by Lynn Howard
Carter stepped around her and the bears and stood ahead of the three of them. She could see him tense as he watched in the direction where Noah and Hollyn had come from deep in the woods. Had someone been out there with them the whole time? How freaking creepy to think Melinda had been out there watching Noah and Hollyn make out when they’d had no idea she was there.
“What is it?” Hollyn whispered, terrified to raise her voice any louder.
“Shifters,” Carter said, his voice a deep, growly sound, similar to how Noah sounded when he was fighting his animal.
Oh shit. Shifters. But she’d felt Melinda. Oh no! Did that mean they’d caught her? Were they just passing nearby, or were they coming to collect her, too? They’d make a killing from two female Fae.
Hollyn’s hand tightened in Bear’s fur and she stepped closer until she was wedged against his side. He glanced back at her and she watched his eyes bleed from his beast’s amber to Noah’s brown then back. They were both telling her they had her back, that they’d protect her, that they’d never let anything happen to her.
The pins and needles, staticky feeling grew until Hollyn wanted to rip her skin from her body. If the traffickers had caught Melinda, they had to help her. They couldn’t allow them to see her off the way they were going to do to her. The way they’d done to thousands of other women.
“We can’t let them leave with her,” Hollyn said softly. Her throat was so tight she was surprised she’d gotten that much out.
Carter nodded once but didn’t turn to face her. It was like he didn’t want to turn his back on the woods, or whoever was in there.
Two more growls erupted from Luke and Noah’s bears. Her hand tickled in Bear’s fur from the vibration working through him. Noah turned just his body so that he blocked her from the woods, pinning her between the house and his big body. She had room to move, room to run inside if she needed, but there was no way anyone could sneak up behind her.
Her fight or flight instinct kicked in and she looked toward the trucks parked in the gravel. She could just jump in one of them and take off, go into hiding, blend in with humans in another town. But she’d have to leave Noah to do that. She was pretty sure she’d physically wither without her soul’s other half.
She released her hold on Bear’s fur and braced herself, putting her feet hip width apart. She wasn’t sure how many were coming her way or what her warrior stance would even do to help her, but no way would she go down without a fight. She’d rather be dead than become someone’s play toy, their sexual slave. Hell no.
Melinda appeared a few yards within the forest, her brows pulled together. Several men followed her. Three. Five. Eight. Shit. There were eleven men following Melinda. And she sure as shit didn’t look like she was being restrained.
The wind picked up and whipped Hollyn’s hair around her face. She tucked it behind her ears and glared at Melinda. She wasn’t a prisoner; she was with them, showing them where Hollyn was. She might not have gotten a good look at the fuckers who’d poked her with that syringe, but her magic sure as hell recognized them.
“What the hell are you doing?” Hollyn asked, unable to even pretend to hide her rage at the fact Melinda was aiding a group of Shifters in kidnapping someone of her own kind. She knew damn well how endangered their species was. How could she be more motivated by money than her own people’s survival?
“Just making a living,” Melinda said with a smug smirk and a shrug. “You could still come on your own, you know. You could make this easier. Hell, you could even help me seek out more like you. Or, I could just make a lot of money. A pretty girl like you? With those boobs?” She nodded. “Oh yeah. The men would fork over the money in a heartbeat.”
“You’re trespassing on Blackwater territory,” Carter said, trying his damnedest to avoid a fight.
Hollyn’s phone was in he back pocket. She could pull it out and shoot a quick text or call Big River, ask for their help. No. She couldn’t do that. She didn’t want them involved.
As she thought about who else she could ask for a help, the sound of a vehicle bumping up the road met her ears a second after all the Shifters looked in that direction.
She recognized the car. She would’ve sagged with relief, but there were only two in that old Camaro. Brax parked the car and he and Daxon climbed, never even sparing her a glance. They kept their focus on the eleven assholes sneering and snarling at them. They must’ve recognized the panthers as the guys who’d gotten her away to begin with.
