by Michelle Fox
Kai shrugged. "Magic isn’t easy. I have paid a precious price to buy our safety." He pushed his chair back and used his hands on the table to push himself to his feet. "Show me this hunter and I will remove the threat to our pack. We have to be fast or else we'll all be in danger."
Chapter Nineteen
They all trailed after Kai into the garage, which smelled faintly of oil and gas. The cages Audrey housed her rescues in were stacked against one wall, all empty, which Charlotte knew was a good sign. It meant all the injured animals had healed and been returned to the wild. A new wave of critters wouldn’t come in until spring when, Audrey had told her, lots of animals found trouble, more so than at other times of the year.
"In the winter, animals hunker down and hibernate," she’d said as Charlotte helped her clean the pans at the bottom of each cage. "They aren’t as active, so they don’t get hurt as much."
Charlotte hoped that was true for werewolves as well. She could use a little hibernation, some kind of break from the werewolf weirdness that had taken over her life.
Aside from the cages, there was a long tool bench, which she knew was Tao’s domain. And in the middle of the floor, on top of an oil stain that spread out like old blood, laid the hunter. He was still unconscious, his stomach moving up and down as he breathed.
"You’re sure he won’t come back for us?" Charlotte asked. A chill went up her spine as she looked at the unconscious hunter, fully realizing how tall and wide he was for the first time. He gave Tao a run for his money, and Tao was a giant.
Kane moved next to her and put an arm around her, pulling her close. "It’ll be okay," he said. "Between Kai and our legal system, he’ll be lucky if he ever sees a McDonald’s again, let alone the werewolves of Glen Vine."
"I hope you’re right," she murmured.
"Silence," Kai said, his voice sharp despite the hoarseness that still plagued him. He kneeled at the hunter’s side and lightly slapped the man’s cheek. The hunter moaned and his eyes fluttered open and then shut again. Kai put more force into the slap as evidenced by the increase in sound when his hand connected with the hunter’s flesh.
Now the hunter’s eyes stayed open, and he looked at all of them in turn, a bitter hatred burning in his eyes. Behind his duct tape gag, he mumbled something at them.
Hating herself for doing it, Charlotte edged behind Kane. She didn’t want to feel the man’s gaze. Dodging the bullets had been bad enough. Kane reached back and cupped her body with his arm and hand, pulling her up against him.
"I’ve got you," he whispered as he looked over his shoulder at her.
She leaned into him, peeking around his broad physique as Kai did whatever it was he did in these situations. It involved more heavy breathing, closed eyes, and, this time, a monotone hum.
Something rushed over her skin. Usually it was her wolf, but this didn’t feel all that hairy. It was…power, she realized. Lots of power. Enough to make it seem like there was no oxygen in the air. When she did breathe, it flooded her system with the energy charging the garage. Her head began to swim, and even Kane had to take a step to keep himself from falling. The hunter screamed, his body bowing up off the floor, eyes rolling back in his head, but Kai didn’t stop. If anything, his humming grew louder until it stung the air like a hive of buzzing bees.
Charlotte and Kane dropped to their knees in unison, unable to stand against the power pressing down on them. She clutched his shoulders and he laid one hand over hers. Only Tao and Leo remained standing, somehow strong enough to keep their feet under them. Charlotte wasn’t surprised by that, though. She’d heard Tao say he could lift a truck and Leo was no slouch in the brute strength department. After a pack run, she’d seen him pick up a tree that had fallen across his path and hurl it back into the woods like a toothpick.
After several minutes, the weight of power in the air lightened and Kai stopped humming. Charlotte took a deep breath, relieved to be able to breathe just regular air.
"That was crazy," she said to Kane, her voice hushed.
He nodded, but didn’t speak, his attention focused on the hunter. Kai was trying to stand up, but kept falling down to one knee. Leo stepped forward and helped him up.
"Is it done?" Tao asked.
Kai nodded. "It is. A greater magic I have never worked, but he will not know where we are. This place will be lost to him, and he will not find it no matter how hard he looks."
"How?" Charlotte asked. "How do you know this? How do you do this?"
