Untamed (Wolf Lake)

by Kohout, Jennifer

  "Yeah," William said. "But the doe's neck was broken."

  "So where did it come from?" Craig asked.

  ****

  Sam was standing inside the den when she felt it. White hot agony lanced down the pack bond. Collapsing to her hands and knees, Sam panted as pain washed over her.

  "Nafarius," Sam whispered, frantically searching for the mate bond, relief at finding it whole momentarily beating back some of the pain.

  "Sam!" Nafarius appeared, his eyes wild as he scanned the room. He'd been outside when the pain started, fear sending him running to find his mate.

  "Here," Sam croaked, climbing slowly to her feet. Everything hurt, her body screaming in protest as she moved. Bracing herself against the wall, she moved to the nearest pack member.

  Jude, a recent friend of Maddie's, lay curled up on her side. Pain-glazed eyes rolled up and watched Sam approach, pleading for help. "It's okay," Sam cooed, not sure what she should do.

  "Nafarius," Roland staggered in from the pack's private quarters. It had taken everything he had to leave his mate. Natasha was withering in pain, the need to find answers and make it stop the only thing driving him from her side. "Who?"

  "I don't know," Nafarius gasped as he tried to pinpoint the source of the pain. "Who do we have out there?"

  Everywhere Sam looked, pack members suffered, some staggering to their feet while others withered on the floor in pain.

  "Jack, Declan and..." Roland's body bent forward, involuntarily curving in on itself as a fresh wave of pain speared through the pack bond.

  "Marcus," Nafarius ground out, his back teeth clenched.

  Snnnaaaapppp!

  Roland felt the pack bond stretch and snap, the place where the pain had been suddenly cold.

  "NO!!" Roland roared, staggering with dread.

  Roland's cry echoed deep into the den, the sound fading away and leaving an unnatural silence in its wake.

  "Nafarius?" Sam whispered, trying to make sense of it all. The pain had cleared, replaced by an aching sense of emptiness.

  Once again able to move without pain, Roland dashed out the entrance.

  "Roland!" Nafarius called, following his beta outside.

  "Sam?" Natasha limped out from the back. She could feel her mate's pain, disjointed emotions skittering across the mate bond. "What...?"

  "Come on," Sam said, grabbing Natasha's hand and dragging the female behind her.

  Roland frantically circled the clearing, searching the tree line for Marcus' scent. The male had gone out early to check the territory. The wind shifted, blowing the hair back from Roland's face and bringing with it the heavy scent of blood.

  "Roland!" Nafarius yelled as his beta took off. "Everyone inside!" Nafarius ordered before diving head first into the trees.

  Roland ran, arms and legs pumping as he tore through the forest. His heart pounded in his ears, the only sound in the sudden silence left by Marcus' snapping the pack bond.

  It doesn't mean he's dead, Roland told himself, pushing himself to run faster. His legs burned, his lungs struggling to provide the oxygen his body needed. Leaping over fallen logs, he veered to the right and broke through a small stand of trees.

  Skidding to a stop, Roland jerked back, falling on his ass and skittering backwards.

  "Roland!" Nafarius broke through the trees, spying his beta first. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?!"

  "Marcus," Roland whispered, his eyes fixed on something over Nafarius' shoulder.

  "What...?" Nafarius turned, following Roland's gaze. "No. No. NOOO!!"

  Slower than the others, Sam and Natasha stepped into the clearing in time to see Nafarius fall to his knees. "Nafarius?"

  "Stay back!" Nafarius ordered, raising a hand to ward off the two females.

  Too late.

  Sam spotted Marcus, her hands going to her face as horror flooded her eyes with tears.

  Marcus had been strung up by his wrists, his arms pulled apart and dislocating at least one shoulder. The ropes had cut through flesh as he struggled, eventually cinching tight to the bone. His head hung loose on his neck, his chin resting on his chest.

  He'd died trying to shift, his body a mangled combination of wolf and male. But that wasn't what had Sam staggering to her mate, her arms wrapping around his shoulders as he rocked gently.

  Marcus had been skinned. The flesh torn from his body in strips and left at his feet.

