by Moira Rogers
“No, I’m not.” She closed her eyes and reached down for the dark magic she’d warned Dylan about, the part of herself she’d hoped to avoid. She wouldn’t get through this fight without violence, so she let go, unleashing some of the anger and fear inside her.
The man dropped his gun and staggered back, clutching his head. Adam strode past her, grasped the man’s head and twisted it with one sharp movement. Sasha heard a sharp crack, and Adam turned as his opponent slumped lifelessly to the floor. He lifted his face as his voice rose, loud enough to be heard over the angry snarls outside. “Prudence Goodman, I challenge you for blood rights to Bedagi Creek.”
There was no response, just a clicking of what sounded like shoe heels on hardwood. Then a delicate-looking brunette with dark, curly hair leaned over the second-floor railing and smiled down at them. “What could you possibly want with them, Adam?” Her voice was light, clear and sweet. “Last I heard, you were eating deer and bunnies out in the woods.”
Adam laughed, a harsh, rumbling noise with an edge of menace. “What brings you to the woods, darling? Can’t get anyone to believe you’re Stephen King’s muse anymore?”
Prudence yawned. “That joke was only funny twenty years ago.” She looked past him to where Sasha still stood against the wall. “You’re new. Witch, right? Have you come for the wolf?”
She looked absolutely, utterly normal, and Sasha shivered. “I came for my friend.”
Claws scrabbled on the threshold behind them. Adam spun, placing his body between Sasha and the door, but the attacking wolf only made it halfway into the room before the reddish wolf she recognized as Dylan pounced onto his back. Power spiraled out as Dylan snarled and snapped.
Prudence sucked in a laugh and clapped her hands. “Not a moon wolf, but I bet he’d taste like one. Adam, you cad, what have you been doing out in that hovel of yours?”
Before Adam could answer, Brynn screamed. Pain, not rage, and Dylan’s head snapped up. He leapt toward the door but skittered to a stop a few feet away from Sasha, obviously torn between conflicting instincts.
Adam caught Sasha’s gaze. “Do what you have to do,” he told her, his voice deadly serious. He spun without waiting for a response and sprinted out the door.
“Nice.” Prudence’s heels clicked again as she walked slowly down the stairs. “He went off to fight the wolves and left you here.” Her eyes gleamed as she studied Sasha intently. “So why are you special?”
I can do this. Sasha repeated the words silently even as Dylan growled menacingly. Maritza had taught her everything she needed to know, and all she had to do was believe in herself the way—
The way Dylan believed in her. The way everyone in Red Rock believed in her, even if they were scared to death of what she could do.
She had to speak to call the spell she needed, and Prudence’s steps sped with Sasha’s whispered words. “What are you doing?” the vampire asked, still more curious than anything else.
The spell took hold, readying the magic inside her, and Sasha released a soft, pained breath. “You don’t look so scary. I bet you get that a lot. So do I.”
Dylan edged in front of Sasha with a low rumble of warning. He paced one step toward Prudence, and the wolf whimpering in the corner staggered to his feet and lunged at Sasha.
Everything happened at once. Dylan spun and barreled into the attacker with an angry snarl. The wolf tumbled back to the floor as Dylan lifted his head and let out a furious howl of challenge. Magic thundered through the room, a crash sounded from upstairs, and the wolf on the floor rolled onto his back in obvious surrender.
Cold, slim fingers closed around Sasha’s shoulders and jerked her back. Prudence’s soft laughter tickled the side of her neck. “You don’t have to be scary to be powerful, my dear.”
Sasha barely had time to breathe the words Maritza had taught her, a witch’s last line of defense, before the woman’s teeth sank into her skin. Sharp pain bloomed, and she thrashed instinctively, though she knew the iron strength in Prudence’s hands wouldn’t give.
Dylan roared his fury and shifted his weight, presumably in prelude to an attack. One of Prudence’s hands shot up to close around the front of Sasha’s throat in obvious threat, and Dylan froze, the look in his golden eyes wild.
