Mallory froze. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, that fucker is the smartest man alive. He’s also the meanest and the most bloodthirsty where humans are concerned.” He held up a hand. “But… there’s a but… if there is a chance that your kid will survive that sickness, he’s it. He has an interest in your kid.”
Mallory fought the nausea that suddenly swam in her throat. “This man… has he cured others?”
“One.”
That one word hit Mallory like a tank. “Dice. He’s the man who saved Dice. he almost killed him! How can you do this? Are you Dice’s enemy? Did you do this to hurt him?”
He met her eyes in the rearview mirror. “Name’s Creed. I’m not Dice’s friend, but maybe it’s time that changed. I didn’t plan this. I was sitting at the Full Moon having a beer when I got a call. It was Lucian, he was going to grab the kid, but he got information. There was a deal made. Lucian got the kid only if the Hyenas got you as a plaything, guess he didn’t like that deal.” He turned to her. “Why the hell would a nice girl like you go and piss off Happy’s brother for shit sake? Out of all the fuckers on the planet, you piss off the craziest fucker in the world and he happens to be brother to the second craziest fucker in the world. Why would you do that?”
“Who is Happy?” Her heart sank.
“The fucking King of the wacko, psycho, hyena kingdom. The guy whose balls you knocked into his throat and called the cops on… yeah, King Asshole’s baby brother. Congratulations, as if you don’t have enough against you.” He shook his head.
“I defended myself. What’s wrong with that? Was I supposed to just let him rape me and be happy about it?”
“No, but why the fuck weren’t you with your mate to begin with? Makes no damned sense at all. Woman lucky enough to find a good mate, and Dice is a fucking excellent mate, and you go off and leave him? Do you have any idea what he’s been through because of you?”
“No, and for the record, I didn’t know I had one.” She whispered.
“How the fuck did you not know?” He looked completely bewildered.
“I didn’t even know he was a werewolf.”
Creed looked at her in the rearview mirror. “Aww hell, well, I got a call from Lucian, since I was close and I owe him pretty much anything he wants for the rest of my life. He knew your man was on a mission and wouldn’t get back in time, he called me.” He let out a long breath. “Fucking hate hyenas. I decided to risk my fucking life to save yours, just ‘cause I’m such a nice guy. I’ll listen to how wonderful I am later. Right now, I need to get us out of here before we get caught. I don’t plan to do dead for no reason.”
Mallory heard a sound that made the hair stand up all over her body. She looked through the back window and saw the glow of a fire behind them and the glimmer of eyes in the darkness.
They were being followed.
“Oh my God. Hurry.” She shouted.
“Yes Ma’am.” The van shimmied on the gravel road as they sped toward town. Something big hit the side of the van causing Creed to curse and the van to swerve.
The made the mouth of the road and sped out on the asphalt. Mallory saw the mottled fur of hyenas as they spewed from the forest.
“They won’t chase us far. They give out quick.” Creed breathed a heavy breath. “Get up here and buckle your ass in.”
Mallory slid into the bucket seat and buckled her seatbelt. “What about Sam. There’s no way they could have gotten away.”
Creed pointed to the sky where she could see the blinking lights of an aircraft.
“Helicopter. They were never in danger anyway. No way in hell even twenty of those idiots would hit Lucian. Forty might screw with him. Would probably take a hundred to kill him. He’s fucking huge.”
“Will he hurt Sam?” Her eyes were glued to the lights in the sky, her only link to her son.
He cut his eyes to her. “Probably best if you don’t think about that too much. He will let you know something soon.”
Somehow, she knew it was all he’d give her. “What happened to Beans?”
“Lucian took him too.” Creed shrugged. “He’s a scientist. Maybe he can solve that farting issue. Nasty as hell. Likable kid though so Lucian won’t just kill him. He really doesn’t do that for no reason, but his reasons are sometimes.... Well sometimes he makes shit up, but yeah, Beans is solid so he will be good. Probably be good for the kid to have a familiar face around too.”
That thought did make Mallory feel a little better. Beans had been kind to Sam and he would be a comfort to her son. “What about Dice?”
