Revocation (The Canyon Wolves)

by Laura Fields

  “Miranda,” she replied coolly.

  Miranda’s eyes widened at the knowledge that Harper knew her name. Little did she know that Gabby had whispered it seconds before her arrival. There were so many of the pack, all watching her every move. Harper's heart was thumping wildly with nerves and fear. Her wolf disliked the attention as much as she did, which only put her more on edge.

  “I heard you lost your memories,” Miranda hissed.

  Harper replied just as rudely, “I’ve had a bit of a setback, yes.”

  “Then I need to remind you to keep your hands off my husband.”

  Gabby’s eyes darted between the two women with surprise. Harper was just as shocked. What the heck was this woman talking about? “Umm, unless your husband is somehow Axel, I don’t think you need to be reminding me of anything.”

  Gregory stepped between Harper and Miranda, but it only made Wolf angry. She was really gunning for a fight after the lack of action from the past few days.

  Axel felt Harper’s distress and said, Harper? What’s wrong?

  “Miranda-” Gregory started, but Harper interrupted him.

  “No, Gregory. It’s fine.”

  Miranda leaned around Gregory until her hot breath scathed Harper’s skin and made Wolf growl in warning. “You’re going to pay, bitch.”

  At that moment, Wolf had taken control of Harper’s arm, so it technically wasn’t her fault for slapping Miranda. The evil woman stared in shock while one hand pressed against her red cheek.

  What just happened? Axel half-yelled through the bond.

  I just slapped the shit out of Miranda.

  He sighed in her head, but she could tell he was proud. On my way.

  Gabby was staring in shock, and Gregory looked like he was trying to keep a smile off his face. Miranda’s eyes began turning yellow, and Wolf knew that it was game time.

  Harper relinquished control and Wolf immediately began shifting. The pack magic gathered around to guide her through the change. She landed on all fours within seconds, but Miranda was still changing. Her face had elongated into a snout, and her bones were slowly reforming. The human side of Harper would have waited until she was completely done with the change, but her wolf side wasn’t a fair fighter.

  She leapt on Miranda, dragging her to the floor. Wolf’s russet-colored paws pinned her down as she dove for Miranda’s throat. She rolled out from under Harper, finally fully changed. Her fur was as silky black as her hair. Wolf brought her head down and growled warningly. Miranda answered with a snarl.

  Wolf’s thoughts were at the forefront of her mind, leaving Harper’s human side dazed. Her wolf was the perfect predator with her cunning and calculating mind. Each move of Miranda’s was recorded with unemotional preciseness. Left. Right. Vulnerable left hind leg. The wolves circled each other while waiting for a weakness. On the third lap, Wolf lunged.

  Before Miranda could react, she had her right leg in a death clamp. Wolf knew that she wasn’t the alpha’s mate for no good reason. Fate had created her to be one of the best female fighters in order to survive the top position.

  Miranda snapped at Wolf’s side, catching the edge of her belly in her jaws. She ignored the pain and shook her head violently, breaking Miranda’s leg.

  Wolf dropped it and leapt away to circle for the kill. Miranda stood, but her broken leg could hold no weight. She was severely handicapped, leaving her a victim to Wolf’s wishes.

  Harper’s human side could feel the exact moment when her wolf lost control. Wolf’s thoughts had stopped being distantly calculated and had started being tinted red with rage. Wolf lunged for Miranda’s throat, intent on ending her life, but she was yanked backwards.

  Immediately, Wolf twirled on the intervening body and snapped in warning. Axel’s voice sounded in her head. Enough, Harper.

  But she hadn’t had enough. She wanted more fighting, more blood. Wolf fought against Axel’s restraining hands before finally breaking free.

  Before she could take a step, Axel said, “Stop.”

  Wolf whined sharply as the pack magic made her freeze. Miranda was still waiting on the floor while her leg oozed dark blood. Wolf snarled at her, and Miranda growled back.

  From far away, she heard Gabby say, “Oh, you’ve gotta love pack drama.”

