by M. L. Briers
“You neglected to tell me that Bruce had rogue’s on his payroll,” Shamus bit out as I rushed forward to lend a hand, a set of claws, and my fangs to the proceedings. At any other time I would have considered this a fun night out, but with Maggie lying unprotected in my bed- I just couldn’t bring myself to enjoy the kill…
“Because I knew…” I shot back, feeling just as aggrieved as he did by this turn of events.
“Go, protect your woman. I’ve got this,” Shamus punched a hole clean inside the beast’s chest and yanked out its heart. I was impressed- right up to the point where I caught sight of the band of rogues that were coming at us across the darkened field, their red rimmed eyes were unmistakable.
“Err, I beg to differ.”
I heard Shamus’s curse loud and clear and seconded that emotion. A pack of rogues was a sobering sight, and my gut told me that I needed to be with Maggie.
“We fight inside- too much ground to protect out here.” I offered to Shamus- hoping that the daft Irishman wouldn’t decide to stand his ground.
“I’m with you there,” Shamus tossed the second mutt away and I heard him on my heels as I headed back into the house. The sound of paws on the ground like the fast beat of a drum that signalled war lay behind us.
I just had to pray that we were on the side that would stand victorious when this night was over.
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“Too many entrance points.” Shamus bit out as we retreated inside of the house and closed the doors behind us.
“Tell me something I don’t know,” I offered back with a sour taste in my mouth.
If this house had not been neglected for so long then I would have fitted protection around the property. As it was there was little that I could do to keep the wolves outside the door from getting in.
I hadn’t expected this. I’d been distracted, blindsided, and now I’d put us all in danger.
“It’s no coincidence those wolves are here. What kind of a man uses mutts against his own?” Shamus bit out with disgust.
“One that likes to minimise his chances of losing.”
“What’s happening?” Maggie’s voice called down from the upstairs landing and every inch of my body tensed with knowing that I’d failed her.
Shamus had been right. I should have taken her and left. Talked her down from her fear and wrath once she was safely away from all of this.
“We…” I was loathed to say the words. “Have a wolf problem.”
“There are no wolves in Scotland,” she shot back with an amused tone, but when I turned my eyes up to hers, I guessed it was written on my face. “Werewolf?” she muttered, and I would have answered her, only the sound of breaking glass stole my attention.
“Go back to the bedroom and lock yourself inside the bathroom.”
I listened for the sound of her feet moving as I turned my attention back to the sound of paws inside the house. It took her a moment, but she moved.
“We’ve got this,” Shamus said, and I wasn’t sure if he was trying to encourage me or himself.
“If this goes pear shaped and I don’t make it, get her the hell away from here and turn her yourself.” I didn’t want to dwell on my words, on the anger that they caused within me at the thought of his fangs anywhere near Maggie’s neck- it heightened the bloodlust within me, made me want to rip and kill at the injustice in those thoughts.
“You have my word.” Shamus replied as they came at us, red rimmed eyes fixed on their targets, and snarling like the hellbeasts that they had become.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
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MAGGIE
I raced back down the hallway on legs that felt as if they’d give way at any time. Wasn’t it enough that there were vampires? Now there were werewolves too.
I never wanted this. I never asked for any of this, but I couldn’t stop it either.
My heart was pounding within my ears and yet I could still hear the sound of glass smashing, of wood breaking, of wild snarls and curses… fighting- Mac and Shamus were fighting off the wolf beasts and there was nothing that I could do to help them, help myself.
I raced into the bedroom and practically tossed my body into the bathroom. Slamming the door closed behind me and trying to get my fingers to work the lock was an effort in self control. I was shaking so damn badly that I could have been standing outside naked in an ice storm and have had more control over my body.
I wanted to go home. I wanted to wake up and find out that this was just a nightmare- that my vampire mate was all in my mind, but for some strange reason my mind rejected that idea.
I guess there was a big part of me that was coming around to accepting fate, him, and I felt helpless to do anything about my need to have him right beside me now, mouthing off in that sarcastic way and telling me that everything was going to be alright…
Mac was a vampire- they should have been the top of the food chain, right? But werewolves- how many were there?
Could Mac and Shamus take down a pack, an army?
The sound of a pained yelp seemed to echo inside of the bathroom. It wasn’t unlike hearing an injured dog cry for help, but I felt no sympathy for that sound- I welcomed it because it meant that the vampires were still alive- still winning. I needed them to win, not just for my own safety, but for Mac’s.
I felt a connection with him. I knew that deep down somewhere in my psyche I still held those human-vampire prejudices that made me want to view him as a monster, but right now- I needed him to be that monster and to survive.
There was the other part of me, more dominant than I ever would have believed it to be, that saw him as a man- not just any man, but a man not a monster nonetheless. That was the part that was rooting for him to win, to survive. That was the part that wanted him to be safe, to come back to me with that self confident swagger, and those one liners that made me smile on the inside even when I scowled at him.
