“Oh no ma’am.” Bobby toed the dirt. “The Alpha don’t hold with cheating. Marshall says I can’t touch that other Alpha no matter how much I want to put his eye out. For you,” he said shyly.
Elizabeth had to swallow hard before she could speak. “Marshall’s right,” she said, “I couldn’t love a hero who cheated.”
Bobby beamed. “I’ll see you later at the mating party.” He scampered off.
“I’ll save you a dance,” she called after him.
“That boy’s got the makings of a good second,” Maggie laughed behind her. “They’re six fighters down to our three and seven shy of the missing twenty. We got them on the run, girl. It’s time to get you ready to run. Moon’ll be up in no time.”
Max and Gwenna were at her feet changing her sandals for sneakers. Max patted the laced canvas shoe and grinned. “We’ll see you in the woods. Good luck and don’t stop no matter what.”
They were gone before she could answer. Maggie tugged on the skirt of her dress. “Once you’re in the woods, you tuck this up into your drawers so you can run free.”
Elizabeth had thought she was free forever from granny pants, but Maggie had insisted she wear a pair from the pack the old woman brought with the dress. Now she understood why. Elizabeth hugged her.
“I can’t thank you enough for all you’ve done.”
“You give our Alpha some babies for me to spoil. That’ll be thanks enough.” Maggie slapped her hard on the rump. “I’ll see you when it’s over and done. It’s time.”
A hush fell over the crowd. Except those of the combatants, all eyes, human and wolver, turned to her. The sky lightened slightly with the rising of the full moon.
“Go!” Maggie yelled and slapped her rump again. She had three minutes until the Chase was on.
Three minutes was a long time when you were waiting for the kettle to boil. It was nothing when you were running through the woods for your life. Elizabeth wasted precious seconds tucking up her skirts and getting her bearings in the dark. She heard the crowd roar.
Heart pounding, Elizabeth ran. She’d thought she could do this. She’d practiced until her legs felt like rubber and her feet throbbed. But that had been with Max somewhere near, ready to guide her if memory failed.
She saw the first ribbon, a dark outline on the tree trunk, and sprinted past it. She saw the second and the third. Her confidence grew.
“Five feet to the left.” The words pounded in her brain in time to her feet pounding on the forest floor. She heard movement to her left. Not yet! They couldn’t be here that soon! Against Max’s instructions to keep running and never look back, Elizabeth stole a glance to the side. The wolf coming toward her was neither Marshall nor Everest, but it had yellow eyes.
Ignoring the planned route, she swerved sharply to the right. She expected a burst of speed from the pursuing wolf, but he maintained his distance. She heard the crack of branches and a yelp of surprise or pain as the wolf hit the pit Junior and his friends had dug.
This time, she resisted the urge to look. If there was one, there were others. One down, twelve to go.
Two more markers, along with their traps, were passed before two more of Everest’s wolves showed up to her left. Like the first, they didn’t attempt to capture or delay her as Maggie thought they would. They seemed to run apace of her, moving slightly closer every few yards. She saw her marker ahead and swerved sharply to the right and headed downhill. They shifted course with her. She almost missed the rope tied snugly to the tree trunk and actually had to stop and lean back to pull the free end. She therefore saw the two wolves snared in the net that fell from above. She almost laughed aloud as they snarled and snapped at the heavy ropes and at each other. She returned to her uphill route. Ten to go.
She was halfway there. Marshall was to run above her on the mountain and intercept her on her climb. There was no sign of Creepy Eyes and there were other tricks waiting for him or his thugs. Max, Gwenna and Vickie would be up ahead, dressed in white, ready to confuse her pursuers. Breath coming hard, her smile was more of a grimace. Still, she was sure she would make her rendezvous with Marshall.
Her confidence in their plans died a quick death when the next wolf to reach her lunged, his jaws snapping shut inches from her legs. Panic added to the adrenalin already coursing through her veins. She shifted her direction downhill. Every time she tried to veer upwards, the wolf lunged, going so far as to tear at the back of her dress when she dared to push him.
