by B M Griffin
When they approached the front of the building they didn’t slow down. Instead, they dropped their heads so their massive shoulders would take the majority of the impact, and they busted through the glass doors, and a few of them even broke through the boarded-up windows. There were people sleeping on blow-up mattresses, some laying on nothing more than thin blankets stretched out on the hard floor, and a few mulling around with their morning coffees. They had no idea what hit them. A small part of Jared, a very small part, felt bad for attacking them while they slept, but none of them would have blinked twice if the roles were reversed. The wolves that had broken into Megan’s home and nearly killed her had not cared that it was the middle of the night. Hell, they’d probably been counting on catching Megan while she was asleep.
Remembering Megan on the floor in her own living room bleeding out at the hands of Kevin’s cronies speared Jared forward. It wasn’t long before those sleeping woke up, and they all began to shift until the gym was filled with werewolves fighting for their lives. Blood was flying, and howls filled the air as Jared’s wolves took their enemy down. Jared tore through more wolves than he could count all the while looking for Kevin. The demon had to show his face soon. Kevin knew that power was in numbers, and Jared’s pack was cutting through Kevin’s numbers in record time.
Jared heard an echoing howl sound off behind him, like several wolves were crying out in pain all at once. Then, he heard their screams in his mind. “NO!” He cried out, and he turned on his heel. He had to get to them.
Jared ran, ripping through any wolf who dared to get in his way. His teeth were coated in the blood and fur of his enemies but he didn’t care. Kevin was standing near the entrance, the same one that Jared and his pack had burst through to attack, and a wicked smile was stretched across his hideous face. Jared slid to a stop when he saw what Kevin was gloating about. Four wolves laid at Kevin’s feet, each of them had their heads nearly severed from their bodies, all of their blood pouring from their bodies and making a pool of red surrounding Kevin.
Lou, Allen, Chris, and Joanna were dead. Killed at the hand of the demon who stood only a few feet away from Jared. He was their Alpha. It was his responsibility to keep them safe, and he had failed in the worst way possible.
With his head raised, he let out a long howl, then he charged straight ahead aiming for Kevin. Kevin stood with his knees apart and he was bent over slightly with his hands held out at his sides. He looked like he was a linebacker on the football field. Jared slammed into him with all the force he possessed, and clamped his jaw tight around Kevin’s throat. Despite his powerful bite, he could feel the rumble of the asshole’s laughter beneath him, and he was ripped away from his hold on Kevin’s throat in a flash. Kevin’s hand was in front of his face, but he wasn’t actually touching him. Instead, Jared was suspended mid-air just as he’d seen Kevin do to Adam and Shayla before he hauled Adam down to Hell. He clawed at the invisible bubble that held him up in the air, but no matter how hard he tried it didn’t make any difference.
“Where is your pretty little mate, Jared?” Kevin drawled out.
“Fuck you,” he growled.
Kevin laughed and Jared wanted to rip him apart even more than before, at least Shayla and Adam could do something to kill the S.O.B. and while Kevin’s focus was on him, Jared figured it was the best time to have Megan drop a surprise on the demon’s head.
“Megan,” Jared called out to her, “Now!”
Jared was blinded when blue and purple flames burst forth right in front of him. The flames were so bright he could not make out the shape of Adam and Shayla’s wolves at their core. Kevin dropped swung his arms around, and Jared dropped to the ground as the invisible force field that held him in place disappeared. Kevin was engulfed in flames, and he let out an ear-splitting screech that made Jared’s ears ring.
He saw someone running toward him, a wolf, but the flames that Shayla and Adam were producing were nearly blinding and he couldn’t tell who it was until it was too late. The wolf cried out in agony when Kevin managed to get partially free, and drove his clawed hands into the wolf’s side, spearing it like a damn kabob. Jared knew that very instant who the wolf was because her pain lanced through him, sharp and fast. First, he just felt her physical pain through their bond, but that was nothing in comparison to the sensation that rushed through his heart when he realized the wolf was Megan.
