by Eve Langlais
How does that Bon Jovi song go that Dana loved so much? Going down in a blaze of glory or something?
He stripped his shirt off and laid it on his bag. He flexed his muscles as he kicked off his shoes. His track pants he left on for now. Menacing threats and intimidation were never as effective among men when naked with their pricks swinging about.
Unless you’re hung like Kody.
Nathan’s mind skittered as it avoided the coming confrontation that might very well see him dead. But he wouldn’t back down. By not mobilizing all the packs, the Lycan council had allowed these damned rogues too much power already. The time had come to take back the woods. Maybe his death would serve as a wake-up call to the council that their raids on only the rogue packs who brought attention to themselves by killing humans needed to expand to include all rogues. Worry about their attitude, though, would end up someone else’s problem. Lone wolves didn’t get a say.
Enough stalling. Nathan drew in a breath and called out, “I’m here, you rogue bastard. Come on and show yourself. I can smell you and your lackeys.”
Silence hung over the forest, an unnatural stillness that quieted even the insects that called the night their own.
“Don’t tell me you’re afraid to face me? Is it only women you feel capable of attacking? Coward.” Nathan imbued his disgust and disdain into that one word, a gauntlet slapped down that demanded redress.
With the barest whisper of sound, from the shadows stepped a half-dozen forms. Naked forms, their skin dirty. Feral gazes lit the darkness with a reddish glow. darkness. Nathan didn’t allow unease to touch him, even as the evil and unnatural glow of their eyes freaked him a bit.
As a shape stepped forward, a stench hit him, one he recognized from when he’d rescued Dana. Nathan’s lip pulled back in a sneer as he beheld the pockmarked visage of the rogue leader. “If it isn’t the weakling who preys on women himself.”
The rogue snarled. “You’re just jealous I enjoyed her first.”
Nathan shook his head. “Are you really going to fuck with me? You went after my woman. You fucked with someone I care about. And now, I’m going to punish that rabid you going to submit to your punishment like a wolf, or force me to put you down like a rabid dog?”
As he uttered a scream of rage, the rogue’s skin burst open, his limbs contorted, and his wolf bounded forth. Nathan coldly watched and called forth his beast, his half shift that gave him the cunning of man but the strength and deadliness of his wolf. He embraced the pain of his changing. He ran forward and crashed into the rogue leader. They hit the ground rolling. Nathan wrapped his hairy arm around the wolf’s neck and used his sharp incisors to tear at its jugular. The hot spray and taste of blood incited the bloodfever, a good thing because the rogue’s compatriots had shifted and joined in on the fun.
Nathan fought like a wild animal, his rage finally finding a release. And he used it well.
The leader managed to twist out of Nathan’s grasp and slunk away on his belly, his blood still spraying in an arc from the grievous wound Nathan had given him.
Not that Nathan really noticed, caught up in a battle for survival. Snarls rang along with yelps. The scent of carnage filled the air with copper. The miasma hung in the air and coated him in a bloody mist. As body after body slumped in death or unconsciousness, Nathan began to believe he might just survive. He renewed his efforts.
A chill breeze invaded the clearing, and at its ghostly touch, the remaining wolves whimpered and backed away from Nathan until he stood alone. Nathan stood on the blood-matted grass with his chest heaving, wondering at their retreat. He growled at them to return and thumped his chest to antagonize them.
The rogue leader, still slumped on the ground, shifted back to his human shape and lay there gasping as his life force continued to seep. He managed a wet chuckle, though. “The master comes. Now you’re fucked.”
Nathan frowned. Who is he talking about?
Icy tendrils wrapped around him, ghostly fingers that made him shiver. Nathan whirled, seeking the source of his unease in the shadows, but saw nothing.
The mental barrage, when it hit, threw him to his knees, clutching his head. Like hundreds of needles piercing his brain, the agony was unbelievable. Nathan yelled at the pain and lost his grip on his beast, reverting back to his man shape. The shards of agony receded after an eternity, and he panted as he knelt.
“Figures you’d be the one who destroyed my minions.”
The voice, cold and chilling, made Nathan shudder, but worse was the feeling he knew the speaker. Not one to cave to fear, he forced his gaze up to see . . . death. Not death as in the Grim Reaper himself. Not death as in a killing blow. Death in the form of a walking corpse, an impossible abomination. His father.
“Dad?” Nathan whispered the word, his mind refusing to believe the face of the man leering above him with the red eyes was the man who’d created and raised him.
A familiar brow arched, along with the sarcastic smile Nathan knew only too well. “Surprise, son!”
“But-but you’re supposed to be dead,” he stammered.
Nathan’s father, Roderick, held out his arms expansively. “As you can see, hear, and smell, that’s not exactly true.”
“Impossible—”
The foot to his face caught Nathan by surprise, and he fell back. Legs encased in jeans straddled him, and his father laughed as he stared down at him. “Not impossible. Not if you’re a vampire.”
The wild claim saw Nathan’s brow crease. “Vampires aren’t real.” Not real and yet look at his father. He didn’t look so dead, but he also didn’t look all that alive either.
