by J. L. McCoy
What I didn’t know, though, is what I had done to make this wolf so angry. I’d seen Dean in his wolf form earlier, and saw he had his wits still about him. I knew without a doubt that Dean was in there and he had full control. Why was this wolf any different?
Suddenly, I was face down on the ground, desperately gasping for air. The breath had been fully knocked out of me during my fall, and my lungs weren’t cooperating. Rolling over, my chest finally expanded and I sucked in a huge, grateful breath. My gratitude was short lived though as I opened my eyes to find the wolf standing over me. I tried to scramble backward, but it put a paw on my chest and its weight behind it. I wasn’t going anywhere.
Its muzzle then lowered toward my face and I knew without a doubt it was going to kill me. I’d survived being kidnapped, drugged, raped, tortured, fed on, and beaten, and couldn’t believe that this was the way I was going out. I was going to be eaten by a fucking werewolf.
Well, screw that.
Something inside of me snapped. I was tired of being someone’s victim. I wasn’t drugged this time, so I could sure as shit fight back. And I still had my voice, which I was damn sure going to use. Taking a deep breath in, I raised my one free hand and swung as hard as I could, hitting the wolf square on the end of the nose with my closed fist. It yelped in pain and immediately leapt off me, shaking its head side to side. I don’t think it was expecting that.
Scrambling to my feet, I took off running again, this time screaming bloody murder. If there was even one good wolf within hearing distance, I hoped upon all hope that they’d hear me and come to my rescue.
Screaming with everything I had in me, I ran harder than I even thought possible. I was tempted to look back, but didn’t want to risk taking my eyes off the woods before me, lest I hit a tree and fall. Surely I’d be dead then.
Vicious snarling sounded behind me, and I knew the wolf was closing in fast. I needed to try something different, so I rounded the young cedar tree in front of me and bolted back the way we’d come. A few seconds later, the tree behind me shook hard and I could tell the wolf had rounded it, too. There was no getting away from it, it seemed. Sucking in the deepest breath I could, I gave one final, desperate scream. The wolf would be on me any second and this was probably my last chance to call for help.
“Help me! Someone help me! Please! He—”
The wolf tackled me from behind, my pleas immediately silenced by the hard earth beneath me as my face was shoved into it. It was holding my face down in the leaves and dirt, denying me the vital air I needed. I flailed my arms and legs, trying desperately to knock the wolf off of me, but it was no use. One paw was pushing my head down while the other held my chest. My spine ached from the weight it was putting on me, the pressure simply too much for my slim frame. I wouldn’t have been able to draw a breath even if I wasn’t face down in the dirt. The massive weight of the wolf was restricting my lungs.
My chest started burning intensely, and my lungs felt like they were ready to explode. I’d reached the point of no return. If I didn’t take a breath soon, I was going to die. I gave one last flail and put everything I had into it. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough.
A warm calm soon descended on me as my body lost all its fight. Visions of my parents in happier times, my best friend Skye, and Dean lulled me into a place of absolute peace.
Chapter Fifteen
Dean
I’d just tackled Bullet to the ground and was doling out his discipline for trying to sleep with an unwilling female last week, when I heard the screams. My head immediately snapped up and I listened intently.
“Please! He—”
I’d know that voice anywhere. It was Nikki and she was in serious trouble. Without another thought, I bolted west in the direction of her screams. Primo, Cage, Zephyr, and Trigger eventually joined me as I made my way to her.
Why did she leave camp? What is she doing out here? Why is she screaming? What the fuck is happening? Worried thoughts flooded my mind as I ran harder, eager to reach her. If someone had their hands on her, I’d hurt them.
Her screams had stopped and I had no idea where she was now. Using my nose, thankfully, I caught her scent…and the unexpected scent of another. I barked an order to my boys and we all picked up speed, following the newly fresh scent.
As I dodged a large oak, I spotted the wolf. It was perched on Nikki’s back with its paws holding her face down in the dirt. My eyes flicked down to Nikki’s motionless body. A quick sound assessment told me she wasn’t breathing either.
