by Leela Ash
“Walker won’t be mad because nothing bad is going to happen,” Riley said, kissing her daughter’s cheek. “You two be good for Tara, okay? I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
Riley left, a chorus of “bye” following her to her car. She felt wrong about leaving like this, but what other choice did she have? Some things she just couldn’t do on her own, no matter how independent she happened to be, and this, unfortunately, was one of them.
And so, with presentiment building in her chest, Riley turned the engine on the car and took off toward the royals’ part of town.
***
“Dinner was absolutely wonderful,” Riley said. And it was true. The Greers had the best cooks of anybody in the entire city, and she had just been able to dine on a meal that would have cost any other human thousands of dollars even just to look at. “Thank you so much for the invitation.”
“Of course, dear,” Mrs. Greer said, closing the door to the sitting room so it was just Riley alone with her inside. “The children were so pleased to see you again. As I mentioned, they speak so fondly of you so often. You really made their lives a delight.”
“They are wonderful kids,” Riley said. “I can’t believe just how much they’ve grown!”
“It is a wonder,” Mrs. Greer agreed. “But then, many times, shifter pups grow quickly; a little more quickly than human babies, I would think.”
“Yes, it’s true,” Riley said. “Though, not by much. It’s almost the same.”
“Yes,” Mrs. Greer said, smiling. “Now, go on and tell me what it is that you wanted to ask of me. I know this couldn’t have been easy for you to do. You were always such a proud woman. You wouldn’t even ask for extra pay when you had no heat.”
“You knew about that?” Riley asked, startled.
“Of course! Who do you think made the call to the electric company that got the heat back on?”
“I had no idea…thank you!” Riley stammered. “You have always been just too kind.”
“There is no such thing as too kind,” Mrs. Greer said, shaking her head. “Now, you must tell me what is on your mind, you proud thing. How is it I can help you? I have wanted, so badly, to be able to do something for you that is meaningful; you meant so much to my children! Money just didn’t seem enough. I’d be happy to honor any request you might have, providing it is reasonable.”
Riley was surprised to hear this, and swallowed hard. “Thank you so much,” she said. “It’s important to me that the man I’m with, who I…there’s someone who really deserves a chance to shine in Stonybrooke. He’s a genius with motors, and he truly cares about people.”
“So, this isn’t even a favor for yourself?” Mrs. Greer asked. “You would humble yourself for someone else?”
At first, Riley thought that Mrs. Greer was angry, but then her face broke out into a broad, beautiful smile and she relaxed. Everything was going to be okay.
“Yes. He’s such a good man, and a great father. He deserves some amount of success. There are too many human businesses taking business away from him, and since you are a woman of influence, I was hoping you might be able to help his business thrive.”
“I understand,” Mrs. Greer said, the smile still lingering on her lips. “You are a most peculiar human.”
“Do you think this is something you would be able to do?” Riley asked. “He works so hard…”
“Of course, my dear, anything for you,” Mrs. Greer said. “Honestly, it’s just a matter of one phone call and the ball would be rolling. He’s a lucky man to have you.”
Riley looked down at the floor, embarrassed and confused by the words. She cared so much for Walker, but did that actually really amount to anything? They didn’t technically have each other. Not really.
“Is there anything else?” Mrs. Greer asked, peering into Riley’s eyes. “Something that would help you, for example?”
Riley smiled nervously and shook her head. “No, ma’am. I just want to see this man succeed. He has so much potential.”
Mrs. Greer narrowed her eyes. “I see. Well, in that case, I suppose it is time to bring this evening to a close. What is this man’s name?”
“Walker Abrams. He owns…”
“Ah, the Howler’s Motors man,” Mrs. Greer said with a nod. “That little Marcus chats me up about it whenever he gets the chance, but my husband has always taken care of the family vehicles so I’ve never had a need of him. Don’t worry. We’re going to take care of your friend. And you have a safe trip home.”
“Thank you,” Riley said, a broad smile creasing her face. She was so relieved she nearly started crying right then and there. And that would have been a major social faux pas. The shifters were not emotional people, especially not in public. “It was great seeing you again!”
“Absolutely. Take care of yourself, Ms. Maxwell!”
As Riley drove away, elated, she couldn’t help but think of Walker. As much as he was going to love what she had done for him, Lily was right. He was going to be mad about her leaving the house. He had been gone a while at that point, and the hum in her engine made her feel even more guilty. She would have gone to visit him at the garage if she wasn’t so nervous about admitting she had broken the rules despite his very strict cautions against it.
She rounded the curve on Mountain Street, and a sudden billow of smoke began to pour from the engine.
“What the hell?” she muttered, slowing the car to a stop at the side of the road. She turned it off and got out, stumbling over the deep drop from her seat to the ground. The earth was on an incline here, right at the edge of a forested area.
“You’re never going to believe our luck, boys!”
Riley’s blood turned to ice at the sound of Luthor’s voice, and she whipped around just in time to have someone’s dirty hand clamped over her mouth and to catch sight of Luthor and two other men grinning at her from the tree line.
“Looks as if today is going to be a good day after all,” Luthor said, his eyes shining with malice. “Get her in the truck and let’s go tell the boss. He’s going to be pleased.”
