by Vivian Arend
As long as he wasn’t dead.
There was no sense of time as the fight continued. Under the glaring lights there were only swinging shadows and pain. Tad dodged another murderous attack from his opponent, dancing away from all but a few strikes. Inevitably his body protested more and more. Blood clung to his lips and his legs grew weary.
“You’re slowing down. No one is coming to save you,” Doug taunted. He wasn’t without his bruises and cuts, and he seemed surprised by the furiousness of Tad’s counterattack.
Tad waited on the ground where he’d fallen after the last bone-crunching blow. The snow was kind of soft and gentle on his aching limbs, and it was nice to rest for a moment.
Besides, Doug needed to take one more step. Tad arranged his hands carefully, bending one leg under him and keeping the other loose and ready.
Then, glory be, Doug not only swaggered forward, he leaned over Tad to gloat. “You really are pathetic—”
Tad kicked him. He used the Alaskan High Kick method, pressing down into the ground with his extended arm while he forced his free foot up as hard and as fast as he could. Tad drilled the bastard right smack in the middle of his face. Okay, Tad cheated a little by not hanging on to one foot, but he figured the boys at the gym would forgive him for the slight error in technique.
Doug struck the ground four feet back from where he’d started. Blood poured from his nose and mouth, and he casually wiped his hand through it. Staring down at his bloody fingers, he cackled, a wild and maniacal sound.
“Well. I’ll admit it. You’re a stronger man than I am. I don’t know if I would beat you if we continued for much longer.” He rolled to his hands and knees, and sat back on his haunches for a minute. “It’s been interesting but I’ve had enough playing. Missy’s mine and you can die knowing I’m going to make her life hell.”
Doug shifted.
His human body wasn’t very impressive, but his wolf more than made up for it. Here was why the man was Alpha. He was huge. He was also a dirty brown, one of the few brown werewolves Tad had ever seen. Tad leapt to his feet, grabbed his coat and got it swinging, the heavy knot whistling through the air.
Doug lunged and Tad whirled aside, smacking the coat onto Doug’s head. There was no use in bashing him anywhere else on his body with the thick fur protecting him. Besides, if Tad thumped his brains often enough the ass might get knocked unconscious.
Tad danced toward the edge of the arena, wanting something at his back. Doug could strike too far and too fast, and if Tad got stuck in the middle of the space it would be like tossing a marshmallow into a fire.
Doug’s teeth snagged the coat and his claws scrambled over Tad’s leg. He forced himself to remain standing on a limb that burned with pain while with the other he kicked at Doug’s groin, trying to slow the monstrous beast a little. Blood dripped as they backed away from each other, Doug favouring his hind left leg, Tad limping as well.
A silly little thing caused the turning point of the fight. Tad wore the clothes he’d borrowed from Shaun’s room, and they all fit loosely. Doug snapped at him, captured a pant leg in sharp teeth and shook like he had a rabbit in a death grip. The motion pulled Tad’s pants over his hips and trapped his legs so he couldn’t escape. Doug let go and watched with a wolfy grin as Tad scrambled backward crablike toward the very edge of the arena.
This was not the way it was supposed to happen. Dying with your pants around your ankles was a joke, for heaven’s sake. Tad hesitated for a sheer second and Doug was on top of him, forcing him to the ground. Fiery darts shot through Tad’s body as razor-sharp teeth fastened on his upper arm and snapped it in two. He screamed in pain and anger, watching the wolf retreat to the middle of the arena to gloat.
Sweat ran into Tad’s eyes, stinging, and he gasped in air.
“It’s time, sweetie.”
A wash of cool flowed around him, numbing his arm and clearing his mind. Missy’s touch was assuring and comforting. She was still confident he knew what he was doing.
Holy crap, he hoped he knew what he was doing.
It wouldn’t be pretty but he had to try. He kicked off his shoes and dragged himself to his feet, letting his pants fall to the ground. He paced the perimeter of the arena, his gaze tracking Doug as the wolf snarled and stalked toward him. Tad leaned back on the tree nearest where Keil and Heath had left the arena and prayed the message had gotten through.
