“Sand and briny air is....hold on babe, someone's at the door.” Through the phone I heard Jaime's footsteps and a wooden groan of the door. “What the fuck?” Jaime's voice grew distant and there was a crack as if he'd dropped the phone.
My heart leapt in chest. “Jaime?!” I called out. “Jaime!” In the distance I heard the deep voices of at least one or two men who weren't him. “JAIME!” I screamed into the phone.
“What's wrong?” Mom appeared at my side.
My heart thrummed hard in my chest as I struggled to think. “I think something has happened to Jaime. I have to go.” I shoved my phone in my pocket and searched frantically for my car keys.
“Sophie, no! You don't know what you might be up against.” Mom grabbed both of my arms. Her nails nearly punctured my flesh.
“Ow, Mom you're hurting me! Let me go!”
“Listen to me! I can't have something happen to you too!” Mom's face was panicked, her eyes watery.
“Mom, I....” My voice trailed off as yanked myself free. “I'm sorry.”
Snatching my keys off the counter I bolted out the door, my arms burning from her fingers.
My wolf instincts took over as I threw the car into park and slowly crept out of my vehicle. The air carried just a whiff of Jaime's fear even outside the apartment. I stepped carefully past his Jeep and leapt from the bottom step up to the landing by his door with not a creak from the boards beneath me. Crouching low, I tilted an ear toward the door. Jaime's breathing was ragged but he did not speak. Angry voices of two others punctuated the stillness. “Jason said to keep him until he called.”
“That doesn't mean keep him here. I don't think it's safe this close to town.”
“I don't care what you think. Jason only said to keep him so we're keeping him here.”
I sniffed the air. Those inside were definitely human. What were humans doing keeping Jaime under someone's orders? Were the orders from another human? Werewolf? What the hell is going on?
Slowly, I lifted a hand to knock on the door. Every muscle tensed preparing to spring.
“Don't answer it.” One of the voices hushed to a hoarse whisper so low a human wouldn't have heard the words.
Damn it. I knocked again and waited. Not a movement came from inside. In the sexiest voice I could muster I called out. “Jaime if you don't open this door and take me to bed right now I may take my tight ass home.”
My canines sprouted in anticipation as footsteps shuffled to the door. Bastards. My nails grew and dug into the wooden planks beneath me I readied myself. The moment the door swung open I pounced onto the rotund brute in front of me. He crashed to the floor, arms and legs flailing. His belly was huge and jiggled as he fought to move under my weight. “She's one of them!” The other called out as I punched the one beneath me in the jaw with enough force I felt it shatter under my knuckles. He didn't move again.
I turned to the one on my right. A heavy growl erupted from my throat as I sprang in time to see a flash of silver lift my direction. The arm that held the gun twisted and snapped like a thin twig under my grasp. I heard the explosive round make its exit before I realized where it was headed. As the man crumpled to the floor in terrified agony, I could hear Jaime slump against the wall behind me. The spice and earth scent of Jaime's blood churned my stomach as quickly as it made my mouth unwillingly water. I swiveled around in time to catch him before he it the floor.
“It's okay, I'm here now.” I breathed, desperate to steady myself against the competing hunger and horror of my lover bleeding before me. “Let me see.” Jaime carefully moved his blood-streaked hand away from his abdomen. A gut shot. Damn it.
“Shit, this hurts.” He whispered.
“We're going to the hospital.” I swept an arm under his knees and the other around his back. I hoisted him up as carefully as I could manage. He grimaced and his breath caught as I shifted his weight. “It's all going to be okay.”
“You stupid bitch!” The broken armed man hollered. “You're dead! You're fucking dead!”
I stepped around him quickly and made for the car.
I grabbed my cell and with quaking fingers hit 911 as I sped down the road toward the hospital. “My boyfriend was just shot. We're almost to the Emergency Room. Yes, he is loosing a lot of blood.” I closed off my sense of smell in order to focus on listening on Jaime’s heart rate. It was steady but weak. “Please having someone ready.”
