by Sara Kimball
///
Alex began class with the same routine, only adding a few moves to her warm up now that she knew the women’s skill level. Then she began some basic maneuvers to get out of someone’s grasp without hurting them. In the middle of her demonstration she felt a shift in the room and looked up to see Elizabeth and Lincoln standing in the doorway.
Elizabeth had a serene smile on her face. “So sorry to interrupt, but I just wanted to pop in. Glad all of you could make it today for the second class.” A concerned expression crossed her face. “Although, Alex dear, it looks a trifle hard to demonstrate without a real attacker.” She looked up at Lincoln. “Lincoln, you’ll help her demonstrate correctly, won’t you?” Alex could tell that the words of concern were fake, and bet the rest of the class could as well. She wondered why Elizabeth was sending Lincoln into the class—what purposes it suited for her. Not to mention she was internally cursing the fact that they would be thrown so closely together—with many curious eyes watching them. Her lust for Lincoln had been made evident yesterday in front of all the men, and she didn’t want that to happen today as well in front of the women, so she resolved to be professional. At least, during her class. Afterwards, she might just jump on him.
Lincoln stood woodenly for a moment and then walked forward. Elizabeth beamed and took off. The rest of the room broke out in twitters of conversation until Alex cleared her throat loudly.
“Alright Lincoln. If you’ll please try to grab my arm.” She motioned him forwards, determined to act practical and unaffected.
///
Elizabeth walked down the hallway, smiling at Lincoln’s rather obedient behavior. He had woken early to give her a debrief of what he and Jax had found last night, and she had watched him walk impatiently around her office, which amused her to no end. When she suggested they walk and talk, she had let him take the lead, and he had led her right to the ballroom, finishing up at the doors. Luckily she was fast thinking on her feet, otherwise there would have been no reason for them to be there, watching Alex work.
Turning down the corridors, she walked outside and sat in her favorite spot of the garden, a smile on her face as she realized how similar his behavior was to his grandfather’s. Seeking her out, holding her. She let the memories wash over her like the sun, and realized that her cheeks hurt from smiling.
///
Moira sat in the driver’s seat of a shiny, brand new Range Rover, pulling out of the gates onto the road, still laughing. Alex sat next to her, shaking her head. “It wasn’t that funny.”
“Oh please. You haven’t been here long, but that incident will go down in history for eons. Lincoln Harcourt splayed out on the floor after getting tossed ass over teakettle, little you perched on his back like a raptor.” She chuckled some more. “Priceless. Especially because he’s rather an excellent fighter, both in human and wolf form.”
Alex smiled a little herself. It had been rather fun to play fight with Lincoln. After the first couple of times she had thumped him while demonstrating to the women, he had started to get more involved, really trying to grab at her rather than just pretending. He even went so far as to remove his suit jacket for better mobility, and she could tell he was enjoying himself from the smile on his face. Every time she managed to avoid, block, or deflect his attacks. At the end he had looked at her with appreciation. She knew he hadn’t been trying to hurt her, otherwise the outcome might have been different. So even if some of her pride was mislaid, it was still nice to show how skilled she was.
Alex had wrapped up the class around eleven, and everyone had trickled out with promises to come the next scheduled day, and bring friends. She had had approximately thirteen women attend the lesson today, and Alex was happy to see Jayce as one of them. Though it felt like the other woman was hiding, remaining in the back of the room the entire time.
Alex and Moira had showered and changed after cleaning up the ballroom, and then headed out to the cars to go to lunch. “I have an idea in mind. There’s a little bar, a lot of our kind go there. It’s busy at night, but during the day it’s a good spot for some lunch. They have something called a hog burger. Ground beef and pork patty, ham, bacon, cheese…it sounds really good right now.”
Alex’s mouth watered in anticipation and she nodded eagerly. The ride was uneventful, and they were seated quickly when they arrived at the bar, ordering without even looking at the menu. They were silent for a moment, and Alex realized since Moira had been kind enough to invite her, she should probably get to know the other woman a little more.
