“Oh. I didn’t know cell phones could do that.” Tamara slipped out the door waving the knowing grins of the other women off. Her own delighted expression ruined the effect. By all accounts, the packmembers cared a great deal for Tamara. Now, she had a potential, if human, boyfriend. India silently wished the female good luck, though her happiness rubbed painfully against her own losses.
It would be okay, India tried to convince herself. She’d just been responsible for so long, that she didn’t know how to let go. The words felt hollow and desperate even for her.
The fact of it was, India was jealous. She finally had a pack and a mate. Her mate didn’t want anything to do with her and the pack, Reggie included, didn’t really give a damn about her. Be careful for what you wish for. She thought, suppressing the bubble of hysterical laughter that wanted to escape. You might just get it.
Chapter Seventeen
Outside, Adam and the wardens split up, each going in a different direction. Mack, limited to a human form, headed for the garage, his truck, and a few weapons held under lock and key outside of the house and small pilfering paws. Chase walked into the woods that made up the property and took a deep breath of the late afternoon air in a vain attempt to wash away his tangled emotions. Instead, he stripped off his clothes, storing them in a weatherproof canvas bag, chained and hanging from a thick branch. There were similar bags scattered around Packhome property, giving the wolven a small piece of privacy and independence when they Changed.
Calling the magic that lived in him, Chase embraced the rush. Bones and tissue reshaped, forcing him to hunch over, falling onto half-shaped paws. Claws that dug into the ground. Fur washed over his nude body, almost tickling but never painful. Finally, his teeth, sharp canines built for ripping and tearing into prey burst into his mouth with a bone deep ache. Chase shook his body, he barked once and leapt into the air with the simple happiness of freedom. He ran.
Opening his senses, he was reminded of the first time he Changed. Like any birth, it had been full of pain and blood. It might have made him insane except that his best friend had been reborn alongside him. Bitten by the same werewolf, he and Tank were more than brothers by choice. They were brothers by blood, bone, and soul.
Scenting the wind for oddities such as death or the faint trace of psychic magic, Chase methodically wound his way over his assigned territory. For a normal human, the feat would be impossible. Wolven stamina would give him the strength to last all night on his search. His super sensitive senses made the air a tapestry for his nose and ears.
Normally, Chase went out of his way to avoid human habitations. Now, he silenced the warning barks of pet dogs with a growl, scenting the grounds for any trace that would give the Hunter away. Finding nothing, he kept going, nearly missing low growl downwind of him. He froze. The wolf moved into his vision. With the wolf’s colorblind sight, the other wolf was much darker shade than his own light fur. Probably brown. Chase remembered the scent from last night. The wolf who had tried to stake a claim on India. He growled.
The interloper, the stray, lowered his head and growled. He bared sharp white teeth. Chase charged. No damn stray was going to stake a claim in his territory or touch his mate. The two canines met upright, front paws wrapping around each other, teeth aiming for throats. Chase snapped at the other’s muzzle, drawing blood, scenting old blood from last night’s fight. He raked is claws against the other’s fur. Thick wolven hide stayed intact. Fury rolled through Chase, the wolf inside of him that he tried to keep in check suppressed the man. He bit, clawed, and snapped.
The other caught his paw, powerful jaws crushing the bone. Chase yelped. He yanked his foot free, shoved a shoulder into the other, unbalancing his enemy. Using his hind feet, he jumped onto the other wolf, riding it into the ground. Chase’s teeth found purchase in the other’s ruff, where his fur pulled free. Tasting blood, he pulled, ripping away more fur and skin. He bit again. The other wolf became desperate, bucking to dislodge its enemy. Chase’s foot, throbbed painfully, making it hard for him to hang on. But he did. He bit shoulder and the stray yelped in pain. Teeth found Chase’s injured foot and clamped down, but he did not let go.
Repositioning, Chase buried his teeth in the stray’s neck and clamped down. He worried at the wound like a terrier with a rabbit, tearing more flesh away. Finally, his teeth crunched bone. The wolf jerked in one last death spasm and went limp. Chase let go, watching the dead wolf’s death twitches, but without concern. The creatures’ bowels emptied with the final stench of death.
