by Kim Faulks
His eyes widened. “Dragon?”
A smile ghosted my lips before reality sank in. “You have no idea. It seems there’s so much more than we realize, Vampires, demons…Dragons. Looks like we’ve both become entangled in this shifter world.”
He nodded. “That’s what they were doing there; these files had to be outlining the bigger plan. Whatever it was, King didn’t want anything to do with it. I had no sound, couldn’t hear what they said, but I saw more than enough. King was furious. He took one look at what was in the file and threw the pages across the table. The others didn’t like it, especially her, that bitch…she turned her head, gave a nod, and the one I couldn’t see pulled out a gun. He shot King point-blank in the head—just like that, right in front of me.” His voice tapered, eyes widened with shock.
He wrenched his gaze to mine, desperation choked every word. “They’re experimenting with shifters, wolves for now, but not forever—people like Newman don’t just stop with one—they’ll come for the others.”
“Others? What do you mean, others?”
“I’ve seen them, Darrion, bears bigger than any man, with thighs as thick as tree trunks and fists…” he clenched his hand and stared at it “…bigger than boulders. There’s others too, midnight monsters that move through the forest without a sound. The wolves were afraid—keeping in close to the fire and whimpering. Have you ever heard a pack of grown wolves whimper? The sound is terrifying.”
He stilled, preparing what was next to come. “But they’ll be next, Darrion. The wolves were only the first ones. They’ll corrupt them all…every single one of them.” He moved closer, making sure I heard him clearly. “They’re changing the course of nature, son.”
I swallowed hard. His words chilled me to the bone.
Bears…midnight monsters?
He was mistaken…he had to be. There was no such thing as bear shifters, and whatever else my father believed he saw.
Really?
What about the Dragons?
“They’re starting with wolves, but what happens when they run out of those? What creatures will they create then? So you see, I had to find them…The Huntress, Kava, Newman, King…and the one in the shadows. I couldn’t let them get away with everything they’ve done. People have died, Darrion…don’t let this all be for nothing.”
“I have nothing to go on. I can’t just go in and start killing.” I looked at the tape in his hands. “What kind of person shoots a Presidential Advisor and gets away with it?”
“One so corrupt and so powerful that not even our mighty stand a chance against them.” The clouds seemed to part in his gaze, dark pupils glinted. “It was a setup. They went into that conference room with the intent to kill the President's right hand man. That’s why the room had to be cleared. The tapes were the only thing left to be destroyed. I knew what I was doing when I stole the recording, Darrion. But I couldn’t let this stand. The world had to know…someone had to know.”
And now it was all starting to make sense. “They found you, didn’t they?”
He nodded and stared at the tape in his hands as though it’d been his lifeline and in a way it had. “Caught me as I ran for the stairs.”
“Did he…did Newman know?”
My father looked me in the eye. “He was the one who chased me down.”
I stumbled under the weight of his answer. “No.”
“We were never close, not really. But you’d think fratricide would go against every grain in a brother’s makeup. Don’t you think?”
I thought about my own family—Gunny, Stitch, Ace, Irwin. They were the only ones I had—the only ones who mattered, and the thought of hurting them chilled me to the bone.
Hope flared like a damn call for salvation. “Your mother,” he whispered. “Does she…ever talk about me?”
“My mother?”
Jesus, he didn’t know…I swallowed hard. Here was a man already fragile. Could I break him even more?
But lying just didn’t feel right.
A blur to my left caught my gaze. Stitch stood in the corner with his hands folded across his chest. But this time there was no grin. No life. There was only a sad reflection.
He dropped his hands and stepped closer, and for some reason I felt like this was the end—this was the real end where we don’t just say, see ya fuckface…but instead we say goodbye.
My chest tightened. I tried to breathe. The last few weeks descended all around me crowding me in, taking me under. The room seemed to move, the walls closed in, and that fist inside my chest tightened.
“Son?”