The hospital had a stretcher and crew standing by the ER entrance when the car squealed to a stop. The doctors and nurses laid Jaime down and rushed him into the blinding lights of the open ER. I stood for several minutes outside of myself and everything around me. It was freezing cold outside but it didn't really register on my skin. I shook slightly as I rocked back and forth on my heels but inside I felt completely calm like a standing bowl of water. Nothing made sense, not the sound of cars nearby or the electric hum the automatic door made when not in use. It was all wrong.
My Jaime. I shivered. I brought you into my world and now this world might kill you.
A familiar buzz in my pocket made me jump. “Mom, I'm okay but....”
“You need to come home now.” Her voice was hollow and robotic.
“What is it?” I barely got the words out. Silence.
“You have a new Alpha sweet pea. Which means your days playing with humans are over.” A new, husky voice came across the phone. “Come home now. That's an order.”
The ground beneath my feet sunk away as the command took root inside me. An order. Mechanically, I turned my back on the ER, my lover - everything that had brought us together and now would tear us apart. Jaime would be lost to me now, forever. My wolf clawed the underside of my skin as anger, shame, and fear roiled within me.
*
“Oh look, the slut has arrived.” A short female with wavy dark hair called in a sing-song voice as I closed my car door and began what felt like a million mile walk to my house. She was flanked by a lanky man laden with chains on his jeans and greasy hair. He rolled his shoulders and crossed his arms as I walked forward. His entire countenance carried a warning to not linger close by.
“Jason!” The female called out, not taking her menacing gaze off me.
From a distance, his walk was that of a leader; proud, commanding, intimidating. As he came closer, his presence morphed into something far more dangerous. His broad shoulders lead to massive arms and he was at least four inches taller than the other male. A cruel sneer played on his face, momentarily twisting it into something inhuman.
I paled when I saw him. This was him? This was Jason? Oh my god....
“You’re Ethan's other sister.” He gave me a cold stare. “How's your pet? I just received a phone call about him. Did he die?”
“I don't know.” My heart pounded so loud in my ears I could hardly hear my own voice. I stared at a spot on the wall of the house to steady myself. The first male looked mean but this one was downright lethal. Every fiber of every muscle in me screamed run.
“Where is my family?” I muttered, uncertain I would be comprehensible.
Jason gave a quick glance over his shoulder. “Grace, would you be so kind as to bring out the Matthews family?” His voice was anything but sweet.
One by one my family filed out and were lined up against the front of our house. I scanned my pack quickly. Mom gave me a shattered look, tears streaming down over a swelling, purplish chin. Granddad's cheek streamed crimson from a three-inch gash, below his left eye. Tristan's shirt was torn at the arms, blood flowing from what appeared to be several bite marks. Lorelei and Kylin huddled around Nina and LJ, neither appearing to be physically injured, though John’s battered face and arms blocked a good view of them.
A rumbling growl erupted deep in my chest. I wanted to rip Jason's throat out right then and there.
He grabbed a fistful of hair and whipped my head back My hands flew to his fist as I cried out in pain. He whispered in my ear. “Don't do anything stupid.”
I
clawed at his skin for just a brief moment. His free hand yanked one of mine away from my head, twisting it behind my back. My arm burned from shoulder to fingers in such excruciating pain that I was certain he would rip off my arm. I wanted to struggle but fear overpowered me more than his strength. “Look at your pack. They are weak without a true Alpha. Luckily, Ethan understands this and has accepted my offer to join our two packs under my control.”
“Ethan would never!” I cried out.
“Are you so sure? Look at him. He's just a boy.”
Ethan's face was ruddy, tear soaked, and crumpled like a dirty towel thrown to the side.
“You aren't blood kin.” I cried again. “You have no authority over us!”
“Doesn't matter when he willingly concedes to me. Blood or no blood, fact is I'm stronger.”
Ethan's eyes were glued to the ground beneath him. I wanted to plead with him, beg him to not let this happen but I knew deep down that it would do no good. You can't just give and take back power at will. Our magic doesn't work that way.
