It was no ordinary wolf, not unless someone had figured out a way to breed wolves with horses—the thing was that big. It fell to the ground with a thud. The animal rights advocate in her didn’t even cause a fuss, as the inner certainty that whatever the beast was, it wasn’t natural, settled over her. It was like the one she’d seen when she was ten. And she’d bet all the money in the world that it wasn’t just a wolf. That it could be a man if it wanted to be. A brief moment of relief nearly overcame her when she sensed something else close to them. Two more giant wolves leapt out of the darkness at them.
Lukian fired at one, scoring another hit, but not before whatever it was crashed into him. Lukian’s weapon scattered into the darkness, vanishing under brush just as the second of the attackers went directly for the back of Lukian’s neck.
The training her father had started to put her through after the events of her tenth birthday kicked in, directing her actions as if she were on autopilot. She kicked at the wolf, striking its side. The sound of bones breaking rent the air, accompanied quickly by the wolf’s yelps. It fell off course. Lukian was safe for the time being. Though that was short-lived as the beast snarled, snapping its jaws and nearly catching Lukian in the process. She made a move to kick it again, but Lukian shoved her with just enough force to move her out of the wolf’s reach. The beast shrank back for a moment before making a play for her. Lukian snatched the wolf by its throat, out of midair. The action looked like something out of a movie. It was surreal seeing that much power in a man as he snapped the animal’s neck with one hand and very little in the way of effort.
It wasn’t over. She didn’t need to hear more howls or growls to know there were others around them. Others who wanted to kill. Lukian twisted, his blue gaze moving over her, his poker face cracking slightly, showing relief. In that second she knew the relief was for her—that she wasn’t harmed. Unable to help herself, Peren lifted a hand, wanting to make contact with the man. Wanting to feel his flesh against hers. Some inner force driving her to want to be sure he too was okay. His gaze went to her hand, and in that very second a large mass burst free from the bushes nearest them and pummeled into Lukian, sending him hurtling to the ground. She grabbed at the snarling mass on Lukian of what seemed to be part human and part beast in an attempt to pull it from him. Just as her fingers nearly connected with it, pain shot through her head as something snatched her up and off her feet by her hair.
Chapter Fourteen
Lukian rolled onto his stomach and brought the half-changed werewolf around with him. He struck out, catching its jaw. His fingers burned for the change. His body wanted to be allowed to go to wolf form for the battle. He knew he could take them, all of them, as a wolf. He also knew the act of shape-shifting in front of Peren would send her screaming to her death if she saw him become what she feared most. He resisted the burning need to allow his wolf free and fought in human form.
He brought his knee up hard and caught the half-wolf in the gut. It lurched back. Putting his hands over his head, Lukian touched the hard earth with his palms and thrust himself upward in one fluid motion.
“The cavalry is here, Captain. Take cover.” He heard the voice of Jon—the team’s sniper—in his earpiece.
Good.
His team would assist and help make short work of the rogues around them, allowing Lukian to focus on Peren and her safety. He kicked, sent the half-wolf flying high into the air, and spun, looking for Peren. She was no longer near him. She wasn’t anywhere that he could see or smell. His heart lodged in his throat and his hand went to his transponder.
“Jon, hold your fire. Hold your fire!”
Lukian dropped down, looking at the dirt beneath him. Tracking came naturally to him. It was in his blood. He’d been born to be a hunter and he let his instincts take over. He sniffed the air, running his fingers over the imprints in the ground from Peren’s boots. A set of large footprints was next to hers, matching the dragging pattern she’d left step for step. A shifter had her and she’d not gone willingly. His beast roared within him, wanting to be free. He almost let it, but his fear of not being able to rein it again seemed justified. It had never been this forceful, this insistent, and he wasn’t sure he’d be able to put the horse back in the barn once it was set free.
If anyone harms my woman, they will die.
“Captain?” Green’s voice came over the comm.