My father called my name, but I couldn’t look at him—not yet. “She’s gone, Dad. She’s gone.”
Heavy steps vibrated the old floorboards and they bounced under my feet. His arms went around me, pulling me in close as he used to when I was a child. I couldn’t move—arms stiff as a board, while inside my head, I was hurting.
Stitch gave me a sad smile and glanced to my father holding me close. I understood now. I really understood. My best mate couldn’t go, not until he was sure I was happy, not until he made sure I was safe.
Family. It wasn’t made up of flesh and blood. It was the sacrifices, it was the longing, it was those who stood beside you as the curtain fell. That collapsed hallway came back to me. Lights flickered, wires hissed and zapped all around me, debris covered most of his body. But I found him. His boots were exposed, the khaki green of his pants stained with blood.
He was gone…gone, but never forgotten.
“I’m so sorry, son. I’m so very sorry. I left you all alone.”
Alone, yes…but never lonely. I smiled through the tears as Stitch crossed the rest of the way to stand beside me. He was as clear in this moment as he’d always been.
He lifted his hand and gripped my shoulder. I couldn’t feel the weight. But I knew he was there…knew he would always be there.
His hand on my shoulder faded, along with the rest of him.
“I’m going to make it up to you. I swear, Darrion. I swear.”
“My name’s Alpha.” Thick, distorted words filled the space. “My family calls me Alpha.”
I lifted my hand and gripped my father’s arm. His body shook and shuddered, brutal sobs ripped from his lips. I’d lost a best friend and an uncle, and somehow gained a father. The ache was blinding, carving into the deepest part of me, but it was a good ache—an ache that let you know you’re alive and you're real.
This was all real…I closed my arms around my father’s frail body. “It’s okay, Dad. It’s okay.”
But it wasn’t okay. These people…this war just didn’t take lives, it stole pasts, it decimated futures. It infected everyone and everything it came in contact with.
These people had to be stopped. No matter the cost. I couldn’t…wouldn’t let this happen to anyone else.
X drifted to the forefront of my mind. She wasn’t here…then where the hell was she?
“They’ll pay, Dad. They’ll all pay. I’ll blow it all to hell if need be.”
He stiffened in my arms and pulled away. Slick tears glimmered in the candlelight. “That’s what Headquarters is. It’s a portal to Hell. I know it. The wolves, they know it. We have to do something about it…Alpha. We have to stop these…things from taking over our world. But not the wolves, never the wolves. They belong with us.”
“We will,” I muttered and felt the rise of pure rage inside me. “We’ll protect our world.”
13
X
The streets were a blur, the ground—a blur.
I ran, stumbled, and shoved my hands out in front of me as I hit the asphalt. The sting was instant, lashing my palm, burning my knees. Alpha…I had to save Alpha.
The scent of blood was a fist down my throat. I swiped my face—the dark, sticky mess came away on the back of my hand.
Run little wolf run.
They are coming.
I pushed to my feet and shot forward. Dark shadows crowded the edges of my view
. I turned my head as I raced past. Helen’s house crouched in the darkness, unlit by the streetlights.
Did she know? Did she know the monsters she let inside her house? My sneakers scraped against the road—the sound muffled under the roar inside my head. One was dead, but there were more to come.
I cut across the grass and turned left at the bottom of the road. Houses passed in a haze of gray until Alpha’s house was all I could see.
Shadows ate away the corner, revealing more of the same where his car should be. I slowed my strides and gulped the air. My knees locked and released as I stumbled up the drive. Panic crowded in on all sides as I made for the rear of the house and climbed the stairs. “Alpha?”
His thick musky scent still lingered as I shoved the door.
“Alpha!”
There was no answer, no groan of his mattress. No warmth of his presence. My voice echoed as I made for his room. I gripped the doorframe and stared into the dark. The bed empty, unmade, still smelling of berries and desire. Stupid—so fucking stupid. The moonlight blurred under the sheen of tears. I tuned out everything and stumbled backwards until I hit the hallway wall. “Alpha!”