  Axel’s voice sounded in Wolf’s ear, “I’m taking you into the office.”

  He gently picked her up and carried her to the back door. Pack members parted to let him through, and Wolf snapped at the few who were brave enough to venture close.

  After they reached the office, Axel sat her gently down on the floor. It was sparsely furnished with only a desk, metal chair, and broken computer. She noted the back door that let outside as Axel rummaged through the desk and emerged with a change of clothing. Wolf shifted back and took the clothes. Wolf didn’t care about being naked as a human, but Harper was internally cringing. Just as she had tugged the hoodie over her head, the door opened.

  Wolf was still in control, and she growled threateningly at Conner’s presence. The only person Wolf felt comfortable being around when injured was her mate.

  “My wife,” Conner said, looking distraught. “It was her. This whole time. I had no idea.”

  “What did your wife do, Conner?” Axel asked quietly.

  “She was the murder. Oh God. She was the one,” he whispered.

  Axel sprang to his feet. “How did you find out?”

  “During the fight, I got a glimpse into her memories. She was killing. How did this happen?” he moaned.

  “Where is she now? Is she aware you know?” Axel kneeled down so he could wrap Harper’s wound while asking questions.

  “Yes. She’s running right now. I couldn’t catch her. I couldn’t be the one to do it.”

  “I’ll get Anthony to-”

  “No! It has to be you. I couldn’t stand anything less.” Conner was about to start sobbing, and Harper’s heart hurt for him.

  Axel glanced down at Harper. He didn’t want to leave her alone and wounded, but Harper knew that he needed to catch the killer.

  “Go, Axel. I’ll be fine. Promise,” she whispered.

  Still, he looked torn. It went against every instinct to leave her here with another man. His eyes turned golden as his wolf took control. Axel looked up at Conner. His voice had dropped an octave and his wolf said, “Anthony will have to take care of it. I’m not leaving my mate.”

  Conner froze in the doorway. His sadness had melted away, leaving anger.

  He glanced at her with disgust before saying, “I didn’t want it to end like this.” Conner then pulled a gun out of his jacket and pointed it at them.

  She was frozen with shock. Wolf wanted to ignore the threat and lunge at Conner, but Harper held her at bay. Why was Conner doing this? Wolf had never trusted him, but Harper had always thought it was a normal reaction.

  “I wanted to wait, but I couldn’t risk Harper’s memories returning. My mate ruined everything by opening her big mouth.”

  “What?” Harper whispered.

  Axel moved in between her and the gun. His wolf was still in control, so at least they had some advantage. Conner’s gaze was dead, and Harper realized she was looking into the eyes of a killer.

  “I don’t know how she found out, but it sure didn’t make things easier,” he spat while closing the door with his foot.

  Harper found her voice again and whispered, “What she said… It wasn’t the truth.”

  “Of course it was.” Conner laughed. “We were together and your precious alpha had no idea.”

  Before he had even finished his sentence, Axel had lunged at him. Conner wildly shot in surprise. The bullet pierced Axel’s shoulder and Harper screamed. Conner cursed loudly as Axel fell to the ground. Blood was pooling on the floor.

  Axel? Axel! Harper yelled through the bond, but there was no response but pain.

  “You’re coming with me.” Conner stepped over Axel’s body and grabbed her arm. He had his gun pointed at her
head, but Harper didn’t care; her life meant nothing without Axel. She kept fight back, kicking and clawing, but she froze when he pointed the gun at Axel.

  “I’ll kill him!” He madly waved the gun in her mate’s direction, and she held her hands up in surrender.

  “Okay, okay,” Harper soothed. If there was still a chance that Axel was alive, she didn’t want to ruin it. She let him drag her outside even though every instinct in her body told her to stay and help her mate.

  A sleek black car sat directly outside the door. As soon as she stepped outside, Conner slammed the gun into her head and everything went black.

  Chapter 6

  Harper’s spit tasted metallic. The air was musty and damp. Her cheek rested against a hard surface, and she was lying on her side. Her headache thumped in rhythm with her heart. She groaned in pain and then wished she hadn’t.

