are, don’t you?”
“Yes. You’re members of Malcolm’s Pack.”
“Malcolm?” Both men laughed sending shivers up and down her spine. “Imagine that. Malcolm.”
“Where are we going?”
“Well, we wanted to make sure Slade came back to the compound so you’re our insurance policy. The baby is an unexpected bonus.”
“What do you mean?” She couldn’t have heard that right. How could they know what she’d just begun to suspect?
“Our former fearless leader knocked you up, sweetheart. You’re pregnant. Aren’t you worried you might have puppies?” The man called Slice laughed at his own joke though she didn’t see the humor.
“How do you know I’m pregnant?”
“I can smell it. Some of us have more sensitive noses than others.” He turned his attention back to the road as they swept onto a tree-lined drive. “Welcome to the compound, Joie.”
She glanced around curiously. This was what Malcolm had left behind. They passed through a wrought iron gate as they continued down the drive. A huge yard spread on both sides of the drive with trees dotting the landscape.
She gasped as a group of dogs broke out of a wooded area to the right. No, not dogs, wolves. Oh Lord, the Pack. There must have been twenty of them running silently alongside the car.
They were all colors, all sizes and they had no trouble keeping up with the car though from the brief glance she’d had of the speedometer, it was traveling about thirty miles per hour.
When Frank pulled the car to a stop, the wolves milled about until Slice stepped out of the car and opened the back door. He dragged her out as Frank joined them. The Pack became eerily silent as they formed a semicircle around the trio standing in the circular drive.
She couldn’t help the shiver that raced across her skin. All these wolves, people, whatever, staring at her. They never moved and again it reminded her of the fear and fascination the deer must feel when confronted with a predator. She felt that if she moved, even in the slightest, they’d attack en masse.
The wolves around her varied in size and color, some of them with dark coats, some almost white. Their eyes were different colors as well, but they all had that luminous quality she’d seen in Malcolm’s eyes when he had been in wolf form.
Joie looked up as the massive front doors of the Georgian-style home opened. A shadow fell across the doorway then Maggie stepped through.
There wasn’t any sign she’d been in a fight with Malcolm just four days before. Her black tank top and miniskirt barely covered her. Joie noticed her feet were bare as she started down the steps toward them.
Pulling herself to her full height, Joie refused to give in to the fear pulsing through her. The two men at her sides chuckled slightly, letting her know they weren’t fooled at all by her bravado.
“Well, well, well. We meet again. Welcome to the compound.” Maggie gestured expansively as though welcoming an honored guest to her home. Joie knew she couldn’t be the only one to hear the contempt in the other woman’s voice.
“Maggie, there’s something you should know.” Slice took a half-step forward, stopping only when Maggie glared at him.
“What?”
“She’s pregnant.”
It was Joie’s turn to glare as Maggie halted in stunned silence.
“She’s not just pregnant. He’s marked her.” Maggie’s hand gripped her chin, forcing her head to the side so the two men and the wolves around them could see the mark Malcolm had left on her neck. A strange sound moved through the wolves around her. That more than anything brought more chills to her skin.
Maggie released her chin then backhanded her. Joie cried out as she crumpled to her knees. Frank stepped between the two women. Why Maggie was so mad about her being marked?
“Easy, Maggie. We want her in one piece when he gets here. We left enough scent for him to track but we need to be ready for him.”
Maggie glared down at her and Joie glared right back. How on earth had Malcolm ever become involved with that over-dyed overblown blonde? Joie raised her chin, ignoring the blood from her split lip and struggled to her feet. It wasn’t easy with her hands tied behind her, and no one stepped forward to help her.
“Get her inside. Put her somewhere I don’t have to see her and keep her there until time for the challenge.” Maggie spat the words out then spun around and went back inside.
Slice took one of Joie’s arms and led her up the stairs into the house. She tried to look around but he moved too fast for her to see very much. Slice took her into a small room off the main hallway, pushed her inside then slammed the door. Joie heard the lock turn then glanced around.
The room seemed to be comfortably furnished though she wouldn’t be too comfortable with her hands still tied behind her back. She moved around the room, glancing at the pictures on the wall, noting the quality of the fabric and the thickness of the rug under her feet.
Finally, she sat on one of the couches to stare at the door. The coolness of the room indicated central air-conditioning and a chill raced down her spine as she stared at the closed and locked door.
