Mid-jump, I shifted back to human form and raced to my brother.
“Is she okay?” I shouted, and breathed a sigh of relief to see Annabelle smiling and pretty much unharmed.
“She’s okay. It looks like most of the bruises were from the car accident. She says no-one has hurt her but she doesn’t remember much.”
I wanted to hug her so I knew she was safe, but I knew that nothing would be able to prise her away from her father’s arms right then. Noah had tears in his eyes, but a smile on his face, and he was squeezing Annabelle as if frightened she might vanish before his very eyes.
“Noah, I’m leaving you in charge. The fighting seems to be under control and the cowards are retreating. Ethan is badly injured, make sure he gets help. And make sure someone checks over Annabelle, too. Give me a call as soon as there are any development, and to let me know the pack are home safe.”
“Where are you going?”
“I’m going to get my girl.”
LAURA
“Do you need me to get the coordinates back up?”
“I remember it.” I was sat in the passenger seat of Tyler’s car and trying to keep my head on straight while we hurtled down the road. I had no idea how Tyler knew where we needed to go when all the roads through the forest looked the same, but I was grateful to have him with me. I’d never been more scared in my life, and I needed someone who I knew would be able to keep their composure if I totally lost it. I felt safer knowing that the rest of the guys were following close behind. They’d decided not to follow us straight away, in case it looked too obvious, so Tyler had left them with the directions that had been sent to my phone, and they were going to head out after giving us a ten minute head start. The time seemed to be flying by because I was conscious we were on a time limit, but I checked my watch to find only fifteen minutes had passed when Tyler started to slow down and scope around. All I could picture in my mind was little Annabelle in the hands of these evil men, and I knew that I would do whatever I had to, in order to get her back safely.
Tyler switched the engine off and stepped out of the car, so I followed suit. I took a step away from the car, trying to steady my nerves, when Tyler walked around the front of the car and stepped in front of me, with a look that gave me chills. His eyes had changed so they looked devoid of all emotion, and the bleakness in them made my skin cold and my heart beat faster. It was like the old Tyler had just disappeared, to be replaced with this new Tyler who was made of stone.
“What’s wrong, do you hear something?” I asked him, taking a step back from the strange vibe I was getting from him.
“Surprise,” he said, before giving a sinister smile which made me realise something was very, very wrong.
“Tyler, what are you doing?” I asked, as he stepped closer to me, crowding me against the car and boxing me in so I couldn’t get away. I tried to lean away from him, but just ended up knocking my head against the side of the car. I tried to remain calm, remembering that I had to be smart if I was going to be able to rescue Annabelle.
“You stupid bitch,” he said. I could hear my heart beating erratically and it was only just clicking in to place that Tyler was no longer on our side. He was a traitor. You know those moments, where you suddenly realise something that changes your whole life? That was how I felt right at that very moment. It was like everything I ever knew, had just been wiped out, and I struggled to wrap my end around the fact that we had all been fooled. Jackson was going to be destroyed when he found out.
“I don’t understand,” I whispered, trying to get out of him what was actually going on.
“Of course you don’t understand. For months now I’ve been working with the Grove Pack and no-one had any fucking idea.”
“No,” I gasped as the full direness of the situation hit me full force.
“I couldn’t fucking take it anymore. All my life I’ve been with the same pack, day in and day out being the same. Not allowing ourselves to mix with humans and hiding ourselves away and for what? So we can hide like we are ashamed? When it’s humans who should be ashamed! I’d always thought Jackson would be a good alpha, and lead us in the right direction, but then you came along.”
He looked at me with crazy eyes, and was pressed up against me so close I could feel his hot breath on my face and I physically couldn’t move anywhere. I stiffened as I felt one of his hands touch my waist and slide up my t-shirt. Before I could process it, his hand had grabbed hold of my breast and squeezed it hard making me wince in pain and tears filled my eyes. I tried to push him off me but I was no match for his shifter strength and it felt like trying to move a concrete wall.