“Nooo!” he cried. She wasn’t supposed to be here. She promised to drop off Shayla and Adam and get out of harm’s way. She should be safe and far away from Kevin mother fuckin’ Hall!
Jared ran forward, but the heat coming from Shayla and Adam was unbearable, like getting too close to the sun, and he felt like his skin was melting off his bones. Kevin dropped Megan’s body to the ground as Shayla and Adam continued to torch him. Jared forced himself to push forward, the heat growing more intense with every step he took. He was going to need a burn unit to fix him up when everything was said and done, but he didn’t give a damn. All that mattered was getting to Megan as fast as he could. Besides, if he was burning up she had it even worse as close as she was.
He slowly drug himself over to her. She was limp on the ground, blood matting her fur around the four large holes ripped into her side. Her breathing was shallow, and Jared could hear her heartbeat slowing. He had to get her out of there fast. He shifted so that he could pick her up and carry her far from the fiery battle that was happening less than ten feet away from them. He expected her to be hot, burning up just like him from being too close to Shayla and Adam’s flames, but she was almost cold in his arms.
He took off as fast as he could, but he didn’t make it far before he felt something rip into his calf. He hit the ground like a bag of rocks, Megan’s body flipping out of his arms. She landed a few feet ahead of him, and he scrambled to get back to his feet and get to her, but only make it halfway up when he felt something tear through his other calf. This time he was snatched backward, fast and hard. His face planted into the hard ground beneath him busting his nose, and blood poured into his mouth, but his pain didn’t matter. He had to get to Megan. Had to get her home. Had to save her.
Jared tried to flip himself over. He had to get himself free before Kevin pulled him too close and he was melted down like a candle wick, and that was precisely what would happen if he touched those blue and purple flames. He jerked his body left and right using all of the strength he had left. He felt the muscle in his thigh being torn into when he yanked his leg free. Kevin screamed behind him, and he prayed that Shayla and Adam were finally breaking through whatever protection his demonic skin provided for him. Jared got to his feet but he quickly fell back to the ground, the pain in his legs unbearable, but he wouldn’t let something as stupid as pain stop him so he crawled. Megan’s heartbeat was so slow he could barely hear it when he made it back over to her, and she was surrounded by a pool of her own blood.
“You’re going to be okay,” he told her.
He knew that he wouldn’t be able to carry her out of there on his hands and feet, so he steeled himself for the pain, affixed his arms beneath Megan’s body, and forced himself upon his feet.
“You promised me you’d keep yourself safe,” he said, “so you have to be okay.”
Kelly saw him struggling to stay upright, ran over to him and shifted quickly before pulling Megan from his arms. “I’ve got her,” she said.
Jared rested his hands on his knees trying not to let the pain overpower him. “Thanks,” he said through his ragged breaths. “We’ve got to get her out of here. She needs a doctor.”
Kelly rested her head against Megan’s chest. “I can barely hear her heartbeat,” she said quietly.
Jared was already aware of Megan’s slowing heart, and didn’t need the reminder. “I know,” he pinched the bridge of his nose. “That’s why we have to hurry and get her help,” he snapped. “Don’t worry about me, just get her out of here.”
Kelly nodded. There were tears shining in her eyes and Ja
red felt like an ass for snapping at her when she was just trying to help. Joanna had been her best friend, and she’d just been murdered, yet Kelly was pushing aside her grief to help him … to help Megan. He’d have to make sure to thank her properly after all this shit was over.
With Megan held tightly against her body, Kelly took off running, heading straight for the busted down door to exit the building. Jared watched until he was no longer to see her in the distance and turned back toward Kevin. Shayla and Adam were still fighting him, but their flames were not as bright. They were tiring out.
“What’s going on over there?” Jared asked Shayla.
“He’s wearing down, but I don’t know if we can hold out long enough to kill him.”
“Let me help,” Jared said.
“If you touch us …” Shayla started, but Jared cut her off.
“When you see me coming,” he addresses both Shayla and Adam this time, “I want you both to back off. That asshole nearly killed my mate. His ass is mine!”