“Malcolm, please hurry.” Her voice just a whisper in the otherwise silent room. Joie felt the tears gathering then licked her split lip. “Be careful, Ma
lcolm, please be careful.”
* * * * *
Slade arrived in New Orleans less than an hour after leaving the cabin. He took side roads to avoid the heavy traffic around the Superdome then turned onto a side street. Weaving the bike through cars parked on both sides of the road, he searched for one particular vehicle.
There! Thank God. He pulled the bike over to the sidewalk and turned it off. It annoyed him that his hands were shaking so he took a deep breath, reaching for the control he would need through the next few hours.
Slade got off the bike and started toward a private garden. There was an intercom on the gate and he pressed the buzzer until an irate voice came through the speaker.
“Who’s there?”
“Slade. I need to see Micah.” Total silence greeted his statement, then the gate buzzed to admit him. Before he’d taken two steps into the enclosed garden, four men poured out of the house, two of them with pistols pointed at him. Slade held his hands out to the sides and stopped.
“I’m not armed.”
“You’ve got one hell of a nerve coming here.” One of the men spoke, his accent giving away the fact that he was a native of the Crescent City.
“Easy.” Micah’s calm voice washed over all of them as he stepped forward, putting a hand on the other man’s shoulder. “I’ll hear what he has to say. Go back inside. You’ll know if I need you.”
“You keep this. I don’t trust that bastard any farther than I could toss this house.” The man who had spoken first handed Micah his pistol then led the procession back into the house.
Micah put the pistol down on a wrought iron table then faced him again. He crossed his arms over his chest as he tilted his head to one side. “What do you want, Slade?”
“The Pack has taken Joie. I want your help.” Slade took one step forward with his hands still out at his sides, then stopped. He couldn’t read Micah’s face, couldn’t tell what the other man thought.
“You want my help?” Micah simply stood there. Slade felt an unfamiliar emotion rising. Fear. If Micah didn’t agree to help him, help Joie, she could die. He broke out in a cold sweat then swallowed hard.
“I… I need…” he paused, licked his lips and then did something he didn’t think he’d ever do. Slade went down on his knees, his hands still out to the sides. “I need your help. I’m going back to face the Pack but I don’t want them to hurt Joie. I need you there. You’re the only one who can protect her from Maggie, from the rest of the Pack. Please.” The last word left his throat on an anguished cry.
Micah stared hard at him then nodded. He relaxed his stance slightly, pushing his hands into his front pockets. “If I do this thing for you, if I protect your mate, what will you do if you win the fight?”
“I won’t.” Slade got to his feet, his pride reasserting itself, even now. “I won’t win. If you’ll protect Joie, make sure she gets out alive and unharmed, I’ll go belly up.”
“You’ll purposely lose the fight? That means they can kill you.” Micah trailed one hand over the gun as though he’d finish the job for them here and now. Slade swallowed hard as he stared at Micah.
“I don’t care. It doesn’t matter. All that matters is that Joie is safe.”
“If they let you live, you’ll leave New Orleans? You’ll renounce the Pack?” Micah’s eyes seemed to bore into his skull, reading the truth of what he said.
“I’ll leave New Orleans. I’ll renounce the Pack. Just protect Joie.”
The silence in the garden was broken only by the passing traffic on the other side of the wall. Micah stared at him for a long moment then nodded.
“Congratulations, little brother. You’ve finally learned what it means to be Alpha. Being willing to give your life to secure another’s well-being—that is what marks the true Alpha.”
Micah picked the pistol up and turned it over in his hands. He glanced at Slade again then nodded. “I’ll protect your mate. She’ll come to no harm. And if you survive this challenge, you’ll leave New Orleans and renounce the Pack.” He turned back toward the house.
“Micah? I’m going to the compound now. When will you be there?”
“Patience, Slade. Wait here while I get my keys. We’ll need transportation other than your motorcycle for your mate.”
“Why do you keep calling her that?”
Micah touched his own chest with one hand. “You bear her mark, she probably bears yours. You’re willing to die for her. She is your mate in spite of the fact that she’s human. Strange the way the world works, isn’t it?”
He turned and went back into the house, leaving Slade staring after him. How did he know that? How did Micah know that he still had the imprint of Joie’s teeth on his chest? There was no way Micah could have seen through his shirt. The guy was downright scary.
Micah reappeared in the doorway, one of the other men trailing him and arguing against his going with Slade. Micah put a hand on the other man’s shoulder, saying something Slade couldn’t hear. He turned to face Slade. “Let’s go.”