“So how did you end up working as Elizabeth’s assistant?”
Moira smiled. “I started out doing some research for Lincoln for a business venture he was thinking about investing in. Elizabeth got involved and asked me some questions one day. When I was done, she offered me a permanent position.”
Alex felt a little curl of jealousy at the thought of Moira and Lincoln, even though Moira hadn’t said anything inappropriate had happened. Moira smiled in understanding as Alex struggled with herself. “I see the look in your eyes so I’d rather just come out and clear the air, I know how my wolf and I struggle sometimes. I’m not interested in him. And to be honest, Lincoln has never been interested in a female before…not like us. He usually prefers,” she looked around her suspiciously, but no one was listening, “human women. And only for one night stands. At least according to gossip.”
Alex remembered Lincoln saying something similar to her the other night. But knowing he hadn’t been with Moira—who she could see herself being good friends with—or any other female wolf, made her feel instantly relived, and her wolf calmed. At least for a moment, until Alex realized what she was doing and chastised herself. She had promised herself to go with the flow. Feeling possessive of the man wasn’t that. Especially as you are still planning on leaving. She changed the subject quickly, “I did the run on the property the other night to the pond and it was gorgeous. Do you know anywhere else good to go?”
Moira picked up the change of topic with an easy smile that told Alex she understood not to talk about Lincoln, and chatted about her favorite runs around the estate.
///
An hour later, belly pleasantly stuffed, Alex and Moira headed back towards the house. There was a comfortable silence as Moira drove down the two lane road, winding through miles of hills and valleys.
A black panel van approached them from the opposite direction on a deserted stretch of roadway, a decal for an electrician on the side. Alex tilted her head to catch more sunshine on her face and saw a rabbit moving along the side of the road. She turned to Moira, intent on asking her if it was okay if they hunted the fuzzy little animals, but there was a loud crash and the car jolted to the side. Alex’s body slammed against her seatbelt, the airbags bursting open. There was silence for a minute as the roar in her ears muted everything around her, and then gradually the sound of millions of bits of broken glass tinkling across the roadway faded in. Alex gasped for breath, hearing the sound of car doors opening and booted feet running towards them.
Moira was cursing, but over her noise Alex heard another sound, something that made a tingle of fear run down her spine.
“Quiet.” She was speaking softly, moving her head gingerly and looking out the mirrors. The footsteps were approaching the driver’s side of the car.
“This car is so expensive. Elizabeth let me borrow it and I’ve gone and destroyed—”
Alex raised her arm and placed it over Moira’s mouth. “Shh. Be quiet.” She released her seatbelt and raised her knees, crouching on her seat facing Moira’s side of the car. Alex was thankful for the limo tint on the windows that prevented the men outside from seeing into the SUV.
Whispering urgently, Alex looked at Moira, “If you can, drive away. If you can’t, run. Okay?” She didn’t have a second to spare as the driver’s door was opened and a gun was raised towards the driver’s seat. Alex used her position, squatting in the passenger seat, to spring forward across the car and shove the g
unman away. The car rolled forward, protesting, as Moira stepped on the gas pedal. It didn’t go far before grinding to a halt with a sickening metal on metal grinding noise. Moira dashed out the driver’s door, running down the roadway with long strides.
When Alex collided with the gunman, she smelled that he was a wolf, and didn’t bother to hold back. Her ability to dominate fights with humans was because of her superior speed and strength, and she was able to out-maneuver Lincoln earlier because he hadn’t really been trying to hurt or detain her. But she had heard more than one booted set of feet running—and Alex knew against two or more wolves she was probably going to have to utilize every skill she had ever learned. Especially if they were smart enough to rush her all at once. Rolling across the ground, she leapt up quickly and struck with her full force and expertise at the first man. She managed a few hits before two more wolves joined into the fray. Suddenly, Moira was there, hitting the man who was holding the gun with what looked to be a signpost. It still had the clump of concrete on the end from where she had pulled it out of the ground.