“Get off me!” I shouted, futilely attempting to dislodge his hand from my breast.
“Shut up! I was planning on helping Jackson to see how good it could be to join our rival packs, in our fight against the humans but you came along and he was fucking pussy whipped after five minutes. Now he can’t get his head straight to figure out what the pack needs. I tried to get rid of you numerous times but you’ve got a fucking guardian angel following after you, bitch. I don’t even understand what it is he sees in you. You’re just another piece of ass.” He removed his hand from my top, and pulled away from me, grabbing me arm and dragging me behind him in the woods. I pulled on his hand and tried to get away but the shock and the stress was causing me to lose my strength, and I refocused my efforts on getting Tyler to talk more to me about his plans. As he pulled me deeper in to the forest, all I could think about was Annabelle, and how I needed to get us both out of here alive. I presumed he was hiding her in the forest, and if it was going to end up a fight to the death, then I had to get her location out of him before I hurt him. I knew I was being pretty optimistic thinking I could take on a wolf shifter when I was just a human myself, but I had to stay positive or I would going to wind up dead.
“Jackson’s only minutes way, he won’t let you get away with this!” I shouted, and my arm screamed in pain from the way he pulled me through the forest.
Tyler laughed and the sound made my blood run cold. “Oh, you really don’t get it do you?”
He stopped outside what looked like a large wooden shed in the middle of the trees, and the night combined with the dense forest made visibility pretty much impossible. He stood before me, and started pacing, ranting like a mad man.
“I’m the one in fucking charge here. Jackson hasn’t got a fucking clue that I’m against him. I gave the guys the wrong directions. They think they’re heading towards us when in fact they’re heading in the opposite direction, straight in to a trap with the rest of the Grove Pack. They’ll figure it out eventually, but by the time they do you’ll be dead and be the first example of what we want to do to all the humans.”
“Jackson’s not an idiot! He’ll figure it out. How is my death going to help you in your cause against the humans?! You’re just ostracising the pack even further and giving them more reasons to fight you!” Okay, I realised that pissing him off wasn’t the wisest decision, but I needed to keep him talking to give me the time for Jackson to figure it out and realise he’d been sent on a wild goose chase.
“Jackson is in love with you. He’s told me himself his plans to mate you!” He stalked towards me and I stepped backwards, praying for an idea to spring to mind.
“In our world, when we find our mates it’s for life. There’s nothing you won’t do for them. Your death will cause him to go insane, which means he’ll be weak. The rest of the pack will be vulnerable and once we take out the main men, the rest will be easy to persuade to our side. I’ll fight Jackson to the death for the title of Alpha and we can begin to move toward the other packs and get them on our side. We’ve got it all figured out sweetheart. Nothing personal, mind. You’re just part of a bigger plan.”
“And Annabelle?” I asked, my breaths coming faster as I stare at him with disgust. “Why did you take her? She’s just a child!”
“Oh, please. I knew that if I threatened her you would do what
ever I wanted. Your bond with that child makes me sick.”
“Where is she?”
“Don’t worry, she’s safe. I might be a little bit twisted, but even I draw the line at hurting children. She’s with the Grove Pack probably babbling on in that incessant way she normally does and driving them insane. Jackson and his men will find her but they’ll have to fight the pack to get her.”
“You’re sick.”
“No, darling. I’m ambitious, there’s a difference.”
I laughed and tried to hide the fear I could feel all the way down to my feet. I’d never been more scared in my life, but a part of me felt relieved that Annabelle was nowhere near this psycho. I was confident that the guys could beat the bastards that had taken her, and knowing that Annabelle would soon be reunited with her family gave me a boost of confidence as I stood before Tyler. I straightened myself and looked him in the eye. If this was the way I was going to die, there was no way I was going down without a fight. How this man had managed to hide his true colours from us all was beyond me. Looking at him now, I found it impossible to leave he had had fooled us. His crazy eyes, his mad ramblings and his pacing on the floor just illustrated how loony he really was, and I was in shock at how well he had managed to hide from us all. My mind went back to the time when Jasmine and I had been out shopping, and those men had attacked us. Tyler had arrived only five minutes after, but now I saw it for what he really was. He hadn’t been my rescuer. He had obviously known what was going to happen, and planned to swoop in and rescue us so no-one would ever suspect him of anything. He looked like the hero, and Jackson would have trusted him even more after saving my life.
