by Jane Jamison
Declain’s eyes grew wide as he struggled against the ropes and the duct tape over his mouth. She didn’t need to hear him to know he was cursing at Rick. Blood seeped out of the wounds and ran down his stomach.
She couldn’t take the abuse any longer. The sight of one of the men she loved in pain was too much. She screamed, hurting her throat, but barely noticing it. The pain, the horror of losing the men she loved ripped her apart, and in doing so, opened up a part of her that had lain dormant.
The wolf inside her roared to life. Pain hit her even harder than before, coursing through her bloodstream, through her muscles and tendons. The world around her blurred, turning amber. She tore at her clothes, fighting to rid herself of their restraints as her body changed, growing longer in some places and shortening in others. She writhed on the floor, searing heat traveling over her nerve endings. Fur spread over hands she no longer recognized while claws burst from her fingertips, replacing human fingernails. Fangs erupted from her gums as she opened her mouth and let out another scream.
The scream morphed, taking on a deeper timbre, lengthening until she wondered where the howling was coming from. It wasn’t until Rick whirled toward her, his own transformation just beginning, that she realized she’d shifted.
The thrill of having shifted was equaled to the unbridled power she felt. She shook her body, enjoying the graceful way it moved. But she didn’t have long to revel in her first transformation.
Rick’s body was beginning to change. Listening to her wolf instincts, she threw herself at him. He flung his arm outward, striking her chest, but that couldn’t stop her forward momentum. The sound of a bone giving way cracked in the air as they tumbled together. Somewhere, deep in the part of her that was still human, she realized that it wasn’t her bone that had snapped, and she rejoiced, her primitive side howling its victory. Her claws dug into first one part, then another of his body, tearing away flesh along with clothes.
She opened her jaws wide to sink her fangs into his arm. He screamed as she sank her long teeth into his flesh, then twisted her body around to get on top of him. Her abrupt attack had thrown him in more than one way, halting his shift.
She had him underneath her, and as a werewolf, she was more powerful than he was in his human form. Her predatory instinct took over, blinding her to anything but subduing her prey.
“Zoey! Stop!”
She heard Declain’s frantic call that was still muffled by the gag, and the sounds he made as he tried to break free from the chair. Yet hearing his words meant nothing to her. Only the bloodlust surging through her veins was important.
She turned Rick’s arm loose, lifted her head, and opened her jaws wide. The vein in his throat throbbed and she focused on that, already imagining the taste of Rick’s blood in her mouth. Her wolf’s mind howled as she bent lower, ready to drive her fangs into his skin.
The air rushed out of her as something hit her. For a moment, her human side took over, perplexed at why Declain, free of the chair now, had slammed into her. She rolled away, then got back onto her feet and faced him. She snarled, ready to do battle and claim her victim.
Declain shifted, doing it effortlessly. Within seconds, he stood between her and Rick, his magnificent body calling to her. His amber-filled gaze zeroed in on her, and he growled in warning.
If she wanted her prey, she’d have to go through him first.
She snarled and hunkered down, ready to do just that.
* * * *
Rubin was the first man to come through the door, but Nolan was prepared. He slammed his arm against the back of Rubin’s head, sending him stumbling forward. He fell facedown with a loud crash.
Slade was right behind his friend, and with the element of surprise gone, Nolan only had one choice to stop the brute of a man.
Nolan lifted the gun and pulled the trigger, taking off the side of Slade’s face. Although it wasn’t a silver bullet, the shot did the trick. Slade, his one remaining eye opening wide with surprise, dropped dead to the floor.
Rubin groaned and started to push himself back up. Realizing that he only had one bullet left, Nolan picked up a small chair and walked over to stand over the large man. Rubin looked up, glanced over at his deceased friend, then snarled at Nolan. “Why you lousy son of a bitch!”
Rubin attempted to roll onto his back, but only made it halfway before Nolan put his foot on him and shoved him back down.
“Time for a nap, big guy.” Bringing the chair down as hard as he could, Nolan knocked him out.