Micah led the way to his battered pickup. Slade got in the passenger side and Micah pulled away from the curb. Within moments they had arrived at the compound. The gates were open, so Micah drove through them, straight to the area behind the house where the Challenge circle waited.
Slade scented the air, trying to sniff Joie out. There were too many other scents vying for attention. He finally closed his eyes, leaning back slightly until Micah pulled to a stop.
The two men got out of the truck then Slade turned toward Micah. “You’ll keep her safe?”
“She has my protection and you have my word.” Micah said nothing more, simply pulled his shoes and shirt off. He unbuttoned his jeans but left them on. He nodded toward the circle and Slade nodded back.
Slade stripped, leaving his clothes beside Micah’s truck then stepped into the center of the dirt circle. Putting his head back, he howled. The long, low sound ricocheted around the compound then suddenly several voices answered.
The Pack poured out of the woods, the house and the surrounding yard. He’d called them as Alpha and they responded. They moved noisily toward the circle, short yips, longer barks and echoing howls marking their progress, though none of them crossed the line marking the circle itself, they milled around in the yard. Finally they quieted. The very air seemed to shimmer as the men and women comprising the Pack shifted from animal to human.
Slade stood in the center of the circle, meeting a few eyes here and there, though there were still some who refused to meet his gaze. The back door to the house opened and Maggie came through. She hadn’t answered the call—a deliberate slap at his authority.
“Well, well, well, look who finally decided to grace us with his almighty presence.” She strolled through the Pack, smiling as they parted to form a path for her. “How’s life, Slade? Been enjoying yourself hiding out in the bayou?”
“You know why I’m here, Maggie. Let’s cut the drama.”
“Yes, I know why you’re here. We have a guest in the compound, Slade. A friend of yours.” She turned toward the house. “Boys? Bring our guest outside.”
Slade felt his whole body tense. His hands clenched at his sides. If they’ve hurt her, I’ll kill them all.
He stared at the back door, willing Joie to appear, to be unharmed. He took a shaky breath as Frank and Slice appeared in the doorway, Joie between them. They’d tied her hands in behind her and her lip was split. Otherwise, she looked okay.
Terrified, but okay. Fear rolled off her in waves until she saw him. She smiled, she actually smiled when she saw him standing in the circle.
Slade moved to the edge of the circle nearest her as they brought her to a stop. “I’d like to speak to Joie.”
“Your mate, you mean?” Maggie’s loud voice ensured that anyone who didn’t already know he’d been with Joie knew it now. “The one carrying your baby?”
Slade whipped his head around to stare first at Maggie then back to Joie. Joie swallowed hard, b
iting her lower lip. “I sort of suspected,” she whispered, still looking down.
Slade took another step toward her, only the low growl from several throats warning him not to step outside the circle. He glanced toward Micah. Micah nodded then moved closer to them. “Let them speak together, Maggie. It is his right.”
“Fine. Let’s all stand back and see how Slade feels about being a father. How he really feels about humans.” She smirked as she moved back between Frank and Slice. The two men stepped away from Joie.
She hesitated for a moment, until he held his arms out to her, then she ran into the circle. Slade wrapped his arms around her for a moment, drinking in her scent, then took a step back. He ignored the Pack, focusing solely on Joie.
“You okay?” He kept his voice low, for her ears alone though he knew those closest to them could hear every word.
“Scared, but better now that you’re here.” She tried to smile at him again but he saw the tears forming.
“Don’t cry, Joie. Don’t show any weakness right now. It’s important.” He waited until she nodded then gently touched her lip. “Who hit you?”
“Maggie. I’m okay, this is nothing.”
“It’s not ‘nothing’ to me. Listen to me, Joie. Listen carefully. I want you to go stand by Micah.”
She interrupted him, “Malcolm, could you untie my hands?”
“Not right now, baby.” He cupped her face, ignoring Maggie’s derisive snort. “Listen to me, now. Stand by Micah. Whatever happens, don’t leave his side. He’s going to make sure you get out of here safely. Once you step out of this circle, don’t step back in. Do you understand? Do not step inside the circle again. If you do, you’re fair game.”
She nodded slowly, keeping her eyes on his. “What’s going to happen?”
“I’m here to face challenge, baby. That means I’ll fight whoever steps into the circle.”
“How will you know when you’ve won?”
“Don’t worry about that.” Slade put one hand on her stomach. “How do you feel about this? About being pregnant?”