Backing away, Chase pushed the wild wolf back into his consciousness and forced himself to Change back into his human form. Excruciating pain from his broken foot confirmed that the dead stray was wolven. Otherwise, most of the injury would have healed more than the small bite. Scratches and bites burned on his neck and shoulders that would heal almost human slow. Growling, Chase limped to the body of the brown wolf.
“Dumb-ass.” He wanted to kick at the body, but with the swelling in what he accepted as a broken ankle, that would have been more than he could handle. “If you’d have just asked for sanctuary, we’d have given it. All you had to do was keep your damn paws off my mate.”
Changing back into wolf form offered very little healing benefits either. Stupid waste of a perfectly good fighter. Chase wanted to slap the idiot around some more, but what was the use? The moron was as dead as dead got. Centering his thoughts, he sent his impressions with as clear an image as he could through the packbond to Adam and the other wardens.
Adam’s concern threaded through Chase’s thoughts helping to ease the pain in his injured ankle. He felt the mild prod to return home, Adam’s way of letting him know that he didn’t want Chase to push himself beyond his limits. The leniency of the command to return home allowed him to refuse, letting Adam know that he could continue. Adam eased off the packbond, his attention diverted elsewhere. Chase relaxed, at least as much as he could with a broken ankle.
Running on three legs wasn’t fun, but possible. He wanted to find the Hunter’s hideout tonight. Plus, he still had to take care of the moron stray’s body. At least here on private property, in dense woods, there was no, if any, chance of the forestry service happening on the body of a dead wolf. Easing into a hobbled, but ground eating pace, Chase continued his search.
* * * *
A bright light roused Chase from his nap. He growled at the brown wolf, Bradley. Damn, the kid had his own area to search. Bradley barked. The meaning, get up, came through clear. Chase growled again. His foot hurt and the kid had some nerve, disturbing what little sleep he was going to get. Bradley barked again, this time nosing Chase to his three feet, avoiding an irritated snap of teeth with some quick footwork. Light blinded Chase again, fading into a richly furnished room. Bradley’s form blurred and Changed, his fur rushing away as he stood on completely human feet.
“Melina!” The warden barked. Impatience had Bradley nearly bouncing on the balls of his feet as he waited for a shimmer of light to coalesce into a thin, attractive female. Her pointed ears and waifish frame marked her as fairy in Chase’s eyes. She smiled at Bradley, the sexual invitation obvious on her rose petal lips. Seeing Chase’s wolf form, she fell back with a pout.
“I thought you were coming to see me.” Her overlarge silver-gray almond shaped eyes gave her the look of an anime character. With the odd pale shade of her hair her delicate build, the effect worked for her. Worked? Melina was hot. Add the scent of her lust and the natural allure of fairy scent, Melina the Anime cartoon fairy was smokin’ hot. Chase decided that he much preferred India’s scent any day. “I need my packbrother healed.” Bradley crossed his arms, daring Melina to say no.
Tentatively, she reached out, laying one delicate hand on Bradley’s bicep. “What will you offer me?” Her sly smile was warning enough for Chase to growl in his packbrother’s defense.
Bradley pushed her away. His disinterest made Chase feel better about the kid’s involvement in the fairy world. More so when B
radley leaned in to snarl in her pretty face. “How about this? You heal my friend and we get rid of the Hunter before he starts in on the fairy court.”
“Ha! We of the fairy are too smart for the human Hunters. I want a proper trade.”
“Melina.” The oddly accented voice floated in the room, jerking Melina on alert before the shape of a male appeared in the doorway. Dressed in comfortable western wear and glasses, minus the hat, Morgan, leader of the local fairy court, strolled into the room. He could have walked to the door. Or not. Chase hadn’t been watching. “It would be in our best interests to heal the wolf.” Chase would bet that the fairy had materialized out of nowhere into that doorway. For a kind of dorky looking guy, Morgan was sneaky that way. He was also Adam’s unofficial ally and the one who held the leash to Bradley’s fairy collar.
Melina’s mouth turned down into a pout. She stamped one tiny foot, flinging her long hair over her shoulder in a very diva gesture. “Morgan. It’s not a fair trade.” She pointed an accusing finger at Bradley. “He cannot order me. I want something in return.”