  Roland forced himself to look, his eyes traveling over the horrifying remains of his friend. He committed every cut to memory, promising himself that he would have vengeance for every one of them.

  "Cut him down," Sam whispered. "Please, cut him down."

  Natasha stepped forward to help.

  "DON'T YOU TOUCH HIM!!" Roland roared, his eyes wild as he turned away from her. "I don't want you anywhere near him!"

  Natasha staggered back, stumbling as red hot rage radiated down the mate bond. "Roland," she whispered, reaching for him only to drop her hand when he turned away.

  Roland didn't answer, couldn't answer his mate. Putting one foot in front of the other, he forced himself to cross to his friend. It was only then that Roland realized it wasn't the skinning that had killed him. Marcus' chest had been ripped open and his heart removed.

  Keening softly, Roland reached up and snapped the ropes, catching Marcus as he fell. Cradling him carefully, Roland turned and laid the male out in front of their alphas.

  Sam sobbed, her hand shaking as she reached out and brushed the hair back from Marcus' face. Surprisingly unmarred, she wiped dried blood from his lips, tears falling to his cheek as she bent forward and pressed a kiss to his closed eyes.

  Across from Sam, Roland stopped keening. Tipping his head back, he howled out grief and rage, the sound cutting through the forest.

  Nafarius was the first to join him, adding his voice to that of his beta in a hauntingly beautiful duet. It wasn't long before they were joined by others, the pack calling out the loss of one of their own. Sam was the last to join in, her cry completing the song.

  ****

  Natasha hurried through the forest, swatting tears from her face as she ran. She had to get home. She could feel Nafarius' rage, a mirror to that of her mate. Grief held them immobile, but it wouldn't be long before they came looking for blood.

  ****

  Nafarius eased out from under Marcus, setting the male gently on the ground. Standing, he stared down at his mate. Sam sat with Marcus' head in her lap, her fingers shaking as she brushed the hair back from his face.

  He had ordered her inside with the rest of them, but for once he was grateful she hadn't listened to him.

  "I have to go," he said quietly. He was numb, grief and rage having burnt out his insides, leaving him empty of everything except vengeance.

  Sam nodded. "I'll stay with him." Nafarius wouldn't want to leave Marcus here alone.

  "I'm coming with you," Roland growled. His eyes glowed yellow where they stared down at the remains of his close friend. Clenching and unclenching his fists, Roland's skin rippled as he fought shifting, holding his wolf back by the barest of threads.

  "Where's Natasha?" Sam asked, looking for the female.

  Roland's head snapped up, fear at finding his mate gone the only thing strong enough to break through the haze of rage. Closing his eyes, he groaned at the memory of yelling at her, his rage no excuse for the hurtful words.

  Reaching out through the mate bond, he felt her fear and her sadness. He also sensed she was moving quickly, driven by her need to get home. "She's headed home," he told the others.

  Sam looked up at him, her eyes wet and red from crying. For the first time that he could remember, she didn't reprimand him for his less than gentle handling of his mate.

  "Find him," Sam said, her eyes darting back and forth between alpha and beta. "Find him and kill him. Slowly."

  Nafarius shook his head. "It will be a quick death," he said. "This is my fault, I should have acted sooner."

  "I do
n't care whose fucking fault it is!" Sam snarled, her fist pounding the ground beneath her as the last of whatever humanity she possessed slipped away. "Find him and KILL HIM!"

  Nafarius responded to his mate's demand, her need snapping the last of his control. His wolf surged, Nafarius' body contorting painfully as he shifted and his wolf tore its way free.

  Bending his head, Nafarius nuzzled Marcus' neck, the animal whimpering softly before lifting his head and howling. Beside him, Roland completed his shift, the white wolf adding his voice to that of his alpha.

  "Kill him," Sam ordered, her eyes glowing green with the need to shift. Her skin rippled, her wolf so close to the surface that Sam felt fur. The animal wanted to run down Dimitri and rend his flesh. She would have a strip for every piece of flesh that had been torn from Marcus' body.