With a fierce growl, I leapt in the air, knocking the wolf off Nikki and to the ground. As we rolled, I bit and tore at its fur, fully intent on slaughtering it. It had attacked the woman I wanted to make my mate, and that was absolutely unforgiveable in my eyes.
Hands pulled me off the wolf and I began to fight the human before I realized it was Cage.
“She’s not breathing, boss!” Cage shouted worriedly, letting me go.
I took a few steps away and immediately began to shift back. Within seconds, I’d regained my human form, an unheard of transition time. It normally took at least twice that time, at the absolute fastest, to shift.
As I finished transforming, Cage turned Nikki’s lifeless body over. As soon as I was on two legs, I ran over to her and assessed the damage. Nikki’s nose was bloodied and broken, and her lips were blue. Without hesitation, I tilted her head back and began CPR.
Snarls sounded behind me and I spared a quick glance at Cage. “You keep that fucking bitch here, do you hear me? I’m not done yet!”
Cage nodded his head and left my side to attend to Nikki’s attacker.
Breathe. Breathe. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine. Ten. Eleven. Twelve. Thirteen. Fourteen. Fifteen. Sixteen. Seventeen. Eighteen. Nineteen. Twenty. Breathe. Breathe.
Breath after breath I blew into Nikki’s lungs as my fists furiously pumped her chest. “Come back to me, Nikki! Do you hear me? You’ve got to come back.”
One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine. Ten. Eleven. Twelve. Thirteen. Fourteen. Fifteen. Sixteen. Seventeen. Eighteen. Nineteen. Twenty. Breathe. Breathe.
One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine. Ten. Eleven. Twelve. Thirteen. Fourteen. Fifteen. Sixteen. Seventeen. Eighteen. Nineteen. Twenty. Breathe. Breathe.
“If she dies, I’m going to kill you! I swear to God, I will end your fucking life!” I screamed out murderously as I administered more chest compressions.
Breathe. Breathe.
“Nikki…fuck! Come on, babe. I need you to help me here! Breathe for me. Breathe! Don’t you fucking die on me!”
Sixteen. Seventeen. Eighteen. Nineteen. Twenty. Breathe. Breathe.
One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine. Ten. Eleven. Twelve. Thirteen. Fourteen. Fifteen. Sixteen. Seventeen. Eighteen. Nineteen. Twenty. Breathe. Breathe.
I paused briefly to check for a pulse. “Come on,” I yelled in desperation. “Come on!”
My fingers felt her carotid artery. Nothing. I then laid my head on her chest, listening intently, but it was silent. “Dammit, Nik!”
Breathe. Breathe. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine. Ten. Eleven. Twelve. Thirteen. Fourteen. Fifteen. Sixteen. Seventeen. Eighteen. Nineteen. Twenty. Breathe. Breathe.
Beads of sweat ran down my face as I continued the rapid chest compressions. I could hear Cage behind me, gently telling me she was gone, but I didn’t care. I didn’t believe it. I’d been searching for a suitable mate my entire Were life, and I wasn’t about to give up on her now that I’d found her.
“Fuck!” I yelled, long and loud, as I sat back on my heels and looked down at the lifeless body before me. This can’t be happening. This can’t be happening.
“No!” I growled out in frustration as I bent over Nikki and pounded her chest over and over again. “I won’t allow it! You’re going to take a fucking breath, dammit! Breathe. Nikki, fucking breathe!”
“Boss…she’s gone
, man,” Cage whispered beside me, his voice catching with emotion as he put a hand on my shoulder.
“No.” I shook my head stubbornly, knocking his hand off me, before leaning down and administering air for her again.
Breathe. Breathe.
One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine. Ten. Eleven. Twelve. Thirteen. Fourteen. Fifteen. Sixteen. Seventeen. Eighteen. Nineteen. Twenty. Breathe. Breathe.
“Sir,” he tried again, attempting to pull my attention away from the dead body before me, “we need you to get it together. We need our alpha now. What do you want me to do with her attacker?”
I ignored him as I continued chest compressions. If I had to answer him right now in the middle of my grief, I’d be sentencing him and the offending wolf to the final death. Now was not the time to fuck with me.