He suddenly ran towards me with a speed that took me by surprise, and before I could blink I was pushed backwards until he fell on top of me, knocking the breath right out of me. He balled his hand up and punched me so hard in the face, I saw stars and the nausea hit me as I fought to stay awake. His hand grabbed me by the throat and the panic hit me full force when I found I couldn’t breathe. He squeezed tightly and I fought against him with everything I had, to try and get him off me. He laughed manically, watching the fear in my eyes, and I knew that I needed to do something now, or I was going to die.
I managed to free my right arm from where I had landed on it, and using the last remaining strength I had left, I reached between our bodies and grabbed at his crotch, inwardly cheering as I found what I was looking for. I shuddered as I could feel just how excited he was at watching me suffer. Desperate to get him away from me, I grabbed hold of his balls through his trousers and squeezed as hard as I could. Tyler let out an inhuman scream, reaching pitches I had never heard before and I tried to arch away from the sound, without releasing my hand. He let go of my throat and I sucked in a deep lungful of air, scrambling away from Tyler who was curled up in the foetal position and screaming. I knew I only had minutes before his accelerated healing kicked in, so I jumped up on shaky legs and started to run. My legs could barely hold my weight and my head felt woozy from where I had been starved of oxygen, but I knew this was a life or death situation and now I finally had something to live for there was no way I was going to let it end this way.
“You fucking bitch!” I heard Tyler’s scream from close behind me, and pushed myself faster through the forest. The next time he shouted, his voice sounded as if it was right behind me, causing my heart to drop.
“You think you can outrun a wolf? You’re not only annoying, but you’re fucking dumb too!”
It wasn’t until I heard a growl, that I realised Tyler had shifted and now I was being chased by an injured, very pissed off wolf. My situation seemed dire and my strength was waning. I knew there was no way I was going to be able to outrun a wolf, so I needed to think smart.
I was trying to come up with some grand plan, when I heard Tyler’s growls turn to whines but I didn’t have the time to turn around to see what was happening to him. I kept running until I thought my lungs were going to burst, and my legs gave out underneath me causing me to crash down to the floor. I sat and tried to breathe but it was so fucking hard, and I made a mental note to join a gym and get fit as soon as possible. I heard footsteps behind me and I stood up so quickly I thought I was going to pass out, but I readied my body for a fight against Tyler. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw Jackson stood in front of me, completely naked and covered in bruises. Unable to hold myself up any longer and knowing that I was finally safe, I fell in a heap on the floor and started to cry.
I heard Jackson as he ran over to me. He sat down next to me, picked me up and deposited me in his lap. I curled up against his warmth and sobbed as all the terror and panic of the past few hours released, and I clung on to him as if were anchoring me to the very floor beneath us.
“Shhh, you’re okay sweetheart,” he said in to my hair, gently rocking me back and forth.
“It was Tyler! He was a traitor,” I sobbed, burrowing myself further in to his body.
“I know. Don’t worry about him; he’s dead.”
I know I shouldn’t, but I felt immense relief at hearing that Tyler was gone. The thought of him killing Jackson and taking over the pack was horrifying.
“Annabelle? Is she okay? Did you find her?”
“She’s fine. She’s shaken up but Jasmine’s feeding her ice cream as we speak. I’ve got a feeling that girls gonna be even more spoiled now.”
“He sent you all in to a trap.”
