by Liza Street
From his place behind the brush, he kept watch over her trailer. The afternoon faded into evening, and then night fell over the Junkyard. His stomach growled with hunger, but he ignored it. Someone—Shaw, likely—had killed Kyle, and Carter would be damned if he let anyone get close to Lena now.
He listened intently, wondering if he would hear her speak, but all was quiet. Marcus sat outside the trailer, facing not the outside of the Junkyard, but the inside, the forested area where Carter hid.
Carter kept still, but he didn’t actually give a fuck if Marcus knew he was out here. It wasn’t like Carter was going to venture closer. He’d sit here forever and keep watch, and Marcus could do whatever Marcus was going to do.
An owl hooted far away, its haunting call faint.
Marcus picked up a twig and a pocketknife, then got to work whittling. His hands stayed busy, but Carter could tell Marcus was paying attention to everything around him.
Marcus’s hands froze, and he winced. Carter checked to see if Marcus was bleeding, thinking he must have cut himself. But no, his hands were clear. He pocketed the knife and twig, then walked straight toward Carter.
Moonlight streamed down, casting its faint glow through the trees.
Stepping from around the trunks, Carter held up his hands, palms up, to show he wasn’t interested in fighting.
Marcus scoffed. “I know you’re not here to pick a fight. I think you should go talk to her.”
“I—what? Why?”
“She’s crying.” Marcus winced again. “She doesn’t want me to hear her, but I can tell when her breathing changes.”
“Fuck.” Carter looked down, feeling useless all over again.
“So I’m gonna do a patrol around the trailer, and maybe you can go in and comfort her.”
“Why don’t you comfort her?”
Marcus stared hard at him. “Because I’m not her mate, asshole. You are.”
“But we—” Carter didn’t finish the sentence. Sure, let Marcus think Lena was Carter’s mate. Carter liked the idea, anyway. Why the boundary hadn’t let them through made no sense to him. Grant must have been wrong about it, that was all. Or the witch had been wrong when she’d talked to Grant. Or the magic had changed. Or any number of stupid-ass things could have gone wrong.
Carter didn’t need the boundary to legitimize his feelings for Lena. He loved her, that’s all it came down to. Whether or not some arbitrary magical witch wall believed it, he loved her.
He loved her. The thought made the heavy weight in his chest ease somewhat. This felt right. It felt good.
“I see you’re finally understanding,” Marcus said.
“Shut up.” But Carter couldn’t keep a grin from his face. Despite how truly terrible everything was, he loved Lena. Acknowledging it to himself was the first step. Now he had to tell her.
“I’m going to take a walk,” Marcus said with a knowing smirk.
“Yeah, you do that.”
As Carter made his way over to the trailer, he felt the grin leave his face. Lena was mourning her friend. Probably her sister, too, all over again. When Carter had come upon Kyle, lying on the forest floor like that, his first thought had been that the man on the ground was Garth. Lena was likely thinking of Sarah now, as well as Kyle.
He kept his footfalls soft so he could listen. Sure enough, he could hear soft, sobbing breaths coming from inside the trailer.
His heart twisted in his chest, wrung out with empathy. He walked around the trailer and stopped at the door. It was open, leaving just the screen door in place.
Taking a deep breath, he tapped gently on the door frame. “Lena?”
He heard her get up, the slide of blankets and her footsteps as she traveled from one end of the trailer to the door. She opened the screen and came outside.
Even in the dim light, he could see the redness around her eyes. Her hair was tangled and her shirt rumpled. She held her arms limply at her sides.
“I’m sorry,” she said, her voice breaking. She inhaled deeply and continued, “I’m sorry for pushing you away.”
“No, Lena, you don’t need to apologize.” Carter reached for her.
She didn’t pull away, and he wrapped his arms around her. This. This was what he’d been aching for. Holding her. Showing her love. Giving her someone to cry on, to hold onto when it felt like the feelings were strong enough to sweep her away. He wanted to be the boulder she could cling to.
