by Ryan Michele
“Humans. They’re here.” Just as she speaks, Xavier and Max burst through the sliding glass door, pulling it so hard I’m surprised it doesn’t break. Max comes directly to me and instantly, I feel calm despite the thick tension surrounding us. “Who is it?” Zara asks.
“A man named David Camp. We’ve had an eye on him ever since a website went up about the destruction of the wolves in our area. We haven’t approached him in any way. No clue why he’s here.” Xavier’s voice is angry and tight. And I must say a bit scary. I need to remember to always stay on that man’s good side. I’d hate to see the bad.
“You don’t think he found out about Kenly, do you?” Max asks the group as Thor, Gary, and several other wolves join us on the patio.
“I don’t see how he could have. The boys left an hour ago to scope out Kenly’s apartment, but haven’t checked in yet. Call them and make sure they’re okay.” Xavier turns to Zara. “Can you get a read?”
“Nothing. I haven’t met any of them before.” I can totally see how Zara’s gift is super freaking cool. Wow. And my guess is all the ones here know about her power. Good thing to know so I don’t screw that up.
“All right. Max, I need you with me and Thor. Zara, you come with us so you can pick up what they’re thinking. Gary, take Kenly to Max’s room and stand outside the door as a guard,” Xavier orders in that tone you know you have to obey, or else.
Max growls deep. “I should be the one protecting Kenly.” He goes toe-to-toe with Xavier and they are both terrifying. The anger rolls off of Max in waves and the tension radiates off Xavier. Bad time and all, but it’s damn hot.
“Max, I know. But this may be about her and if it is, I want you to hear everything they have to say. I want you to know everything firsthand.” Max seems to calm at Xavier’s words, but I can tell he still doesn’t like it at all.
I step up to Max and wrap my arms around his stomach, burying my head in his chest. His arms come around me and a slight bit of the tension fades. “I’ll be just fine. I’ll take a nap and wait for you to come back,” I mumble.
Max kisses the top of my head then rubs his nose and mouth against my cheek and temple, sending electric energy through my body. Holy crap. When I saw Xavier do that to Zara, I melted a little, but having Max do it to me? I’m surprised I’m still standing. Wow.
“All right, babe. I’ll be right back.” I give him one more squeeze then let him go, following Gary into the house. Something inside of me wants to rush back into his arms, but I don’t. Whatever is out there is shit and I’m not adding to it.
Max
SON OF A MOTHERFUCKING bitch. I don’t want to leave her, not when there is a threat. Not that humans are a threat, it’s just the uncertainty of why the fuck they are here. I should be with her but I know I can’t be. Xavier is right. If it is about Kenly, I need to hear that shit myself. Doesn’t mean I have to like it.
Walking up to the gates we recently replaced after the bombing from Zara’s father, we see a mob of people standing there. I’d guess maybe around thirty or so. A man with a megaphone stands in the center, looking at us through the slats. David Camp. I remember his picture from the website I looked up a while back.
Some of the humans flinch at the sight of us. With Xavier, Me, Thor, and some other enforcers, we are a team not to be messed with in the wolf world, and for humans that triples. Zara stands behind, no doubt looking at each one of the thirty-some-odd faces, memorizing them.
“Something we can help you with?” Xavier asks, quietly and politely too. That’s a shocker.
Camp holds up the megaphone. “We know you have Kenly Conner. We want you to release her at once.” The words pierce through my ears so damn loud it’s like knives poking inside them.
“First, put the megaphone down. We can hear you perfectly fine without it.” Camp surprisingly listens and puts it down. “Second, we hold no one here that hasn’t agreed to be here.”
“We do not believe that for one second. Kenly was spotted being chased and then bitten by a pack of wolves. Our source said that guy,” Camp points to me, “took her away. Her family wants her back immediately.”
