Arctic Bound

by Tigris Eden

  But Oscar never got to touch it. He was slumped over in an awkward position just a few inches from the detonation device. Once he went down, another shot rang out. This time it was form Oscar’s side. The bullet struck true, hitting Victor square in the shoulder taking him to his knees. He howled in pain as the silver travelled into his blood stream. Shots were flying from both sides now and Blue and his men in their Werewolf form, rushed their enemy without guns, severing limbs from body parts.

  Snarls and hisses made up the noise of the forest as man and beast met in the middle. High above the mountain on a ledge, Nerina and Teak were taking out as many men as they could. Others placed in different areas did the same. Colin came to his aid, digging the bullet from his shoulder. It was a hollow tip capped with silver. It allowed the poison to spread into his blood stream. It hurt like a motherfucker. The pain was increasing by the minute. Victor got to his feet zeroing in on Oscar. He couldn’t change his form because he was too injured, but he still had most of his strength and he could still take the bastard down.

  Oscar was clearing a path through his fellow pack members. He took two down, then three at time with his guns. He bypassed the armor all together, taking nothing but headshots, instantly killing Pack members.

  “Oscar!” Victor roared, running straight for him.

  Oscar turned, his eyes widening a moment before smiling. Victor made his way over to him in a matter of seconds before both men were facing off.

  “You sure you want to do this? It would be a shame to end the next Alpha of Pack Canidae.”

  “I’m going to rip your head off with my bare hands and feast on your heart.

  Victor didn’t wait for more posturing, he attacked. Leaping mid-air to land on Oscar’s chest. They both landed on the cold, hard ground with a resounding crack. Oscar’s back. But that didn’t stop the other man for reaching for his gun. Victor shook the gun from his arm, clamping down hard enough to crack the bones in his wrists. Oscars howled in pain as he tried to free himself from beneath Victor’s weight.

  “You sound as if you were meant to be a wolf, and not a Hunter.”

  “Speak for yourself, dog.”

  Victor’s claws lengthen and he used them to slice through Oscar’s chest until he met bone. The other man screamed and howled as his skin tried to regenerate, but Victor was relentless. He was determined to get to the heart of the man. But Oscar was stronger than he’d given the other man credit for. Oscar somehow reached for a dagger, a silver dagger, and embedded it in the side of Victor’s neck taking him down. His eyes were closing of their own accord, and his last thought before he blacked out, was that he never got to tell Nerina how much he loved her.

  

  Nerina took out as many hunters as she could. But it really wasn’t doing much of anything. The ones that were human went down like a rock. The other’s that were truly Hunters, well it only slowed their progress.

  “This isn’t working Teak. We need to get down there.”

  “No way, no fucking way, Nerina. Victor wants you up here, out of the way.”

  “Well, Victor can suck it. We’re going down there. You coming with me or what?”

  Teak looked at her, and then down at the battle below. She could see it in his eyes, he wanted in on the fight. He wanted hand-to-hand combat in a bad way.

  “Can you change?”

  “Of course I can. Just watch your back down there. If something happens to you, my uncle will skin me alive.”

  “I will.”

  She was a Hunter. The only way she could die was by beheading, and the removal of her heart. She was super strong with fast reflexes and upgraded senses. Nerina didn’t even think, she stood, leaping off the cliff. Her body free falling, as her knee almost clipped a jagged edge of the mountain. She was on the ground before she knew it. Landing on her feet like a well-balanced cat. Pain free.

  Kick ass!

  She only had a moment to revel in her cliff dive, before a Hunter had set it sites on her. This was something she could handle. This was something she could sink her fangs into, literally. And that’s just what she did. She fought using her daggers, and her guns, and found that if she shot a Hunter in the eyes directly it would take them down long enough for her to break their necks. Teak in his Werewolf form was close behind and they fought as a team. She would take them down, and he would relieve them of their heads. Blood was everywhere. People on both sides were taking significant hits, and although Nerina knew Victor could hold his own, she still searched for him on the field. When she didn’t spot him right away, she grew concerned. It distracted her long enough for a Hunter to tag her with a bullet in the leg. It stung, but that was it. She wasn’t a werewolf, so the silver had no effect on her. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t losing blood, which in turn made her cold, and it made her hungry.

  Nerina ripped a piece of cloth from the bottom of her thermal and tied her leg off. A large body in the snow that looked like Victor caught her attention. Limping, she made her way over to where Victor lay almost motionless. His eyes were clothes and his breathing was labored.

  “Teak! Teak! Get over here.”

  Teak came up behind her, and whined as he stared down at his uncle.

  “He’s going to be okay Teak, you just need to get him inside, get him help. Okay.”

  Nerina used all her strength to lift Victor up and onto the back of Teak. When he was on, she used his belt to tie him to the back of Teak’s wolf. The wolf stood still to allow her to get Victor secure.

  “Get him out.”

  Teak took off at a quick run, dodging trees and people as he made his way inside the den.

  “All you had to do is come with us.” She heard the voice of her Uncle Oscar. He was sitting against a tree. His chest was shredded to the bone. She could see the skin trying to mend itself back together.

  “Yeah, well all you had to do was leave me the fuck alone. Why come here now.”

  “Nerina you know why we came. You weren’t supposed to survive, but you did. Your father wants you at his side. Out of all his children you’ve proven to be the strongest. Go and get us the Bow, and come back.”