The railing above the foyer splintered as a chair crashed through it and tumbled to the first floor. Dylan’s claws clicked as he scrambled out of the way, and Prudence released Sasha with a laugh.
Joe appeared at the top of the stairs, disheveled, his bare chest displaying an array of cuts, welts and bites. His gaze fixed on Prudence, and his steps were steady and sure as he made his way down the staircase. “Where is she?” he demanded.
Sasha pressed a shaky hand to her neck. “Brynn’s outside,” she told him hoarsely. “Go.”
Dylan had already gotten between her and Prudence, his body trembling with tension as he inched back, forcing Sasha to move to keep from tripping over him.
Prudence swayed. She swiped at the corner of her mouth, smearing blood across her fingers. She stared down at her hand, and those delicate, perfectly arched eyebrows came together as she frowned. “I don’t…”
She staggered, groping for something to catch her balance on, and Dylan pounced. Wolf and vampire went down in a tangle of thrashing limbs and fur. Her earlier speed and grace had vanished, but she was still strong. Both arms locked around Dylan’s body and squeezed until he yelped. He twisted and closed his jaws on her arm, and it was her turn to scream. She flung Dylan away, sent him skittering across the floor with his claws scratching up the hardwood.
Prudence rolled to her hands and knees and tried to stand. Her elbows gave out and her hands slid across the floor as her body collapsed. She twisted around, cold blue gaze finding Sasha. “Witch.”
“Yes.” This time, she didn’t bother trying to make sure Adam wouldn’t be hurt outside. She recalled the spell, building it again, whispering the words over and over until the magic exploded in a surge of life.
Light flared, and Prudence screamed. Sasha hit the floor just as she heard another cry from outside, low and masculine and filled with pain, but there wasn’t time to worry about Adam. Prudence rolled onto her back, her face slack from agony, as the glow of magic intensified.
Dylan groaned, and this time it sounded human. He strode into Sasha’s field of vision, naked and covered with blood and vicious-looking cuts and bite marks. Prudence tried to crawl away as he dropped to his knees next to her, but the spell had done its work.
He made it quick. Dylan’s hands closed around the vampire’s head and he twisted sharply, silencing her desperate noises by snapping her neck. He didn’t look at Sasha as he dropped his hands to his thighs, the line of his back rigid and tense. “Is she dead?”
“I think so.” There were too many mingled auras for her to be certain, inside the house and out, too much adrenaline and pain and desperation. “There are things we can do to make sure.” Sasha crawled closer and touched Dylan. “Are you okay?”
Tension flared and he jerked away from her hand. “Fine.” The word came out rough and gravelly. “Can you check on Brynn and Joe?”
Sasha stared at Dylan’s back and the smear of blood she’d left there, then pressed her hand to the wound on her neck. “I’ll take care of it.”
There was no reason to be hurt by his words. The vampire might be dead, but they were still in the middle of a dangerous fight, and she tried to remind herself of that as she walked out the front door. Joe stood in the yard, his arms around Brynn and his mouth close to her ear.
Even looking at them felt like intruding, so Sasha bypassed them and stopped beside Adam. “Prudence is dead, I think.”
He glanced down at her, swore and reached for her hand. “You’re bleeding.”
“She bit me. I’m sure she found the experience wholly unpleasant.” Her knees felt wobbly, and a dull buzzing filled her ears. “I don’t feel…”
She barely heard Adam’s rough curse as the world
went black.
Chapter Ten
One of these things is not like the others.
Dylan tried not to fidget with the coffee cup in his hands as he waited for Emily to settle herself in the seat on his right. Lawrence’s wife, Irene, was already seated on his left, her strong hands clenched together so hard her knuckles were white. Her eyes were red and puffy and her expression looked carved from stone, but neither was surprising. Her husband, her mate, had died that night, died during the culmination of a chain of events she’d put into motion with a phone call.
And now she sat at the table of the man who had killed him.
Ethan looked a little worse for the wear, though he’d taken a shower and let Emily and the pack’s doctor examine his injuries. Dylan had received similar attentions after he’d forced the doctor to check on Sasha. She’d fared better than most of them in the injury department, though exhaustion from expending too much magical energy had finally taken its toll.