Brax pulled his shirt over his head as did Daxon. The tattoos across their chest, arms, and hands were stark, just black artwork across their tanned skin. Brax reached into his pocket and pulled out an elastic and wrapped it around his hair, keeping his chest length hair out of his face. If they Shifted to fight, he wouldn’t have to worry; his beast had super short, coarse hair. Hollyn had felt it when she was learning to trust them.
Melinda turned just her eyes to the new arrivals and snorted softly with a roll of her eyes. “You really think they’ll be of any help.” She lifted her hands, palms up to indicate the eleven men behind and beside her. “Four against twelve.”
“Six,” Shawnee said as she and Colton stepped out onto the porch. “Six against twelve, bitch.” Ooooh. Hollyn had never seen Shawnee angry before. But after learning what she’d went through with her family Pride, her anger was understandable. She was tired of people treating females as if they were livestock.
“You really think that ups your odds, little girl?”
Melinda was around Hollyn’s height, maybe an inch shorter. Shawnee was only a couple of inches smaller. Maybe she was referring to Shawnee’s young age. Either way, the condescending tone pissed Hollyn off. Her blood grew warmer as her ire spiked. Noah, or Bear, looked over his shoulder at her. He could feel it, he could feel her fire licking at her veins to punish something, or in this case, someone.
Turning his attention back to Melinda and her merry band of assholes, he showed his teeth and snarled.
“You can come willingly, or you can watch all your little friends die. Painfully, by the way,” Melinda said.
Shawnee turned to Hollyn while Colton stepped ahead of her, his eyes on the threat. Her head shook side to side the slightest bit, but Hollyn had caught it. She was telling her to stay, not to give up, not to leave. She was telling Hollyn they were all prepared to fight for her. She was telling Hollyn they were all prepared to die for her. She was telling Hollyn they were a family and families stuck together until the end.
Melinda continued to smirk at Hollyn, but there was no way Hollyn would leave with this woman. For one thing, she was pretty sure Melinda was full of shit and she’d sell Hollyn off first chance she got. And for another…well, Melinda was full of shit. Even if Hollyn handed herself over, the Shifters who growled and snarled in their human forms would still attack the people she loved most.
“No deal,” Hollyn said and smirked back at Melinda.
They might lose this fight. But Hollyn would die with her husband and her family.
The wind picked up and Hollyn’s hair was in her face. She lost track of Melinda for a split second, but the bears and panthers didn’t. As she pushed the hair away, pops echoed through the space and snarls assaulted her ears. Her entire Clan was now Shifted along with the panthers. They made a living wall in front of Hollyn, blocking Melinda and the now Shifted wolves from getting to her.
And then something clicked into place: the pins and needles sensation, the hair standing on end, the gusts of wind. Melinda was an Elemental Fairy, as well. Only she controlled energy. Shit. Hollyn could try to use her fire as a defense, but would the gusts of wind blow her flames out before they were of any use to her?
“Well? Get her so we can go,’ Melinda yelled above all the noise coming from the huge beasts all around her.
Shit. Maybe she’d get lucky and Shawnee had texted Big River. Even if just the guys came to help, that would even out the odds and they’d have a fighting chance.
&n
bsp; Even as she thought it, she hoped Shawnee didn’t. It was bad enough her Clan was ready to fight by her side and possibly lose everything. She didn’t need every single person she loved going down with them.
The wolves slowly advanced, snapping their teeth as if that would intimidate her people. But the bears and panthers, all but Noah, countered their move and kept them from coming too close. Noah stayed right there, his body almost pressed against hers. It felt like he was trying to back her up, back her closer to the house. But really, even if she hid inside, the wolves and Melinda could still get to her. It wasn’t nothing more than wood and glass.
Melinda’s eyes landed on Hollyn and a flash of evil glinted in her eye. For some reason, that look rubbed Hollyn in all the wrong ways. Fuck this bitch.