  “That would be a big resounding hell no.”

  “You’re making a mistake.”

  She took a step closer crouching down so that she was eye level with him.

  “Nah, it’s you who made the mistake in coming here. You should have just left well enough alone.”

  Nerina’s hand reached into the cavity of his chest grabbing hold of Oscar’s heart. She didn’t pull it out. She wanted Oscar to know what she was capable of. That although blood was thicker than water, betrayal was the one thing she would never forgive. Her uncle seized when she grabbed the beating organ. It was cold to the touch. Whether it was from her or him she didn’t care.

  “You feel that,” she squeezed his organ. Oscar coughed spitting out blood. “I hold your heart in my hand. Go back and tell my father. He can’t have me and he can’t have the Silver Bow of Artemis. I don’t care what Mistress Red wants.”

  Nerina squeezed tighter, and her uncle’s head slumped forward in protest.

  “Your father will never give up the Bow.”

  “Well then, convince him Oscar. Convince him, or all of you will die.”

  Nerina stood, turning to walk away from her uncle. There were bodies everywhere and she couldn’t tell who was winning, but she knew a retreat when she saw one. The Hunters were backing off. When she turned back to look at her uncle, he was gone.

  The wolves that remained standing let out a victorious roar. Blue was the first to approach her, he was still in his half-man, half-beast form.

  “You did good little caterpillar.”

  “I need to go see to Victor.”

  “The healers are with him.”

  Nerina nodded her head and followed him into the mouth of the cave.

  

  “Where is she? I need to see her. Now!” Victor roared, coughing up blood as he tr
ied to get out of bed. Something was holding him down. He wasn’t going to die, he knew that, but he still needed to see her face.

  “I’m here, you big ass baby.”

  “Neri,” he whispered, watching her with blurry eyes as she made her way over to him. Blood was in her hair again, and on her clothes. She was bleeding and he could tell by her color that she needed to feed.

  “Why has no one seen to her?” He growled.

  “She refused to be tended to until she saw you.”

  He turned extending his hand to her. She immediately went over to him, dropping to her knees by his side with a wince.

  “You okay Neri?”

  “Yup, I’m good. Nothing a bit of healing won’t tend to. It’s you that needs to get plenty of rest.”

  “I will, after I talk to you.”

  “We’re talking now.”

  “Well I have something to say.”

  “So say it then.”

  “I...” he cleared his throat. The words burning in his chest, making him wince.

  “You?”

  “I love you.”

  Her eyes softened and her lips turned up into a breathtaking smile that stole what little breath he had left.

  “Aah, well, the feeling is mutual Vic. Even though I tried not to. I do, I love you. So hurry up and get better so I can smother you with it.”

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  She knelt forward placing a kiss on his forehead before standing. But not before Victor caught the scent of his nephew.

  “I’m going to kill that little runt!” Victor roared.

  “Oh calm down. He simply laid a kiss on me to prove he was a man. Teak and I have an understanding. He wasn’t poaching.”

  “He knows the rules.”

  “We’ll forgo them for his sake. Don’t need you crushing his pride. He was amazing out there, and he helped me save your ass.”

  “Still—,” Victor tried to sit up but was pushed back down.

  “Stay still before you hurt yourself. I’m going to wash this blood off of me and then I’m going to see about getting me some blood. Your sisters offered to feed me. I had a feeling if one of the males offered, that wouldn’t go over so well.”

  She was right about that.

  “Alright, go get cleaned up and eat something, then come back to me.”

  “Always.”

  Victor watched her go, and though he hated that she had to feed from someone else, he was happy she was safe. One of the healers explained that most of the Pack were outside burning bodies. There were no winners of today’s fight. Which could only mean there was more fighting to come. They’d need more help. A lot more help. Both side had taken huge losses, and although it pained Victor to know he’d lost fellow Pack members. He knew that Roman would need just as much time, if not longer to come up with another plan of attack.

  For now they would fortify the den, make it stronger. Make it safer. The fight wasn’t over. Now that they held the Silver Bow of Artemis, the game was in their favor. Blue was standing in the doorway when Victor looked up. His friend scarred from battle with pink wounds that were slowly healing.

  “She’s a great catch my friend. Don’t piss her off, because I swear if she leaves you, I’m totally ignoring the bro code and taking her for myself.”

  “Fuck you. Stay away from her.”

  Blue laughed.

  “Get better my friend. Our fight has just begun.”

  “No shit. We need to be ready for round three.”

  “We will be.”

  Thank you for reading Victor and Nerina’s Story! The best way to help get the word out there is with Honest Reviews! You guys are my biggest promoters! Thank you!

  Coming Soon…

  October 2015

  The Reaping

  An Arctic Wolves

  Free Read!

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Tigris Eden, described by Ty Langston, is beloved mother, friend, cook, accountant, author, wife and weaver of stories long and short. Family, writing, music, and movies are her life. She aspires to be the best at what she does, inside and outside her circle of crazy. You can find her stalking her author friends on Facebook and twitter. You can also find her on her website at www.authortigriseden.com

  Author Tigris Eden enjoys the simple things in life.... Reading, Writing, and Music, but most of all she has plan for WWD.... World Wide Domination! But her minor goal is to be waited on hand and foot by LL.

  She lives in Texas with her family and looks forward to entertaining her readers with her next installment of The Shadow Unit Bonded In Shadows available now.