  Opening one eye allowed her to see the stone gray walls of a dark basement. Her bound hands and feet left her virtually immobile. Conner walked into her field of vision and sneered.

  Axel, Harper cried through the bond. She didn’t know what she’d do if he had died. Their link was oddly quiet, and she tried again. Axel, please answer me.

  Tears dripped down her cheek to land on the stone. Her bindings cut through skin and burned like fire.

  “Good morning, sunshine. Don’t even try to change; your hands and feet are tied with silver, so it would be extremely painful.

  “Why?” Harper’s throat hurt as she whispered the scratchy words.

  “Why what? Why did I kidnap you instead of kill you?” He crouched down until he was eye-level. “Everyone knew you were unhappy, so it won’t be much of a surprise when they discover you had shot Axel. It actually worked out quite well; after he dies, I will take over as pack leader and introduce werewolves to the public. It’s too bad you won’t be by my side.”

  “I would never stand by your stupid plans,” she spat.

  “Oh, darling, but you did. You just can’t remember.”

  “What? You lie.” The words would have been convincing if it weren’t for her wavering voice.

  “Would you like to know what really happened on the night you lost your memories?” Conner dragged a chair to her table and sat down heavily. “We had just completed the last murder. Ah, you remember Ben’s dead body? I can see it in your eyes. Yes, you had helped me kill the worthless human. After the deed was done, we staged a kidnapping for you while I called the police and left a tip about the two murders. Axel was too worried about you to help regulate the press, so when a video of a werewolf were to magically emerge one week later, he would be too distraught about you to stop it.”

  “I would have never done that.” Harper’s wolf wanted to take control and shift so she could get them to safety, but she knew the basement door would be locked.

  “You underestimate yourself. After the last murder, you returned to Gabby and then ditched her to hop in the car with me. You then used sedatives so it would seem like you had been knocked unconscious. After waking, you kept up the kidnapping ruse by sending Axel panicked images of a dark room.”

  “No, I didn’t.”

  “Everything was going great until your worthless wolf erased your memories.”

  “She what?” Harper whispered.

  So this whole time, she hadn’t had amnesia? It had been her wolf protecting Harper from herself, hiding her memories like a mental reset button. Harper’s wolf sighed deeply, and she finally noticed Wolf’s depression. This was why they hadn’t been getting along.

  As soon as she had the thought, everything rushed back in a storm of feelings. Harper remembered sneaking through Ben’s home, clamping his mouth shut as Conner crushed his temple. She felt the warm blood soak through her palm, dripping onto her shirt. She watched as Conner used clamps to press bite marks into his flesh before going outside and relaxing on the old swing.

  The second man was younger, and Harper had been angry because his sticky blood had ruined her favorite socks.

  She was a murderer.

  A killer.

  Harper leaned over the side of the table and puked at Conner’s feet. He leapt back in disgust before cackling.

  Harper! Axel suddenly yelled through the bond. Harper didn’t let herself feel relief that he was alive. She didn’t deserve him. Axel couldn’t find out what she was, what she had done. He would hate her if he knew. She severed the link to keep him from seeing her thoughts.

  Harper despised herself. How had this happened?

  She flipped through her returned memories to find answers. The first few months with Axel had been perfect. She soon moved into his house and eagerly took her place as the alpha’s mate. Then, things began to change.

  For the first time in her life, she was feared and respected. No one in the pack bullied her, and no one had dared to insult her directly. Harper hadn’t been respected; she had been feared.

  The addiction to power began like a slow sickness that slept unnoticed in the blood. Being dominant pleased her wolf, but it thrilled Harper more. She began getting paranoid that someone would harm her mate and steal their ranks. Harper had plotted and planned; she let authority cloud every thought until it became her only worry. It wasn’t satisfying enough to be the matriarch of the second largest werewolf pack; she had wanted to rule over humans, too.

  Suddenly, Axel busted down the wall in their link with something akin to a mental battering ram.