The others may have been under orders not to harm her as they tried to drive her downward. This wolf was under no such compulsion. He might not kill her, but he would harm her if need be. She had no choice but to keep running, farther and farther away from her intended route.
She cried out to Marshall in her mind. They were driving her downward and he was looking for her above. Two more of Everest’s wolvers joined the chase. She ran where they forced her to and her panic grew with every step.
“Run, Miz Elizabeth, run!” The voice came from the branches above.
It was Bobby. Where had he come from? Oh God, don’t let them harm the boy. There was a sharp splat and a wolf fell screaming and thrashing to the ground. Bobby and his slingshot. How many were left? Ten, nine? She was too frightened to keep count. She ran, stumbled, ran on without thought or direction.
There was another yelp and a flash of light behind her. That and the sound of only one pursuing wolf told her that Bobby had struck another. Only this one was strong enough to change back to man in spite of the full moon.
“You little shit! You’re dead! Do you hear me? Dead!”
“Marshall!” she screamed in her mind. “Save Bobby!” She wouldn’t be able to live with the thought of the boy dying on her behalf. Why hadn’t she sent him to the house? “Don’t let him die, Marshall. Don’t let him die!”
There was nothing she could do to stop what was about to happen. She ran on and vowed to herself that if Everest won this Chase, she would keep her sanity long enough to find a way to kill him herself. One way or another, the boy would be avenged.
They crossed a footpath and then another and suddenly she realized where they were and where they were headed. Everest had watched his men fight his battles before at the Home Place. It would be familiar territory to him.
Chapter 40
There were eight of the missing wolvers left. Elizabeth knew this because seven were waiting in the yard around the Home Place when she and her shepherd arrived. It was a good analogy since she was walking as meekly as a lamb to the slaughter.
When she’d realized where they were headed, she’d altered her pace, slowing eventually to a walk. As long as she remained headed in the right direction, her shepherd seemed satisfied. They came out of the woods on the main trail about thirty feet away from the wild roses that marked the entrance to her yard.
She released her dress, now wrinkled and muddied and did what she could to straighten her hair. She was determined to meet her fate with as much dignity as she could. She wondered briefly where the Witnesses were. They’d watched the battle so carefully, but were nowhere in evidence now that she needed them. Perhaps the battle wasn’t over. The thought made her stomach churn and she shook it off. The Rabbit Creek Pack had to win. She could face whatever her future brought if she only knew they were safe.
“Li-i-zz-ie…”
She heard her name clearly in her mind.
“Marshall? Marshall! Save Bobby!” She heard a noise that sounded like a chuckle.
“Ha-a-ng on. Com-m-ing.”
“No, Marshall, no. Save Bobby!”
Just knowing Marshall was alive gave her the courage to walk through the space between the rose bushes. No matter the result, he would know that she faced her fate bravely and with pride.
Calvin Everest stood as a man in the center of the half circle of his wolves. His smile was cruel and his eyes glinted with hatred in the reflected light of the full moon. He pointed to the ground beside him.
“Co
me, Mate.” It wasn’t said as an invitation, but as a master commanding his dog.
With as much dignity as she could muster, Elizabeth walked slowly toward him. She ignored his outstretched hand and when she was close enough she behaved in a most unladylike way. The gesture would have shamed her mother, but it was the most effective way for Elizabeth to achieve her goal. She wanted Creepy Eyes to beat her senseless so she would be saved the humiliation of her witnessed rape. She spit and smiled as it dribbled down his cheek.
Everest drew his arm across his body to backhand her for her actions. His gesture acted like a signal.
The woods behind Everest’s wolvers erupted with a storm of howling wolves. She didn’t recognize the attacking wolves. She didn’t need to. That they were tackling Everest’s thugs meant they were on her side.
Startled, Creepy Eyes dropped his hand and started shouting orders. Elizabeth ducked and ran for the house. She flew up the stairs and through the door, headed straight for the mantle where the shotgun was kept. At that moment, she cared nothing for Pack Law. They could do whatever they chose to her. She would kill that bastard Everest before he laid a hand on her again.