Breathe. Breathe.
“Come on, Nikki. Please. Please. Just fucking breathe for me,” I whispered brokenly as I cupped her cheeks, resting my forehead against hers. “Fucking breathe. You can leave me now. You can’t.”
Thud………thump.
My eyes widened in shock as I jerked my head from hers.
Thud……thump.
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Nikki’s heart was struggling to beat, but it was still beating. “Come on, darlin’. You’ve got to give me another one!”
Thud…thump. Thud……thump. Thud thump. Thud…thump…thud……thump…thud thump.
Fierce growling sounded to my left. Nikki’s attacker tried to run, but my boys shut it down quick. Bitch wasn’t going anywhere.
“Good girl. Good girl! Now breathe. Take a breath, Nikki,” I commanded as put the middle knuckles of my fingers against her chest and rubbed them hard up and down the center of her sternum in the hopes of eliciting a response.
Thud…thump. Thud thump. Thudthumpthudthumpthudthump. Gasp!
Nikki took a huge breath in, followed by another, and then another. Slowly, her eyes opened, blinking a few times before they finally focused on my face.
“Oh, thank fuck!” I breathed out in immense relief as I briefly put my forehead to hers again. “Are you all right? Say something?”
“You came,” she whispered as she gazed up into my eyes.
I closed my eyes and sighed in relief before meeting her aqua pools again. “You bet your ass I did. I’ll always come for you, Nik. Always.”
“The moon,” she said, struggling to sit up.
Gently, I eased her into a sitting position and gently pulled her body across my lap, wrapping my arms around her. “I know, babe. I saw it.”
My ears picked up sounds all around me, and I glanced over my shoulder to see most of my pack had joined us. “I need Micah to go back to the house and bring his medical kit. I want Nikki checked out before I move her again.” A yip went up and I knew Micah had heard. He was an EMT and the best medical asset we had out here. I wanted to know if we needed to take Nikki to the hospital, and he would have the answers as soon as he examined her.
Nikki’s body suddenly tensed up and I looked down at her in alarm. Her eyes were wide as they darted around her. “There was a wolf. I-it attacked me. I didn’t do anything. I don’t understand.”
I gently shushed her as I pulled her tighter to me. “It’s being taken care of. That bitch will never lay a finger on you again and that’s a fucking promise.”
“Who was it?” she asked, her eyes demanding. “I want to know who attacked me and why.”
“I promise you, it’s no one of any importance.”
Nikki’s attacker barked fiercely and one of the wolf’s guards shut it up fast.
“I want to know, Dean,” she whispered seriously. “You don’t have to tell me now, but I have a right to know.”
“Then you’ll know,” I conceded, “as soon as you’re feeling better.” That wasn’t a conversation I was looking forward to having, though.
She was quiet for a long time and I used that chance to try to brush some of the dirt from her face. Nikki winced when I got too close to her nose and I told her what had happened to it.
“Your nose is broken, darlin’,” I frowned, trying to stifle my anger. “We’ll get you fixed up, though.”
“My ribs,” she groaned, her eyes momentarily closing as she gingerly touched them. “I think it broke my ribs.”
Wincing, I brushed her bangs from her forehead, and then sighed. “That was probably me,” I admitted.
“Why would you break my ribs?” she questioned, confused and a bit mad.
Taking a deep breath, I reluctantly, but gently, explained the condition I found her in. “…I wasn’t giving up on you, so I may have been a little overzealous in my resuscitation attempts.”
“I was fucking dead?” she asked me, utterly mortified. “Really, truly dead? Holy shit. I thought I’d just passed out!”
“Well…” I winced again, tilting my head. I didn’t want to freak her out any more than I already had, so I closed my mouth.
Our new prisoner was doing its damnedest to break through the circle of wolves guarding it. The bitch desperately wanted out because it knew what was coming.
“I’ve got my bag, sir,” Micah said as he jogged around the gathered wolves, “and I brought my backboard. I think it’s best we get her back to the house where there’s more light. I can treat her better there.” Nodding my head, Micah approached us and laid the board down on the ground.
