Taurus (Guardians of the Stars Book 1)

by Kim Faulks

  Don’t let me walk through this forest all night. Please Goddess, can’t you hear me? Don’t let me fail them.

  I welcomed the pain as I shuffled each step, sliding down the slopes, only to hobble back up the next rise, until finally I crested a hill. The stars had fallen. I blinked, and grasped the nearest tree. Tiny sparkles hovered in the distance.

  My heel skated the pine needles, straining tendons. I gripped thin branches and leaned forward. Lights beckoned in the distance. The glint held my gaze as the ground slid from underneath my feet.

  Hard rocks punched my back as I hit the ground. Knotted roots and thorny bushes kicked and whipped. I felt the sting for a second before pain ripped through my head. Finally, I came to a stop.

  I lay there, breathing in the cold, damp early morning air. Morning was coming, I’d never make it to the town. I’d never make it to my pack.

  My belly hardened, pain ripped through my chest as a cough tore free. I licked my lips and tasted blood. I couldn’t get enough air. Pain tore through my chest like a spike. Not enough air. Tiny breaths. I kept them light. The salty scent of my blood filled my nose and leaked into my mouth. So tired. I could just lay here a while. Sleep, the darkness whispered.

  I closed my eyes. Just a little. Just a little.

  The storm’s coming, Abrial. You better. Run. Run. Run.

  I snapped my eyes open at the sound of her voice. “Odessa?”

  You want to know what I see in your future?

  I knew what was in my future. Heartbreak, pain, and the Echo pack.

  Don’t sleep. Not now. Tiny toes filled my mind. The newborn’s shattering cry chased sleep from my mind. Her future won’t be mine and it won’t be Maddy’s. I won’t let it happen.

  I drove my fingers into the earth and shoved. Pain ripped along my side. For a second, the lights in the distance wavered, blending together into one bright blur. The humans will help us. Please Goddess, let them help us.

  My growl set fire to my throat as I dragged my feet along the ground and pushed. Two feet seemed so hard to gain, and for a second my wolf rose, urging me down on all fours. I swallowed the pain and the fire. Not yet. Not until I’m back with the rest of my pack. Not until I know they’re safe.

  The scent of fresh earth followed me as I held my arm against my body. Tiny breaths. Tiny steps. The lights glinted. One after another those bright lights shimmered a little brighter and grew a little bigger until I stepped from the trees and my boots scraped asphalt.

  Heavy thuds mirrored my heart as I stumbled. The hospital wavered in the distance. Letters outlined in white neon burned my eyes. I focused on the building, then the automatic doors.

  I’m not going to hurt you. I only want to help.

  His voice crowded my mind. Marcus. The man drove into a tree to save me. Why? No one had ever tried to save me. I was nothing. Just a girl, wasn’t that what my father said? Just a girl.

  I crested the gutter and inched my way up the grassy rise. The emergency bay was empty. I licked my lips, finding movement through the glass. Just a little further.

  A head turned and someone peered through the doors. I tried to lift my hand, but something was wrong with my brain. My hand didn’t respond. Help. Please help them.

  The air whooshed. Boots rang loud. White jackets and blue uniforms rushed to meet me. A male voice, so calm and controlled, filled my ears. “Are you okay? What happened? Were you hit?” He spoke over his shoulder to another. “Holy shit. She’s a shifter… a wolf.”

  “She’s from that pack… Echo… or something.” A man snarled. “Leave her, she’s more trouble than she’s worth.”

  I opened my mouth to speak as my knee gave way. Whispered words slipped from my lips. One woman leaned close. I caught the heady scent of perfume. “Say that again, honey. I didn’t catch it.”

  Grey speckled through dark brown hair. Vanilla smothered me.

  My lips parted as she dipped her head. “Just a girl.”

  “No. You’re not just a girl. You’re a fighter. You’re going to be fine, sweetheart. We’re going to take good care of you.”

  I clawed her arm, trying to hold on tight. “No. Not me. Maddy… the baby. In the woods. Leave them behind.”

  “Are they hurt?”

  I shook my head. No. Not yet….

  “Come on inside, let us take a look at you. We’ll talk about them later.”