The wolf Moira hit flew back ten feet, rolling across the asphalt before landing on his back and laying still. Alex managed to kick the gun far away so the others couldn’t grab hold of it. Then she got another swift hit to the other attacker’s midsection. Originally she had been aiming for his face to knock him out, but he dodged last minute, kicking out at her.
Alex darted to the side, twisting and rolling. She came up and met her attacker’s arm with an instinctive movement, and heard a crunch as she broke a bone. Moira had turned her attention from the man she had batted down the road, picking out a second target. She swung the sign again, but the remaining two men were on the lookout now, avoiding Moira’s swings with leaps back or to the side.
Alex felt a shift in the fight now that Moira was helping her, and the men seemed to feel it too, as they began cursing and then turned away, running. The uninjured man grabbed their downed companion, hauling him up in a fireman carry before continuing on. Alex saw them head towards a car that was tucked away in the brush. The one being carried came to, saw Moira and lifted his head slightly. “You bitch!”
Moira started to follow with a determined expression on her face, but Alex stopped her. “Don’t. As nifty as your post is, I think I hear another car.”
Moira nodded and moved back to the side of the road, slipping the post into the hole she had torn it out of. It leaned slightly, but remained standing. The three men were already driving away from the scene, their new car speeding down the road. Another car came around the corner and slowed instantly, the driver rolling down their window and asking if Alex and Moira needed any help.
They reassured the passerby they were okay, and waited until he was out of sight. Now that the immediate danger was passed, Moira took control. “Help me push these to the side of the road, then we’ll call Elizabeth and see what she wants us to do.”
Alex nodded, and moved behind the SUV. She could feel her body already healing the bruises and knew she wasn’t seriously injured.
Wondering how Mitch had found her took up a good chunk of her brain. Although, she realized the attack could have been directed at Moira or the Gold Pack…they had been trying to shoot her, not Alex. But inside her head, Alex heard a little voice whispering a sneaky suspicion this had been a set up to capture her.
I like Moira, and I feel horrible that I probably brought this trouble here. I don’t think I could handle it if something happened to her or another innocent person because I’ve put them in danger.
1896
Johnny sat outside in the darkness on the steps and waited until the noises stopped inside the house. Eventually the man was done, leaving on his horse. He was the last one, and Johnny snuck back in through the door before it could close.
His mother was sitting in the bed, a bottle in her hands and wheezing. She took another gulp, wheezed some more and made a face at the taste of the alcohol. When she saw him, her lips pulled back in a sneer. Johnny lowered his eyes and laid down in front of the fire, trying to get warm.
It wasn’t much longer before her slurred voice reached him from across the room. “You know. I almost had what I wanted. I got out of that garbage heap of a whorehouse your father ran, and I was able to pretend to be a normal woman, thanks to his money. But you had to go and ruin it. Just like you ruined your mother’s life, you ruined mine.”
She took another draw off the bottle, finishing it off. “I thought she hated you for no good reason. Now I know. You ruin lives.”
Johnny wrapped his arms around his body and curled up as she chucked the bottle across at him. It broke and scattered glass on the floor.
“Clean that up.”
He did as he was told.
Chapter 10
Twenty minutes later, Alex was sitting on the side of the road and watching as several men loaded the Range Rover onto the bed of a tow truck. Apparently one of the area Pack members worked as a tow driver. After Moira had called the house for assistance, the wolves who came to help had called him on their way to the crash. The van that the three wolves had been driving when they rammed into Alex and Moira was already on the flatbed of another tow truck, on its way to back to the house.
There were now seven people on the scene, not including Alex and Moira, but Alex’s eyes were drawn to Lincoln as he pulled up. He exited his vehicle quickly, taking in the damaged Range Rover, his eyes flashing back and forth from yellow to silver before he turned to where Alex and Moira were sitting on the side of the road. Alex had been worried about someone mishandling the gun, not to mention the police arriving and seeing it, so she had asked a wolf to give her a blanket from the back of their car. With it draped over her lap it was hard to tell that she had a now unloaded firearm under her bent knees.