Kai gave her a tired look. "I know because of what I am. I do this because I was born for this work." Looking to Leo, he said, "The hunter will sleep until you wake him." He pulled a feather out of his hair. "Put this under his nose when you’re ready for him to wake."
Leo stepped forward to take the feather. Tucking it into the back pocket of his jeans, he said, "Got it. Thanks."
Kai kept his hand up, now reaching for Leo. "I need to rest, brother. Please take me inside."
Leo slung Kai’s arm over his shoulders and started walking with his brother to the door leading back into the house, but both stopped short when the hunter on the floor groaned, the sound harsh and full of agony. Everyone looked at him and then took a step back.
"What the Hell?" Charlotte whispered to herself. The hunter’s back arched off the floor again and then slammed down, the skin making an audible slapping sound on the concrete.
He writhed and rocked, eventually rolling onto his stomach and then back onto his back. When she saw the duct tape binding his hands rip apart, she pointed at him and yelled, "He’s breaking free!"
Leo left Kai and ran to the hunter, Tao moving in tandem with him, but it was too late. The duct tape snapped in a succession of staccato beats and the hunter was free. With the strength of a gymnast, he jumped to his feet, his fists swinging before he was even upright.
It was going to be the first time they’d met all over again.
"How is he so strong?" Charlotte asked, watching as the hunter landed solid punches to Leo and Tao’s faces. The force of the hits caused both men to stagger back.
Kane pushed her toward the side of the garage. "Stay here. I’m going to help."
"What about your gun?" she called after him.
He held up his empty hands. "Didn’t bring it." And then he was diving into the action, while she and Kai watched on the sidelines.
It freaked her out how similar the fight was to the last one. "This shouldn’t be happening." She looked around the garage, thinking maybe there would be a gun somewhere, but there was nothing but empty animal cages and Tao’s work bench. The tools looked like they could do serious damage, though. Charlotte fingered a wrench that was as long as her forearm. A mallet sat next to it, and farther down lay a row of screwdrivers.
No guns, but lots of possibilities. A sudden silence behind her caused her to turn around to see what had happened.
It wasn’t good. Both Tao and Leo were on the floor, not knocked out, but close to it. They moved slowly, their eyes glossy, as if about to pass out. The hunter advanced on Kane, cracking the knuckles of his enormous hands as he did so.
"Here, wolfie, come to your master," the hunter said in a low rumble.
Kane edged back, glancing from one side to the next as he took in the situation. Tao and Leo were coming, but not fast enough. Kai was upright, but only because he was leaning against the wall. Charlotte noticed his face was white as if he’d been drained of blood.
"Kane," she hissed, grabbing a screwdriver.
He turned to look at her, and she threw the tool to him. He caught it and brandished it at the hunter.
"What are you going to do with that toothpick?" the hunter snarled. "Clean my teeth?"
"We don’t want to kill you," Kane said. "You can still walk away. Just stop, and no harm, no foul. We each go our separate ways."
"That’s the plan. You go to hell, and I keep on living." The large man flashed a predatory smile. And then he lunged, picking Kane up by the front of his shirt
and throwing him across the garage.
Charlotte screamed as Kane came crashing down on top of the tool bench. The wood snapped at the force of his landing and tipped over, dumping him on the floor. The tools fell, making a loud metallic clanging noise as they bounced on the concrete floor. She caught the wrench before it fell, not knowing what she would do with it, but finding its weight comforting.
The hunter launched himself into the air with a powerful jump and landed on top of Kane. The two men rolled across the floor, punching and kicking. Blood streamed from several cuts on Kane’s face, one hitting him directly in the eye.
"Do something!" Charlotte screamed, her hands flailing in the general direction of the brothers.
Tao and Leo were on their feet now, but unsteady, their faces grey and bloody. They headed for the hunter, but he sensed them coming and reared up with two back fists, which hit them directly in their throats.