The fear within me wasn’t just for me, but for Mac and Shamus too. I never thought I’d be rooting for vampires to win the day. I never truly thought that I would ever meet one, but now that I had… well, I’d come to the conclusion that I didn’t want to lose him.
How screwed up was that?
Fighting raged on the other side of the door as I coward in a damn bathroom and here I was sorting out my feelings for Mac. I needed my bumps felt. I needed to check myself into the nutty wing of the local hospital- not that they’d ever let me out once I started spouting about vampires and werewolves… talk about your rock and a hard place…
The sound of fighting seemed to be getting closer. I put my ear to the door and listened hard… scratching, it sounded like scratching against wood, closer and closer…
The hard thud on the door made my heart leap into my throat and choke off my breathing as I jumped backwards into the room. My eyes dropped to the lock- old and thick, but would it hold if someone- something- wanted to get in?
Another thud echoed off the walls and through my bones- it felt as if the sound waves were actually jarring my body. Stupidly, and out of desperation, I looked around for a weapon- I couldn’t exactly hit it whatever was coming for me with a toilet brush, but apart from that there was nothing- what had I expected?
Another thud and I heard the wood creaking- it might have been trying to hold under the weight of the attack, but it was still weakening. A few more of those and whatever wanted in was going to have its way…
I was a sitting duck…
I made my legs move even with cement feet. My last line of defence was whatever products I could find in the cabinet… I kind of hoped that Mac’s old fashioned ways would mean he still shaved with a switchblade, and yet I knew my luck wouldn’t be in.
In one hand I held a can of deodorant, and in the other a toothbrush- I figured that if I could get near the eyes then maybe I could thrust it right into the brain… eww… I kind of hoped that I never got the chance to test that theory…
The door wasn’t g
oing to last much longer… I tried to calm my breathing, my shaking limbs, and yet how the hell could I when it kept pounding on the door wanting in?
The moment I saw the door give I knew that I was dead. I caught sight of the monster on the other side, red rimmed eyes locking onto mine, and I was certain that nothing could save me…
Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think past the fear of seeing that wolf breaking through the barrier that had managed to hold him as long as it had.
I tried to move, to take a step back, but my legs wouldn’t oblige me. I was frozen in place, and it was rallying for the death nail in the doors coffin.
The snarl on its lips. The sight of razor sharp fangs baying for my blood… I trust myself forward, aimed the can in its face, and pushed the damn button.
Pain screamed through my body when its jaws snapped out and clamped down on my wrist. I’d hit it almost square in the eyes with the spray and it was blinking, growling, and snarling- but it had still managed to get me…
I know that I let out a scream, of surprise, of fear, of pain- my fingers let go of the can as the beast wrenched me forward with a powerful tug of its jaws, and my other hand hit what was left of the door as I tried to pull my arm from its grip…
I was going to die.
Right here and right now, I was going to die, and there wasn’t a damn thing that I could do to save myself.
I screamed for Mac- not knowing if he was alive or dead, but knowing that I needed him now.
He was the only person who could save me…
He was the only person I wanted to see…
I wanted life. I wanted him. I wanted us.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
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MAC
Two had gotten through the barrier that Shamus and I were trying to hold. The partition between downstairs and upstairs. Us and them, and upstairs was my helpless mate.
I didn’t have time to waste climbing the stairs. I pushed up on bended knees and jumped to the outside of the first landing, swinging my body over the bannister and sinking my claws into the neck of the wolf that was following his comrade up the stairs.
I embedded my claws as deeply into his flesh as I could and wrenched the beast from the floor, over my head, and down onto the marble floor below. I didn’t wait to see the outcome- there was already a rogue ahead of me and Maggie was alone.
I cursed at not sending Shamus to protect her.
I cursed at not having the foresight to put his body in between Maggie and certain death.
I heard her scream and my body revolted at the sound. There was pain embedded in the fear, and that sound would haunt me forever, no matter what the outcome.
I didn’t take a moment to judge the situation as I came upon the rogue attacking my mate. I reacted out of pure instinct as my bloodlust fired through my mind, calling on the monster within to react, to act, and I tore into the wolf like a crazed, half-starved newbie vampire on steroids.
I ripped through its flesh. I tore chunks away. I sunk my fangs deep into its body and devoured its blood like I hadn’t feed for a year…
As its lifeless body dropped under its own weight to the floor- my eyes locked with Maggie’s and I could see the fear- for the mutt- for me- for what was happening all around her. It wrenched at my heart and tore me back to where I was, who she was…
The monster inside of me died in a heartbeat just from that look on her face.
“Maggie…” I moved towards her.
The scent of her blood filled the air and for one long moment my bloodlust kicked back in… but the knowledge that she’d been hurt was a far more powerful drug than my need to taste her blood on my tongue.
Maggie didn’t move. Didn’t sway. Didn’t even breathe.