How in the fuck did anyone see me? There was no one around during that time. I would have smelled them. And shit, I materialized her here, not wanting to take the chance of anyone seeing her, something’s not right. It’s my power. I just think of a place, close my eyes, and I’m able to materialize in that space. I used it when we fought Zara’s father. That’s how I got the jump on him when he held Zara and was about to kill her.
“I don’t know of your ‘source,’ Mr. Camp, but anyone on the property is free to come and go as they choose.” It’s not really a lie, but not really the truth either. Kenly did admit that she wanted to stay here at least until the transformation is over, and that’s the part that sears my chest. I won’t lose her.
“Is she here?” Camp asks.
“It’s a pretty big place,” Xavier responds, evading the question.
“Is she here?” Camp repeats louder.
“Like I already said, it’s a pretty big place. If that’s all you have come for then you can leave now,” Xavier says, walking backward, not taking his eyes off of Camp. We follow.
“We will not leave until you give us Kenly!” Camp announces and we all stop. Xavier is the one to walk forward, which is a fucking good thing because I’d rip the guy’s head off his body.
“This Ms. Conner that your source said was brought here, do you know this woman?” Xavier asks, his patience wearing very thin.
“I do not, but her parents asked me to come on their behalf.” What a fucking tool. I don’t believe him for a second.
“You may leave now and if I have to call the police for harassment, I will.” This time Xavier doesn’t stop walking and we follow, leaving the crowd out there. There is no way for them to get through and the gate watcher will keep tabs on all of them.
What I’d really like to do is change into wolf and run out there snapping my teeth at them all. But that would be exactly what they want. Shit, they’d probably put a video of it on the internet telling everyone what nuisances we are. It only takes one to bring on the many. We’ve lived harmoniously for a long time and I’m not about to see that stopped.
Entering the den, Xavier picks up a crystal vase on the side table and throws it into the fireplace, shattering it to dust. “Xavier,” Zara warns.
“Don’t. I need all the information on Kenly’s family. Who they are and what they’re about.” He looks to one of the enforcers who nods. “Next, everything, and I mean everything, on this Camp guy. We’ve dug, but I want it deeper. If he takes a shit in an hour, I want to know about it,” he tells another who rushes off. “Up the security.” Another wolf barrels off. “Fucking shit. I don’t need this guy up my ass. What about her apartment?” Xavier asks Thor, who the wolves reported back to.
“Clean. Guys went in, grabbed everything they thought she’d want while here and are on their way back with the van.” That’s good.
“Go check on Kenly. Find out about her family,” Xavier orders, and I don’t wait another second, darting to our room.
Kenly is curled up in a ball, the blankets wrapped around her, so fragile. I’m excited for her to change so I can really let loose with her, but fucking terrified at the same time. I don’t want to lose her. There is so much to show her and teach her. Fuck.
I kick off my boots, drop my pants, and climb into bed with her. I wrap my big form around her small one and hold tight. “How did it go?” Kenly mumbles.
“Not so good. Need to know all about your family, babe.” Her body tenses and she turns in my arms, now looking at me with the brightest eyes I’ve ever seen. Damn.
“Why?”
“Camp said he was sent here by your parents who are looking for you. Need to know everything about them.” A strand of her hair falls across her face and I brush it to the side. Her skin is so fucking soft. Blood rushes to my dick and I will him down. I need information first.
“And why’s that?”
“Because I walked in on my father fucking one. Then put two and two together…Mom knows. She doesn’t care as long as he doesn’t bring it into the house again. I’m sure Mom has something on the side too, whatever. They were pissed I wouldn’t go to med school and decided to get a degree in accounting. I even went to grad school just to make them happy. But I realized that nothing I ever did would make them happy. So, I stopped trying. After I graduated, I got my own place. They call every couple of months to make sure I’m alive, but that’s it.”
“What about holidays?” Surely she spends them with someone.
“My parents usually either work or go to Mexico for those weeks. But I always get packages in the mail. After all, money can buy happiness.” She spits the words out like they are toxic and they are. Who would tell their child that? “Of course, I don’t believe that shit. But as you can see, I haven’t had very good role models, which is why this whole mating-for-eternity thing is kind of freaking me out.”