  She gripped my arm. I shook my head. “Maddy. The baby. Two hours west. Need to take care of them.” I gestured toward the trees. “Through there. Please help them.”

  “I’ll see what I can do. Maybe the sheriff can have a look when the sun comes up.”

  Tomorrow would be too late.

  I shoved her hand away. Why aren’t they running? Why aren’t they racing to save them? The sheriff. Would he help? I dropped my arm and felt something tear inside. I swallowed the whimper as I climbed to my feet.

  “You need to let us have a look at you. We can give you something for the pain.”

  I shook my head. “No.” Turning back in the direction I’d come, I forced one foot in front of the other, leaving the nurse and doctor behind. Maybe I could talk to the sheriff myself.

  Concrete gave way to asphalt once again. At the end of the hospital drive, I followed the main road into town, passing their houses and their shopping centers. Neon lights glared, pulsing through shop windows. The sheriff’s office loomed in the distance. The open blinds revealed no movement. What if no one was there?

  My belly dropped like a weight. Then this would’ve been all for nothing. I stumbled along the pavement and slapped my hand on the door. The door didn’t budge. I shoved, hearing the scrape of metal as the door swung over the threshold, and stumbled into the foyer.

  A head snapped up from behind the counter. The desk officer narrowed his gaze and rubbed bloodshot eyes. He stood and peered over the counter, looking me up and down. “What the fuck do we have here?”

  My last chance. My only chance. I forced the words, trying to make sure he understood. “There’s a pack of shifters. They’re going to leave a mother and her newborn baby behind. She won’t survive out there. Others will come. They’ll kill her. West, through the forest. About two hours. You’ll find them. Please, help her.”

  He rubbed his chin and rounded the counter. “Jesus. They’re gonna leave her to die?”

  I nodded, reaching out with my good hand as my throat thickened, leaving my voice husky. “Yes. We need to go now.”

  The silence lingered. I shifted under the weight of his cynical eyes as he stopped in front of me. I stared at his name tag—Leonard Schult—then back up to warm brown eyes.

  “They’re out there in the cold, Leonard. It’s been raining. There was a storm.”

  He nodded. Still, I waited for him to grab the two-way at his belt and call, someone… anyone. He brushed the hair from my cheek and muttered. “You’re a pretty thing, aren’t you?”

  I wrenched my head from his touch.

  “Sounds like they’re doing us a favor. She dies out there, won’t be no concern of ours. We don’t get mixed up in pack business.”

  “She’s still a person. She needs someone to protect her, to fight for her.”

  He shook his head and his lips twisted in a smirk. “Like I said, we don’t get caught up in pack business. But if you want to hang around a while, I can help you out with somewhere to sleep.”

  His tongue snaked over his lips. His slippery gaze had me stumbling for the door. “No, thank you. I….”

  He nodded as I fumbled for the handle. I shoved the door with my hip and hurried away, listening to it slam shut behind me. High above, on tall metal poles, lights blazed, illuminating cars behind a locked gate. I slowed at the sight of the crumpled Chrysler.

  So stupid, so fucking stupid. This had all been for nothing. They depended on me. They were waiting for me. And I let them down. I let myself down.

  I gripped the wire mesh with my good hand and stared at the torn driver’s door. I coul
d still see him in the car, dazed, staring up at me. The thick trickle of blood from his brow glistened under the green dashboard lights. He’d driven into a tree to save me. Strange man. He didn’t even know me—why would he care?

  What use was thinking about that now?

  I punched the fence, sending a twang through the wires. These humans wouldn’t help. No one could. I shuffled away, moving toward the next building. Stop. Sleep. The bricks were warm against my back, lulling me. My weighted lids drooped. I rocked forward.

  Something brushed across my mind and the sickening scent of male wolf filled me. The scrape of boots followed. I yanked my eyes open as a heavy hand slapped across my mouth. Fingers dug into my arm, wrenching me from my feet. I stumbled, flailed, then dropped my weight.

  “No you don’t, you little Bloodstone bitch,” a male voice snarled against my ear. The smell of wolf filled my nose.

  Strong arms squashed my arms against my ribs. Agony stole my breath. I sucked, drawing in the fetid stench of his hand, then drove my head backwards. The crack ripped through my skull, but I relished the crunching sound behind me. Something warm splashed the back of my ear. The hold on my arms slackened. Stars exploded behind my eyes as I fell, smashing my face against the pavement. The metallic taste of blood filled my mouth.