My hands shook. The tremble sank deep, tearing me apart like the hunger of a fresh kill. He was gone…like everyone else…gone.
I ruined it all…
Tell me now, where are the babies!
I sank to the floor and stared at his room in the dark. Running. That was all I was good for. I couldn’t save anyone, couldn’t find anyone. Tears slipped down my cheek. I didn’t move to wipe them away, only waited until they grew cold and dried on my skin. I pulled my feet closer, balancing my arms on my knees. My hands were black in the moonlight, my fingers stuck together by blood.
You have such beautiful hair.
The ghost remained, pushing its way through the cracks. “Where are the babies?”
My words bled out as more tears fell. “They are my family. Alpha is my family.”
Run little wolf…run.
I’d been running my entire life, even when I was hemmed in by four walls.
I’d been running, and I’d been hating. Headlights cut through the street outside, splashing the room with the glare. The sound of an engine made my heart race.
I knew the sound of his car anywhere. I dropped my eyes to the ground as the luminescence burned, and then died away.
The engine died. The slam of a car door followed. I tracked the heavy thud of his steps as he raced for the door and the squeal of hinges followed.
“X? X, are you here?”
I couldn’t move, nailed down by all the things I’d done. My cry slipped free. “Alpha.”
“X? Jesus, X…” The thunder of his steps cracked through the house as the storm raced toward me.
And then he was there, finding me in the dark. His heavy grip around my arms, grinding muscle to bone as he lifted me from the floor. “Where the fuck have you been?”
I found his face in the moonlight. I couldn’t speak.
His grip slipped around my body, pulling me in tight. “Thank God…thank God… I thought I lost you, I thought…”
Tears blurred his face, but he was there under my fingers, and my lips.
His mouth found mine, bruising with desperation. His hands wound around my waist, pulling me in hard. I felt every inch of his body—still it wasn’t enough. I gripped his bicep and felt his muscles tremble.
I opened myself, heart and soul, letting him in to the most fragile part of me—the part where no one had touched. The night faded under his mouth and the grind of his hips. He gripped my waist and lifted. I wound my legs around him, pressing my core against the front of his shorts.
With a guttural growl, he turned and carried me into his bedroom. I dropped my hand to the bottom of my shirt. The scent of blood invaded, calling to that basic need. The need to have, the need to belong.
The sting was instant. My teeth carved the flesh of my mouth. Alpha broke the kiss, and pulled away. Electricity sparked in his gaze as he stared at my mouth. I licked my lips and waited.
He moved slower, lowering me to the bed. His brow furrowed with focus. Silence stretched out. I opened my mouth to speak…to say something until he dropped to his knees.
There was no talking with Alpha, no words of comfort—only a raw hunger that filled the space. With him, actions always spoke louder than words.
He lifted his hand and cupped my cheek. His calloused thumb skimmed my lips, lingering on my fangs.
His gaze narrowed as he pressed against the tip.
A quake raced, and heat bloomed between my thighs as he slowly leaned in.
This kiss was soft, gentle, scraping one canine with soft lips before he moved to the other. His hands found mine, taking the blood-soaked shirt from my grip and lifted, sliding the fabric from my body before he cast it aside.
His careful touch ran under my leg and captured my ankle. I couldn’t tear my gaze away as he moved to slip my sneaker free before moving to the other.
I touched bare feet to the floor as he rose from a crouch, and dragged his shirt over his head.
My wolf shook and shuddered while he slid between my legs and leaned in. His mouth hovered just out of reach, teasing, tantalizing.
Power leaked from this human, mingled with lust and love—there was nothing more important than this very second. Not fear, not Hate—not revenge. Just us. Just this.
My stomach tightened, muscles quaked as I reached behind to the clasp of my bra. He waited, watched, eyes alight with need as the hooks released. I curled my shoulders, moving my hands to cover my breasts as the garment fell.