Lukian ignored his fellow teammate, his attention on Peren and tracking her. It was all he could do to keep his beast caged. He couldn’t focus on anything else. Not when she was missing.
Her screams slashed through the darkness, stabbing at him.
I’m coming, baby, hold on.
He ran fast and hard. His boots gave him the traction he needed to scale up the side of a rock wall to shave time off his pursuit. He hit the road just as headlights splashed over him. A van squealed to a stop in front of him. The side door slid open, revealing Jon and Wilson, both men dressed in black from head to toe. Lukian met Jon’s confused amber gaze and struggled to get his breathing under control. “Jon, they took her… I lost the trail. We have to find her! We have to protect her!”
Wilson moved forward, nudging Jon out of the way. “But, Captain, aren’t we supposed to eliminate her? We should be sending whoever did it a thank-you note for making our life a hell of a lot easier, if you ask me.”
Lukian grabbed hold of Wilson and ripped him out of the vehicle. His left hand changed, morphing into partial wolf form. He held his claws under the wererat’s chin. “I didn’t ask you, and if they hurt her, I will kill you. Am I clear?”
“Sir, I believe we understand your position on this matter now. If you would please be so kind as to put Wilson down, we can begin combing the area for signs of her,” Green said from the driver’s seat, ever the voice of reason.
Green was well known for his levelheadedness. Lukian nodded a quick thanks at him and set Wilson back on his feet. He knew he’d shaken the guy up. He hadn’t meant to, but the thought of someone hurting Peren sickened him.
Chapter Fifteen
Peren clawed at the thing dragging her through the woods. She tried desperately to unhook its clawed, furry fingers from the back of her head, and it pulled her along. She beat at its arm to no avail. The more she tried to reach up and behind her to get it off her, the harder its grip on her hair was. Tears streamed down her cheeks, born of fear, adrenaline, and pain. She knew without a shadow of a doubt that whatever had her was like the thing she’d encountered when she was ten. She’d seen what that had been capable of. She’d witnessed its brutality and savageness firsthand.
She was going to die, and her death was going to be horrific and painful.
The monster dragging Peren by her hair let go long enough for her to fall to the ground. She tried to pick herself up again but knew she was past her limits. It struck the side of her face, and her head snapped backward as pain exploded through her body. For a moment, she wondered if the monster had killed her. Was this death?
Darkness.
A feeling of falling endlessly.
When she felt like her head was about to burst, her vision swirling with multicolored dots, she knew she was still alive. Death couldn’t possibly still hurt, could it?
Hot breath blew down on her cheek. She tried to open her eyes to see what was next to her, but the strike she’d taken kept her relatively immobile. Something rough like sandpaper and slightly damp moved over her cheek.
A tongue. It’s a tongue.
Her mind tried to process the information as fast as it came in, but it was too much, too soon. She wanted to vomit and scream.
“I’m going to enjoy this,” a deep raspy voice whispered in her ear.
A scared whimper was all she managed in response, and she hated herself for that. Hated how weak she was compared to whatever had her in its grip and was toying with her. She was the mouse, it the cat—or in this case, wolf.
“It’s time to collect the debt owed to me,” it said, its v
oice sounding slightly more human and oddly familiar.
A huge weight dropped on her. She struck out, trying to get it off. She heard material ripping and felt the sharp sensation of fingernails being dragged down her side.
“Peren!” Lukian’s voice cut through the darkness around her. He couldn’t have sounded more like an angel if he’d tried.
The thing pulled back from her as she cried out for help. Something heavy struck the side of her head. “Luke,” she said softly. It was all she could manage to get out before she gave in to the overriding darkness that surrounded her.
*
Lukian ran through the woods, drawing more and more upon his wolf in search of Peren. Jon and Wilson were hot on his trail, moving with inhuman speed as well. Jon whistled, and the men came to a dead stop.
Jon touched Lukian’s back. “Captain, do you smell that?”