“I’ll give him a call in the morning. It wouldn’t be good to distract him right now.” He rubbed one slim fingered hand over his stubbled jaw. “I may need your help convincing him not to kill me. I’m not above begging for it either. Just so you know.” He cut his eyes toward her and they were glowing an odd color, almost amber. Those eyes told her he wasn’t just a regular guy.
They drove in silence for more than an hour before the van slowed and took a dirt road that lead into the darkest forest she’d ever seen.
“Where are we going?” She whispered, feeling like there were things she didn’t want to disturb in those woods.
“Home. You’ll be safe here. Not even the hyenas are dumb enough to try to get in here without an escort.”
The road led through the remains of an old barn. Mallory saw eyes shining in the dimness and understood what he’d meant. The road further and disappeared into the mouth of an enormous cave. Mallory had always had a fear of caves.
“What are you doing?” Mallory watched as the light from the headlights got lost in the inky blackness.
“It’s ok sweet cheeks. Safety measures, we will be fine.” Creed winked at her. His face glowed from the dashboard lights, making him look like a monster.
He made turn after turn and Mallory had no idea how he even saw across the end of the hood. When they pulled out of the cave, the brightness of the moon almost blinded her. The forest opened to a wide field with solid rock walls surrounding it. They pulled up to a large farm-style house. It looked like it could house a dozen people or more. There were smaller buildings and houses behind it and men were busily going about their business.
“Home sweet home sweet cheeks. You can rest here.” He reached over and patted her knee.
“What are you?” It had dawned on her that Sam hadn’t recognized the scent. This man wasn’t a wolf.
“You know how I said that Happy was king of the wacko, psycho hyena kingdom.”
Mallory nodded slowly.
“Well I’m king of the fucking psycho, wacko Coyote kingdom and you are smack dab in the middle of our home base sweet cheeks.” He grinned, revealing razor sharp teeth. “They won’t fuck with you here, not tonight. Not even hyenas are that stupid.” He raised his brows. “That’s saying something for the brilliance of my little home here.”
A little girl, no more than ten, ran out of the main house. She was a beautiful girl, but something about her was different.
“Hybrid girls look more like their animals, but can’t shift. That’s Vine and we are hoping like hell she can cure your boy. It’s a long shot, but if she can’t we only have one other hybrid girl that we can try… she’s been through hell and we would rather skip it. There are others, Lucian is looking for them, but the fucking hyenas keep killing them off before we can get our hands on them.”
Creed got out of the van and caught the little girl. “Missed me bad huh Kudzu?”
She smacked his chest. “Vine. I swear, I don’t know why I love you so much.” She rolled her eyes.
“Cause I’m awesome, duh.” Creed shook his head. “Meet Mallory, be nice.
“I’m always nice.” She turned to Mallory. “Nice to meet you.” Her nostrils flared and she turned her wide eyes to Creed. “Daisy is going to eat you alive.”
“Hush.” Creed set her on her feet and swatted her backside. The little girl giggled and ran toward the house.
&nbs
p; “Aunt Daisy, Creed brought home a human!” She crowed.
Mallory’s cheeks heated and Creed grimaced.
“Well, welcome to Lost Lakes. Coyotes are crazy as hell.” He grinned just as a red-haired woman stepped out on the porch holding a wooden spoon.
“No Creed. No. I’m sorry Miss, but you need to go. You need to go now.”
“Daisy, she isn’t for me. She’s Dice’s mate, we are protecting her.” Creed shook his head and laughed.
“Oh, like that makes anything better. Humans are trouble Creed. We don’t need trouble. Tell me you didn’t draw attention! Tell me.” Her eyes scanned the road behind us.
Creed let a snarl roll from his throat. The woman stepped back and lowered her eyes. “I do what is best for this family. I did all this to keep Vine safe. I will never put her in danger, but I’m tired of hiding. I’m tired of letting the world go to hell because we are too afraid to stand up and do something. I’m fucking tired of being ashamed.”
“We offer sanctuary.” The woman whispered.