Raising her hand, Hollyn called forth her fire and more or less threatened to roast every single one of her buddies. Melinda just shook her head, never losing that stupid smirk. The wind picked up even more, but Hollyn’s flame never died. It was part of her. She realized that now. Melinda couldn’t blow it out anymore than she could blow Hollyn out.
But she learned quickly she could easily blow her over.
Melinda raised her hand, mimicking Hollyn, then thrust that hand toward Hollyn and Noah. Noah stumbled a few feet but Hollyn flew back, hitting the cabin hard. Her head throbbed and stars danced in her vision.
In a flash, it sounded like hell had broken loose. Hollyn shook her head and tried to focus on her surroundings. Three bears, a lion, and two panthers were fighting the wolves. Luke was having some success, slapping his gigantic paw at anyone who came near. Colton stayed close to Shawnee, keeping any of the wolves from jumping on her back. Carter charged at two wolves while Brax and Daxon were full on attacking two more. Even with her people fighting for her, wolves were making their way through them and to her.
Come on, she coaxed her flame, urging it higher, bigger, hotter. She’d never tried it, but if ever was the time it was now. Hollyn pulled her hand back and threw the ball of flame at two wolves who were advancing on Noah and Hollyn. Holy shit. It worked.
As quickly as she could, she conjured another ball of flames and threw it toward a wolf who was creeping up on Shawnee. That one didn’t see it coming and got some singed fur. The smell wafted over to her on the nonstop wind coming from Melinda.
A freaking energy manipulator. That’s why Hollyn had felt her so clearly, that’s why she hadn’t been able to find Melinda, and it had to be the way Melinda had found Hollyn. She’d followed her energy trail straight to Cedar Hill.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Hollyn yelled at Melinda. “You sell off your own fucking kind. You’re selling off women.”
Melinda shrugged, lifted her chin, and a force of wind slammed Hollyn against the house to the point she could barely pull her head away from the side. Bear looked over his shoulder, growled deep and took a step toward Melinda. But when he did that, two wolves stepped to the side, just waiting for him to be clear of Hollyn.
Noah backed up until his rump was against Hollyn’s legs. He nudged her but she was plastered against the rough wood.
“Your fire is nothing to me,” Melinda said, barely raising her voice above conversational. It was hard to make out her words over the sounds of battle going on around her.
Luke was fighting two wolves while one clung to his back. Colton swatted a wolf off Shawnee’s back while two clung to his and successfully knocked him off balance. Carter was struggling with three of his own. Two more wolves were still trying to get around Noah to Hollyn.
“This could’ve been you,” Hollyn said, racking her brain for anything to buy her some time, distract Melinda enough to get free, anything.
Melinda actually narrowed her eyes and tilted her head. “What are you talking about now?”
“You could’ve been the one hunted. You’re female, Fae, and have gifts. You could’ve been the one they hunted and sold off.”
“I was, you stupid little twit,” Melinda said, dropping her hands and cutting the wind off. Hollyn dropped forward heavily, catching herself on Bear’s back.
Hollyn balled her hands into fists and called forward more fire balls, ready to chuck them at the first asshole who came close.
“I was hunted. I was captured. And I was sold. But unlike you, I cooperated. And my buyer came to like me. We became friends,” she said with a roll of her eyes. “Or he thought we did. I did everything I could to make that fucker fall in love with me. And then he had a little accident when we were on a cruise and a sharp breeze blew him over the side and straight into the Atlantic.”
“You killed him,” Hollyn said, inventorying her Clan from the corner of her eye, fearing if she gave Melinda even the smallest window she’d send her buddies forward.
“Of course I did. He deserved it. Trust me. Here’s the thing,” she said, leaning forward a little as if sharing a secret. “He had me on all his accounts. I didn’t even know until after he was dead. I just happened to return to the house, the bereaved lover, and rifled through his shit to make the past six years worth it. Yep. He’d made hundreds of thousands of dollars in trafficking. I just happened to keep him happy enough to avoid being sold off when he tired of me.”