What happened to him? The shock of his reappearance caused him to hesitate instead of acting.
A low chuckle left Roderick. “Not so long ago, I used to think the same thing. I mean, vampires. It’s as crazy as werewolves.” The genial smile never reached his eyes. “But it’s true. Vampires exist. As do other things. It seems the Lycan council has hidden a lot from the packs.”
Nathan slowly moved to a sitting position, body poised to act and yet, he didn’t. There was so much still he didn’t understand. “How did you escape the council’s custody and end up a vampire?”
Roderick’s brows arched in surprise. “Escape? Who said anything about that? The Lycan council owed the vampire coven, their queen, to be exact, for accidentally killing one of her handmaidens. And who better to offer up in sacrifice than a man slated for death?”
The shocking accusation made Nathan shake his head. “No, they wouldn’t do that. They wouldn’t give one of us up to become a monster.”
“Nathan, Nathan, Nathan. How naïve of you.” His father shook his head, the mockery on his face telling Nathan, without words, that he spoke true. “Of course, the council never expected the vampire queen would actually manage to turn me. It was previously considered impossible, although the queen kept trying. It was she who was originally behind the Lycan abductions and killings. She found a way to glamour the weak-minded wolves to do her bidding. But what she really wanted was a dead wolf of her own. She finally succeeded with me. And while I will admit it was beyond any horror you can imagine, the end result was quite worth it.”
“What happened after she changed you?” Nathan asked, horrified yet fascinated in spite of himself at the macabre tale.
“Why, I killed her, of course. Stupid bitch, she thought she could treat me like a pet. Unfortunately, my ripping her into little pieces didn’t go over well with the other vampires and placed quite the price on my head. So now I am mustering an army, one to destroy the vampires who think to keep me away from the throne that is rightfully mine.”
Nathan gaped at his dead father in disbelief. “You’re mad.”
“Damned straight I’m pissed,” his father replied, misconstruing his words. “And because of you, I keep having to rebuild my forces.”
Nathan grinned, a feral smile of triumph. “It would seem your mind-controlled rogues are no match for a true alpha
and his pack. Is that why you lurk in the shadows?”
Nathan was ready for the foot that came flying his way and managed to turn his head to absorb the blow. He used that moment to shift back into his beast—half-man, half-wolf—and he lunged at his father, only to find his limbs frozen.
“Ingrate. It’s not enough you take my pack and send me to my death. You keep eliminating my pawns. I won’t have it,” Roderick roared. “I might not be able to manipulate the minds of the strong ones or enter the compound uninvited, but you are my son. My blood runs in your veins. You are tied to me, and as such, you will obey.”
The needles returned, and while Nathan couldn’t control his limbs, his voice was free, and he screamed with the pain of it.
“Stop it!” Dana’s shrill cry made his heart stop, but it was his father’s evil chuckle and not the agony of his head that made the tears flow.
Chapter Seventeen
It didn’t take long for John and Kody to assemble the wolves in the pack to search. Nathan hadn’t taken a vehicle, which meant they could track him. They set out on foot to search for his trail. Well, Dana was on foot. The rest of the males adopted their wolf shapes. Dana trusted them to smell anything before it attacked. She had a different plan in mind.
Nathan had tried to obscure his trail, and the wolves they’d brought along split into groups of four to follow the false leads. Dana trusted her instincts—and a tugging on her heart. She ended up leading John and Kody. Her pace through the dark forest increased as certainty of Nathan’s location blossomed in her mind.
Approaching the clearing where her whole life had changed, she slowed, not because of the voices she could hear but because of the sense of wrongness—evil—permeating the air.
She walked carefully, lest she give away her presence, all the while straining to hear the conversation. What she did hear made the tears roll down her face.
Oh, Nathan, she thought, her heart joining his in agony, an agony that increased with Nathan’s screams of pain.
Regardless of her wolf mates, who nudged her to stay back, she couldn’t stop herself from rushing into the clearing and crying out, “Stop it!” She had to, for Nathan’s cries of pain begged an answer. Begged she save him.
Roderick, her old alpha and Nathan’s dad, chuckled. The slimy sound sent a shiver skating down her spine, and she sucked in a horrified breath as she got the full impact of the monster he’d become. Once Roderick domineered via body mass and presence. He still had size, but he’d changed in other ways starting with his sunken eyes that glowed an eerie red. His canines extended past his lips in a grotesque parody of a vampire.
“Ah, the little bitch has returned. I was most disappointed when you escaped my pets. I’d hoped to use your womb to birth a new generation of pups to serve me.”
“Never, you sick bastard. You leave me and Nathan alone.”
Dana must have caught some kind of insanity because she faced the monster with her spine straight. It helped that Kody and John stood on either side, their muscled wolves’ bodies pressed up against her. She wouldn’t allow this part of her past to make her run again.
“Brave words. I wonder if you’d change your mind if you were alone.”
John and Kody began howling, their bodies contorting in pain, a symphony to join that of Nathan’s renewed screams.