  “Fuck! My nose. My nose!”

  “Get her. Get her now!” The second voice came from my right. I knew that voice.

  Sol. The stench of mongrel told me Echo pack had found me.

  I stilled at his husky tone, then I was moving. Ignoring the shredding pain in my chest, I scurried along the concrete. “Stop, Sol. Tell him to stop.”

  I knew who the bastard was now—one of Sol’s soldiers—a warrior of the Echo pack. Something snagged my foot. I punched with the heel of my boot and kept on moving. No. Please, Goddess, no. A weight fell on my back, slamming me to the ground. I couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe. Could only hiss as Sol’s wolf dropped his weight. “Get off me. Get him off me, Sol.”

  The heavy bastard moved. Air whooshed before I caught the brunt of his fist on the side of my face. The jolt snapped my head to the side. A high-pitched whine fought through the ringing in my ears. “That’s for breaking my fucking nose.”

  I dropped my head and sucked in the air, finding the double-crossing snake. “I did what you asked, Sol. It’s not my fault. It’s not my fault.”

  “You killed the wrong fucking man, Abrial. You know the deal. The Alpha for Rowen.”

  I dropped my head. “I want to make a new deal.”

  Sol’s chuckle filled me with fear. “Get her up.”

  Cruel hands gripped my arms and yanked. I sagged against the side of the building as I stared at a fucking chest. I couldn’t fight. I couldn’t even lift my head to stare at the bastard who worked me over. I’d given the race through the forest to save Maddy everything. I had nothing left.

  The man I’d made my bargain with shuffled under the glow of the streetlight toward me. His left arm hung useless from his body, mauled and deformed. The left side of his face wasn’t any better. The flesh was swollen and twisted, protruding like a tree struck with lightning.

  A plague that killed half the wolves left just as many to rot on the outside. The sickness cared little if they were man, woman, low-born, or second-in-command of one of the largest shifter packs. On the outside, this tainted piece of shit was just a shadow of the man he’d once been, but on the inside he was twice as angry, and twice as cruel.

  “I want to make a new deal.”

  He shook his head. Black eyes pierced me. “The time for deals is over. You’ve had your fun. Chains or the knife—you choose.”

  No chains—never. I’d rather die than be sold to a demon. I closed my eyes and thought of Maddy and her baby. I’d failed them. A pent up breath escaped with a whimper. I opened my mouth, the word knife on the tip of my tongue.

  “Get away from her.”

  The man at my back stilled.

  “I said, get away from her.”

  I turned my head, searching the shadows. A scuff of a shoe drew my gaze. Marcus stepped under the light, head lowered, focused on the man behind me.

  His eyes burned, dancing like a bloody flame. Not wolf. Not human.

  Dangerous, my wolf whispered.

  He dropped his gaze, setting those flickering orbs on me. I felt their heat, their desire, and their rage all mingled in one.

  “Marcus.” I felt my whisper echo inside.

  My heart pulsed a little harder, driving pain like rusted nails into the back of my head. I lifted my arm. “Stay away. They’ll kill you.”

  His lips tightened, curling at the edges. “I’d like to see them try.”

  An icy finger trailed its way along my arm, and for a second, the world stood still… waiting, hoping, until Sol’s husky voice sliced the air. “Take him.”

  The hand around my arm let go. I stumbled backward, hitting the wall. My knees trembled. I drove my fingers into the grooves, holding on. This is all my fault.

  The shifter stepped to the side, rounding Marcus, moving toward the corner of the street and into the light. He towered above my savior, dropping his gaze to size up his opponent.

  Sol sniffed the air. “What are you?”

  I held my breath, waiting for the answer.

  “Now, there’d be no fun if I told you.” Marcus shifted his gaze to Sol, then to me. “But, I could always show you.”

  I turned to grasp Sol’s arm. “Stop this. He’s got nothing to do with this. He’s not involved.”

  The wolf lunged, head down, all teeth and claws.

  Marcus’s death filled my mind, until I couldn’t see anything else. My heart leapt into my throat. “No!”