  Nafarius studied Sam's face one last time before bolting into the trees, leaving his mate in the center of death. Roland charged after his alpha, shadowing the male as he barreled through the forest.

  It wasn't long before they crossed into Dimitri's territory, the first time Nafarius had been this far north in nearly fifty years. The fact that he hunted a male he once called friend didn't stop him, didn't even slow him down.

  That male was gone.

  The path to Dimitri's pack house was easy to follow, the scent of death and sickness lay thick on the ground, sticking to trees and bushes as the old alpha passed by. The two wolves ran in silence, eventually making their way up a shallow rise. The pack house was tucked up above them and surrounded on three sides by thick trees. Like any good den, there would be only one way in or out.

  Nafarius headed for the front door, pulling up short when it opened and Natasha stepped out. What the fuck?

  "Talking would be a lot easier if you shifted," Natasha said, addressing Nafarius and studiously avoiding looking at her mate.

  Roland eyed his mate before giving Nafarius a low gruff of agreement. He would guard his alpha while he shifted.

  A few minutes of tense silence later and Nafarius unfolded to his full height. "Where is Dimitri?"

  "I don't know," she said, steeling her spine against her alpha's displeasure. Not an easy thing to do when he stood naked and pissed.

  "You warned him we were coming," Nafarius ground out.

  "No," Natasha said, shaking her head. "He was gone when I got here."

  "You'll understand if I don't believe you," Nafarius said, moving to step around her.

  Natasha jerked back at the verbal slap but held her ground. "He's not here," she said, putting herself between Nafarius and the door to her father's pack house.

  "What are you doing Natasha?" Nafarius asked. She was strong for a female, nearly equal to Sam in strength, but she was no match for him. A battle between the two of them would be over before it began.

  "Protecting what is left of my father's pack," she told him. Nafarius stood towering over her, trying to intimidate her with his size. It was working.

  "I have no quarrel with them," he told her. Nafarius could feel his beta's distress as he squared off with the male's mate.

  Roland shifted, struggling to put his wolf back in the bottle and pushing his way through the transition. Standing, he tried to get a read on his mate. She refused to look at him, fixing all of her attention on Nafarius. Heart sinking, he focused on the mate bond but found it locked down tight.

  "Maybe not," Natasha said. "But we both know what would happen if I allowed you inside."

  The pack wouldn't stand for another alpha in their den, swarming Nafarius in an attempt to protect what was theirs. If it was just Nafarius, Natasha might think they had a chance, but Roland would never let his alpha inside alone and the two males would cut a bloody path through the pack.

  "I want Dimitri," Nafarius growled, fists clenching at his sides.

  "He's not here," William said, stepping out of the house to stand with Natasha. "He rarely comes home anymore."

  "Tell me where to find him," Nafarius ordered, his voice saturated with power and rage, demanding that the lesser male obey. He was surprised when William looked down at Natasha, waiting for her nod before turning back and addressing him.

  "I don't have a specific location," William said. "But he always comes from the north. There's a series of small caves up there, I suspect that's where he's been staying."

  Nafarius nodded to William. Turning to address Natasha, he said, "You and I are having words when this is over."

  Natasha nodded silently, watching as Nafarius turned and spoke quietly to Roland, his words too low for her to hear.

  Roland nodded, staying behind as Nafarius strode into the trees.

  Natasha clasped her hands behind her back, lifting her chin as Roland finally looked at her.

  "You're leaving me," he said, searching her face, his eyes begging her to tell him it wasn't true.

  "No," Natasha said softly, the tension leaving her shoulders. She hadn't meant for him to think that. "But I didn't think you would want to see me just now."

  Her father's scent had been all over the death scene leaving no question as to who was responsible for Marcus' death. Roland's fury had been understandable, she was just too weak to withstand that much rage boiling over and onto her.

  "You belong with me," Roland said.

  "She belongs here," William said. The pack had been surprised when Natasha showed up, her arrival unexpected but welcome.

  "You can't protect her," Roland growled, taking a step forward and lowering his head.

  "We can - " William stopped, Natasha's hand on his arm silencing him.

