Down the Dirt Road (The Dirt Road Series Book 1)

by Livell James

  When he picked up the end and quirked his eyebrow, Kaylee smiled and said, “I like to be original” and shrugged her shoulders. She had dyed the tips purple before she moved. It had been something she’d always wanted to do, but couldn't while working at the bank.

  “I like it. It fits you, somehow,” Lucas said, smiling at the lock of hair in question.

  “Thank you, Lucas.” Kaylee could feel the heat on her cheeks and knew she was blushing again, but the blush had nothing to do with the compliment he just gave her. She was sitting there debating whether she should let her inner bad girl out to play. She wanted to do more than sit there holding hands. It was nice, sweet even, but she was dying to feel his lips on hers.

  It looked like she and Lucas were on the same page because he brought his hand back up from her shoulder, gliding it over the side of her neck, cupping the back of her neck, and pulling her as close as she could get. Kaylee didn’t hesitate, kissing him softly, at first, then cocking her head, opening her mouth a little, and running her tongue along his lower lip.

  That was all it took for Lucas to take over. His lips covered hers as his tongue plunged deep, swirling around hers, tasting, exploring. The kiss quickly turned heated. Kaylee straddled his lap, grinding herself against him, and he started thrusting his tongue in and out of her mouth like he was fucking her, lifting his hips when she pushed down; Kaylee moaned. She hated the clothes covering their bodies, longed to feel his skin against her own.

  Kaylee felt a slight pinch of pain when his tooth caught her lip, but it only added to the ferocity of the kiss, making her hotter. She tried to show him with the kiss, but Lucas picked her up, breaking their connection and sat her down on the bench. He didn’t waste a single minute, getting up and running toward the woods and the trail.

  Confused and hurt, she screamed his name. He continued to run, but looked over his shoulder at her, his face tense, his lips drawn in a straight line, but damn, why were his eyes glowing a copper color. Why wasn’t it scaring the ever-loving hell out of her?

  Chapter 9

  Lucas barely made it out of Kaylee’s line of sight, and his beasts were clawing at him to change. This wasn’t his usual change into his wolf, this one was different, and Lucas was fighting it with everything he had in him. His beasts, the vampire and the wolf, had combined and were driving him to go back to Kaylee, his mate, their mate.

  Lucas wouldn’t, couldn’t let that happen. This beast was bigger, stronger, and deadlier, but what scared him the most and made him fight harder to maintain his human form was this beast was also uncontrollable; it took over his body and mind completely. The pain of fighting it back was unbelievable. Lucas staggered, falling to his knees, but he needed to get away from Kaylee, so he forced his changing body to move.

  He only made it a few more steps when he fell into a tree, breathing heavily. This wouldn’t work, Lucas needed to get further away, but his body wasn’t cooperating with him. He couldn’t let the beasts out. That was when he smelled him, Matt. Looking up, he saw him standing not too far away. Lucas growled and snarled, the animal was wanting to attack his brother for being so close to his mate, but he fought and managed to say in a more animalistic than a human voice, “Get help.”

  Lucas knew just saying those two words could get him killed. If Marcus came, Lucas knew he would use this shift as a reason to eliminate him. Hell, he was even okay with it as long as Kaylee remained safe. Safe from him.

  That burned. He was supposed to protect her and her family and because of one mistake years before, he was going to fail. The taste of her blood was still on his lips, driving the vampire and wolf crazy, in his mind and body.

  One drop of her blood had produced a bloodlust stronger than Lucas had ever experienced before, even during his transition. This was different, stronger, more potent. Bringing his hands up, Lucas tried to remove his shirt. The skin beneath it was burning with the fur of his beast. It felt as though each and every one of his pores was on fire and the fabric was abrading his skin. His claws had descended, making the task near impossible. Lucas gave up trying and just ripped the fucker off and started to crawl.

  If his legs wouldn’t carry him away from Kaylee, his knees and hands would. Sweat poured off him, wetting both his body and hair, blocking his vision which had already started to change to that of the beast. He no longer saw in color, but the muted black and white common to his animal form, and yet, he still crawled, moving further away from Kaylee.