“Kill the lights now.”
The lights blacked to nothing, leaving ghostly auroras on his retinas. Reaching blindly behind him, Tad slipped his good hand into Keil’s vest where it had hung since the start of the challenge. It had to be there. Keil always wore the damn thing. He spun around and dropped to his knees cradling his broken arm as he held the gun procured from the vest. He heard Doug sniffing, trying to track him. It would be normal for the wolf to gain the advantage under these dark conditions.
Except Tad was an Omega.
All the anger built up from feeling Missy’s fear of this man lifted Tad to the place where he would do anything to save her. He closed his eyes so he wouldn’t strain to use his vision, and he opened his mind to the ability that had hovered under the surface for so much of his life. Tad reached out with his new awareness and found the emotions of his enemy.
It was like wearing infrared goggles.
Doug came toward him on silent paws. Tad stroked his mind, calming. Cooling. Doug paused in his pacing, his head swinging from side to side like he was dislodging an annoying fly.
Tad’s heart rate increased. It was working. He pushed harder at his enemy, attempting to make Doug fall asleep. The wolf staggered in a circle, whining and snapping at the air. He clawed at the ground and snarled, obviously aware of what Tad was doing, but unable to overpower the Omega skills Tad appropriated from somewhere deep within.
Tad wanted the man out of Missy’s life forever, yet the thought of killing another in cold blood just wasn’t his way. Maybe there was too much human in him, but since Missy had mentioned the possibility of the wolf council or the human courts, it seemed there might be a better solution.
Doug rolled on the ground, his legs scrambling in the air as Tad continued to mentally overwhelm him. Suddenly Missy was there in Tad’s mind as well, supporting him, aiding him. Doug was no match against their two strengths, untrained and untried as they were.
The sensation of Missy’s presence grew stronger, and across the arena Tad saw a shimmer of silvery fur in the moonlight. He couldn’t believe his eyes as she bounded into the fight area. “What are you doing? Get out of here!”
She slowed to a walk, her wolf form so beautiful he couldn’t take his gaze off her. “I’m the cause of the fight. If he will deny the challenge, you don’t have to kill him.”
She knew. Somehow she knew that he didn’t want to kill, not if it could be avoided. His astonishment at the depth of the connection between them as mates rose again.
Tad turned to face Doug who lay twitching in the midst of the arena. “Do you yield? I’ll let you live if you stand down the challenge for Missy.”
Tad eased his control on Doug, enough to let him move slightly. The Alpha rolled to his belly and dropped his head to the ground.
“He yields!” The Whistler Beta had changed back to human and rushed out to the arena with Keil hard on his heels.
“Will he accept the council’s examination of his leadership as well as give up the challenge?” Tad demanded, keeping his eyes on Doug.
The Alpha’s gaze darted back and forth, and suddenly he gathered his legs under him and leapt at Missy. His body shifted to the left as his claws swung and his teeth reached to rip her throat open. Tad cried in disbelief, raised the gun and fired twice in quick succession before everything went silent.
Epilogue
Missy watched happily as her new brother-in-law hung up the phone and turned to give his wife a tender kiss. Now that was a neat sensation, to be able to think about a brother-in-law without getting nauseous at the same time.
“Whistler pack leadership has finally been reorganized by the council. They’re trying to avoid getting human authorities involved to deal with the illegal items Missy had documented,” Keil said. He wrapped his arm around Robyn, pulling her into his side. “You using a gun during a challenge has been forgiven in light of Doug’s double-cross. Plus the fact you turned down the position of Alpha for Whistler means there’s some archaic law in the code that gives you clemency.”
Missy tucked herself in tighter to Tad where they sat on the loveseat. She exchanged contented smiles with Robyn.
“I wasn’t going to let the bastard kill me because I couldn’t shift yet,” Tad pointed out. “I’m glad you were paying attention, Robyn, or I’d have been down there without a backup weapon. I felt like a fool waving my arms around signing like an idiot. And while the whole Omega thing is really cool, I need more practice before relying on it to save anyone’s life.”