“Yes, and this woman needs it. Lucian took her son tonight and coyotes just burned her home. A war is coming Daisy and we have to be on the right side. I put us there tonight. I risked my life to put us on that side and if you don’t like it then you can leave.”
Creed placed his hand on Mallory’s lower back and led her past the woman who still stood with her eyes downcast.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t have a choice in any of this.” Mallory whispered and Daisy nodded.
9
Dice sat on the back-porch steps of Creed’s house and held his head in his hands. How could everything be so screwed up? Lucian had his son and the damned hyenas wanted his mate. His house was nothing but ash. Could his life get anymore fucked up?
He looked up when River stopped at the edge of the woods. He met his alpha’s eye and saw grief there.
“I should have let her come back.” River said in a low voice that had Dice’s hackles rising. “I didn’t know.”
“What do you mean?” There was a growl in his voice, but he didn’t care.
“She called, about a month after she left. I told her not to call back, not to come back, it was a threat.” River admitted although there was no pride in it.
Dice was off the porch and in River’s face before quicker than he should be able to travel. “Why?”
“She’s human Dice. Human mates are a bad bet. I guess I hoped you’d move on. When you didn’t I put out feelers and tried to find her. I couldn’t. Shit.” He ran his hands through his hair. “I didn’t even know her last name. She is trouble. Look at all this shit! She is trouble. I didn’t know she was pregnant, but damn it. We are at war over this shit. War Dice. This is on her fucking head.”
Dice was shaking with rage. His alpha had betrayed him. He felt his wolf pushing to the surface, but Pie’s voice cut through the tension.
“I love the smell of pussy in the morning.”
He trailed off when Mallory stepped into the kitchen with her hair still wet from the shower.
“Fuck me.” He whispered, not meaning it literally, but to Dice’s crazed wolf, it was a challenge. The monster ripped from Dice’s skin and charged for Pie who still stood, staring at Mallory. Dice hit Pie and knocked him to the floor of the porch. Mallory screamed in terror as Dice bit down hard on Pie’s shoulder.
“You son of a bitch!” Pie howled and within seconds his wolf formed and started brawling. River slowly walked up the porch steps and stepped inside Creed’s house. He closed the French doors to block out part of the sound and sight of the two massive creatures ripping each other apart on the back porch.
“Good morning Miss Blake. Daisy.”
“You are not leaving them out there to bleed on my porch!” Daisy flung open the doors and stomped out on the porch. She smacked one on the head with a spoon and shoved the other with her foot until both massive wolves crashed to the dirt.
It seemed to take a year before Dice took control of his body again. He was bleeding and bruised and Pie looked worse. Daisy stood over them wearing a look that said trouble and shaking a wooden spoon.
“You owe me.” Pie grumbled.
“I do. What will it be this time?” Dice asked as he stood from the blood-soaked dirt.
“Fuck if I know. I’ll get back to you.”
“Fair enough.”
“Well I’ll tell you what the two of you owe me. A fresh coat of paint on this porch!”
“Fair enough.” Dice said and reached for the knob to the french doors. He remembered the look of terror on Mallory’s face when he’d changed, but his wolf had been too strong to stop him. He wondered if she was even still there. His heart pounded as he opened the door and found her sitting at the kitchen table with River. She was pale, but offered him a raised brow as he walked in, naked as the day he was born. That brow gave him hope.
He grinned.
“Hey baby, enjoying the view?” He leaned against the door frame, unashamed.
She rolled her eyes. “Is this something I’m going to need to get used to?”
“Maybe. What did the asshole tell you?” He nodded toward River, but kept his eyes on Mallory.
“That you are a crazy asshole who can’t seem to control your wolf. Says I’m your mate and that means you will love me forever. He said it like I should feel lucky or something.” She looked skeptical, so much that Dice had to fight a laugh. They had been over all of it already, but she was trying to make light of what had just happened. She was a trooper.
“Not every man can be a shifter baby and not every shifter can be a wolf. I’m the total package. What more could you want?” As he spoke, he walked to her and leaned down so his last word was spoken against her lips.
“Maybe one that isn’t completely insane?” She purred causing him to lose control of his laughter.