Just as he was about to tell her that he hadn’t killed Kyle, Lena said, “I know you didn’t murder Kyle. You don’t even need to tell me. I know it wasn’t you.”
Had his feet left the ground? The acceptance and belief in her words made him feel like he was floating.
“Thank you,” he whispered, kissing the top of her head. “I didn’t do it. He and I spoke, but…Lena, it was good. We got everything off our chests, and when I left him, we were smiling. I shouldn’t have left his side. Hell, it could have been minutes before someone killed him.”
“Not someone,” Lena whispered.
“I know. Shaw.”
“What are we going to do?” Lena asked.
“I’m not sure.” The Junkyard was full of brawling, angry shifters, true—but they’d never had a murder. There was no alpha here, no one to take charge and punish shifters who committed crimes.
Carter was surprised something like this hadn’t happened yet, now that he thought of it. He supposed Mathers had come close when Caitlyn was in the Junkyard—Mathers had certainly tried. But Grant had protected Caitlyn and they’d gotten out before anyone could succeed in hurting her.
The Junkyard shifters would have to settle this in the same way they always did—with a fight. But in this fight, the loser might not survive.
“I’ll challenge him,” Carter said.
“What?”
“It’s the only way to keep you safe, without having to fight him every single night.”
“No, it’s not the only way,” she said. “We could…we could…”
“Kill him like he did to Kyle? Out in the middle of the woods, like criminals?”
She shook her head. “No, not when you put it like that.”
Staring intently into her blue eyes, he leaned down and kissed one corner of her mouth, then the other corner, and then her lips. “I’m not going to be like him. I’m not going to lower myself to his level.”
“I don’t know what to say,” she said. “I want to tell you not to do it, but I can’t, not when he could be coming after you next, or Marcus, or me, or any other decent person in this place. So what can I do?”
“You can kiss me.”
She did just that, cupping his cheeks in her hands and urging his head down to hers. He swept his tongue against her lips and she opened her mouth, her tongue meeting his. Heat gathered in his groin. He was hard for her already.
When she hooked a leg around his waist and pressed against him, Carter groaned. They pulled back slightly. Her pupils were dilated even as she focused on his face.
“Fuck away my heartache, Carter,” she whispered before sealing her lips to his once more.
Hell yes, that was something he could do. He walked her back to the trailer, fumbling with her jeans as he went, unfastening them and shoving them down. Then he worked his own button and zipper until he could shove his pants down, too. He’d been carrying a condom around in his pocket ever since Caitlyn had given them to him, and he unwrapped it and rolled it on now.
Feeling feverish with lust, he lifted Lena against the side of the trailer. She wrapped her legs around his waist, moaning into his mouth with another kiss.
Poised at her pussy, he inhaled, breathing in the moment. Then he spoke. “I love you, Lena.”
She opened her eyes and blinked at him, surprised. But then she smiled. “I feel the same. I didn’t know it at first, but it’s true—I love you, Carter.”
He bent his head to hers and sent his tongue into her mouth at the same time he thrust inside her with his cock. Bliss, b
eing buried in Lena.
“I’m gonna come fast,” she said, her voice throaty.
“Me too.” He stroked faster and harder within her, knowing she was close. “You feel so good. Fuck, Lena. Come on me. Come with me. Lena, Lena.”
“I need you. Oh—Carter—”
Her pussy tightened on him, and he gave in to the pleasure filling him, emptying within her.
They didn’t need to leave the Junkyard. Together, they were already free.
23
Lena didn’t think she’d ever come so hard or so fast in her life. Being with Carter was intoxicating and invigorating, and holy hell. He loved her. And she loved him.
Kyle was still gone. A life cut way too short, a friendship over nearly as soon as it had begun. Anger welled up in Lena’s chest until she thought she might explode.
“I just want to hit something,” she said.
Carter’s arms were still around her, his dick still inside her. “You can hit me.”
“It might be difficult to get the right leverage while I’m impaled on your cock,” she said dryly.