“I’m going to need some help carrying her back,” he told me as I gently transferred Nikki onto it.
Without a word from me, several wolves began to shift, volunteering for the job.
“Thank you,” I called out to them as I assisted with the backboard straps. Nikki’s uncertain eyes met mine and I promised her I’d be right behind them. I had a certain wolf to take care of first.
“I feel relatively decent, considering,” she said, trying to argue about us fussing over her. “I’m sure I could walk back.”
“I’m sure you could too,” I said with a smirk, appeasing her, “but I’d rather you didn’t. Just let Micah, Jojo, Holly, and DeeDee carry you in. It would make me feel better.”
She paused at that and gazed deeply into my eyes, hers searching mine intently. “You care that much about me?” she asked in a near whisper, ignoring the circus around us.
As they lifted the board up, I gently squeezed her hand as I tenderly cupped her left cheek. “You have no idea, darlin’.”
“We’ll take good care of her, sir,” Jojo said as they moved her away from me.
“You’d better,” I warned as I watched them carry her away. Everything in me was screaming at me to follow her, but I knew I had to take care of business first.
Turning, I stalked toward Nikki’s attacker, filled with the deepest sense of rage I’d ever experienced. If I wasn’t absolutely careful, I’d negate my duties by ripping the bitch’s head off instead of giving the fair trial afforded under pack law.
Coming to a stop in front of the offending wolf, I stood naked before it as I glared down with contempt. “Shift!” I demanded heatedly. “Now!”
The wolf gazed at me and didn’t move, which was a seriously bad move on its part, because all it did was piss me off more.
“Shift or I will make you shift!” I roared, beyond irate. “And I promise, if I have to make you, you’ll regret it. I’ll make it hurt like a motherfucker. You’ll be begging for death by the time I’m done with you.”
That garnered a reaction from the wolf. It slowly lowered its head to the ground and reluctantly began the change. I watched the muscles ripple down its back as its bones shifted, elongated, and popped back into place. Once the change was complete, the offending wolf stood at full height and crossed her arms over her chest.
“Have you completely lost your fucking mind?” I yelled, filled with deadly rage, my fists clenched tightly down at my sides.
“No,” Roxy answered with attitude, cocking her hip as she arched her eyebrow. “I assure you, my mind is perfectly fine
.”
“Oh, I beg to differ because you just tried to murder my guest!”
“Oh, please,” she scoffed. “She is not just your guest and you know it. She’s a potential mate!”
“And?” I roared as I walked toward her. The wolves guarding her wisely moved to the side and out of my way. “She’s a fucking human! You attacked a human!”
She uncrossed her arms and flung them down to her sides in anger as she stomped one foot. “I attacked a rival female, which is well within my right as a pack member! You want her and I want you. I did what I had to do to eliminate a threat. No one stands in my way! Every other bitch around here knows that, and it was time the new bitch learned it, too!”
“Nikki. Is. Not. Pack!” I screamed, staccato, getting up in her face. “You can’t challenge someone who isn’t pack!”
“Willy let her tattoo the new initiate,” she blanched, crossing her arms again as she tried to steady her voice. “We all saw it. The only way he’d ever let someone who’s not pack tattoo someone is if they are being trained to take over for him in the future, and you know it. And to do that, she’d have to be made wolf. That means she’s pack. I’m not stupid.”
My muscles rippled as extreme anger started to overtake me. I was dangerously close to shifting and killing the bitch. I loathed how she was talking to me and was itching to put her in her place. “Until a human takes the pack mark and shifts for the first time, they’re not a werewolf. As it stands, Nikki St. James is a human and you attacked and nearly succeeded in killing her! If I hadn’t gotten there, she’d be dead right now!”
“I know,” Roxy sneered. “Thanks for fucking up all my hard work.”
My fist pulled back involuntarily as a fierce snarl ripped itself from my chest. I was going to hit her. Once I realized, I took a step away and turned my back on her. I needed to get a handle on my emotions fast. In wolf form, I could discipline my wolves any way I saw fit. But, as a human, I had a moral responsibility to act like one. As such, I could and would never lay a finger on a woman. I abhorred losers who did.