  Lucas knew he was going to lose this battle of wills. He was going to change, wasn’t a single doubt in his mind. As his bones started to break and reform, he called out in agony, hoping against hope the pack would come and stop him. The cries of pain turned into growls and howls, and he knew all was lost. He was too far into the shift to change back now; he had lost, and the beasts within had won.

  Movement in front of him caught his eye before his mind was completely gone, and if he could have in this form, he would have smiled. Eric in his jet-black wolf form, Dylan in his deep gray with one white ear, and Macon with his speckled gray fur, stood at the end of the path, waiting for him to finish the change. The last thing he saw before the beast took over were the three wolves charging him. His last thought was he hoped he didn’t harm them.

  Lucas was coming back in phases, everything hurt. He knew he was moving, not on his own steam or that of the beast. The hard punch in his stomach made him realize someone was carrying him? His mind was fuzzy and disjointed, he couldn’t wrap his head around anything. He heard people talking and tried to concentrate and realized it was Eric carrying him and he was talking to Danica. The words they were saying were garbled, but he still made them out.

  “Go help Macon and Dylan, Lucas messed them up pretty bad. When you're done, come back here to help me with Lucas. Matt is trying to keep Marcus and Emily away long enough for us to clean up this damn mess.”

  “What happened?”

  “I don’t have time to tell you right now, Dani, just go help Macon and Dylan. I’m going to clean Lucas up the best I can, then you can take over. Go, now!”

  He started to remember the fight. Eric had charged him head-on, the beast attacked, tearing at Eric with teeth and claws, taking him down quickly. Just when he was about to go for the kill, Dylan and Macon charged him from the side, moving him back from Eric. Lucas had fought harder, not wanting to give up his prey. Eric was the animal the beast wanted, it didn’t consider Dylan or Macon anything more than an annoyance, obstacles to its prize.

  Lucas threw Macon into a tree, grabbing the scruff around his neck, using his superior strength to hurl him. Hearing the yowl, the wolf made and the sound of bones breaking, appeased the beast, but only a little. It then went after Macon; his beast was larger than Dylan’s, but slower. The beast seemed to know everything Lucas did, exactly how to attack each member of his pack for the best outcome.

  The beast knew to stay on Macon’s right side and attack his flank. Macon was a to the death fighter, it didn’t matter if he were injured or not as long as he could move, he would fight. The beast knew this and took him down brutally, tearing at his legs and hindquarters. Driven by the yowls and hisses of pain, the beast continued its attack until Eric, once again, charged him.

  That fight took longer, enraging the beast. Eric wasn’t as predictable as the others, he fought with a strategy only he knew. It was one of the reasons the man was a Beta. His skills in battle were second to none. He and Lucas had sparred many times, and Eric always won, mainly because Lucas refused to use his Alpha or other attributes against him.

  The beast planned on correcting that, it didn’t like that Lucas had backed down to Eric in the past. He was Alpha, and Eric needed to know that. Lucas was jolted out of the memory when his body turned weightless, then landed on a hard surface. Eric was talking to him again; Lucas couldn’t even open his eyes much less respond to the man, but what he was saying didn’t make any sense.

  “You fought hard my friend, you controlled the beast. We
all know Marcus has been lying to us. Just rest and let us take care of you, everything will be okay, Alpha.”

  What the fuck? He hadn’t controlled anything and why was Eric calling him Alpha? He wasn’t the Alpha of anyone. He had failed, he hadn’t stopped the shift, and he attacked his own pack with two things on his mind, blood and death.

  Lucas’ mind drifted back to the fight; whether it was from the pain or his mind was playing tricks on him, he saw the scene as if he was watching it from the sidelines. He could see Eric’s wolf, bloody and hurt, but still fighting. Macon and Dylan were laying on the ground where the beast had left them to die. Matt was standing off to the side starting to strip off his clothes. Lucas felt fear at that moment, he didn’t want Matt to join the fight, he didn’t want to hurt him. He wanted to scream and rage to his brother to stay out of it.

  Lucas groaned and tried to get away from the things he was seeing. He couldn’t understand why he was even seeing it. He hadn’t been an observer, none of this should be possible. A tinkling voice came into his head saying, Watch, Lucas, it isn’t what you think, watch the beast.