Shivering, she was glad she had heard the sound of the gun slide being pulled back and a round chambered, otherwise she wouldn’t have known to go on the defensive the way she did. She had apologized to Moira while they were waiting for the others to arrive. When Moira had appeared confused, Alex had elaborated that she felt bad for putting her hand over Moira’s mouth and shushing her. Moira had looked at Alex like she was an idiot. “Sorry? For saving my life? Trust me, you don’t have anything to be sorry about.”
They had hugged, both in relief and for comfort, and Alex felt a closer bond with Moira because of their shared experience. Now, sitting on the side of the road and watching Lincoln stalk around the scene, Alex told the other woman quietly. “By the way, that was pretty bad ass. Tearing the road sign out of the ground and slapping that guy with it. You got in a great hit. Showed him who the bitch really was.”
Moira looked at Alex, laughter dancing in her eyes; Alex felt herself snort and couldn’t help it as she started to laugh loudly, the peals filling the air around her. A half second passed before Moira joined in, both of them shaking uncontrollably with their mirth.
///
Lincoln heard the laughter and moved his amber gaze from the wrecked SUV to the women holding each other. He stalked over to them, the others getting out of his way quickly, and stood over them until they slowed their laughter and finally stopped.
His wolf was pacing inside of him like a caged animal, demanding something bloody to sink his teeth into. The damage on the Range Rover looked bad, but at least most of it was concentrated on the rear half of the car. Which meant that the driver and passenger would have been less likely to be injured. But Lincoln could still feel the beast pulling at him, wanting to challenge an enemy, only there wasn’t one. Lincoln decided not to inspect his emotions too closely lest he find something that he didn’t like. Or might like but wasn’t prepared to handle.
Moira calmed, and sat up, letting Alex go. “Hi Lincoln. I’m sorry, I didn’t see you there.”
He looked between them, still standing over them menacingly. He had to menace someone. So it might as well be the damn woman that made him feel—the way I feel. No need to analyze it. “Would you tw
o care to explain what happened?”
Moira looked at Alex, and whatever passed between the two set off a whole new round of giggles. He imagined he probably had steam coming out of his ears. Moira managed to gulp in enough air to talk between giggles. “They hit us. Just drove into us.”
Alex calmed too, “And then I heard the gun cocking, and thought they might have caused the accident on purpose. I thought there were two of them, but really there were three.” She looked up at him. “I heard them running towards us.”
Moira’s face stilled as she seemed to be remembering. “She just launched at him out the door when he opened it. Kicked his ass.” Her face paled. “He had the gun raised. I think he would have shot me.”
Alex nodded. “I fought them, but then Moira got out and pulled a sign from the ground and bitch slapped one of them with it.” She swallowed. “They had a second car hidden up the road. Ran to it. Took their injured guy, and then took off.”
Lincoln felt his temper reach all new heights, and his wolf was clearly salivating at the thought of eating the soft underbellies of his enemies. I will make them suffer first. Then I will crush their ribs in my teeth and eat their beating hearts while they are still alive. How dare they touch my mate?
Lincoln stilled, the shock of his wolf’s thoughts bringing him back to himself. He looked at Alex and felt something shift in him. “Shit.”
Moira nodded emphatically. “Right? Totally shit.”
Alex looked up at him too. “Would you like their gun?” She pulled it out and handed it up to him, her other hand pulling shiny brass bullets out of her pocket.
Lincoln closed his eyes again, trying to take deep breaths as his wolf rushed back into kill mode. He opened them and put the gun in his waistband, making sure his suit jacket covered it. Pocketing the bullets, he pulled out his phone and dialed Jax.
“Lincoln. What’s up?”
“I need you to call the others and have the guards check the borders around grandmother’s house. I’ll meet you there. Do a roll call and make sure everyone is accounted for and safe. We have a problem.” He knew Jax would understand that Lincoln was talking about another attack.