This man was more wolf than he realized.
And pure Alpha.
In my head, my wolf responded, lowering her upper body to the ground and swishing her tail. It was all chemical for her—find the strongest of the pack, mate, breed. But it wasn’t that simple—not for me.
I didn't just want the physical. I needed comfort, love…I needed to belong.
And I needed someone to belong to me.
His focus followed the movement for a second before he reached out, sliding a finger along the outside of the swell, following the curve of my ribs to my stomach.
I stared at the wall as he dipped his head. His lips found the same trail, sliding lower with each kiss. My nerves jumped and trembled, goosebumps raced across my skin.
The heat of his breath set me alight on the inside.
My hands shook as I found his arms. Rock hard muscle shuddered with the effort as he slid lower.
I closed my hands around his wrists and held on. His tongue snaked out and licked my skin, and then moved higher, skirting my breasts, taking his time.
Each second was torture and every brush of his lips my undoing.
I arched my spine and pressed my flesh to his mouth. He followed my lead, closing around the tight nub with a soft lash of his tongue. Fire licked, drawing me into the center of myself.
Until fear rose to the surface and dragged my past with it.
I knew what was coming.
I knew every brutal blow and every lash of pain that would follow.
I’d felt it so many times before.
I closed my eyes and waited.
Until with a moan, he dragged my eyes open and forced my focus down. His hard jaw flexed with the movement of his mouth, and those lips…so tender, so soft—and it was all for me.
A breath left in a shudder.
Those perfect lips met tender flesh as he took my nipple into his mouth. The mattress dipped as he dragged me close and rolled pulling me on top in an act of subservience.
His lips parted, glistening with need—waiting for me to take the next move.
It was all up to me, everything. I could run. I could hurt. I could just sit here and stare at him. And somehow he knew how all of this would feel for me.
He knew it all, and still he wanted to give me everything.
I shifted my hips, pressing against his arousal.
He wasn’t stopping…just letting me take the lead.
I had no weapons. I had no Hate, and for the first time something other than fear shone through.
He slid his hands from my hips and reached for a crumpled edge of the sheet, shoving the lump under his neck exposing his vein.
I glanced to the pillow and then to the scrunched sheet under his shoulders. He didn’t care about comfort—not his.
His other arm followed, splayed fingers slipped under his head. I followed the hard line of his body from his neck all the way down. He was giving me everything…his blood…his heart…his life.
The hard throb in his chest resounded in my ears.
“Take what you need, X,” he growled. “Any way you need it.”
I yanked my gaze to his eyes. There was an ache amongst the darkness—one burning with desire—for me.
The sight hit me like a blow.
This wasn’t just physical for Alpha…it never had been. He cared…he loved.
A shudder rippled from the center of me, senses collided, and in the quake something magical happened—his ache became mine, his thoughts became mine…his memories…mine.
My pulse thundered, racing to match the echo of his and in the stampede of our hearts, I saw everything. Flashes filled me…a ceiling cracked overhead. Chunks of debris rained down in the same building where he found me.
I wasn’t only there, but I was him. I was the one who stumbled, slipped…screamed a name…Gunny! Gunny where are you?
And as the vision grew so did our connection. He shuddered underneath me, his voice husky with fear. “X?”
Only now did I see it…him…me…us.
There was nothing to fear…not now, and not ever.
I moved my hips and the friction rippled through us. Inside my head, fear gripped me as I raced down that corridor. A flickering light splashed across a darkened shape on the ground. I stopped, stared and screamed…Gunny!
I grasped a boulder and heaved, tearing it from the pile, and then the next…and the next, until slowly there was no more.
Stitch…Jesus…Stitch. In my head, I was the one who dropped to my knees. I was the one who pulled him from the ground and held him—this man—my pack. Tears slipped from my eyes. I was the one who cried then, just as I cried now.