The gun was gone! Where? Where! A fleeting image of it lying across Henry’s lap in the bed of her truck passed through her mind and then Creepy Eyes hands were on her, driving her to the floor. The full force of his Alpha’s touch surged through her and flooded her with lust and revulsion.
She fought back in spite of, or perhaps because of, the sickening hunger rising in her. Bile filled her throat. He couldn’t do this to her. She wouldn’t let him. She kicked and bit and scratched at his face and eyes.
Something she did had an effect, because his grip suddenly faltered and she scrambled away, clawing her way across the floor. His hand wrapped around her ankle to pull her back. She kicked out with her free foot and grabbed for something, anything to hang onto to prevent his pulling her beneath him.
What she grabbed offered her no support, but it did give her a weapon. It was her broom, left beside the fireplace by the crew who last repaired her house. She’d grabbed it near the head where the straw bristles sprouted. Elizabeth twisted back and jammed the sharp, pointed ends into his face with all the force she could find in the awkward angle.
His scream of pain was sweet music. She rammed him again and this time rolled enough that her knee connected with his gut, driving upward into his diaphragm. His roar of anger and pain was abruptly cut off as the gush of air left his lungs. Again she scrambled away, climbing the stone of the fireplace with one hand while using the broom’s support for the other.
“You bitch!”
Elizabeth felt him lunge and she turned and swung out with the broom, much as she had done with the poker the night Max was attacked. Everest grabbed the shaft and wrenched it from her grasp, tossing it across the room with one hand. With the other hand, he held her firmly by the throat. He smiled into her face and squeezed.
Stars sparkled before her eyes and her vision started to fade. A mighty force hit them from the side, toppling her to the ground and throwing Everest across the room. She gasped for breath and as her vision cleared, she had only a glimpse of a blood and mud covered wolf before the room burst with light.
Everest’s change had been almost instant and it sent Elizabeth scrambling for the corner. The two wolves leapt in unison, clashed together in midair and fell to the floor amidst snarls and flailing claws. They broke apart, circled and hurled themselves together again. Fangs clattered together and saliva spewed. The fell to the floor hard enough to make it shudder beneath them.
Elizabeth curled into her corner, drawing her knees up to her chest and holding them in place with the handle of the broom, her hands gripping it to either side of her knees. She had no idea where it came from, but she couldn’t let it go. The bloodied wolf had no chance against Everest, not after the battle he’d just waged in the field. She hadn’t hung around to watch, but she knew the attacking wolves were either evenly matched or outnumbered and Everest’s protectors were part of his elite guard. This bloodied wolf had suffered in the battle. He would be no match for Everest’s unused magic.
There were no sounds from outside. That battle was over. There would be no rescue from there. She looked for a route that would lead to an escape, but there wasn’t one. The fight took up the whole room. The table was thrown over on its side and slammed against the kitchen door. A chair tipped, fell and skidded to her feet with the wolves entangled on top. Blood and saliva spattered her face and chest. Everest’s jaws snapped inches from her face and the terror she’d held at bay for almost three days burst from her. Elizabeth shut her eyes and screamed and screamed and screamed.
Her screams ignited frenzy in the battling wolves and their screams joined with hers. Their snarling, snapping jaws tore chunks of fur and flesh from each other.
Elizabeth couldn’t stop, didn’t stop until her shrieks turned to rasping croaks. She curled her head into her shoulder, trying to shut out the sounds of their bloodbath. Her breath was ragged and her body convulsed with silent sobs.
She never knew how long it was before she realized the room around her was silent or how long she sat afraid to open her eyes. After a time, she cautiously peeked out through her lashes and found herself staring at the bloody wolf. His great body loomed over hers and his muzzle dripped with blood. Instinct made her raise the broom. The wolf sat and cocked his head at her.
“Li-i-zz-ie…”
Elizabeth blinked and the bright blue eyes that she knew so well blinked back. “Marshall? Oh, Marshall,” she croaked. She threw her arm about the wolf and sobbed into his ruff. “I thought you… I didn’t think you… Oh god, Marshall, tell me Bobby’s all right.” She pulled back to look into his face. Please don’t tell me you sacrificed a child for me.