  That was when he saw himself for the first time in his Were/Vampire form, and he rebelled, thrashing on the bed, trying to dislodge the image. He hated the way he looked, what he’d tried to do, but he was frozen. He couldn’t get away from it, couldn’t get the scene of the fight out of his head, and the fucking little voice became more insistent. It demanded he watch, see himself and what he had done.

  His beast was massive, four times his own body width and height. It was like his three forms combined to make this one. Lucas wanted to look away, he didn’t want to see himself this way. He hadn’t shifted into his usual wolf form, this was more like the nightmare version of Werewolves seen in movies or written about in books. He still had the form of a man, but everything was mixed and amplified.

  The muscles on his body were huge, his tattoos were stretched and distorted under the dark gray fur. His normally long hair had grown longer and become more of a mane running down his back. His blue eyes were golden, so bright, they were more of a yellowish color and looked evil. His nose was that of the wolf, but shorter, more snubbed. His fangs were double their usual size, at least three inches long. His massive hands were tipped with razor sharp claws. He watched helplessly as Eric once again charged, and he used those claws to slice into his fur, throwing him away like a piece of garbage.

  Lucas wanted to scream to the beast to stop, but all he could do was stare at the scene playing out before him. Matt charged next, Lucas tried to fight his frozen state, he needed to warn him, to stop him, but nothing happened. He couldn’t do anything, but watch. Matt’s wolf jumped and landed on the beast, attacking it, biting and clawing at it.

  Lucas couldn’t take anymore, he didn’t want to see the beast hurt his brother. Screaming, he was finally able to dislodge the image of the fight from his head. Lucas was ashamed; he hadn’t controlled himself, and he was hurting the people he cared about. Why hadn’t they just brought a gun with a silver bullet in it and ended him? Lucas knew they had them. Hell, Marcus had threatened him with them enough. But the pack fought, and now, they were taking care of him. Eric had even called him Alpha.

  Twisting his body, Lucas tried to force it to wake from this state. He needed to get away from the pack, but especially Kaylee. He would need to talk with Ruth. He would demand she remove him from as Guardian, and he would run. Then everyone would be safe.

  He felt a warm hand on his chest and knew Flynn was there, he could feel him calming him. He didn’t want that, he didn’t want to be calm right now. He wanted to wake the fuck up, so he could do what needed to be done. Still unable to move or even open his eyes, he heard Flynn talking to Eric, he assumed because shit, even his sense of smell, all his senses were failing him.

  “He’s fighting me, Eric, he doesn’t want to be calmed, he wants to leave,” Flynn said.

  Fuck, Lucas felt bad, he could hear the sorrow in Flynn’s voice. Marcus had done a number on this man. His purpose in the pack was to calm and no one was letting him do it, including Lucas. Thinking he wasn’t any better than Marcus, he let the calm envelope him.

  The feeling was unbelievable. Lucas’ mind began to clear, but it brought on the pain. He felt the pressure of Flynn’s hand leave him, but another softer hand replaced it. This hand was small, dainty even. His pain started to recede, and he knew Danica was healing him, caring for him. The warmth of her healing gifts encompassed his body.

  He could feel the tears and abrasions to his skin start to stitch together and the bones which had been broken start to repair. It wasn’t exactly a pleasant feeling, but it wasn’t really a bad one, either. The calm Flynn had induced was helping to ease any discomfort he might have.

  Lucas could already feel his vampire side healing his body, but it was slow, he was too weak from the blood loss. His Were side wasn’t faring any better, there had been too much damage inflicted on his body. Matt’s frantic voice made Lucas fight through the calm and heat, so he could hear what his brother had to say.

  “You need to hurry, Danica, Marcus and Emily will be here any second. If he finds you down here with Lucas, he’ll punish you and the rest of us.”

  “I’m almost done, Mattias, he should rest more soundly now. I just need a couple more minutes, and he’ll be fine. Marcus will never know about the fight.”

  “Dani, if he finds out about the attack in the woods, he’ll put Lucas down. Luke can’t protect himself now, and without him, I don’t think any of us will be able to protect him from Marcus if he finds out.”