Something about his tone must have conveyed his determination because neither of them tried to argue. Shifting was going to be the hard part, well that and running through the pain with ripped muscles in his back legs, but he was going to kill Kevin no matter what it took out of him. Jared got down on his hands and knees, hoping the position my make the shift easier. He closed his eyes and moved all of his focus to his wolf. We can do this; he told his inner wolf. He thought about Megan, about the holes that Kevin had ripped through her body, all of the blood, and the way her heart had slowed to a snail’s pace before Kelly took her away. He used his anger and fear to push through the pain, and his wolf climbed to the surface with nothing but revenge in mind.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Megan
Megan had been planning to drop Shayla and Adam, then pop right out of there, well out of the way at least. Then she saw Jared, and he was so close that she decided to just run to him, to join him and their pack fighting Kevin’s pack, but that decision had proven to be a big mistake. When Kevin speared her with his claws the pain was unlike anything she had ever experienced. Worse than that was seeing Jared’s eyes when he saw it happen. His fear and pain was unbearable, and combined with the physical pain and rapid loss of blood Megan quickly lost consciousness.
She felt someone pick her up, and she was pretty sure they were running but she didn’t have the strength to figure out who had her, she just had to hope that Jared had gotten to her and not one of Kevin’s people. Megan was in and out, and her moments of awareness were becoming shorter as her grip on life was slipping away. She could feel her own heartbeat slowing to staggering crawl inside her chest, and she wasn’t so sure they were going to make it wherever her friend was trying to take her in such a hurry. The life was draining out of her, her body growing cold, and her will to live wasn’t going to keep her breathing much longer. When she felt her last shreds of life slipping away something pulled her out of her nosedive toward death’s door, but it wasn’t anything good.
She’d been wrong when she thought that Kevin’s claws spearing her was true pain, no, true pain was feeling your mate’s body being ripped apart, feeling his heart make its final beat. It was like someone was clawing her chest open and tearing piece after piece of her heart from her body, then carving away her very soul one inch at a time. The agony was so intense that it sent shock waves throughout Megan’s body, forcing her to shift and push her wolf back down inside. Her eyes shot open and she leaped out of the arms of the person who’d been carrying her, the person who’d sadly not been Jared. She landed on her feet before her eyes shot open. Kelly stood in front of Megan, with a tear-stained face and covered in blood, but it was the look of shock on her face that stood out the most.
“M … M … Megan?” Kelly struggled to get her name out. Yup, definitely in shock. She probably thought Megan was dead, not that Megan blamed her because she thought she was a goner, too.
“Yes, Kelly. You know it’s me, but I’ve gotta go. Jared needs me.”
“But, you’re …” Kelly started but Megan didn’t wait around to listen. Jared needed her. Now.
Megan traveled back to the school faster than she’d been able to travel yet. What she saw made her want to drop to her knees and let her fear and grief rule over her. There were bodies scattered, both Kevin’s pack and hers had more casualties than she’d ever thought possible. Shayla and Adam were both knocked out on the floor next to the brick laid wall. Megan hoped they were only out because they had worn themselves down using all of their power against Kevin.
When she looked toward the back of the school where Kevin had been before she lost consciousness, her worst nightmare was playing out right in front of her. Kevin had Jared by the throat. He was torturing him, making cut after cut into Jared’s flesh with those razor-sharp claws of his. The same ones he’d tried to kill her with.
Megan was on him in a flash. His eyes grew wide when he saw her, Megan was sure that he’d expected her to be dead by now. She wasn’t sure how she was standing either, but she didn’t have time to question how she was still alive. Her only focus was on Jared.
“Look at you,” Kevin said, running his eyes up and down her body. It made her feel dirty and she wanted to gauge his eyes out. “You should be dead by now, but it seems I’ve underestimated you. That glow you’re sporting is new. What have you been hiding from me, Megan?”