He dropped the shattered chair, then pivoted on his heel and made for the door, stepping around the bloodied mess that was Slade. Taking a moment to peek into the hall, he saw that it was empty, then rushed out of the bedroom.
Nolan slid to a stop at the top of the stairs. “What the hell?”
Two wolves confronted each other. One he recognized as Declain, but he was sure that he’d never seen the other one before. Had Rick brought a third pack member?
Rick lay on the floor, bleeding from several places on his body. He dragged himself toward the door, using one leg to help scoot his body. The other leg was bent at an odd angle.
Declain lifted his head toward Nolan, then swiveled around, putting his back to the other werewolf. Nolan could see his cousin in the blazing eyes. He shifted his gaze just in time to see the other wolf jump at Declain.
“Watch out!”
The wolf hit Declain square in the back, but didn’t knock him to the ground. Declain was too large and powerful for the smaller wolf to take him. Yet he didn’t fight back, instead he rolled to try and get his attacker off him. The other wolf dug in its claws and then its fangs, bringing a loud roar of pain from Declain.
Where’s Zoey?
Fear for her safety tore at him. Did Rick get rid of her? Did another werewolf take her?
Yet he didn’t have time to find the answers. If he didn’t stop the other werewolf, Declain would die.
Nolan lifted the gun and fired.
Chapter Ten
Zoey groaned and tried to push away the agony in her leg. The burning seared up her leg and into her pelvis, but still she kept her eyes closed. She wanted to return to the safety and comfort of the darkness.
“Zoey, baby, wake up.”
Declain. Is he all right?
Her eyes wanted to remain closed, but she forced them open, needing to see him. The brightness of the sun filtering through the blinds had her lifting her hand to shade her eyes.
“That’s it. It’s about time you came back to us.”
Nolan’s here, too.
She blinked, letting her eyes grow accustomed to the light. They sat on the bed as they’d done many times before. She smiled, then blinked again as she surveyed the room around her.
“This isn’t my bedroom.”
The men exchanged a look. Nolan took her hand. “No, it’s not. Your room, our room kind of got messed up in all the ruckus.”
Ruckus? She remembered Rick and his two men breaking inside the house and sat up, bringing a fresh wave of torment up her leg. “What do you mean? What went on upstairs?”
“It’s better that you don’t know.”
“Wow, Nolan, could you sound more ominous?”
“He means that you shouldn’t worry about it. Besides, we decided the room could use a new look.”
“What happened to everyone? Where’s Rick?”
“Don’t you remember?” asked Nolan.
“Sometimes it’s hard to remember what happened during your first shift.” Declain studied her. “Do you remember that you changed?”
She sat up even more, but the pain was worth it. “I did! I remember now.” Her face wasn’t wide enough for her smile. “I finally did it.”
“You sure did.” Nolan scowled. “And don’t worry about Rick. He and Rubin were rounded up by Jackson and a few others. They’re taking the two of them back to Atlanta. Hopefully, they can get the Clayton Pack members to understand what happened and avoid a pack war. We’ll know once they g
et back.”
She found it difficult to breathe. If a war broke out, she wouldn’t be able to forgive herself for starting it all by running away.
“And Slade?”
Nolan blew out a breath. “It seems a bullet doesn’t have to be a silver one to kill a werewolf. At least, not if you shoot him in the head.”
Slade was dead? Although she’d never liked him, she knew his mate, Alicia, well. The woman had suffered under Slade’s cruel hands, but now she’d be left alone in the Clayton Pack without a mate. Sometimes that could be worse than having an abusive mate.
“You killed him?”
“I did. It was that or fight him hand to claw.” Nolan shrugged. “As I see it, I didn’t have any other choice. I had to survive to help you and Declain.”
She nodded, knowing Nolan would never harm anyone unless he had to. Tunneling a hand through her hair, she tried to remember. But everything was locked in a haze that she couldn’t break free of. A stab of pain burned in her leg.
“Wait. How did I get hurt?”