  The wolf swung his arms out wide, gripping Marcus around the waist and taking him to the ground. Flesh turned into fur as the shifter jerked his hand up.

  I dragged my fingers along the wall as I swung my gaze to the bastard’s deformed face. “I’ll go with you. I’ll do anything you want. Don’t hurt him, Sol. Please, don’t hurt him.”

  There was a second when the shifter’s hand hung suspended in the air. When I thought the sonofabitch would take my offer. When my world stood still. Then, with one shake of his head, the moment was over.

  The shifter slashed. Claws raked the air, arcing, destroying. Bits of white cotton fluttered toward the ground. No!

  Sol’s feet dragged, warning me to turn my head, but I couldn’t tear my gaze away. Marcus lunged to his feet and swung at the wolf’s head. Sol grasped my arm and dragged me close to his chest as the pair on the ground traded blow after blow. I fought Sol’s hold, thrashing as Marcus fell to one knee.

  Sol slammed me against the wall. He tried to block my view, but I yanked to one side. Behind Sol, the wolf dropped his head to Marcus. I caught the glint of long canine teeth in the light, biting down. White teeth turned bloody. Marcus screamed and I felt the sound. The terror ripped through my blood like a jagged knife.

  Sol dropped his head, whispering, as the men traded blow for blow. His words traipsed across my mind like a lover’s touch. A deadly lover—a jilted lover.

  “Give me your answer,” Sol snarled.

  “Don’t. Give. In.” Marcus growled, wrenching his head toward me. His fevered gaze burned into mine. The wolf snarled, driving his fist into Marcus’s stomach. The blow tore his eyes from mine.

  Sol’s brushed my arm with twisted fingers. “I’m waiting.”

  I clenched my fists. My top lip slid back as spittle flew from my mouth to splatter against Sol’s cheek. “Yes. The answer is yes. Now leave him alone.”

  I shuddered and whispered a prayer as his diseased hand left me. Marcus knelt, shaking, his back to me. Something wasn’t right. I gripped Sol’s gnarled and knotted arm and shoved. “Get off me. Let me see. Let me see!”

  Marcus thrust his head upward, barging into the belly of the wolf. The shifter howled, taking the brunt, then dropped to the ground. His hands slid to his stomach as he lay on h
is back. Under the yellow street light, his blood turned inky, pooling under his body to fall into the cracks of the pavement. I jerked my arm out of Sol’s grip and stumbled forward.

  Fire licked the air as Marcus roared. I jumped at the sound and wrenched my head up. He turned, setting those burning eyes on me. Flames burst from his open mouth, easing with each heaving breath. I lifted my gaze to the thick horns that pierced his forehead, then my eyes fell to the blackened limbs that dropped to his side.

  I licked my lips, trying to find a breath, and stared as massive wings spread. His skin was ripped and severed, large holes were torn in the middle. A whimper slipped from my lips at the sight. His eyes searched mine, waiting for me to scream, or to run.

  I wouldn’t run. I wouldn’t scream. He’d risked his life to save me… twice. The pulse in the back of my head stole my thoughts. My fingers trembled, dancing across the air as I reached for him. The echo of steps drifted to my ears as my world toppled sideways, then crashed to the ground.

  Something slid under my shoulder. I stared up into those eyes as the fire turned to embers.

  “I’ve got you, wolf. Sleep now. I’ve got you and I won’t let you go.”

  I held her tight against my chest as she closed her eyes. Those perfect lips parted, mumbling words I didn’t understand. I drew in her scent—blood, musk and something sweet. “Sleep, wolf. I’ve got you.”

  Blood crusted her hair and coated her face. I traced the darkened line along her temple to where it mingled with the lava of her hair. Fire lashed torn skin as I eased my wings closer, folding until my body swallowed them once more.

  It’d been hundreds of years since my dragon ran free, but this wolf caused him to roam twice in one day. I’d spilled blood, broken bones, torn flesh in her name—I inhaled, drawing the stale stench of this world into my lungs—and yet, in this moment, I’d never felt so alive.

  A dark blur moved through the trees. I stopped and jerked my gaze from her face. The thick scent of male saturated the air. Underneath the musk was something fetid. I narrowed in on the movement and snarled.