Roderick leered. “Last time, I trusted my lackeys to handle you. This time, I think I’ll stick around and make sure they don’t fuck up. And speaking of birthing the next generation, why don’t we start right now? I’ll even be nice and let my dear son do the honors first. Of course, he won’t be the one in the driver’s seat for his body. I will.”
Dana shuddered as his words penetrated. But the true horror was seeing Nathan’s body twitch and then stand, his movements jerky like that of a marionette. He approached her on stilted legs, his eyes open wide in horror.
“No,” he moaned. “Run, Dana.”
She read the plea in his eyes. She also saw his love for her as he fought his father’s control. Flight was the easy path. She had taken that route before and left Nathan to face the pain alone. She wouldn’t do it again.
“Hey Roderick, anyone ever tell you that you suck as a dad?” Dana, who’d worn clothes for a reason, whipped out her pistol and with an aim practiced over years, shot the vamp between the eyes.
Roderick fell back, a bullet hole in his forehead and a surprised look on his face. He fell to the ground and didn’t get back up.
For a moment, everyone was still. Everyone watched.
The body didn’t move. An almost collective sigh of relief went through them. He was dead. Truly dead.
The frozen moment of uncertainty shattered and Dana found herself suddenly surrounded by male bodies—naked ones.
“Damn it, woman! What were you thinking?” John yelled as he hugged her.
“Hot damn, you gotta give me lessons,” Kody exclaimed with clear admiration.
Dana pushed them aside to see where Nathan was and saw him still standing a few feet away, a look of uncertainty on his face. She walked to him and opened her arms.
When he still didn’t move, she put her hands on her hips. “Get your ass over here right now, mister. As my mate, I expect a hug after I shoot really freaky bad guys.”
His lips twitched, but he stopped fighting himself. He swept her into his arms and hugged her so tight she squeaked.
She hugged him back and whispered, “Caught you.”
Nathan held Dana and marveled that, after everything that had happened, she still wanted him. She’d saved him, not just from his monster of a father but himself.
Nathan set her down and, when John cautiously approached, dragged him in close for a hug, a quick one. They were naked, after all. “Thanks for coming, brother,” he whispered.
Kody had no problem with a naked hug, and he tackled the two of them in his enthusiasm. “Woo! The terrible trio back in action again.”
It was only when they realized that Dana watched their naked huddle with twinkling eyes and a smirk that they broke apart with a lot of throat clearing and back thumping.
“Um, guys, where did Roderick go?” Dana’s hesitant words made them all whirl and peer, only to see that not only had Roderick disappeared, but the rogues had slunk off too. The question she wondered was did Roderick get up on his own, or did the rogues carry off their leader?
The rest of the pack took that moment to show up, and Nathan barked out some orders to the wolves, mostly asking what they’d seen. But none of them saw anything. No one scented anything. It seemed impossible, just like his father’s very existence. Who knows what tricks Roderick had. He sent the freshly arrived pack members in groups to fan out and maybe catch those fleeing.
He prepared to follow when Dana’s smaller hand slipped into his. She peered up at him. “Don’t go.”
“I should. He’s my father.”
“He’s a monster. And there’s no way he survived a bullet to the head.”
“Why would the rogues take his body if he was dead?”
“Why do those bastards do anything?” She gripped his shirt and pulled him close. “Let it go, Nathan. You almost died once already tonight. I don’t think I could lose you again. I need you.”
“You need all of us,” he corrected including his pack mates. “But my Pack also need a leader right now which is why I have to go look for Roderick.”
Except Roderick and the rogues were nowhere to be found. They’d vanished as if into thin air and that ominous press against the mind didn’t return.
He sent his pack off to bed, and rejoined Dana who’d refused to leave until she knew Nathan and the others were safe.
He shifted and dropped to his knees before her. “They escaped.”
“They might have but you won today. The whole pack won. You fought off Roderick and his gang.”
“But they might return.”
“And if they do…”
“Then I’ll kill him.” No hesitation next time.
“Oh Nathan.” She reached down and cupped his cheek. The gentle gesture didn’t go unnoticed by his pack mates. Her mates. Now his brothers for life.
He stood and gripped her hand. “I think it’s time.”
“Are you sure?” she asked, peering up at him with concern.
More than sure. “For so long I let myself be worried about losing you to someone else. I let my jealousy push you away. No more. I need to do this, show you and my mating brothers that we’re a family pack now. I can’t think of a better way than by making love to you, for all of us to love you if you’re up to it. Or was I mistaken in thinking you wanted to experiment with a ménage?”
“If you think you’re ready, then I think I’d enjoy that very much. Boys?” She turned a questioning look to John and Kody, who grinned. The tantalizing scent of Dana’s arousal drifted up, and Nathan’s cock rose. “Last one to the house comes last,” she taunted as she sprinted off into the woods.
With a look sideways to the men he’d share the rest of his life with, he shrugged and laughed. “Just remember to keep your dicks to yourself.”
A moment later, he and his shifted brothers bounded off into the woods after their mate, following the trail of clothing she left and her she-wolf scent.
She led them on a merry chase, but they knew these woods. Nathan burst into the house first, followed by John and Kody. They moved into the house, sniffing the air in an attempt to find her, when they heard a giggle from behind.