“So, are you two official now?” TJ asked.
“Official what?” Tad asked, brushing a kiss against Missy’s cheek. She breathed in his scent happily, comfort and satisfaction pooling around her.
She felt little queasy, but that was to be expected.
TJ paced the room, his long legs constantly on the verge of tripping. “Omegas for the Granite Lake pack. I know you’re mates because, duh, I can smell that one a mile away. There’s also this other weird scent that I think means—”
“TJ, I need you to go and get my bag out of the car,” Missy ordered, flicking a glance at Tad to see if he’d caught that slip. How could TJ have known?
The young man sighed as he paced toward the door. “Fine. I’ll go. But I’ll have you know it’s not my fault I have a superior sense of smell. I think it’s pretty rotten you’re not letting me be around when you make the announce—”
“Go!” Missy rubbed her forehead. Okay, one of her new relatives still made her head spin.
“You are going to accept the position, aren’t you, Tad?” Keil asked. “It’s for both you and Missy. As well as being our Omegas, you can operate your pilot service out of Haines Junction or we can increase the bookings for Maximum Exposure and keep the family business roaring here in Alaska.”
Missy enjoyed the sensations washing over her as Tad twirled one of her curls in his fingers, tugging her close to kiss her again.
“Well, I suppose it depends on where Missy wants to have the baby,” Tad said as he squeezed his arm around her tighter.
She should have known she couldn’t keep it a secret for long. “You knew! I was trying to hide the scent.” She twisted around to face him, delight filling her.
Tad laughed. “It seems becoming mates with you has fixed my sense of smell. Plus, I’m an Omega. I know what’s happening, even this quickly, and I want to tell you I’m pleased as punch.”
Across the room Keil snorted. “You’re proud you’ve got super sperm. What did you do, knock her up the first day?”
Missy bit her lip and scrunched up her face to stop her enthusiastic nod. She caught Robyn’s eye and winked. Robyn’s shoulders shook with silent laughter.
“Of course, I think it would be great for the cousins to be raised close together, so living here in Haines might be the best,” Tad continued, staring at the ceiling as he rubbed at his chin.
A loud thunk rose from the corner of the room as Keil fell off the arm of the couch, his mouth gaping open. Robyn grinned at him, laid one arm on top of the other and rocked them back and forth.
“Shit,” Keil exclaimed. “Really? A baby? But I never smelt, I never…oh hell yeah.”
Tad’s hand slipped over Missy’s waist as he leaned closer to kiss her neck. Here was everything that she’d ever hoped for, longed for. A dream so long in the making had come true. She didn’t have to run away anymore, didn’t have to try to escape anything more dangerous than TJ.
She was home.
About the Author
Vivian was playing hooky the day they taught about the importance of getting a “real” job; she was hiding out at the local library rereading everything for the fifth time. Since then she’s become a Jack-of-all-trades with a job-experience list only slightly smaller than the average phone book.
She’s hiked, biked, canoed, kayaked and camped throughout Canada, Europe and the States, including Hawaii and Alaska. All these adventures have now become settings for her overactive muse to wander through.
Vivian lives in Western Canada with her longtime sweetie, two wonderful kids and a dog that looks like a stuffed toy.
To learn more please visit www.vivianarend.com or you can send an email to Vivian at [email protected].
Look for these titles by Vivian Arend
Now Available:
Wolf Signs
Tidal Wave
She’s ready to fight at his side. He’s fighting for the strength to let her go.
Sanctuary Lost
© 2009 Moira Rogers
Red Rock Pass, Book 2
If there’s one thing that Brynn Adler hates, it’s feeling helpless and vulnerable in unfamiliar territory. Three weeks ago, life tossed her into just such a world. A world of werewolves she never knew existed—until she found out her sister was one of them.
The pack seems determined to hurry her back to the normal world of humans. But after everything she’s witnessed, she’s not sure she wants to go—especially if it means leaving not only her sister behind, but the one man who makes her forget her life is falling apart.