  “Kill me,” Harper whispered, knowing that Axel was in her head but not caring. Hearing her own voice sickened her. Spending the past few days with a clear mind had yanked her personality back in order. She never would have been happy, even if she had managed to rule the entire universe. It never would have been enough.

  Harper, where are you? What’s wrong? Axel asked her frantically. She ignored him.

  Conner sneered. "No. You deserve to be punished, stupid bitch."

  "Why, Conner? What did I ever do to you?"

  "You wanted me! Wanted to leave your alpha for me. Ah, you conveniently forgot? Allow me to remind you of the pack party two weeks ago, then."

  Unbidden, the memory rose out of the muck of her mind. The room was full with pack members. They were all gathered at her house, eating and laughing. Harper was on the couch next to Gabby, drinking red wine. They were giggling together, and then Harper glanced up, locking gazes with Conner. She winked one blue eye suggestively at him when no one else was looking.

  It was completely inappropriate of her, but that one action shouldn't have been enough to justify Conner's claim. She must have been doing things like that for a long, long time.

  Harper? Axel had seen her memory, and she could feel his pain. He was in her head now and she couldn’t get him out.

  She felt sick. What kind of person was she? Harper hadn’t been attracted to Conner, but he had been a means to an end. Her mate didn’t want the public to know about werewolves, so she went to the next most powerful male: Conner.

  Harper deserved to die here, in this damp cellar. The world would be a better place without her. She had another sudden glance into the past. Conner was kissing her, and she was pressed into the wall.

  Harper knew herself well enough to know that she wasn't enjoying the kiss. Her eyes were open, and one hand was fiddling with a ring on her pinky finger. This kiss wasn't like Axel's all-consuming do or die kiss, so why did she do it?

  Harper began crying as she watched herself cheat on her mate.

  "Did I sleep with you?" She needed to know, however painful.

  "No, damn it. You lost your memories and then fell in love with him again." Conner kicked a piece of metal, and it flew across the room with a clang.

  "Why would I do that to Axel? Why?" she whispered, trying to keep from sobbing.

  "Power. You crave power."

  "No. I don't."

  He strode over to her while whispering, "Can't you feel it, Harper? You still want this as much as I do, so just accept it."

  "You're lying!"
She would not lose her sanity in front of this evil man.

  "Power. You wanted to help lead the werewolves into society with me.”

  “But your mate… My mate,” she protested.

  “Power is stronger than love, my dear.”

  "Going public would be a disaster. The power would never be worth the lives lost." Why hadn’t she seen that before?

  "No, it will be glorious. Think about it. We won't have to hide. We could be ourselves and be a part of society. Join me again, Harper. Together, we are dominant enough to lead the new world."

  “I will never join you. Never again.”

  “Then you’ll have to die. You know too much with your memories back. No, don’t look so relieved. It won’t be quick, I can promise you that.”

  I’m on my way, Axel told her coldly. She didn’t care how he knew where she was because all she could think about was getting away from Conner.

  He yanked Harper by her hair into a sitting position, and a growl slipped passed her lips. A knife in his hand glinted in the light. He brought it up slowly and dragged the tip across her cheek. The silver left a burning path as it sliced through her skin like butter. She screamed and tried to squirm out of his grip.

  Why was she fighting? She deserved every moment of this. Her wolf, however, wouldn’t let Harper quit. Wolf took control and knew enough not to change. She placed her weight on her bound human hands and swung her feet at Conner’s head. Wolf made contact with a sickening thud, but there wasn’t enough power behind the blow to do much but startle him.

  She doubled over and stepped through her linked arms so they were now in front of her body. Clasping them together, she swung again at his temple. Conner ducked and swiped at her side with the knife.

  Harper dodged, but not quickly enough. The silver sliced through her shirt and left a three inch long cut by her stomach. She couldn’t back away because of her bound feet, so instead she countered his move by grabbing his chair and swinging it wildly.

  The chair leg caught Conner’s ribs, stealing his breath. Harper used the spare second to flip backwards over the table. She landed painfully upside-down on her shoulder, but the distance that had been created through the move was worth it.