Once again they exchanged a look. Declain, however, couldn’t suppress a small smile. “Nolan shot you.”
“What?” She gawked at them, certain that she’d heard him wrong. “Nolan shot me?”
For the first time ever, Nolan looked a little sheepish. “It was either that or let you keep attacking Declain.”
“Attacking Declain? I did that?” Vague images of her throwing her body at him came rushing back. “Oh, hell, Declain. I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m fine now.”
She squared her gaze at Nolan. “You shot me.”
He shrugged again, as though shooting her was no different than target practice. “Consider it”—he grinned—“payback for you shooting me.”
Her mouth dropped open even more. “I can’t believe you’re being so nonchalant about it. You shot me.”
Declain chuckled. “Don’t let him fool you. After he did it and you changed back, I thought he was going to hurl. Either that or shoot himself. He thought he was saving me. Zoey, he didn’t know it was you.”
Nolan tried to wipe the grin from his face but didn’t succeed. “Luckily for me, I was out of bullets when I pulled the trigger a second time.”
She swatted at him, but missed. Pain again seared into her leg. “Damn it, where are those werewolf healing powers I’m supposed to have?”
Declain bent over to kiss her on the forehead. She frowned, then dropped her gaze to his crotch, letting him know that she wanted a lot more than a sweet kiss.
“Give yourself some time. You’re only part werewolf, remember?”
She remembered now. “Are you okay? I saw Rick rake his claws over you.” She reached for Nolan. “And you don’t look so great yourself.”
Declain undid the first few buttons of his shirt to show his uninjured chest. “I heal faster because I’m a full werewolf.”
Nolan frowned. “I’m banged up a bit, but I’ll live.”
She could breathe a little easier knowing that they were all right. “What about the other thing, Nolan? Have you decided for sure if you’re going all wolfie on us or not?”
He leaned away from her, turning her hand loose. The loss of it was almost as painful as the wound in her leg. “Yeah, I’ve made my final decision. And now that you’ve changed, you can be the one to do it. But not just yet. Let’s let you make a full recovery first.”
“And then what?” Had they ever officially asked her to stay for more than just a short while? She knew they wanted her, but she needed to hear them say it. “Are you two ever going to officially claim me?”
“Are you telling us to put a ring on it?” Declain hurried on when she acted as though she liked the idea. “Hey, we’re happy to get you as much bling as we can afford, but remember, we’re poor ranchers.”
“He’s joking. At least, sort of.” Nolan’s green eyes bored into her as though searching her soul. “I’d like to marry you. As a man and his woman first. Can we do that before I get changed?”
“Marry me? But just you?”
“Well, it’s not like you can legally marry both of us, you know,” added Declain. “And since I’m doing the werewolf claiming part, I figure I can let Nolan do the wedded bliss stuff. How’s that sound?”
She tilted her head and gave them a coquettish bat of her eyelashes. “Okay. You can claim me and Nolan can marry me. But first I need to hear those three little words.”
Nolan’s scowl deepened. “Tell me we aren’t getting all mushy here. If we are, I’m outta here.”
“Ignore the old grump, baby.” Declain took her hand as though ready to propose to her. “I’ll say them.” He cleared his throat. “Zoey Wate, will you howl with me?”
“That’s more than three words and not exactly the ones I was looking for, but yes, Declain Sawyer, I’ll howl with you.”
Nolan wasn’t about to be outdone. He took her other hand. “Damn it all. If he won’t say it, then I will. I love you. We love you. Did I get the right three words?”
She tried to choke back the tears since Nolan didn’t want to get mushy. But a girl could only handle so much before the waterworks started happening. “I love you, too. Both of you. Werewolf and human.”
She tried to pull them closer, but they tugged away. Declain stood, then motioned for Nolan to follow him. “Trust me, baby, we want you, too. And we’ll have you as soon as your leg heals. You need your rest. Until then”—he shot Nolan a stern look—“it’s hands off.”