Hollyn felt sick. Melinda had bent to that man’s desires. It had probably been all about survival at first. But the money, apparently, changed something inside her. Maybe she’d been broken during that time. Maybe she’d snapped under the pressure of being someone’s slave. So then, why the hell would she want to put another woman through it?
“When I realized how much money was in this line of business, I just couldn’t make myself walk away. It’s amazing the kind of loyalty you can buy,” Melinda said, tossing her hair over her shoulder.
Hollyn motioned to the fighting around her. “I didn’t have to buy their loyalty.”
Raising her hand, she grew the balls of fire as fast as she could and threw them directly at Melinda. The bitch successfully blew one away, but the other hit her legs, catching her pants on fire. She was too busy patting out the flame to notice another ball coming right for her fucking head.
How much more could she do? Could she make the flames higher? Hotter? The problem with her attack was she was too distracted to notice the wolves advancing. Bear turned in time to barrel into one of them, but the other one leapt right over his back.
Hollyn tossed flames at him as fast as she could, unable to check on Noah. Bear had to handle it, had to make sure both sides of her mate were safe. She had her own battle to worry about.
“Get that bitch! Kill the rest!” Melinda screamed. Hollyn could hear the rage in every word.
Kill the rest. Kill. Melinda wanted her family dead.
Hollyn threw another ball of flame at the wolf snapping his teeth at her and hit him on the nose. He yelped and jumped back, lowering his head and pawing at the burning fur and flesh on his muzzle. That gave Hollyn enough time to check on her family.
Her heart damn near stopped when she found each member of the Clan and the panthers. They were still fighting, but they were a bloody mess. No way would they win this if they kept going. The wolves barely had any wounds. They had plenty of energy and fight left in them.
She could surrender over to Melinda and pray she let them live. Or…
Hollyn sought out Bear, searched the thread for Noah buried deep inside of Bear’s mind. She could feel his fear, his anger, his drive to keep going no matter what. But she felt his love the most. She felt how her mate, her husband felt about her. She held onto that and let Melinda’s words bounce around in her head.
“You can’t have them,” Hollyn said as her hair continued to slap her in the face. She didn’t even bother pushing it away anymore, just focused all her anger on Melinda. This bitch never knew her parents. In fact, she was old enough she very well could’ve been the one who led the attack on her family. She could’ve been there when her parents were murdered in cold blood.
Hollyn’s veins were like molten lava an
d she could feel the tendrils of pain coming from Noah but he kept fighting. And so would she.
She would fight for her life. She would fight for her mate. She would fight for her family. And she would fucking win.
All the years of pent up anger came bursting free like a tidal wave. A wall of flame erupted toward the sky, reaching toward the top of the trees. Everyone stopped fighting almost immediately and stared. Noah backed toward Hollyn, even though she knew it had to hurt. While she was made up of these flames, they would burn Noah. They could kill him.
No. They couldn’t. As sure as she knew they were no danger to her, her magic reassured her they were no danger to Noah. Her magic flowed through his veins now, too.
Hollyn made the wall of fire dance closer to Melinda. She backed closer to the tree line. Hollyn’s family were on the move now, moving closer to Hollyn, staying away from the heat radiating from Hollyn’s weapon.
“You could still come with me,” Melinda said, her eyes wide as fear finally gripped her. “We could be partners. You could even check out the buyers before we send the women on.”
Evil bitch. Even now, even when she realized there was no way she could win, she was thinking only about profits. And she thought Hollyn would want to be a part of something so disgusting?
The thing is, if Hollyn let this bitch leave, she’d just go on kidnapping women, taking them from their families and their lives, and selling them to be breeders, slaves, she didn’t care. She didn’t care if they were abused or passed around. All she cared about was making a buck.
Like something exploded from her chest, Hollyn gasped and threw her head back as another wave of flames erupted from her and slammed into Melinda. She screamed as she fell to the ground, fighting the flame.
A hand touched her forearm. She recoiled until her body recognized Noah before her eyes could focus. He’d Shifted back and was standing beside her completely naked. “Hollyn, don’t. You’ll never forgive yourself.”