“I can see that. You don’t have to worry. When was the last time your parents got ahold of you?” I lightly stroke her arm up and down, goosebumps forming under my touch.
“About three weeks ago. They were informing me that they were going to Cancun for a week.” She scrunches her nose. “Wait, they should be gone this week. How could they send Camp here when they aren’t in the country?”
“And a better question is, is who saw us.”
She gasps. “Someone saw?” Guess I left that part out.
“Supposedly, someone saw me take you away, but I think it’s a big pile of shit.” And that means we have an inside fucking rat who is feeding them information. “Gotta call Xavier really quick.” I pull my phone out and connect. I relay all the information to him and he says he’ll have Thor on it.
“Also,” I add into the phone, “I think we have a rat in house. We need to find out who it is. Can you have Zara work on that?”
“Got it,” Xavier says, before clicking the disconnect.
“Do you want me to call them?” she asks as I scrub my face with my hand. Everything lately has been shit piled on shit.
“Not yet. Let’s see what Xavier comes up with and then go from there. Did you get ahold of your grandmother?”
She sighs loudly, exasperated. “No, I’ve tried her four times and it goes to her answering machine. She’s probably out playing bingo or bowling or something. I left messages. She’ll call as soon as she gets them.”
“Keep trying, but until then...” I roll her under my body, keeping most of my weight on my arm, and kiss her deep, wet, and hard. I could kiss this woman all damn day. The way her lips move in sync with mine is a marvelous thing.
Kenly pulls away. “I’m hot.”
“I know you are, babe. Let me help you with that.” I begin to move down her body.
“No, Max, I’m hot. Like really, really hot in my skin.” Her voice trembles. She’s scared and so am I. It’s starting. Shit. I feel her forehead and sure enough, she is starting to burn.
I dial the phone. “Doctor, she’s burning up. Get the fuck up here now. It’s started.” I don’t let him answer. Instead, I call Lily and tell her to get here along with everyone else. We’ve designated Lily, Stella, Xavier, and Zara to be here when it happens.
“Babe?”
She starts tugging at her clothes. “Get em’ off,” She screams as if her clothes are on fire and she can’t get them off fast enough.
Fuck. I strip the bed and then strip her, turning on the ceiling fan just at the doctor bursts through the door followed by Lily, Stella, and Zara.
“She’s burning, doc,” I say, trying to pull Kenly into me, but she’s flopping around like she’s coming out of her skin.
He rushes over to Kenly’s side to check her. “The first stage is your blood accepting all of the wolves’ saliva. It causes it to boil in your veins, your heart, and your body. You will feel extremely hot, but we need to keep an eye on your heart. We need to make sure your insides don’t cook.”
“What? Cook my heart?” she moans, pulling away from me. “You’re too hot. Get away.” Sweat beads on her forehead and she reaches back, pulling her hair up off of her neck. “Lily, I need something for my hair.” Lily hands her a band and she puts her hair up in a mess on top of her head.
“Stella, try to ease her pain,” I practically beg the woman. She’s a body healer and I’m hoping to Heavens she can help.
“Hi, Kenly. I need your hands, please.” Kenly doesn’t seem to register her words. I move over and touch her shoulder and she screams out in pain. I instantly pull back.
“Kenly.”
She whips her head to me, eyes narrowed, extremely pissed off. “What?”
“Hold out your hands to the women. They want to help you get rid of the pain.” She breathes deeply, nodding once and turning to Stella. She holds out her hands and flinches when they touch her, but remains connected.
Stella closes her eyes and begins her process while Kenly continues to moan in agony. I want to comfort her, touch her. My wolf is whining too, but it will only make her pain worse. A glow radiates from the healer’s hands into Kenly’s. It quickly spreads through her body, lighting her up the brightest yellow possible. So bright it’s practically blinding. The light flickers and Kenly calls out in pain so sharp it’s agonizing to hear.