  “Lend me your strength then, so I can finish his healing. We can’t have our Alpha vulnerable, now can we?” Danica said in her sweet, sing-song voice. Lucas had always like her voice, it reminded him of bells chiming softly, but why was she also calling him Alpha, to Matt, no less. He expected his brother to balk or at least say something, but it didn’t happen.

  What shocked the shit out him even more was the warmth of Danica’s healing increased a hundred-fold to the point he was burning up, but within seconds, all the pain was gone from his body. When he was able to open his eyes, it was to see Danica’s form moving up the stairs and Matt standing at the bottom looking back at him.

  “Sleep well, brother, all will be better in the morning. Your pack will protect you.”

  Chapter 10

  Kaylee hadn’t slept much that night, her mind plagued with why Lucas had run off so fast. She thought they had a connection. When she was finally able to get even a little sleep, she dreamed. She dreamed of things which scared her. It started out simple, her and Lucas talking. Him telling her about his family, and her telling him about hers. Then the dream became heated, and they were ripping each other’s clothes off, just about to get to the good stuff when a man’s voice interrupted them, and Lucas was gone.

  Kaylee was in a place—dark, cold and barren. It was like being in a black hole of nothingness, except that damn voice. It offered her all kinds of things—money, power, and success. Kaylee hated the voice, hated the place, and just wanted the dream to go back to her and Lucas, but it was like she was caught in the nightmare and nothing could shake it. Over and over again, the voice would say All you have to do is come to me, Kaylee. It will all be yours if you come to me, accept me as your mate. Embrace the dark, repel the light, and you can have it all.

  Kaylee forced herself from the sheets, not bothering to change out of her pajamas—yoga pants and a long-sleeved t-shirt—and went downstairs. She wanted a Diet Coke, and then, she wanted to track Lucas down to find out what happened yesterday. She needed him to tell her why he ran.

  Her grandma was making breakfast, much the same as the day before, burning the hell out of it, but Kaylee didn’t have the same warm and fuzzy thoughts this morning; her mind was unsettled. Going right for the refrigerator, she grabbed her Diet Coke and sat down at the table.

  “Are you okay, Kaylee girl?” Grandma Ruth asked, looking very concerned. Kaylee hadn’
t gotten the chance to answer before her grandma was standing over her, placing her hand on her forehead, much like she’d done when Kaylee was a child, checking for a fever, then cupped Kaylee’s cheek and shut her eyes.

  “Why do you always do that? You check to see if I have a fever, then you cup my cheek and shut your eyes like you’re looking for something in your mind,” Kaylee asked.

  “Oh, Kaylee, I’m not looking for anything, it’s just a family tradition. I’m giving you a blessing of good health, that’s all. Nothing for you to worry about,” Grandma Ruth said as she moved away and took the seat across from her. Kaylee noticed she hadn’t brought any of the food over to the table or even her coffee. She was just looking at her. “What’s troubling you so, child?”

  Kaylee knew her grandma meant well, but for some reason, she didn’t want to tell her about Lucas or the dreams. She felt an intense need to keep both of those things to herself, so she answered the only way she could without completely lying to her grandma.

  “Nothing Grandma, just a lot of stuff on my mind today. I think the move and the drive took more out of me than I thought. I just didn’t sleep all that well last night.”

  “Oh, hon, you should have come down, I would have made you some tea. Being in a strange place always makes it difficult for me to sleep, and you’ve had so much change, no wonder you’ve had a problem sleeping deeply. Tonight, I’ll make sure you have some of my special tea. You know how much it helped you in the past.”

  Yeah, she did, and Kaylee was starting to wonder about it. Kaylee had tried to buy some mint tea a few years back when she was having problems at work and the stress of trying to do everything on her own had caught up to her, but the name brand stuff with the bear on it saying “Sleepy Time” did nothing for her. Whereas, her grandma’s tea put her to sleep, almost instantly. If she didn’t know any better, she would think Grandma Ruth was slipping sleeping pills into it. But since the same result happened when she was still a child, she doubted it was true, at least, she hoped it wasn’t. Didn’t some overwhelmed parents give their kids Benadryl or cough syrup to knock their asses out or was that just a joke? She wouldn’t put it past her grandma, but she wanted to believe she would never do that.