Marshall’s wolf grinned.
“Well shit.” Charles stood in the doorway as naked as the day he was born. He was bleeding from several wounds, but grinning. “Don’t hit him, Elizabeth. He probably deserves it, but don’t do it. Not today.”
Elizabeth looked at the broom in her hand and lowered it to the floor. Marshall snarled at his brother.
Charles backed up, hands in the air. “Okay, okay. It’s just that I’m supposed to be a Witness. Ah, how about I tell them the deed is done. Uh, you want me to…” He waved his hand at something on the floor.
Marshall nodded and snarled again. It was then Elizabeth saw the body of the immense wolf. Its throat was bloodied and torn. She stared at the creature, her mind unable to process what she saw. Calvin Everest’s wolf lay dead on the floor. Elizabeth body shuddered with a tension releasing sigh and then she wept with relief.
Charles reached for the body and the room was filled with the blinding light of Marshall’s change. He gathered Elizabeth to his chest and held her face against him while his brother finished his task.
She heard Charles giving orders outside and then he stuck his head back in the door. “The deed will be done, won’t it?” He snickered and winked. “Baby brother always was a bit slow with the girls.”
Elizabeth felt Marshall stiffen and start to rise. She wrapped her arms around him and held him to her. “The deed will be done,” she whispered because she could do nothing else. “You have our word.”
Two seconds later, Charles was back at the door. “I’ll head back and take care of your pack.” He wiggled his fingers and the golden glow appeared. He grinned and waved the glowing hand. “No need for thanks. I know, I know, I’ve fought a skirmish, watched my metrosexual pack get the crap beat out of them - we won, by the way – and now I’m about to exhaust myself further, but that’s okay. It’s for a good cause.”
“Charlie.” Marshall took a deep breath and nodded to his brother. “Thanks, bro.”
Charles wasn’t smiling now. He nodded in return. “I wasn’t there for you before, Marsh. I hope I’ve made amends.”
Marshall waited until he was sure they were alone before he spoke. “We don’t need
to do this, Lizzie. It isn’t right. It isn’t what I wanted for you. We can wait until the next full moon. I want to give you the mating you deserve.”
She brought her hands to his face and used her thumbs to wipe his blood stained lips. “I deserve this, Marshall. I’ve earned the right to be called the Alpha’s Mate, your mate. All I ask is that we clean ourselves first. I don’t want Calvin Everest’s blood between us. He’s gone and I want his taint gone as well.”
Marshall picked her up and carried her to the bathroom where he set her down and turned on the water to warm. Elizabeth started to undress, but he stayed her hand.
“Let me,” he said. “I wanted to do this the first time I carried you to the shower. You’ll never know how much of my magic it took to keep the touch under control.” He bent on one knee and removed her sneakers, caressing her calves as he removed each one.
Elizabeth blushed when he raised her soiled dress and revealed the granny pants beneath. Marshall stroked his hand over the soft white cotton. “You were wearing something just like this, the first time I saw you. Don’t blush,” he laughed softly. “That little white rear dancing in the air while you looked for something in your car tortured my dreams for weeks.”
He lifted the dress over her head and slid it down her back. Along the way, he unhooked he white lace bra. It too, slid to the floor. His hands moved slowly around to her breasts. As he kneaded the soft flesh, his head fell back and he sighed with the pleasure of it.
Elizabeth sighed, too. “Not until we’ve showered. Please, love, I need this beginning to be fresh and clean and free.”
Marshall sighed again, turned the shower on and slid her cotton panties down her legs. She had barely stepped from them, when he picked her up and stepped into the tub. The warm water pooled pink around their feet. They stood, embraced, for several minutes, until the water ran clear.
Somewhere along the path of her flight, she’d lost her woodland crown, but bits of debris still littered her hair. Marshall was the soul of patience as he picked it out and released the tight braid.
The Alpha's Mate Page 29