“Why?” I screamed at Ethan. “Why did you do this?”
In the rising light of the moon, fresh tears glittered as they slid down his face. “I'm sorry. I had no choice. He would have killed them.”
“You see, princess? Why fight when you can't win?” Jason gave a cruel laugh.
“Jason, let her go now.” Daniel's voice carried above the laughter as he stepped out of the house.
“Actually that reminds me. There is another issue that I think we need to discuss.” His voice was slick as oil and a thousand times more flammable, as if the tiniest spark could set him off. “Apparently you are too good to mate with your own kind. My cousin Daniel tells me that you refused him. Now that our packs are joined, you won’t need your human toy. If he hasn't died already, I will gladly get rid of him for you, as a favor.”
An angry burst of electricity shot through me and I dropped my body to the ground with as much dead-weight force as I could muster. His grip on me broke as I fell. I swiftly rolled over and crouched on all fours, nails and canines sprouting.
I bared my teeth and snarled at him.
The first male, to my right, laughed out loud.
“You're mine.” Jason lunged at me faster than I could even think to shift and before I knew what happened, I was pinned to frozen ground. I struggled against his iron grip.
“You really need a lesson in respect.” Jason growled.
“Don't!” Daniel's voice boomed. “You said you wouldn't hurt her!”
“Don’t worry cousin; you can have her when I'm done.” His voice was heavy and ragged with heat.
“Jason!” Daniel lunged toward us but was grabbed by two other males.
I tried to shift but I kept losing focus. I could hardly breathe under the weight of him. He ripped my jacket and tore part of my jeans leg before I even blinked. My cry choked under the pressure of his hand on my throat. The trees around me blurred.
And then he was off me.
Ethan, in wolf form, snarled as he and Jason wrestled, now a wolf, on the ground. The greasy male shifted and attacked but missed Ethan by inches. Rips of flesh, yelps, and harsh, coppery blood filled my senses as the male lunged a second time and hit his mark. My little brother's muzzle opened as if in a howl and then fell limp.
Ethan!
Somewhere, a scream cut across the barren wasteland of yard before me. Was it my mom or me? My eyes narrowed, I refocused and shifted, my clothes shredding to bits as I lunged after Jason and knocked him to the ground.
Something startled Jason enough to make him pause as he regained footing. He turned languidly and sneered at me in an almost lazy way. He was taunting me. His steel grey eyes were colder than winter. There was no human in him. An aggressive growl rumbled through my body.
I bared my teeth again and lowered myself to lunge when Jason came at me. He was as rapid as lightning. His teeth sunk into my shoulder. I yelped and turned toward his throat. He flipped me belly up. Blood ran down my shoulder in crimson rivulets. Breathing was suddenly excruciating. I struggled to get up when Jason growled again. It was worse than threatening. It was toxic. A death sentence.
~The animal within~
We locked eyes. Jason waited for me to get up. He wanted to watch me struggle only to tear me down again. A human thought of my family hovered in a distant corner of my consciousness. An energy I had never felt before pulsed through my veins. It was more than electric; every muscle and tendon, my very being was on fire. Anger rippled through me from skin to the tips of my fur. If Jason wanted a challenge, he was going to get it.
I lowered my muzzle, keeping my eyes fastened to his, and snarled wildly. He didn’t hesitate to answer my insolence.
Time slowed in that instant. Jason charged, teeth and muzzle foaming with expectation. He was faster for sure but I was smaller and rolled under his advancing jaws. In a split second his neck was within inches of my teeth. I lunged with all my strength and sank my teeth into his soft flesh. I could feel his racing pulse beating against my tongue. The air was still for one brief, perfect moment. Smiling faces flashes before me; peaceful and silent images of the people I love most played out like home-made video on mute. They were so close I could almost reach out and touch them.