Sasha was resting easily. Joe and Brynn—well, Dylan felt more comfortable pretending they were resting easily too, and prayed like hell they would be by the time he made his way back to the guest house. As for Dylan himself… One of these things is most definitely not like the others.
Three strong alpha wolves sat on three sides of Ethan and Emily’s cozy kitchen table, and all three watched him expectantly.
Dylan cleared his throat and took a sip of his coffee. “I talked to Gavin. He’s working with Sam now to rearrange some funds. You’ll have enough money to feed the town through the winter.”
Ethan’s jaw tightened, and Dylan knew his pride was warring with his practicality. “I’ll have to thank him, and let him know we’ll repay him as soon as possible.”
“Of course.” Dylan forced himself to look at Irene. “I think Sam’s going to call you tomorrow and invite you to Red Rock. In case you need a chance to get away.”
She barely glanced at him. “I wouldn’t want to be a bother.”
“You are not a bother.” Emily leaned forward, her eyes intense. “I know you probably can’t take comfort from us. I don’t blame you. But you need it. You deserve it, Irene.”
“I don’t—” She looked away, trembling, her lips clamped together tightly.
Ethan touched Emily’s arm. “Plenty of time to figure things out, for all of us.” He turned his gaze to Dylan. “Does Gavin need you, or can you stay a few days and heal up?”
“He wants us to stay here until we’re all on our feet again.” And until Joe could let go of Brynn for long enough to assess the town and make sure there wouldn’t be trouble from Bangor.
“As long as you like.” The new alpha drummed his fingers on the table. “I want to take a walk. You feel like taking a walk, Dylan?”
He felt like crawling into bed with Sasha, but the magic that still thrummed inside him brought with it the urge to do things that would probably scare her. He could still remember the pain in her voice after he’d killed the vampire, the way she’d reacted when he’d jerked away from her touch. But better pain than fear, and he couldn’t imagine any other reaction to finding her lover covered with blood and aroused by the thought of celebrating victory between her thighs.
Ethan still watched him, so he shoved down the uncomfortable memories and nodded. “As long as it’s not a long walk. I probably need sleep too.”
“Understood.” The man ran his hand over Emily’s hair as he rose. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
“You’d better be.” Emily caught Ethan’s hand and kissed it, and for just a moment Dylan caught that same wildness in her eyes that he’d seen in Brynn and Joe’s, that wildness he’d been fighting all night. They’d fought for their lives, dealt death and triumphed. Something primal inside demanded recognition of the fact that they were still alive, wanted the proof that came from hard, crazy sex that pushed limits and left the body drained and trembling.
Which was all well and good if your partner was another wolf fighting the same urge. Sasha was a human who’d been hurt by rough, out-of-control werewolves. The only thing that terrified Dylan more than the thought of bringing her to bed with that sort of wildness was the possibility that she wouldn’t stop him, even if it scared her.
Outside, the night was silent. Ethan went no farther than the porch steps, and he lowered himself to them with a wince and a sheepish laugh. “Maybe I’m not up for a walk, after all. But I wanted to talk to you alone. I don’t need Em kicking my ass tonight.”
Dylan nodded his understanding and leaned against the railing. “Is something wrong?”
“Nah.” Ethan rested his elbows on his knees. “You and Sasha. Are you settled in Red Rock?”
Easy relaxation vanished as the wolf scented a threat. “Not exactly. But I owe a lot to Gavin.”
“I absolutely get that. I mean, hell, so do I now. But we could really use Sasha around here.” He hesitated and looked up at Dylan. “There’s a boy in town, nearly a teenager now. He’s shown some magical aptitude, but he hasn’t had a teacher…”
Dylan bit back an instinctive growl and forced himself to consider the words. A place where she was needed, but not feared. Someone to teach. Safety from the war. Peace. If you really gave a damn about Sasha, you’d beg her to stay here. “There’s a war going on in Red Rock. I can’t leave them to fight it alone.”