Bradley pushed into her space again. This time his nose almost touched her delicate pointed one. “And what do you want for healing one of the pack’s wardens to keep everyone safe from the Hunter, Melina?”
“Maybe, I want you, wolf.”
Bradley laughed. “Been there done that and have the scars to prove it. Not a chance in hell I’m going there again.” Chase watched, fascinated at this side of his little packbrother. Anything, he figured to keep his mind off the throbbing pain of his broken ankle.
“What about him?” The fairy female pointed at Chase, making him want to crawl away and hide from the cruel twist of her mouth. “If I’m to heal him, then he can compensate me.”
“That one is mated, Melina.” Morgan interrupted. “You’ll get no interest from him.”
“I want to try.” She demanded. “That’s my price.”
Bradley crouched down, ignoring Melina’s hungry gaze on his nude body. He laid a hand on Chase’s furred shoulder. “You have to Change back for her to heal you.” He spoke the words quietly, in confidence even though their audience no doubt hung on every word. “We don’t know how strong the Hunter is. Toughing this one out isn’t an option.”
The Change came slow and painful, stretching and pulling at Chase’s injuries. Even the waterfall rush of his fur receding, was an uncomfortable prickle. Taking in his surroundings with human eyes, Chase realized that he was lying down and vulnerable in this unknown place. He sat up, steeling himself against the vertigo of Changing too often with his energy reserves low.
“Oh! This one has pretty hair.” Melina’s voice grated on his nerves just as badly in this form as in his wolf form. She reached a hand out, caressing Chase’s sweat dampened triceps. Disgust crawled through him, worse than any pain in his leg. Snarling, he shoved her away. The feeling of wrongness made him curl away inside, reaching for the matebond.
“No.” A fissure of alarm went through him. Where the matebond usually ended with India at the other end, Chase found nothing. Not death. Chase knew the raw gaping injury that dying left in any kind of bond. This was simply nothing, a blankness that blocked him from reaching his mate’s exotic rich essence. Chase shook his head, growling when Melina would have reached for him again. There was no way he was letting her touch him again. Pulling himself to his feet, one foot at least, he gritted his teeth against the thought of walking. He ignored the fairies, locking eyes with his packbrother. “I have to get home.” He growled, fending off another of Melina’s touches.
Bradley stepped between them, holding out a hand to steady him. The very real concern in his brown eyes might have swayed Chase before. “You need to be in fighting form when the Hunter attacks.” Not anymore. The flower-sweet perfume the wafted from the female made his stomach lurch.
“No. Something is wrong. The matebond isn’t working.” One tiny step proved that no weight would hold on his broken ankle. Sometimes two feet just sucked. He’d have to four foot it. “We’ve got to get home.” The mated guys over protectiveness of their women felt a lot more reasonable now. He needed to check on India.
“Chase.” Bradley’s persistence infuriated him.
“Back off!” Red light entered his eyes as he turned the full force of a fanged snarl at the fairy. “I can’t feel India. Some. Thing. Is. Wrong.”
“Melina.” An indefinable accent lined the force of Morgan’s summons. She stopped trying to insinuate herself against Chase’s bruised body. “You may leave, now.”
“But, my lord--.” She stopped, ducked her head, and backed away, longing on her face. She sighed. “As you wish.”
Morgan held out both hands, approaching the way one best approaches a wild creature. “Be at ease, wolf. All is well with your pack for the moment.” His voice lowered, pitched with an easy melodic quality.
“I can’t feel my mate.” Chase’s repeated pain and anxiety made it difficult to think. The predator in him wanted to attack, get out, and find his woman.
Morgan nodded. “It is the nature of fairy realms. These between places that we inhabit, are accessible, but cut off from the world.” Taking a careful step forward, he kept his hands in a neutral outstretched position. “I promise, all is well, at this time. And if you allow us to heal some of your injury, you will be in a better position to keep it that way.”
“I don’t want her touching me.”
Under Chase’s watchful eye, the fairy leader nodded once. “Be seated wolf. I will attend your injuries myself.” The confidence and power behind his human disguise went a long way towards helping Chase find his calm.
