by Milly Taiden
The largest of the cute demons fell against the backsplash and wedged himself between the wall and separate handheld sink sprayer. His big belly pushed against the sprayer, streaming water in an elegant fall over the basin to the floor. Shit, now there was water everywhere for Ray to clean. Shit.
Ray reached for one of the wet rats as she twisted her body to shake off the water on her coat. He squeezed his eyes closed and turned his head away. When he looked back, all three were disappearing down the hallway. Shit.
Ray turned the water off and went after them. He wondered how the babies morphed into their wolf souls so quickly. Science speculated that nature suppressed the instinct until babies were old enough to comprehend the alter self. Maybe the little mutants were older than Rahound told him.
He stepped into the living room. Mid-stride, a blur ran past his feet. He tried not to step on it and stumbled to his knees on the hard tile floor. Shit, that hurt. A growl reached his ears and he turned to see white fluff in the air floating to the floor. One of the semen demons whipped a small sofa pillow around in its teeth, gnashing and growling. The material was torn, shooting stuffing into the air with each thrash of the pillow.
Ray sighed and crawled toward the sofa. His hand came down on something squishy and he saw the used rubber he flung from the couch earlier. His arm flew up, shifting his balance sideways and he hit his head against the coffee table. Fluff rained over his face causing him to sneeze.
Two of the crotch fruit chased each other. Ray’s stomach happened to be in their path. The diaper devil jumped over him, but the bigger bastard launched too early and landed its back end on Ray’s solar plexus. Air whooshed from his lungs.
He rolled over to catch his breath, his nose brushing against the rubber condom. His head shot back as the two boys ran over his skull, one getting its belly stuck on his ear, legs too short to continue. Ray jumped to his feet, face in a snarl. “Okay, enough of this shit. Everyone settle down.”
The three tiny hoodlums stopped and looked innocently at him. Yeah, right. He wasn’t that much of a sucker.
Standing, looking as angelic as possible, one lifted his leg next to a plant. Ray dove for the twat droppling. “Oh, no you don’t.” The little one barked, laughing puppy style, and zoomed away. Ray chased the pee-er around the coffee table. He reached down to scoop it up and slammed his jaw on the dark wooden top. Unfortunately, his tongue happened to be between his front teeth at that time.
He fell into a chair in front of the window and howled with pain, a coppery taste coating his mouth. A big ripping sound came behind him and he looked over his shoulder to see front paws with claws out sliding down the curtain panel. That side of the metal curtain rod snapped and hurtled toward his face. Shit.
His eyes rotated toward the other side of the room, where Diaper Butt had batted off the lid to the aquarium and proceeded to fall into the tank reaching for an angelfish. Shit, shit.
The third sniffed around a plant again. Real shit.
TWENTY-SIX
Midnight at the field of good and evil. Caleb snorted as he stood beside Ellie along the edge of the Scenting field. Evil didn’t begin to describe his asshole uncle.
The cool air was as still as the creatures of the forest. The proverbial quiet before the storm. And what a storm was in store for this field. Last he was here, Marco and Kelly were taking the first steps to starting a new life together. Now, he was here to end one.
Ellie squeezed his hand. She was beside him and he felt empowered. He was stupid to think he was protecting her by not letting her help him in the battle against Rocco. She had been attacked multiple times by rogue wolves. Encouraging her to train in self-defense with Mike was one of the smartest decisions he’d ever made. Or had Ellie made that choice on her own?
Didn’t matter. What did was what he had learned by keeping her away: without his partner by his side, he would never be complete. There would always be something missing from him. They were born to be together, born to guide and love their people as true leaders should.
They would turn the Rahound pack around. Together, they could heal the damage done to the members and gradually bring back those who escaped to other packs. He had a great mentor to help him along. Ellie’s dad, Tristan, was the perfect example of a husband, father, and alpha.
Caleb wished his father was still alive to offer advice. He wondered how everything would be if his father hadn’t died in the wreck. Tristan and Barbara lived, why couldn’t his father have? He was a strong alpha. All he had to do was shift once to heal enough to live.