“I wouldn’t ask anyone to do that.” Ethan’s eyes darkened. “Look, I wanted to talk to you before I talked to Sasha. I’m not asking her to abandon her friends. I just thought maybe she could make her way back around sometime, that’s all.”
Guilt made Dylan queasy. “Half of the reason we’re here is because the town is scared of her. She’s miserable there. She should stay here.”
The alpha held up both hands. “I’d have to be an idiot not to figure out you two are together, and I’m no idiot. Not trying to cause trouble, either.”
“You’re not.” Dylan closed his eyes and leaned his head against the solid oak post. “Trouble was already there. We’ve got some stuff to figure out. But maybe it’ll be easier to figure out if she knows she has someplace to go.”
Ethan rose. “I’ll hold off on asking her about it. Give you two a chance to talk.”
In a way it would have been easier to let Ethan be the one to make the offer. It might have been fairer to Sasha too. Without Dylan present she wouldn’t have to hide her wishes, wouldn’t feel the need to soothe his ego or his bruised feelings…
Coward. It was another way of running away. He’d fled from Cindy so he wouldn’t have to see the rejection in her eyes and told himself he was doing her a favor. If he wanted Sasha, he was going to have to fight for her.
He was going to have to sacrifice for her.
Dylan met Ethan’s gaze. “As long as I’d be welcome.”
“Hell, yeah.” The other man held out his hand. “Any of you, always.”
“Then I’ll talk to her.” Dylan shook Ethan’s hand and smiled. “Better go inside before Emily comes out here to get you. I don’t think I want to be in her way when that happens.”
“Not if she’s figured out why I wanted to speak with you.”
Tension returned. “Because she doesn’t want Sasha here?”
Ethan snorted. “Because if she knew I’d purposefully talked to you before Sasha, she’d call me a sexist ass and make me sleep on the couch for a week.”
Normally Dylan might have agreed with Emily’s thoughts on the matter, but with the moon magic still lingering inside him he wasn’t sure what his reaction might have been to a wolf trying to lure Sasha to his pack. Not when he hadn’t gotten to touch her, hold her…claim her.
Discomfort twisted his stomach, and he dragged in a breath that came out as a growl. “How do you live like this all the time?”
“Don’t really think about it, I guess.” Ethan shrugged. “No sense in fighting what you can’t change. That’s not going to help you much, though, huh?”
“Not really.” Nothing would help but seeing Sasha and
knowing she was safe. With practice born of a decade of repression he shoved his wolf down as he straightened. “I’ll see you in the morning, Ethan.”
He’d already turned toward the door. “Breakfast’s at seven.”
The short walk to their guest lodgings should have given him time to get his instincts under control. In the past it had been easy, a simple matter of turning off anything inside him that wasn’t directly related to survival. Not healthy, perhaps, but the only choice. A way to bend instead of breaking.
Then again, Sasha felt necessary to survival. Air, food, shelter…his mate. Melodramatic. Terrifying.
True.
So find a way to show her without scaring her to death. And after that, he’d cure cancer and find the solution to world peace.
Sasha had almost decided that she should stop staring at the wall and get up, get dressed, when the door opened. She tensed without meaning to, and she had to take in and release a deep breath before she could bring herself to roll over.
Dylan stood in the doorway, his entire body stiff and his eyes blazing. Remnants of power vibrated around him, made him seem like a dangerous werewolf instead of the considerate man who had seduced her so carefully.
She sat up. He looked the same as he had outside Adam’s cabin, when she’d almost begged him to take her. Now, Sasha had no connection to the wildness tearing through him, only what she could see and sense. It would have been frightening, except that she trusted him with her life.
She opened her arms.
His fingers spasmed on the doorframe and he swayed toward her, then froze with a low groan. “Sasha.” Her name came out hoarse, full of rough promise and need. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
You won’t. She wanted to say it, and almost did. But she’d felt that uncontrollable need, and she was only human. If she urged him to, he’d let go. And if he hurt her, he’d never forgive himself.