“Look at me,” he says, before cradling my face in his hands and wiping the tears from my cheeks. His eyes narrowed as he took in the bruises on my throat and face. Shit, I must have looked terrible. “If I could kill Tyler more than once, I would do for what he did to you.”
“It’s really over?”
“For now. We arrived to find the Grove bastards ready, but they were foolish and only sent half their men. We managed to take them down fairly easily, with just a few casualties. For a minute it looked like we were going to lose Ethan, but the doc says he’s going to be fine. Thank god my men have hard heads, that’s all I can say. The bastards that we left alive ran back home to lick their wounds, but we know this isn’t the last we’ll hear from them. They were lucky before because Tyler was giving them inside information. Next time they won’t be so well informed.”
My heart hurt at imagining my family and friends fighting for their lives, and I was so relieved that everyone had made it back in one piece.
“How did you find me?”
Jackson kissed my forehead, and pulled me in tighter to his body.
“Something felt off with Tyler’s plan and I knew I wanted to send more men with you. As soon as you left I sent Max and Liam after you. They followed you and reported the location, which I noticed was different to where Tyler had sent us. We had a feeling that something was going down, so we went to the original location in case they’d split you and Annabelle up. We had a feeling they were sending us in to a trap, so I prayed that there would be more men to fight us than to meet you, and Annabelle would be with the larger group, which she was. As soon as we had Annabelle I contacted the guys, who’d had a run-in with Grove Pack members who were hanging around near where you and Tyler were. Apparently, they were stationed to help Tyler dispose of your body when he’d killed you.” A shudder went through him as he said the words. “When I knew my pack were safe, I rushed down here to find my guys just finishing up with those bastards. I heard you screaming and followed the sound. God, I’ve never been more scared in my life.”
“You saved me.”
“I wouldn’t say that. Bastard could barely walk and was screaming like a little girl. Did you have something to do with that?”
I snorted quietly and nodded, feeling his chest move as he chuckled darkly.
“Remind me never to piss you off. I’m fucking proud of you, babe.”
I looked up at him, before closing my eyes as a wave of exhaustion hit me.
“Come on,” he said, as he started to move underneath me. “We need to get you to d
oc, you’re hurting.”
“In a minute,” I said, pulling him towards me and squeezing him tight. I was in pain and so tired I couldn’t keep my eyes open, but there was nowhere else I would have wanted to be. I was in Jacksons arms and he was my whole world.
LAURA
“He was a fucking traitor.”
Two days after the dramatic events had unfolded with the Grove Pack, and I was sat on the patio bench in Jackson’s garden, wrapped in his arms. I felt like I hadn’t slept in weeks, but for the first time in days I could finally relax. Tensions were still high with the rival pack, but after losing many members, they’d retreated to lick their wounds. Oh, we knew it wasn’t the last we would hear from them, but for now we could relax in the knowledge that we were stronger than them. The next time they came for us, we would be ready. Ethan had been released from the clinic this morning, and was back to his normal cheeky self. He’d suffered serious injuries in the fight, but after shifting a few times to speed up the healing process, he was good as new. Thank God. Logan had paid me a visit, scolding me like a child at running headfirst in to danger and yelling at Jackson for letting me go, but once I explained about the threat to Annabelle, he understood. He told me he still wasn’t happy about it, but he did understand and he was just relieved to see that I was okay. I’d had nightmares the past few nights, with many of them revolving around Tyler and ending in him hurting a member of my new family, but Jackson was always there to wake me up and hold me until I calmed down. I knew that I would have sleepless nights for a while, but I was so thankful that not only was I alive, but the rest of my family were too. Jasmine had been pretty much inconsolable after being reunited with Annabelle and once I had arrived back home, hugged me for so long my arms had started to go numb. She told me that she would never be able to repay me for the sacrifice I had made, and the danger I had put myself in to save her daughter, but I told her that she didn’t need to repay me for anything. Sometimes you had to put your neck on the line for those you loved, and I would do it again in a heartbeat.
Alpha (Wolves Creek Book 1) Page 13