“Sit down.” Bradley’s order stuck in Chase’s craw. Like he was going to sit on the floor, lessening his position in front of the fairy. The pup always did think himself Alpha when Adam was out of sight. Bradley’s firm shove sent Chase sprawling backward into the soft hold of a chair. He blinked past his swirling emotions. Chase was damn sure the chair hadn’t been there before.
Morgan crouched down at the foot of the overstuffed chair, the kind Chase would have picked for himself. The fairy’s hands rested on jean clad knees as he studied Chase’s ankle without touching. His neatly trimmed hair had changed from brown to green, the dark shade of summer leaves. The intoxicating aroma of fairy magic teased at Chase’s nose. Not just any fairy magic, Morgan’s own magic was a major draw for wolven in him to investigate. Bradley’s hand on his bare shoulder kept him in place in the soft overstuffed chair.
Finding his voice, Chase tried to bring some of the control back into his own hands. “I’m not going to be your slave like Bradley.” He felt oddly separate from reality. Behind that numbing quality his frantic worry about India and the pack beat at him. He just couldn’t seem to hold onto the energy needed to fight.
Morgan smiled a bit, still thankfully keeping his hands to himself. The smile felt reassuring, but Chase was wondering what fairy tricks these two were plotting. Morgan laughed and he was sure the fairy read his mind. “No tricks, wolf. You’re a bit shocky from the injuries and all the energy you’ve used Changing back and forth.” His grin widened and a green lock of hair slid from the neat part on the side of his head. “I can see your distrust on your face. Have no worry, you’ve already paid the agreed upon price for healing your injury.”
Morgan’s warm hands cradled his ankle. Heat sizzled and exploded, tingling in a rush that flowed from the break outward. Down to his toes, the healing energy rushed. Upward, over his knee to hip, flowing outward to encompass his whole body, Chase felt the minor explosions of feeling as the energy found and healed his other injuries. He pressed backward into the chair, refusing to make a sound. When done, Chase felt the loss of vitality as Morgan let go, easing his foot to the floor.
Flexing first his ankle, then touching the healed bites and tears in his skin, Chase finally looked down at the fairy leader. Morgan’s eyes glowed from the inside out. The golden quality of the inner light mixed with the fairy’s b
rown eyes. Overspill shimmered on the Morgan’s skin. His shirt and jeans took on a glow as if lit from behind with a black light. The result was otherworldly, beautiful and alien, the reason why ancient humans once paid homage to them as gods. Morgan took a breath and the glow faded, snuffing out so that he looked drab and ordinary by comparison. Even his hair and eyes were a normal conforming shade of brown.
Out of pain. Chase’s feelings were more in control. He was starving, but hungry beat a broken ankle any day. “Uh. Thanks.”
Morgan stood. “No thanks necessary, wolf. You paid with your reaction to Melina’s advances.” Chase growled at the reminder. Picking up a western hat from a previously empty spot by the chair, Morgan settled it on his head. The expression on his face reminded Chase of Adam, gearing up to lecture one of the pups on life. “It’s also in my best interests for your pack to survive the coming war.”
That focused Chase’s thoughts. “War? It’s just the one Hunter, after India.”
Morgan shifted his attention to where Bradley stood. Guarding his packbrother? Or waiting for the fairy’s next order? No one tried to question Bradley’s loyalties, it was just there, an insidious snake in the garden, pointing out the other wolven’s fairy laced scent and the gold necklace marking his service. Morgan’s face gave nothing away. He glanced down at the cheap digital watch on his wrist. His lips thinned as he came to some inner decision. “Think on the past. The Hinesville psychics tried killing Mark Weis and his mate though Marcus Cargill, a monster in the truest sense, had been left alone for years.”
“I did think about that.” Chase had lain awake night after night thinking about that little fact since they’d hauled the pup and his new family back home. He’d mentioned it once or twice to Tank, but the big guy had been too caught up in the illnesses that had begun afflicting the supernaturals in the surrounding counties. Tank had given the observation a few minutes of his brilliant mind, then agreed that it did indeed sound suspicious.
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