Caleb shook his head to clear those thoughts from his mind. He loved Ellie, her parents and her brothers, even though they were sometimes overprotective of their little sister. But that was okay. He was, too.
On the other side of the clearing, Rocco and a few of his enforcers walked out of the dense woods. Behind them were a handful of men and women—the Rahound council. The council took their place in the center of the field between the two groups.
The time had come.
Caleb said, “I was beginning to wonder if you’d show, Uncle.”
Rocco’s sneer was evident even at this distance. “Don’t be so eager to die, boy.”
Ellie squeezed his hand again and he smelled her fear. He took her into his arms and kissed her. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. I fight with you in my soul which gives me the strength to overpower anyone. Except your dad, maybe.”
Rocco grunted. “Such sweet words, Romeo. Now get out here so we can get this over with. I got shit to do, women to fuck.”
Caleb turned toward the field and gave a quick nod. “Let it begin, Uncle. According to tradition.”
“Figured you’d say that.” With evident disgust, Rocco brushed his hand through the air at the council. “Get it going.”
One of the men ceremoniously unrolled a scroll and read: “A challenge to the death for the alpha position of the Rahound Pack has been made by Caleb Rahound, son of Conly Rahound, former alpha, and accepted by interim alpha, Rocco Rahound, brother of previous alpha. Alpha Rahound, do you bring witnesses who will acclaim your worthiness?”
Behind Rocco, people poured out from the forest. Men and a few women from the Rahound pack, tough looking strangers Caleb knew to be rogues, others he didn’t know, and several vampires, including a dapper dark-haired gentlemen dressed in genuine dojo attire.
“Fuck,” a surprised and shocked Ellie and Caleb said at the same time. An alpha challenge needed only a few to verify tradition was followed. What did Rocco have planned with so many followers?
Rocco looked more than smugly pleased. “I bring witnesses who will acclaim my worthiness.” He gestured to his group. “As you see, I’m well admired.”
The council turned to his side. “Caleb Rahound, do you bring witnesses who will acclaim your worthiness?”
Behind him and Ellie, people stepped forward from the trees. In the lead were her brothers and their mates, Jaxon and his men followed. Trevan and his guys headed out with Aria and her three powerhouses. Behind them, it looked like the entire Wolfe pack had come.
To Caleb’s surprise, several pack members on Rocco’s side ran across the field to join their enemy. Their action further solidified in Caleb’s mind what he was doing was the right thing for his pack.
Rocco’s smile quickly faded. Caleb grinned. “I bring witnesses who will acclaim my worthiness.” He let his quantity of supporters speak for themselves toward his admiration.
“Challengers come forward and stand in front of me.” Both men stepped toward the center of the field, each eyeing up the other’s potential. The elite member continued. “The rule for the challenge is simple: if a challenger leaves the fighting circle for any reason, they forfeit.”
The councilman looked up from the paper. “The circle is a twenty-five feet radius from this point where we stand.” Caleb noted the distance stopped where the grass ended and the gravel parking area started. He’d have to get Rocco to the sidelines or onto the rocky pa
rking lot. “Do you understand the rule as given?”
Both challengers said yes.
The council hurried to the top of the circle and stood just beyond the grass. One of the ladies raised her hand. “Let the challenge begin.” Her arm dropped to her side.
The two combatants circled each other. “So, son—”
“Don’t call me son. There would be nothing more despising than being your offspring. Good thing your line officially stops here.”
Red reflected in Rocco’s eyes a second before his transformation. Rocco’s wolf leapt at Caleb’s head, claws spread to rip out a huge chunk of flesh. But his target vanished and he arched as he felt a pain in his chest. Caleb had morphed into his wolf and remained underneath, claws held up to drag the vulnerable belly. Rocco’s twist upward saved his life.
Two wolves circled each other, each waiting for the opportunity to attack. Rocco swiped a paw over Caleb’s muzzle, leaving a few bleeding scratches. Rocco laughed at his cheap shot but even something so innocuous wore down the fighter.