Clutching their necks, Leo and Tao made horrible noises as they fought to breathe. Despite the injury, Tao had the presence of mind to grab the hunter by the back of his shirt and yank him off Kane. The men scuffled after that, piling on top of the hunter, who eventually threw them all off, emerging from the bottom with the screwdriver in his hand. Murder shining in his eyes, he turned toward Kane, who was face down and had no idea he was in danger.
"No!" Charlotte threw herself toward the hunter. She had no clue what she was going to do, but damned if she would let this asshole werewolf hater hurt anyone she knew.
The hunter saw her, but somehow she was faster, fueled by adrenaline and desperation. They’d fought this human garbage how many times now? She was over it. Time for this to be done.
The wrench cocked behind her ear, she slammed it down on the hunter, aiming for his face, but only hitting his shoulder because he moved. The moment the metal connected with his body, a jarring recoil travelled up her arm, threatening to shake it out of socket. Pushing through the pain, she immediately brought the wrench back up for another hit. This time she got the bridge of his nose. He’d ducked the wrong way, which worked in her favor.
There was a crunch, and then the hunter bent over, hands over his face, howling. Charlotte slammed the wrench down on the back of his neck. That dropped him to the floor, but he was still moving, so she rained blows down on the same spot on his neck. A dull thunking noise sounded, timing itself with her heart-beat, which roared in her ears.
The hunter tried to get away, tried to hide, and when that failed, he tried to fight, but Charlotte had the upper hand. Wherever he went, she followed, and when he struck out at her—slow and clumsy now because of her blows—she easily sidestepped him, continuing to rain precise blows down on the man.
She hit the back of his neck again and again. Harder and harder, fueled by a desperate need to be safe. Blood began to spatter, then run in rivulets to pool under the hunter’s body, but still she didn’t stop. Raw fury howled in her blood and her vision tunneled, seeing the strike zone and nothing else. Her wolf was angry and wanted the threat annihilated. Nothing less would do.
Hands pulled at her then, and a voice murmured in her ear. Charlotte shook them off, but they wouldn’t leave her alone. In fact, they became more insistent, finally catching her wrist and refusing to let her hit the hunter anymore.
She blinked as someone peeled her fingers off the wrench and took it away.
Her vision went dark for a brief moment and her body began to fall apart as her wolf tried to emerge.
"No, Charlotte," came a deep voice ringing with authority that her wolf could not ignore.
She blinked. Her vision cleared and her body's borders snapped back into place. "Wh-what happened?" she asked, her voice trembling.
"Shh. It’s okay. Everything’s okay." This was Kane. He gave her wrist a tug, trying to pull her close, but she balked and twisted free of his grip.
She looked down. The hunter lay in a pool of blood at her feet. The back of his neck looked like chopped steak with bits of white bone shining through the red.
"Oh no, no, no." She backed away, her stomach clenched and her heart stuttering. Collapsing to her knees, she clutched her head. "Who am I?" she whispered. A college student? A werewolf? A killer? She didn’t know.
"You’re Charlotte. My amazing friend," Kane said, kneeling next to her. "That’s all that matters."
"I-I-I k-k-killed him. D-d-d-didn’t I?" She was shaking now, barely able to get words past the shivering.
Kane rubbed her back. "You saved me, Char. That’s what you did."
"You saved all of us," said Tao, coming to stand on her other side.
"M-m-me? You guys are the s-s-strong ones." Her teeth tried to chatter and she clamped her jaw tight.
"You’re strong, too, Charlotte, and I’m proud to have you in my pack." Tao stooped down and took both her hands in his to pull her to her feet.
"W-w-we w-w-weren’t g-going to k-kill him." She couldn’t stop shivering.
"He had different ideas, apparently." Tao nodded to Leo, Kai, and Kane. "Let’s go into the house. We all need some distance from this."
He started to lead her toward the door that opened into the kitchen, but Kane stepped forward. "Let me."
Tao backed off. "Sure thing." The three brothers filed into the house, followed by Kane and Charlotte.
"You’re in shock, so don’t try to go it alone. Just lean on me," he said.
She nodded and did as he suggested, finding comfort not just in his physical presence but also his scent. His warmth seeped into her and she inhaled his musk, needing that just as much as oxygen. Kane's closeness made things better, easing her fear and horror until she could finally take a deep breath again.