“Maybe,” he said, leaning forward and nuzzling her neck. “But the offer’s open if you need it.”
She gave him a light smack to the shoulder, but she didn’t feel any better.
“Let’s go to bed,” Carter said, pulling out of her and supporting her while she found her footing. He removed the condom and reached into the trailer to drop it in the waste basket.
“What about Marcus?” Lena asked.
“He’s patrolling. I’ll come back out in an hour and take a shift.”
Lena nodded. She wasn’t sure anyone should be out alone—not Marcus, not Carter. But the alternative was for all three of them to stay awake together forever, and that wasn’t practical.
She found her jeans on the ground and grabbed them. She pulled on her underwear but left off the jeans—a t-shirt and panties would be fine pajamas for now. Carter emanated heat and would keep her warmer than a blanket.
She’d just stepped into the trailer when she heard someone call, “Lena!”
It wasn’t Marcus’s voice. She sent a confused glance to Carter.
“It’s Grant,” he said, starting toward the boundary.
Lena put on her jeans and followed.
“I have a message from the Arrow Valley Pride.” Grant thrust a folded piece of paper at her.
“So fast?” It had only been yesterday she’d scrawled the message on a bit of notebook paper. She put out a hand to take the message as soon as it cleared the invisible wall.
“Yeah,” Grant said. “I thought it would be faster to take a photo of your message and email it to your contact. His info was in the shifter forum. And it turns out—well, you can read his response.”
“Thank you,” she said, already unfolding the paper to read it in the moonlight.
Lena, I’m sorry I didn’t warn you about Shaw’s arrival. I wasn’t sure how to do it. Shaw sent himself to the Junkyard. We all know now how obsessed he is with your bloodline. He’s not gonna stop. A couple of us tried to keep him from going and he nearly ripped us apart. Be on your guard. —Dillon
Sucking in a breath, Lena passed the note to Carter. His scowl deepened as he read the message.
“Fuck.” He handed it back to her.
“It’s just what I feared,” she said.
“We need to get Marcus back here,” Carter said. “And we need to wake up Jase, maybe Stetson, Markowicz…whoever else will help.”
“Is there anything I can do?” Grant asked.
Lena’s stomach turned and flipped with dread. Whatever happened next, blood would be spilled. Nodding at Grant, she said, “Yes. Have Caitlyn’s first-aid kit ready to go. I think we’re going to need it.”
“Got it.”
Grant’s green eyes showed steely determination and resolve. Lena admired him for that—for his willingness to help despite the barrier that kept him from joining in fully.
“Thank you,” she said to him, letting her sincerity show in her eyes, before she took Carter’s hand. That twisty feeling continued in her gut, and she couldn’t help but feel that something was going very, very wrong. “Let’s find Marcus. I’m worried.”
Leaving Grant behind, she and Carter hurried through the trees, following Marcus’s scent. Her heart pounded. Something was off. It took a moment for her brain to recognize what her nose was sensing—there was blood in the air.
No, not Marcus, too. She wouldn’t be able to handle it. So much senseless death. Shaw had to be stopped.
She began to run, Carter at her side. A wolf came into view, limping on three legs, his fur matted with blood. Crimson was spilled all along one leg and over his chest and throat.
Bloody, but alive. Lena rushed to his side. “Marcus. Can you shift? It’ll help you heal. Come on.”
Carter next to her, stripped out of his jeans and shifted into his bear. From the glowing light surrounding him, Lena got a better look at Marcus’s injuries.
The lower part of his foreleg was completely severed.
“Oh, Marcus,” she said.
He whined; his gray eyes filled with pain.
“Come on, Marcus. You have to shift to human. Then you can walk on two legs and move faster, and we’ll get you some first aid.”
Carter, now in his bear form, was alert and standing guard over them. Lena felt the heat emanating from him at her back.
“Please, Marcus.”
He closed his eyes and the light surrounded him as his body changed. When the light faded, he wasn’t standing, but kneeling and cradling his bleeding arm.