After waiting for so long for Rocco to play his trick, Caleb attacked. He was tired of waiting for the coward. Fur flew, teeth flashed, red claws raised and slashed through the air. The battle became a blur in motion.
Groups on both sides cheered their contestant, offering advice and useless help.
The wolves broke apart, panting, circling. Rocco pushed for a telepathic connection which Caleb accepted. “Well, boy, you’re holding your end so far. How long can you last against a real alpha?”
“Uncle, I’ll let you know when I fight one.”
Rocco snapped his teeth at Caleb. He dodged the second cheap shot. “You little shit, you’ve always been a pain in my ass.” A feeling of smugness passed through the link. “Tell me, pansy ass, are you still a virgin? What man runs from a group of women who want to fuck? I was so disappointed in you. But you’re your father’s son. Pathetic.”
Caleb refused the bait his uncle dangled. A cool mind prevailed in the end. “What’s the plan, Uncle?”
“Ah, yes. You’d like to know that before you die. And I’m dying to tell you.” Laughter carried between the connection, only from Rocco’s side. “No pun intended, of course. My dear nephew, I intend to take your little girlfriend and treat her just as I would’ve her beautiful mother.”
Caleb’s heart stumbled. “You’re thirty years older. She’ll never agree, you overgrown piece of shit. You’re disgusting.”
“No, what’s disgusting,” Rocco began, “is all the delicious things I plan to do to her scrumptious body.”
“You will never touch her!” Caleb cut the link between the two and lunged at his enemy.
TWENTY-SEVEN
Pure fury rolled through Caleb. His mate had been threatened with the worst thing imaginable—mental and physical abuse. Not in this fucking lifetime. Caleb would die fighting for her.
Gashes flowed freely with his blood. Kudos to Rocco for keeping up his fighting skills, but Caleb was younger with more stamina, and more of a reason to win. He noted how close they were getting to the top of the perimeter. He didn’t want Rocco taking a cheap shot to get him to step over the line.
With a quick twist move, Caleb had Rocco pinned to the ground, jaws clamped around the bastard’s throat. Their mental tie opened. “Surrender, Rocco, or I will crush your neck. This fight is to the death, but I don’t want to kill you and lose another family member. Step down from alpha and I will let you leave alive.”
Again, laughter transferred from one to the other. “You’re such a pussy. A coward, just like your father.”
“Rocco, that was the dumbest thing you’ve ever sai—”
Caleb’s wolf form flew back from his grounded opponent. A pain shot through his body that almost knocked him unconscious. The answer to his curious affliction came to him on the wind: the sound of a gunshot.
Everyone looked at the trees on the Rahound side of the field except Ellie. She darted toward Caleb who was lying on his side, panting. She slid to her knees, taking her mate’s furry head into her lap.
“Oh my god, Caleb.” Her hands raised, completely covered in blood. Ellie focused on Rocco. “You son of a bitch. You shot him. You cheated!”
The alpha of the Rahound pack returned to his human body. “I didn’t shoot him. Now get out of the way so I can rip out his throat.”
Adrenalin shot through Ellie’s body. She couldn’t allow this. “He’s injured. You can’t attack him.”
Rocco’s brow drew up. “The fight continues, my soon to be sex slave, until only one lives or he leaves the circle. You can drag him out, but he forfeits and you belong to me.” His tongue slid between his lips. Caleb whined and moved in her lap.
She whispered to him, “No, Caleb. Do your best to heal yourself.” Ellie laid his head on the ground and stood. “I invoke the universal rule to fight in place of my mate.”
Caleb whined again and shouts came from the Wolfe side of the field, mainly from her brothers and their mates. She held up a hand to quiet them.
Rocco smiled. “Nice try, my pet, but you two are not fully mated.”
Ellie smiled back. “We’re legally married in the human world, which wolf law considers fully mated. And as the offended party, I choose we fight in human form.” More angry shouts filled the air.
A scowl consumed her enemy’s face. “Either way is fine with me. I think I’ll take you down and fuck you right here for everyone to see our mating.”