That’s when I snapped. I began quaking violently, the spasms coming from somewhere deep inside my belly. With aching intention, I clenched my teeth and jerked my head with lightening speed. Jason’s flesh burst open with a flood of metallic heat in my mouth. Blood flowed furiously through my teeth and down my muzzle. A little piece of flesh remained in my teeth as I loosened my jaws and dropped Jason’s lifeless body with a dull thud. A hunger, a raging pain seared through me as I licked the luscious blood off my muzzle. The spiky, coppery taste running over my tongue heightened my craving.
Everything moved like molasses in winter. I could hear and smell everything around me – from the sharp intake of breath from those behind me to the fear and loathing that competed for prominence in the air. A petite blond female shifted to my right, each tiny thread of her clothing ripping to shreds. The male who killed Ethan clawed at the ground, a snort erupting as he reared back to spring. Each breath he took was long but ragged. I stole a quick glance at the limp body at my feet. An exultant hatred overtook what humanity lie inside my wolf skin.
I turned to the others.
The female lunged toward me. She lowered her head in attempt to knock me off balance. I stood up on my hind legs and drove down on her back with all my weight. She rolled over but in no time at all I had her throat in my teeth. She whimpered beneath me, defeated. Her ears flattened in defeat. Her racing pulse gave away her terror. I had conquered her as easily as water conquers fire.
Her male companion skidded to a halt not five feet before me, ears and head lowering. I jerked my head to the left, tearing out the windpipe of the female beneath me. The hot drink of fresh blood was delicious. The male’s howl should have affected me; it should have made me pause. Instead it made me smile.
I savored the feeling of ascendancy as the male snarled at me furiously and sprang. With a turn of body I maneuvered so that he would have to jump over the body of the female I just killed. He faltered as he came to the lifeless wolf. He stumbled and fell belly up. My teeth needed no encouragement as I tore his stomach apart, entrails spilling this way and that. Less than heartbeat later, his wolf lay unmoving.
With more fresh blood staining my front I howled a dangerous challenge to the others. Several more of their pack, one in wolf form, four human, stood haphazardly around us but not one advanced. The world seemed to spin but stood perfectly still. I desperately wanted the rest to challenge me so that I could destroy them, too. I was boiling in my own hatred. And yet I was completely calm. I was no longer Sophie. I was Death herself; ready to deal the final blow to the rest of them. I ached for it.
Yet, no one moved.
Several minutes went by in stillness with no more wolves advancing. I could smell the
fear that emanated from each pore of their skins, human and wolf. It hung in the air like a cottony cloud, seductive and delicious.
They knew.
*
Taking a full breath I howled to the Long Night Moon. Slowly, deliberately, and with heads bowed they submitted. Three females and two males, the remnants of his pack. The energy flowed like a rope twisting and binding each of them to me. I had never experienced so much power in my life. I became the earth beneath me, the wind moved with my breath. The trees and stars called out their reverence.
I shifted back and stood before them. “I challenged and killed your Alpha. You are now mine and as such you will obey me. You will not harm another member of my immediate family ever again. That is my first command.” I stared into the crown of each head before me. The words I spoke became leaden vines which snaked out from me to each individual. My will was heavy and unbreakable. I knew all would have no choice but to comply and my family would be safe.
I glanced over my shoulder at Daniel. He knelt on the ground, his expression tight and emotionless.
“Hold him.” I growled.
Tristan and John secured Daniel’s arms behind his back though he didn’t put up a fight.
“Explain yourself.” I demanded.
“Jason is my cousin. He asked me to work my way into your pack.”
“But why?”
Daniel stumbled over his words ever so slightly. “You are one of the last packs he made contact with. You keep to yourselves and Jason needed someone to get a feel for the strength of your Alpha. Another war is brewing Sophie. Jason has been collaborating with various packs around the East to coordinate assaults.”
“On humans?” I growled.
He nodded.
“Why would they…?”
“There are many of our kind who no longer want to hide. And the only way to bring us out in the open is to demonstrate our strength and numbers. Take the fight to the humans first.”
“They will get us all killed!” I snarled. “We can’t defend ourselves against the entire human race!”
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