Now all she has to do is convince him to agree to a plan to force the pack to let her stay.
Joe Mitchell has been battling his protective instincts since he rescued Brynn from her kidnapper. Getting involved with her is a bad idea for a lot of reasons. She’s on shaky emotional ground, and a supernatural war is no place for a human woman. He’s not about to let her make a hasty decision, one that will only bring her pain and regret.
Now all he has to do is let her go.
Warning: This book contains violence, a war between werewolf packs, hot, primal sex and sexual power games with a badass ex-Special Forces alpha who will do anything to keep his lover safe.
Enjoy the following excerpt for Sanctuary Lost:
His control wavered. He dragged her head back and growled against her jaw line. “You have to watch the biting, sweetheart. Do it too much, and it’s as good as a brand. You’ll be stuck with me.”
“Stuck with you?” Her voice sounded breathless and unsteady. “I’m not—I don’t think I understand…”
“Everyone will think I belong to you.” He meant the words as a warning, but they came out sounding like a harsh plea.
The silence between them felt heavy and tense, even though Brynn’s fingers never stopped their slow, maddening caress. Finally she pulled back just enough to meet his eyes. “Do you want to?”
Joe swallowed, then let go of her and backed away a step. He’d convinced himself that, if Cindy would be Brynn’s Guide, he could handle everything else she asked of him. “What happened to friendly sex? No big deal?”
Something flashed across her face—pain or vulnerability or maybe even rejection—but she was good at controlling her expression. It was gone a heartbeat later, replaced with a fixed smile that looked strained around the edges. “I’m sorry. I got a little carried away.”
He ran a shaking hand through his hair. “Damn it, Brynn. Will you stop trying to be so damn sophisticated and worldly for five minutes and tell me what it is you want?”
That got an honest reaction out of her. Brynn scrambled to her knees and clutched her bra against her chest as she glared at him. “That is some condescending bullshit right there. But if you’d like me to blunt it up for you, sure. I want to have dirty fucking sex with you with an intensity that sort of freaks me out, because guns and muscles and hero shit has never turned me on before, but suddenly now I can’t think of anything but you.”
He steeled himself, tamping down the surge of emotion that rose at her words. “That isn
’t what I meant. You just can’t seem to decide whether you want to take me for a tumble, or warn every other woman in town away from me.” He caught her arm as she jerked away. “So which is it?”
“I don’t know.” The words were low and desperate, and he knew she was lying. She knew, too; he saw it in her face before she looked away and squeezed her eyes shut. When she spoke, it was in a whisper so soft he almost couldn’t hear her. “I don’t want to share you. I want you to myself.”
He hauled her toward him, catching her when she might have tumbled off the bed. His mouth landed on hers, firm and demanding, opening her lips so his tongue could slip inside. Her hair spilled around them like long threads of silk, and he pulled the cotton bra away so he could smooth his hand over her skin.
She moaned, the sound mostly muffled by his mouth, and for several long minutes she seemed content with nothing more than kissing him. As aggressive as she’d been about initiating sex, she seemed more subdued now. Not submissive, exactly, and certainly not passive, but willing—even eager—to let him take the lead.
Joe climbed on the bed, pressing her back into the pillows, and trailed his lips down the soft curve of her neck. “I’ll be careful. I swear it, Brynn.”
Her sigh was one of pleasure, and she tangled her fingers in his hair and tilted her head back a little more. “I trust you, and I’m not going to break.”
He’d throw himself off the roof before he hurt her physically, but he wasn’t sure if that was what he’d meant at all. “I know.” He scraped his teeth over her skin and fought a groan when her body jerked under his. “Tonight’s just going to be something good, honey. You need that. We both do.”
“We both do,” she agreed, and the way her voice trembled made his fingers tighten around the button of her jeans. The fingers of her free hand traced over his shoulder and down his arm, following his biceps. “You never did tell me what else you kinky Green Beret werewolves like. Are we talking Discovery Channel and hair pulling? Or, like, whips and chains and leather skirts? I didn’t pack any vinyl, just so you know…”