Ellie smiled. “Let’s tango, shall we?” She stepped away from Caleb, to the middle of the fighting circle, and held her hand out to Rocco.
His head tilted. “What’s this? You truly wish to tango, perhaps?” She remained quietly standing with a pleasant smile. As soon as he placed his hand in hers, she twirled into his arms, putting her back against his front. Ellie promptly stomped on his toes with the heel of her hiking boot, jabbed her elbow into his solar plexus, grabbed his arm around her, and flipped him over her back.
Rocco landed flat, face up, to laughter from both sides. Taunts of “you’re letting a girl beat you” and “the girl’s whipping your ass” enraged him. He sprang to his feet and came at her. Again, he ended up on his back. Mike’s training was worth his weight in gold.
A phone ringing barely registered with her. Shortly thereafter, a hushed whisper spread through the group on her side. Whatever was going on, she’d find out later. Ellie flipped Rocco again.
This time she took him down, his face against the ground, her arm locked around his neck. She knew what he’d experience next. As she applied pressure, his vision would narrow on his way to unconsciousness. “Listen up, Rocco. I don’t want to kill you. I’m not like the dirt you are. So you can walk away and forfeit right now, or I’ll drag your knocked out ass over the line. Which is it?”
One of Ellie’s brothers yelled from the Rahound side. “Hey, everyone. Look what I found.” The crowd divided, allowing Aric to stride forward. He held a rifle in one hand with the other wrapped around a male’s neck. “Seems this guy thinks it’s hunting season. Since there is no hunting wolves, I’m not sure what he was aiming at.”
Aric shook the man by the collar then looked at Rocco in Ellie’s hold. “I’d ask you if you know this guy, but I see you’re busy.” He laughed and headed toward the other side of the field.
The dark-haired vampire stood with his hands on his hips on the sideline in front of Rocco. “If I’d known you were such a pantywaist, Rocco, I’d never have agreed to fight with you.”
From the crowd came Aria’s voice. “Filip, you truly are a piece of shit. This ends now.” As Aria with Julian, Penelope, and Zane made their way through the crowd, Rocco took the distracted opportunity to shift to his animal. He whipped out of Ellie’s hold and dove for her neck with his razor teeth flashing.
Ellie yelped and got her forearm up in time to keep the wolf’s jaw from crunching her throat. He morphed into his human. “You’re like your mate, too pussy to kill the enemy. I don’t have that
problem. Your pack will be mine like it should’ve been years ago before your father came along and took your mother from me.”
Fire burned in her eyes. “My brothers won’t let that happen.”
“Then, my dearest, you will no longer be an aunt to three little shits under my control.” He signaled to someone on his sideline.
TWENTY-EIGHT
Raymond lay on the tile floor, eyes staring blankly at the ceiling in the destroyed living room, blood from his curtain-rod smashed nose seeping onto the front of his chest. His shirt still had wet devil spawn puke down the back.
The ground was littered with white and cream packing from different pillows. He thought maybe a half-chewed sofa cushion contributed also. The front curtains hung halfway off the brackets. One side was still attached, but the screw holding up the bar had slid partially out of the drywall.
His hands found their way into his own hair and was yanking and pulling. Maybe self-flagellation would save him from insanity. It wasn’t looking good.
He smelled fresh dirt, meaning one of the plants was a goner. At least he didn’t have to change shitty diapers again. That seemed like days ago, but could only have been hours, right? Maybe this was all a dream. A nightmare his girlfriend inflicted on him because he didn’t want to start a family yet. Now, it will be never. He giggled. Never!
He barely felt the sharp little teeth biting into his shoe. The sperm vermin would have the leather eaten in no time. Another of the crotch nuggets simply made laps around and around and around…her barking and howling getting louder with every round. A rough tongue licked a sore spot on his cheek.
Another giggle escaped his throat. This one dark and creepy. He freaked himself out hearing it. Rahound could babysit the frakenspawn if he wanted them. Would he snap soon?
Warm wetness spread along his ankle. He rolled his head to see a short furry leg lifted over his shoe. A creek of yellow liquid flowed over the strings.