Riley tried to scream and fight with all her might, but the man behind her was brutally strong. Nothing she did seemed to make a difference, and soon, she was being thrown in the back of a blue truck and bound to an anvil, with the biggest of the men sitting in front of her with a sickening grin on his face.
She should never have left the house. Walker had been right. And now, she was probably going to die and there was nothing anybody would be able to do about it.
12.
Walker crept quietly through the brush, sniffing out the size of the camp. He couldn’t get too close or the men there would detect him, but if he could just get an idea of where the alpha was, the rest of the men weren’t going to matter. Once you killed the alpha, the fight was over. Their side would have lost.
It took quite a bit of time, but finally, Walker picked up on Luthor’s scent. The old woman had told him her nephew was the right-hand man of the alpha of this dysfunctional pack, so wherever Luthor was, he imagined he would find the alpha as well.
He watched carefully before sneaking into the encampment and cautiously slipping inside the large tent that reeked of Luthor’s scent. There was nobody inside; and the place was bare except for a cot and a small shelf full of books. So Luthor could have been an intellectual if he had been given half a chance. That was interesting. Maybe it still wasn’t too late for him. Maybe…
And yet, when he thought about what had happened to Riley, Walker was furious. He didn’t want to give a man like this a second chance. He was a piece of shit who just happened to be able to walk and talk. He didn’t deserve mercy. Not when he could so easily harm an innocent woman and her child.
“This way!”
“No!”
Walker’s heart lurched at the sound of a voice, so familiar and cutting that he nearly revealed himself and lunged toward the voices. It was Riley. She was here, in the encampment, surrounded by dangerous men.
“Get the hell over here, James. This is probably going to tickle you!”
Walker crept out from the tent and retreated into the woods where he was able to watch what was happening without revealing his position. He was strong, but he wasn’t going to be able to win in a fight of ten against one. The odds were not in his favor. His best bet was to strategize. And as long as Riley was safe, he would have the time to do that. But if a single hair on her beautiful head was harmed, he was going to lose all of his self-control and the wolf would take over, probably killing all of them.
“James?”
Riley’s voice was hoarse, and the fear radiating from her body was unmistakable. Walker cringed, enrapt by the scene. Riley hands were tied behind her back, and a big shifter, who looked like a hybrid between the bears and the wolves, was standing behind her, his eyes mirthful as a tall, scrawny man began striding toward them.
“Well, look who’s here!” he shouted. “Where’s my kid, Riley?!”
“She’s not your kid,” Riley growled. “You wanted me to abort her. She will never be your child!”
“Well, don’t say a thing like that,” James said, glowering. “Unless you really want to hurt someone’s feelings. But I think you already know how dangerous it can be to hurt my feelings.”
Tears started to stream down Riley’s face, but she refused to look away from the man. She was terrified, but at the same time, she was tenacious. It was a true mark of her character, and Walker couldn’t have loved her more than he did in that instant. He didn’t even have time to think about the things he was feeling or process what it might mean. All he knew was he loved her, beyond the shadow of a doubt, pure and simple. And he had to do something to help her.
“I would rather die than tell you where my child is,” Riley said.
“It’s true,” Luthor said with a dismissive laugh. “When we found them at the motel room, she said the same thing. And she nearly did, too, if not for that son of a bitch, Walker.”
Riley’s face looked almost hopeful for a moment, and then quickly clouded over in anguish. She didn’t know he was there. She thought he was far away and nobody would be coming to her rescue. It probably felt like the loneliest feeling in the world to her then, and Walker nearly revealed himself just to relieve her of it. But that wouldn’t do either of them any good. He had to make sure he was ready with his plan before taking any action. He had to find the alpha.
“Well, she has never been much for common sense. Got this big old scholarship for school and wound up wasting all her time on me and having a baby instead. Isn’t that a riot?”
The men in the camp cackled and Walker felt the rage within him nearly boil over. This was not going to end well for any of them. Screw the alpha. The wolf was going to take over, and this whole fucked up situation was going to end, and end in his favor.
“Listen, honey, you might not have let it phase you when I was teaching you your place when we were dating, but you’re going to have to really pay attention this time. Because I’m not going to take it easy on you this time. I have nothing to lose. I will do whatever I need to do to get my hands on that little girl. I know where she lives, you know. All of us know everything. We’ve been working together to find you and get you home to me so we can be a family again.”
“That doesn’t make any sense,” Riley said. “If you have nothing to lose then why would you want to hurt me and keep me here at the same time? Why not just kill me?”
“Because you’re mine!” James barked. Riley flinched away, and the wolf couldn’t take another minute of his speech. Walker suddenly shifted into his wolf form, and became a bright white blur that soon had James by the throat. Everybody started shouting but Walker could hardly hear them. He was too furious at what had been going on; he had to make sure Riley was safe and that she wasn’t going to be subjected to another word out of this vile man’s mouth.
He was a human, which seemed, somehow, surprising, and soon, Walker dropped him to the ground lifeless. He knew Riley wasn’t going to like seeing this death, or any death, but it was far too late for that. They were going to fight, and death was on the horizon in this case. Just as it always was whenever something mattered. Like Riley.