  Roland snarled at his mate's hand on another male. "If you don't want him dead, you'll take your hand off of him."

  Natasha slowly lifted her fingers but stepped between William and her mate. "This is...was my father's pack," she reminded him. "I grew up here and no matter what has happened, they're still mine to protect."

  She felt it then, the bond with her father's pack snapping back into place. No, not her father's pack - her pack.

  Over Natasha's shoulder, Roland watched William's eyes grow wide, the male's body shuddering as he made a move towards Roland's mate. Snarling, Roland took another step forward.

  "Don't," Natasha said, stopping Roland's charge with a hand on his chest. Opening herself up, she let him feel her pack, her joy spiking along the mate bond. "He's mine, Roland. They're all mine."

  Roland's relief at feeling his mate back along the bond was short lived. Natasha was alpha, the bond to her old pack having snapped back into place when she'd stepped up to protect them. "What about us?"

  "I don't know," she said. All three bonds were still in place, each one running along the next. "I thought it was crowded in my head before..."

  William quietly slipped inside, closing the door behind him. Inside, the rest of the pack pushed forward, eager to know what was happening. "Not now!" William hissed.

  "Come home with me," Roland said, he couldn't lose her.

  "They need me," Natasha said, her eyes darting over her shoulder. She could feel them behind her, the pack anxious to greet her as alpha and fearing that she would leave with Roland, turning her back on them.

  "I need you," Roland whispered. Ringing had started in his ears, his heart pounding against his chest leaving him short of breath. "I'm sorry I yelled - "

  "I know," Natasha said, smiling softly. "But this isn't about that. This is my pack. I was born here..."

  "You promised me a thousand years," Roland reminded her.

  "And you promised me forever," Natasha said. "Come with me."

  Roland blinked.

  Natasha ignored the wall of shock that came from the pack. With his scarred face and body there for the pack to see, not to mention his reputation as Nafarius' beta, it was no wonder her pack was suddenly uneasy and restless at her back.

  "I can't leave Nafarius," Roland said. The male had rescued him, seen something in Roland worth saving. He couldn't repay him by abandoning him.

  Natasha
gave him a knowing smile. Reaching for him, she cradled his face in her hands. Drawing him down, she brushed a soft kiss across his lips. "I love you," she said. "We don't have to decide anything right now."

  Roland allowed himself the pleasure of wrapping his arms around her waist, and pulling her close. "I've already lost so much," he whispered. "I can't lose you too."

  "You're not losing me," Natasha said, her smile widening. "You're gaining a pack."

  Roland groaned, feeling himself ready to capitulate and give her whatever she wanted, just so long as she stayed his. "Because that's just what every werewolf needs, two packs."

  Natasha laughed, knowing that everything would work out, one way or another.

  Roland gave himself another moment just to hold her, his forehead pressed against hers. "I should go," he said quietly, hating it when she stiffened.

  Natasha nodded, her throat tight.

  "I'm sorry," Roland said, brushing the hair back from her face before taking it in his hands and kissing her. "This will all be over soon."

  Natasha nodded. "Promise me you'll bring my father back," she said.

  "Tasha..." Roland wasn't sure that was a good idea.

  "I don't care," Natasha said fiercely. "I don't care what he's done or what condition he's in, he's still my father and I would see him buried and properly mourned."

  Roland hesitated, but eventually nodded. "Alright, I'll bring him back."

  "Thank you," Natasha whispered, reluctantly letting him go.

  ****

  Natasha closed the door behind her, leaning her head back against the aged wood to catch her breath. Jesus, what had she done? Eyeing the waiting pack, she estimated she had about three seconds before they were on her.

  "What happened?"

  "Are you really back?"

  "What about Nafarius?"

  Questions came at her from all sides, all of them deserving answers. "Wait, wait!" Holding her hand up for silence, Natasha scanned the crowd looking for one face in particular.

  "Craig," Natasha said, addressing her father's beta.

  Craig slithered forward, his hands tucked into the front of his neatly tailored pants. "Welcome home," he sneered. There was no way he would bow before this bitch. If she thought -