“What the fuck is that?” asked Wilson, coming to a stop next to Lukian.
“Death,” replied Lukian.
Whatever was dead had been so much longer than a few minutes. That was the only thing that kept him somewhat calm. It wasn’t Peren. It couldn’t be. But it had been human.
Jon moved through the brush and then stepped back out, his face ashen. “Captain, there are three dead hikers piled in a shallow grave there. Looks like someone tried to cover them with whatever they could find that might mask the smell of decaying flesh from shifters.”
Wilson lifted a brow. “What the hell is going on?”
Jon cast Lukian a sideways glance and shook his head.
Lukian was about to comment when he heard the muffled sound of a woman’s cry. Hope filled him as he recognized Peren’s soft scent. He smelled something else too. Something that made him take pause.
Desire.
It was mixed with so much rage that he knew in an instant the man’s intent was to take what he wanted from Peren, consequences be damned.
Like fucking hell.
Twisting, Lukian grabbed an extra weapon from Wilson and took off running.
He felt Peren’s fear and then her pain when she received a blow to the head. The muscles in his neck tightened with the anticipation of tearing off the head of the shifter who had hurt her. He heard her whisper his name, or almost his name. She called him Luke. It had been a long time since someone had called him that. The norm now was Captain and had been for decades.
Peren’s scent filled the air around him. He was close. Pushing through a large patch of brush, he found her lying on her side, clutching herself in obvious pain. A feeling of failure gripped him. He’d let someone harm her when he had vowed he wouldn’t. He scanned the area first for the assailant. The threat was gone.
Now he needed to tend to his woman. He dropped to his knees next to Peren.
She screamed, jerking away from him, breaking any remaining resistance he had to her. “It’s me,” he murmured. “It’s Lukian.”
“Luke?” Her tiny hand came out and slipped into his.
Jon and Wilson burst through the bushes, weapons drawn, protecting his back while he saw to his Peren.
My Peren?
The words sounded so sweet in his head that for the first time in a long time he had butterflies in his stomach. He scooped her up in his arms and held her close.
Chapter Sixteen
Roi Majors laughed as Missy, the little black-haired one, tried to stop him from putting her in the van. She had pitched one hell of a fit in the bar, demanding to know where her friend was, and why Roi refused to let her leave to search for the girl. Sure, he could have explained it all to the little hottie, but it was more fun watching her get riled up. She was a hellcat, and it turned him on. Everything about the tiny stick of dynamite did. From her small build to her large, expressive brown eyes that reminded him of cat eyes. Though at the moment they were narrowed on him, glaring daggers.
“You’re an asshole,” she spat, a hand going to her hip.
With a shrug, Roi stepped closer to her. “Yep. That seems to be the general consensus.”
“Where is Peren and where in the hell is your buddy? The guy who looks like you.”
Roi knew she meant Lukian. Most people assumed they were biological brothers because they did look very similar. “Probably playing hide the salami with your friend. The one with the red hair who threw the temper tantrum and stormed out of the bar.”
Missy’s nostrils flared and Roi half-expected her to slap him. “You’re a pig.”
“Asshole or pig,” he said clearly. “Pick one.”
She crossed her arms under her small, perky breasts. “You’re a pig’s asshole.”
He hadn’t been called that before. He grinned. “That’s a new one.”
“Fits.”
“Get in the van,” he said, motioning to the vehicle.
She gave him a “not on your life, bucko” look and continued to stand there, her arms crossed.
Damn. She was fucking flawless. His dick was hard simply being near her.
“Now.”
“Eat me,” she retorted.
He nodded. “Okay, but get in the van first. I’ll eat you out all fucking night long after that, and you’ll enjoy every minute of it.”
“That will be hard to do after I rip your tongue out,” she snapped.
His cock twitched. He really wanted this woman. “You’ve got spunk. Now get in the damn van.”