Shifters could heal from just about anything, but they couldn’t re-grow limbs. Losing his forearm wouldn’t kill him, though, if they could make sure he didn’t keep losing blood. Lena wrapped Carter’s jeans around the wound and guided Marcus to standing. Marcus growled, deep in his chest, but Lena knew it wasn’t about her. He was angry at whoever had hurt him, and he was angry at the pain.
“Shaw did this,” he said. “He came at me with a piece of metal.”
The wounds on Marcus’s chest and neck were already closing, but she could see a deep scrape on his neck—a near miss of the same blow that had killed Kyle.
“Didn’t matter that I was a wolf. He fought me anyway, like the metal was a sword.”
No wonder Marcus had been bested; he’d been at a disadvantage. As shifters, none of them were used to fighting with weapons. Fists or claws—that was how their battles were fought.
The three of them walked back to the trailer, Marcus cussing when the pain got to be too much, Lena supporting him and making sure the fabric was held tight to the wound, and Carter guarding them both. When they reached the trailer, Carter shifted.
“I’m going after him now,” he said.
Lena shook her head as she continued with Marcus to the boundary line where Grant was waiting with Caitlyn’s kit. “Wait until we can get more help.”
“No.” Carter’s blue eyes looked black in the shadows created by moonlight. “There’s no time. I wouldn’t be surprised if he tries to kill every damn shifter in this place just so he can get to you, Lena.”
She couldn’t disagree with Carter, but she couldn’t send him out there alone. “I’m coming with you—”
But he kissed her hard, then let her go. “I love you, Lena.”
Stunned, she watched as he shifted into his bear. Crap. Stubborn man. She still had to get Marcus bandaged and comfortable.
“Damn you, Carter,” she shouted as he emerged from the light as a bear once more. “If you go without me…”
But he was going without her.
She sighed. “I love you, you stubborn asshole.”
He ran off on four legs.
Grant was already passing supplies over the gravel line. “I just called Caitlyn, and she’ll be out here in a minute. She was sleeping.”
“We can handle it,” Lena said, “so she can sleep.”
But the door to the cabin op
ened and Caitlyn rushed outside and toward them. She came to a stop at the gravel line, bracing her hand on Grant’s shoulder.
“Tell me.”
Marcus gritted his teeth, then said, “My arm’s been severed.”
“Do you have the part that came off?”
Lena was impressed by the calm projected in Caitlyn’s voice, especially when Lena wanted to do nothing more than rage and possibly cry. Carter wasn’t here; she had to help him. But she also had to help Marcus.
“No, it’s in the belly of the guy who attacked me.”
“I don’t think we’d have the tools to reattach it, anyway,” Caitlyn murmured, “although who knows, with your fast healing. Still, it’s no matter now. Let’s stop the bleeding.”
Lena worked carefully, following Caitlyn’s directions in a haze. She was the nurse’s tool, wrapping and cleaning and holding Marcus together. The entire time, her heart thudded fast with panic that Carter was out there, possibly facing Shaw, and she wasn’t at his side.
After a few minutes, Marcus reached out with his uninjured arm and touched her shoulder.
“I got this,” Marcus said. “Go help your mate.”
Lena looked to Caitlyn for confirmation.
Caitlyn nodded. “He’s nearly done, and I’ll walk him through the next steps.”
Exhaling, Lena stood up and hugged Marcus from behind, keeping clear of his injured arm. He could handle this, but Carter would need her help.
Shaw would fight dirty, whereas Carter had honor.
Stripping off her clothes, she let her mountain lion form out. She was going to fight, and she and Carter would win.
She couldn’t leave the outcome of their battle to chance.
24
Rage fueled Carter’s speed as he raced through the Junkyard. There were bad guys here, and there had been bad guys from the beginning. Some of them, he thought, irredeemable. Some who maybe wanted to be here, like Carter, or who had eventually come to call the place home.
But none of them was truly evil until Shaw.
Maybe Mathers was, Carter wasn’t sure.