“Maybe one who wore pants.” He heard Daisy chime in, but he ignored her.
He pulled Mallory to her feet and held her close. “Damn baby girl, you’re out of luck cause you’re stuck with me and Rive is right about a few things, I do love you and it is forever.”
She smiled. “What a shame.”
He kissed her. His body reacted and there was no way to hide it, since his pants lay in tatters on the back porch. He pressed against her and when she let out a little moan, he knew he was home free. He let his hands drop to her ass so he could pull her in closer. He was going to embarrass himself like a fucking teenager if he didn’t get inside of her soon.
“Want you bad baby.” He whispered.
He heard River curse as he stepped out on the porch and heard the sounds of Pie getting busy with Daisy. He grinned against Malory’s lips. “Here or bed?” He whispered.
“Bed!” She insisted. He felt the heat in her cheeks as he kissed her face. There was no way in hell he would let another man see what was his, but he liked it when she blushed for him. Daisy sounded like she was forgiving Pie for the mess he’d made on the porch. Dice would thank him for that forgiveness later if it didn’t mean painting the whole porch on his own.
“Damn, she’s loud as fuck.” Ricky strolled through the back door, past Pie and Daisy and didn’t bat an eye. “Guess I’m making breakfast.” He looked at Dice. “Hurry the fuck up. Breakfast in twenty.”
Dice laughed and slung Mallory over his shoulder. He ran his hand up her leg and wiggled his fingers into her soaked panties. She was ready for him, good. He loved that about his mate. He made it to her room and tossed her on the bed. He stalked her as he removed his belt and dropped his pants.
“You heard the man. Twenty minutes baby. Get naked.”
10
Mallory felt like it had been forever since she’d seen her son. She lay in Dice’s arms and watched the glowing numbers on the clock. When they changed again it would be a full day since she had held her baby in her arms, smelled the scent that was only him, or felt safe. She would never feel safe again. She would always know that someone could snatch her baby away from
her at any time and there would be nothing she could do about it. She wasn’t a shifter, she wasn’t even a very strong human, and she was worthless in this world.
She tried to choke back the sob in her throat, but when Dice tightened his arms around her, she knew she had failed. That was one thing she was good at, failing.
“You need to stop this. I can feel your pain Mal, I can smell it. This wasn’t your fault.” Dice insisted. “You are killing yourself with this.”
“I couldn’t protect him.” Her tears broke through and her body shook from the force of the flood. Dice held her close, but she was breaking inside. She had let her son down. She had promised him that nothing could make her leave him, she’d been wrong.
Dice turned her in his arms. “Against Lucian?” he let out a chuckle. “Baby girl, I would have been powerless against him, but I wouldn’t have been as smart as you. I would have fought and then what? From what Creed said, there were about twenty hyenas on his tail. What then?” He kissed her head and rubbed her back. “No. As hard as it is, you did the right thing.”
“Creed picked me up. I didn’t choose.” She whimpered. “I would never have chosen.”
“Doesn’t matter. Sam is going to die without help Mal. I can’t help him.”
Mallory felt the stiffness of Dice’s body. There was something he wasn’t saying, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to know.
“Lucian is our best hope.”
He practically vibrated with anger and hatred. Whatever he was holding back, it was bad.
“Creed said that Vine… I don’t know, she can somehow help.”
Dice was quiet for a long time. She thought he’d fallen asleep, but when he spoke he sounded different. “Help how?”
“I don’t know. Creed said it was a longshot, but there was another...hybrid they could try if it didn’t work.” She was tired and started drifting off when Dice replied. She may have misheard him.
“Hope.” He whispered. “Don’t lose Hope.”
She felt the bed shift but she was too tired to open her eyes. Her dreams were filled with monsters, always chasing her. She ran and ran, but she couldn’t get away, never. She screamed and thrashed in her bed, but she couldn’t get away. Something wrapped around her legs, tripping her, leaving her helpless. The monsters surrounded her. She screamed and fought, but they were stronger. They tore at her and no matter how hard she fought, they Sam from her arms. They taunted her, gave him back only to rip him away again and again...
Dice: Howlers MC Page 5