She moaned and pouted out her lips as they moved away. “Okay, fine. But once I’ve healed, you boys better get ready for one hell of a wild ride.”
* * * *
Healing took a lot longer than she would’ve liked. In the meantime, while she was confined to the house and the men were keeping hands off, some of the residents of Forever came by to meet her.
Emma Rand-Carr and one of Jackson’s brothers, Jason, dropped by with flowers. Zoey thought Emma was kidding when she said she couldn’t boil water and wouldn’t dare expose “poor Zoey to my inedible cooking.” Emma had, however, arranged the wild flowers she’d brought as expertly as any experienced florist. Milly, the vivacious owner of the local diner, had arrived with more food than she and the men could eat in a week.
Emma, Milly, and Zoey had talked for over an hour before Stormy Stevens-Malone had shown up and joined in. The sun was falling toward the horizon before Declain had finally dared to peek his head inside and ask if the women were staying for dinner. All her visitors had taken the subtle hint and left, promising to return soon enough to fill Zoey in on the rest of the town’s residents.
Declain leaned on the window, watching as their friends left. “They’re coming back to gossip, you mean. Although they’ll never admit to it.”
Zoey hugged her legs to her chest. “I don’t care what you call it. I loved meeting them. Is everyone in Forever as friendly as they are?”
“Of course. Oh, sure, we have our grumps”—he motioned to Nolan, who had just walked into the bedroom—“like that one. But for the most part, everyone’s very friendly.”
She smiled and ran a hand along her leg where the wound used to be. She was healed and ready to test it out. “I guess I’m not used to it. Everyone in the Clayton Pack except Trish was too afraid to get too chummy with anyone else, especially with a half-breed. You never knew when they’d either turn on you or end up a victim of Rick’s wrath. I was an outsider from the first day I came into the pack.”
She swallowed back a tear. Would she have killed Rick if she’d had the chance? If so, it would’ve revenged Trish’s death. She resolved to live life to the fullest in honor of her lost friend.
“Well, get used to it. You’re going to love living in Forever.”
“I already do.” She threw off the shadow of gloom and laughed. “Although about the only thing I’ve seen outside of this ranch is the inside of a photo booth.”
“Yeah, but it was hell of a time.” Declain wig
gled his eyebrows. “And I have the pictures to prove it.”
She grinned. “Those are good pictures, if I say so myself.”
“What about kids, Zoey?”
She made a funny face. Where had that question come from? “O–kay, talk about an abrupt change of topic. Are you saying you want kids, Nolan?”
His expression was so earnest that she started to tear up again. “Yeah. I do.”
Declain asked the question she was thinking. “And if they’re part human, you’ll be okay with that? You never know which way the DNA will twist.”
“I don’t care. Like everyone says, as long as they’re healthy, I’m happy.”
“Good, because I’d like a whole pack of rug rats.”
Nolan’s stunned expression was almost too funny. “A pack? How many is that?”
Declain eased closer to her. She could smell his arousal. “As many as she wants.”
She closed her eyes and drew in his scent. Turning her head a little, she took in Nolan’s, too. It was past time for some sexy fun. “Claim me, Declain. Now.”
He lunged at her as she’d expected, but missed as she ducked and raced for the door. “Claim me if you can catch me.”
Bounding down the hallway then the stairs, she had a lead on them. She bolted through the back door and into yard, running as hard as she could toward the pasture.
She made it a few yards before Declain tackled her, knocking her off her feet. She rolled away from him, but Nolan dashed to the other side and grabbed her arm.
“I think she wants it the hard way.” Nolan tugged her closer, then pulled her pajama bottoms away from her waist so he could see down to the wound on her legs. Only a scar remained. “Looks healed to me.”
Declain yanked her out of Nolan’s hold. “I hope so since I hit her so hard.”
She flicked her tongue over her lips. “That wasn’t so hard. I thought you were stronger than that.”
The challenge was accepted as Declain tore her clothes off her body. Although the sun was dipping even lower, the heat of the afternoon warmed her body. That didn’t keep her from trembling with need.