“Missy,” said the blonde woman, her hand on Lance’s arm. “Please. Let’s go with them. They said it’s important and about Peren.”
Missy snorted. “And you believe them? Melanie, rule number one on how to avoid ending up in a crime scene report. Don’t get in vans with strange men.”
“Lance isn’t strange,” Melanie said with a huff. “And I trust them.”
Roi glanced at Lance, wondering what he’d done to get the blonde to be so easygoing. Whatever it was, Roi needed to borrow it because Missy was hardheaded.
Melanie made a move to step into the van with Lance’s assistance, and Missy reached out, grabbed her friend’s arm, and tugged. “No way. We aren’t going anywhere with you two until you tell us what is going on.”
“Missy, stop,” protested Melanie, jerking free and getting in the van. Lance followed and grinned at Roi.
“Asshole,” Roi whispered under his breath, just loud enough for Lance to hear.
Missy grunted. “I’m not an asshole. You are.”
She’d heard him?
How?
The van started, and Roi stared down at the tiny stubborn woman. “In the van now.”
She shook her head.
His wolf pushed up, wanting to dominate her and teach her who was alpha in the situation. He growled, the sound low and deep. Normal people would have wet themselves just hearing it. This hardheaded female didn’t even bat an eye. She did, however, jut out her chin in defiance before giving him the finger.
Giving up on trying to be nice and getting her to follow along for her own good with crazy people on the loose trying to kill folks, Roi bent, scooped her up, and tossed her over his shoulder. She smelled as sweet upside down as she did right side up.
That has its advantages, he thought to himself.
Missy hauled off and whapped him a good one in the back, and it actually hurt. He grunted but managed to keep hold of her despite how much she was wiggling.
She bit him and he roared. “Ouch!”
“Put me down, dickhead.”
“I thought I was a pig’s asshole,” he returned, keeping her over his shoulder as he tried and failed to put her in the van.
“Argh,” she snapped, hitting his back again.
Green cleared his throat from the driver’s seat. “If you could speed this along.”
“You try getting her in here.”
“Nope,” said Green with a wink. “That is all you, my friend.”
The entire reason Missy and Melanie were even with them was because Green had radioed them inside the bar, informing him that the redheaded female had
been injured and they needed to move out fast. Roi had been the one to make the choice to bring the other two girls back with them. Part of his decision was based on pure selfishness. He wanted to fuck Missy. Her tight ass called to him on a primal level. He wanted to have it wrapped around his cock and soon. The other reason for his decision to bring the girls was out of fear that whoever Lukian had encountered in the woods would come after the girls if left unattended. No, he didn’t want anything happening to the feisty one over his shoulder.
She bit him again, and he wondered if he should change his mind. His cock twitched once more. Nope. She was what he wanted all right.
“Listen,” said Lance delicately, from inside the van. “Your friend is in some real danger here, ladies. We’re trying to help.”
“Is she okay?” asked Melanie.
“We don’t know,” supplied Lance. “The sooner we get to her, the better.”
“Peren needs me!” yelled Missy. “Put me down.”
“No.”
The harder she kicked at him and dug her nails in his back, the more Roi wanted to take her to his bed and punish her. He’d never had a woman respond to his advances with hostility before. This was uncharted territory for him and he liked that.
She’ll come around.
He tossed her in the van and climbed in beside her. Her short dress rode up and over her hips, showing off a hot little pair of pink panties. He let a bit of the wolf up and sniffed to see if he’d made her wet and was shocked to find he hadn’t. He was a good-looking man and he knew it. Women usually threw themselves at him. This little one didn’t seem interested in him in the least. His lips curved into a smile when she sat up abruptly and smacked his face for sneaking a peek at her undies.
Yes, ma’am, make me mind.
“You are so a pig’s asshole!”
Yep, I am, and you, my sexy little hellcat, are going to the safe house with us. Like it or not.
Immortal Ops: New & Lengthened 2016 Anniversary Edition Page 6