The yellow turns to a bright orange light that emanates from Kenly, pulsing in a round circle around her body. Suddenly, the light radiates so powerfully, so far out that it sends Stella flying across the room and smashing into the wall. She collapses to the ground as the light recedes. I move in front of Kenly and her eyes are wide in shock and horror.
“What did I just do?” she whispers. Lily rushes over and helps Stella up and out of the room.
“I’m not sure, but something pretty fucking big to send our healer flying across the damn room.” This shit happened with Zara and by her face she’s remembering it too. I turn to the doctor. “What the fuck is going on?”
“I...,” he stammers and his life is hanging by a thin thread. “I don’t know. The healer should have at least been able to take some of the pain away.” It has to have something to do with the witch magic in her blood.
“We need to get her into a cool bath. Now,” the doctor orders and I nod to Zara. Thank the Heavens there is an attached bathroom. Water runs, I stand and pick her up with ease.
“I told you, you are too hot. Put me down.” She’s practically growling from the pain.
“Hang in there.” The bath isn’t full enough, but I lower us both into the tub, placing Kenly in front of me. I splash the cool water on her stomach and chest as the tub continues to fill.
“That feels so good,” she murmurs, her head falling back and resting on my shoulder. I continue splashing until the water fills to just above her breasts. We lie here, Kenly not saying a word, but I can feel and hear her breathing.
“So hot,” she groans, “way too hot. It’s not right,” she moans. “This isn’t normal. I can’t do this.” I grab a washcloth, wet it, and glide it across her back, neck, and above her tits. “That’s nice.”
“How are you feeling, ma’am?” Doc asks, entering the bathroom.
“Hot. The water helps, but
still so hot.”
“That’s exactly what we expected. This will go on for some time and you will need to get out of the water for about an hour then you can get back in. If you stay in, the water may not have the effect of cooling.” Fucking shit. Seriously?
“She needs to stay in here. I feel her. She’s boiling,” I argue.
“Max, this could last for hours. We can’t take the chance that the one thing that helps gets overused.” He’s right, but it fucking sucks ass. “When she comes out, we can give her ice water and a fan.” Dammit.
“Fine. Get the fan and water ready.” I pull her out, setting her on her feet so I can dry her off with a towel. She starts to bounce. “I know, baby.” I lift her and place her back on the bed. Lily springs in with the water. “Drink.” Kenly does and she keeps drinking until it’s completely gone. The doctor turns the fan directly on her and I move away, not wanting to add to her body heat. Pain spreads in her voice as she whines and I’d do anything to help take it away from her. “Tell us how you’re feeling.”
“Hot!” She screeches so loud the glass on a nearby table rattles, no doubt pissed I even asked. Fuck.
“Doc, what can we do to help her?”
He rubs his face in frustration. “Any meds I give her will burn off in seconds at the temperature she’s running. Even the wolf strength. None of it will help.”
“Fuck,” I growl. Kenly is in front of the fan, naked, sweat glistening off of every curve, but my dick knows she’s in pain and stays down. Why can’t I help her?
This has gone on way too long. My woman is in total agony and I’m not able to do a damn thing. Xavier stepped in a while ago, but stands off to the side. No doubt Zara filled him in on what has happened.
“What’s happening to me?” Suddenly, Kenly is shivering, wrapping her arms around her body. “Iit-tt’s…s-so…cold.” She shudders, the sweat on her body turning to little droplets of ice. I pull her into my arms and wrap her up in my warmth.
“Lily, we need blankets and a warmer. Her skin is like ice and her lips are turning blue,” Doc orders, but Lily stands stock-still, in awe of the woman in my arms. She shakes her head and darts off to find what we need. “This is what is supposed to happen, Max. I know that Lily and Stella should’ve been able to comfort her in some capacity, but she’s resisting and I don’t know why.” The doctor leans forward so he’s eye level with me. “She has to go through the fire and now the ice. It shouldn’t be long before the change happens now. We have to see where this is going to take us.”