“What the hell? How did he get here?” Luthor was shouting. “Get him!”
Luthor disappeared and the entire camp was now after him. The wolf and bear shifter hybrid came at him first, seeming to want to shift but simply unable. It was always a sad day when a shifter was born without the ability to shift, and this man was certainly in the category. It made sense that he was cast out and left in this pathetic commune full of miscreants, but there was no empathy left in Walker any longer. All he had was rage.
The man was abnormally strong and lifted Walker by the tail into the air. He yelped in pain but swung back and gnashed his teeth on the man’s face. He shouted out and dropped Walker on the ground, covering his bleeding eyes with his hands. Another quick strike and the man was also on the ground, struggling for a final breath that didn’t come.
Riley was on the ground trembling, hiding her eyes as shifter after shifter came at Walker, and one by one, he wiped them all out. It was easy to see why Luthor was the man in charge here, beneath the alpha. All of the pack here was weak. Nobody seemed to have the strength and willpower it took; most of them were omegas. It was pathetic, really, and soon, the wolf was making a conscious effort to maim, not kill, just because the act of killing an omega mercilessly and without inhibition was known to be bad karma.
When the ground was littered with shifter bodies, Walker’s hackles rose instantly and he turned just in time to see Luthor walking up to him, a sinister smile spread across his face. Behind him towered a huge beast-like man; a man who looked as if he belonged in one of his daughter’s picture books of wild fantasy tales rather than in the real world right in front of him. The smell was unmistakable. This was another bear and wolf hybrid shifter. But this one could shift.
“These two know Marcus,” Luthor said up to the man behind him. “They are valuable and I believe they could give us what we need.”
“The girl knows nothing of use to me,” the man’s deep voice growled. “The man is an inconvenience. He knows of Marcus, but he does not know enough to make this work. We can use them as bait, but little else. Destroy them both. I am tired of cleaning up these trivial little messes. Do you understand?”
“Of course, my Lord,” Luthor said, his eyes flashing with menace. “I will do as you wish.”
Walker growled as Luthor lunged forward, now in his menacing wolf form. Walker was caught off guard by the energetic pounce that landed him on the ground, but he wouldn’t allow it to throw him off. Luthor was going to kill Riley. He would never let that happen. He would die to protect her, and that was his final wish.
The fight was long and arduous, but Walker overpowered Luthor in both willpower and strength. They were close to evenly matched, and Walker was suffering from a few good blows. But it soon became apparent who the stronger man was, and Luthor’s eyes grew afraid.
Another flash of sympathy shocked Walker’s brain and he growled deeply, more at himself than at Luthor. He had the man’s throat in his teeth. With one small flick of the head, he would be able to end him.
But when he caught the malicious eye of the hybrid alpha, what he saw made him feel absolutely sick. The man was laughing, silently to himself, chuckling as he saw the man who had served him so loyally, and for so long, meet his match and, ultimately, view his doom. The worst part about it was that Luthor saw it too. His eyes were confused and hurt as he stared at the alpha’s reaction to his pain, wondering why the man wasn’t willing to step in and free him after so many years of loyal service.
When Walker caught Luthor’s eye again, suddenly the two of them seemed to have an immediate understanding. Their anger was now directed at the alpha, not at each other. They had been played for fools and the only person there who deserved to be destroyed was the man who thought he could pull all
the strings.
Without another second to lose, Walker got off of Luthor, who struggled to his feet and took a moment to regain his strength. The alpha’s eyes narrowed as he watched the display, and Riley seemed just as confused. But before the alpha could ask questions, he suddenly had two wolves on top of his huge, broad body. He shouted, attempting to shift but unable to under attack. Walker and Luthor worked together against the impossible strength of the hybrid man who flailed and nearly knocked them both off himself.
Walker had the perfect opportunity to deal the winning blow, but he caught Luthor’s eye. This battle was much more personal for him, and the man deserved a chance to avenge himself.
Walker backed away, turning his back on the two men as the alpha’s life was ended. He shifted quickly back into his human form, because he instinctively knew, somehow, that he was not going to have to fight with Luthor again. It was over.
He ran to Riley, who was trembling on the ground, still hiding her face. The ground around her was littered with bodies, and Walker lifted her up in his arms and carried her to the path leading out of the forest.
“It’s going to be okay now,” he whispered, smoothing the hair out of her face and kissing her forehead. “Let’s go home.”
13.
“Tara must have taken them out for the evening,” Riley said, feeling a little embarrassed and ashamed of herself for leaving the girls and getting herself into so much trouble. “I didn’t tell her to stay put, I’m so sorry...”
“No, that’s all right. They’re safe with Tara. She’s a great fighter. They’re probably safer at her house anyway. And besides, they are out of danger now. We’re free agents.”
“That’s amazing news,” Riley said, sighing.
Walker had carried her all the way across town and into the house, even up the stairs and into the bedroom. He was still naked from the transformation, and they were lounging on the bed, trying to collect themselves after the fight. The adrenaline was still pumping in her body, and she could tell Walker felt the same way.