Chapter Twenty
Kane helped Charlotte into the house, worried she would pass out. She looked whiter than snow and slumped against him as if she lacked the strength to stand. Her jaw chattered, too, as if she were cold and couldn’t get warm. She was in shock, and it was his fault. If I’d been stronger or faster, she wouldn’t have had to do what she did.
"We’re almost there," he said as they entered the dining room. "Just a little farther."
She collapsed into a chair around the dining room table. Kane took the seat next to her. Kai, he noted, looked pale as well, and dark hollows shadowed his eyes.
"What the hell happened, Kai?" he asked, his voice gruff.
The slender man shrugged, but said nothing.
Kane wasn't about to let it go. "You were supposed to make it so what just happened didn't happen. Your magic didn't work."
Kai stiffened and slowly turned his head to meet Kane's gaze. "My magic always works, wolf."
"Then why did he wake up?" Kane growled. He nodded to Charlotte. "Do you even know what you've put her through?"
"Kane..." she protested, laying a hand on his shoulder.
He shook her off. "We need to know if Kai's magic is reliable or not."
Tao stepped in. "Kane, stop. Kai did everything he could."
He met the alpha's gaze, taking on the power that radiated from the man like wind and refusing to blink. "I won't stop, Tao. People could have died tonight, and we can't risk that again."
"I think the hunter had his own magic," Kai said slowly. "I will have to dream on it, but it's possible he had some kind of shield against what I did. One I could not detect." His shoulders slumped. "So yes, Kane, I suppose my magic did fail." Pushing his chair back, he shuffled out of the dining room, Leo hovering at his side, ready to catch him if he fell.
"Is he going to be okay?" Charlotte asked as she watched Kai disappear into the living room.
Tao spoke for him. "He’s just tired. From what he’s told me, magic is about moving energy and it can be like lifting a heavy weight. What he did today is more than he’s ever done. He’ll need to rest, but I’m sure he’ll be fine. He wouldn’t let it go too far."
Leo returned to the table and sat next to his brother. "Kai is tough. He’ll be all right."
"But will we?" Kane asked, shoot
ing a concerned glance Charlotte's way. With Kai out of the room, his anger had calmed.
"We'll get past this," Tao said. "It was self-defense and there's no dishonor in that."
"We tried not to kill him," Leo added, returning to the dining room. "It was the hunter who demanded violence, not us."
"Well, we're out of danger but now we have three dead bodies," Kane said. He wasn't sure he agreed with Tao and Leo, but what was done was done. He was too pragmatic to argue about the past. It was better to focus forward. "What are we going to do with them?"
"Bury them in the pack clearing," called Kai from the other room, his voice ragged as a dull knife.
"That would be the traditional thing to do." Leo gave a nod of approval.
"And what about their families?" Kane asked.
Tao grimaced. "That’s the flaw in our plan."
"Not to mention we haven’t even finished buying the pack lands. The bank is still drawing up the paperwork," Leo said.
"We’ll keep them here for now," Tao said after a moment’s hesitation.
"They’ll start to smell," Kane warned.
"I know," Tao said. "The mortgage papers should be ready soon. Once we sign, we can move them."
"Audrey won’t be happy," Charlotte said, her voice steadier now. The tension in Kane’s stomach eased a bit. She was going to be okay.
"I’ll work it out with her," Tao said.
Leo stood up. "I’ll go wrap the hunter in a tarp and clean up, so at least that will be done."
"Thanks, brother." Tao held his hand up and Leo clasped it in his.
"No problem."
Charlotte turned to Kane."What are we going to do about your parents?"
"I sent Danielle to take their statements, so we'll control the paperwork from beginning to end. We’ll keep what really happened quiet," Kane said.
"And that’s it," she said, blinking. "It’s over."
"Yes. It’s over. We’re safe now. You protected all of us." Tao confirmed, laying a hand on her shoulder and giving it a light squeeze. To Kane he said, "You did good. Thanks for all your help."