She stood there, rooted to the spot, her eyes locked on mine. I didn’t stop moving towards her, and maybe that was what held her in place- or maybe it was the sight of my fangs down, blood on my face…
Then she gasped in a breath and so many emotions swept over her features, one after the other, that I couldn’t make them out. I reached out for her and she didn’t pull away, didn’t make a move to stop me, as I wrapped an arm around her body and half lifted, half dragged her towards the safety of my arms…
“I thought I was dead- I thought you were dead-”
Words tumbled from her lips, aftershocks of thoughts that were triggering in her brain. Shock, she was in shock and little wonder.
“We’re alive and I’m going to keep you that way.” I didn’t have a choice- I knew that now. I had one chance to keep her alive and this was it.
I lifted my arm and bit down on the flesh. She didn’t even see it coming as I pressed my bloodied limb against her lips and forced her to drink my blood.
“It’ll heal your wound,” I felt her start to resist, but I also knew that my blood was already inside of her mouth, on her tongue, and swallowed down her throat.
If she died now and my blood was enough to heal the wounds- then she would still live. It wasn’t how I wanted it, but it was done.
“Stay with me,” I told her as I turned her behind my body and heard her gasping in air. “This isn’t over yet.”
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Two on one. Shamus was otherwise occupied, Maggie was behind me in the corridor, and I was between her and two mutts.
If I didn’t have her to protect this would have been easy, but I needed to consider what could happen if one of those wolves got by me. I’d given her my blood, but that was of little comfort on so many levels.
I guessed they were sizing me up in much the same way that I was debating how to best take them down… I guessed wrong.
I heard Maggie’s startled cry from behind me and every inch of my body fired with fear. Putting my back against the wall so that I could still see the mutts out of the corner of my eye; my worst fears were realised as I saw my mate captured by that bastard Bruce…
Game set and match.
“What do you want?” I’d give him whatever he asked- there was no desire to barter for Maggie’s life.
“Not so cocky now, lad.” His top lip curled with a cruel twist to his face and enjoyment in those victorious eyes.
“Not so much,” I admitted. I’d admit or agree to anything to save her life, and he knew it.
“Let’s start off by saying this house is mine.”
“Enjoy.” I’d give away my family seat and everything that I owed.
“And everything in it.” I caught the meaning in his words- me. He wanted me to work for him… that twisted my guts.
“Everything but her,” I agreed.
“You’ll turn her-”
“Yes,” I couldn’t tell him that my blood was already in her veins. That would give him the heads up of how best to kill her without her coming back to me. At least this way she had a chance of living again.
“Maybe I should turn her, just to make sure.”
I could see it in his eyes- this wasn’t about her, it was about winning, victory- it was about him cementing his place as the top dog of the Highlands. He had no intention of letting us walk out of here alive…
“Maybe I should rip you limb from limb and feed you to your mutts- just for the fun of it.” I didn’t move a muscle, not on the outside, but on the inside every muscle, every sinew was ready and willing to take him down.
“Mac…” Maggie’s breathless voice tried to warn me off, but I knew that I could give Bruce the moon and he’d still want us dead.
“You should listen to your woman-” he started, but I was already making my move.
It took me just one step to hit the wall with my other foot and push off.
I flipped up and over Bruce’s head before he could even calculate what was happening and get one step ahead of me or counter my move.
I came down behind him- landing solidly on both feet. My eyes snapped towards the mutts that were already on their way towards us. I was more than awar
e that they’d reach Maggie first.
I grabbed his right hand; the one that was perilously close to Maggie’s throat, before he could end her, and felt the satisfaction from the sound of the wrist snapping as the joint broke. It was amazing how in the heat of battle and with so much on the line you could still feel the heady rush of revenge.
I used my other hand to punch through his back, and when I locked my fingers around his black heart- I felt a sense of relief as I twisted and yanked it back out again.
I tossed it onto the floor in front of the mutts in the same amount of time that it took Bruce to fall to his knees on the floor in front of me. He wouldn’t be coming back from that one.
I reached around Bruce as his body held upright, and wrapped my arm around Maggie’s waist, lifting and hoisting her over his lifeless body and placing her back behind me.
I heard the loud yelp of surprise that came from her lips, and felt the warmth of her hands on my back as she tried to keep herself upright, shock and fear emanating from within her and tainting the air around us, but she was alive- the rest I could deal with later.
Right now- I still had mutts to kill.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
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When the wolves came to a screeching halt at the sight of their benefactor’s heart lying on the floor between them and his, still upright, body- I held in place and wondered what came next.
Red rimmed eyes stared up at me, and those snarling lips slowly relaxed as I planted my foot into Bruce’s back and kicked him forwards onto his face on the floor. Both mutts turned on their paws and took off in the opposite direction.
I guessed that there was no loyalty to avenge his death in the minds of the rogues.
I reached for Maggie and turned to bring her into my arms. Her body was rigid with fear and I hated myself for opening her up to this damn world that she was destined to inhabit.