Megan held her arms out in front of her, turning them over and taking in the bright-white glow that was emanating from her body. Looking down at the gym floor she could tell that her whole body was lit up like the North Star, and the glow covered a massive circumference around the spot where she stood. Once she focused on herself, she realized there was an electric charge running through her body.
She focused on her hands, touching her fingers together and sparks jumped between her fingers. She held her hands apart and watched as the electricity jumped from hand to hand, like miniature bolts of lightning. She didn’t know how this had happened, had it been some hidden power from her change she hadn’t discovered yet, a result from nearly dying, or her mated bond giving her the power she needed to protect Jared? In the end, the why didn’t matter. What mattered was that she might just have the ability to get Jared away from the asshole demon in front of her, alive.
“Let Jared go,” she demanded. The electric current running through her grew more powerful as she focused on Kevin, and she felt the sparks of power move all along her skin and she knew Kevin could see it too.
Kevin looked at Jared, still caught up in his grasp, and smiled before he looked back at Megan. “My offer is still on the table, Megan. All you have to do is come with me and I’ll be glad to leave your mate and the rest of your pack alone to lick their wounds.”
Megan moved closer to Kevin, closing the gap between him, and narrowed her eyes at him. With her jaw clenched, she practically spat her words at him, “Never going to happen. You are going to let him go, and I am going to end your miserable existence. End of story.” She could smell his burnt flesh, and the damage Shayla and Adam had inflicted became clearer upon closer inspection. Kevin might be talking a tough game, but she could see that he was hurt and she was going to use that to her advantage.
Kevin started to laugh, his sharp teeth on full display, but his laughter was cut off when Megan flashed over to Jared, then quickly traveled with him back home to their bedroom. She left him on the bed, then popped herself back to the school, right back where she’d left Kevin. He was fuming.
“You know, Megan, your little games are really wearing on my patience.”
Megan did not honor his remark with a reply. She would not give him the pleasure of her attention. She wasn’t here to chat with him, or negotiate a damn thing. She was going to put an end to his reign of terror over her pack, her friends … her family.
Megan stretched her fingers, allowing the electric current flowing within her to pool in her fingertips. Kevin moved toward her, but she quickly pushed her hand
s out in his direction, and shot electricity into his chest like a lightning strike. Kevin fell backward, smoke rising from his scorched chest. Megan let him get back up on his feet, once again bringing all of the electric energy to her fingertips. He took a staggering step in her direction, and she threw her hands out in front of her, electrifying him again and again.
When he fell backward again, she did not allow him to get up again. She moved closer until she was standing over his rotting body. He truly was a disgusting creature. Why anyone would sell their soul to become the thing that laid on the ground at her feet was beyond her, no matter what powers came with the deal.
Megan bent down and dug her fingers into Kevin’s chest, forcing electricity directly into his body. He started to spasm beneath her hands, but still managed to bring his arms up and he wrapped his clawed hands around her wrists and tried to pull her hands away. Megan dug her fingers in deeper, letting her own claws grow so that she could keep her grip on him. She would not let him getaway. Out of her peripheral sight, she saw a blue and purple glow just before Shayla and Adam flanked Kevin. Each of them grabbed his arms and pulled them away from Megan’s wrists. The three of them forced all of their power into his body. Soon, Megan began to feel his skin breaking down beneath her hands. His body was lit up, his skin breaking open, electric current sparking between the breaks in his flesh.
Megan looked up toward Shayla and Adam. “I’ve got this,” she told them.
They both took a step back, but they did not let their flames dwindle and kept their eyes locked on the cracking demon. Megan leaned over further and got right in Kevin’s face. For the first time she saw fear reflected back in his black eyes, but she felt no remorse for him. He was evil incarnate and he had to die.
“This is for my friends and my mate, you bastard,” she told him. Then she released her grip on his chest and brought her hands up to his throat. With every ounce of power running through her veins she shot her electricity into the base of his neck. He threw his head back and screamed. The sound so shrill that it made Megan’s ears ring like she’d been standing too close to a bomb when it went off, but she refused to let up.