He had warned them to lay it easy on the guns. He heard a few shots, probably from their side, but he didn't want to risk hitting Jaime. Where was Sirus? He scanned the woods from his position near a tall pine tree, testing the wind, glancing around the darkness. Nothing. No sign.
Should he wait? He glanced up at the house, at the brightly lit windows, now broken from rocks and furniture. A few gun shots tore the air. He could see blood.
No, there was no time to waste. Who knew what would happen to the girl if they waited around much longer, and the Moon was climbing higher and higher. The beast inside of him was beginning to groan and roar, shivering across his skin, anxious to flex its muscles. Maybe it was time to sink his teeth into this Magnus.
Gareth headed into the house, dodging between fights and scuffles that were scattered around the area. He sniffed, easily able to tell which way Jaime was located, her wolf-moon drawing him like a chain. Every male felt its call, a surge of testosterone, a wave of lust flowing over him. It was nothing like what he felt for his lifemate, and yet... he could imagine the warm, tight slit of her body.
The idea of a bastard like Magnus touching her made him sick.
Moving swiftly, he headed for the stairs, taking them two at a time.
* * * *
Sirus reached the house a few minutes later, looking around the trees swiftly, the gun still clasped in his hand. A sudden thrashing sound exploded to his left, and he dodged to one side as a pair of wolves went rolling past him, their jaws locked on each other, a trial of blood in their wake. He didn't know whose group they belonged to, only that they were gone as soon as they appeared, wrestling through the underbrush. He paused for a moment, scenting the air, feeling the rush of wolf-strength to his limbs. The sounds of battle could be heard a mile away from the house, the thick smell of blood and smoke already on the wind. It made him hunger for something deep and primal, driving him forward.
He reached the house, trotting around the parameter, passing three different fights between the rebel wolves and Magnus' pack. He didn't see any sign of Aiden or Darren, but that didn't concern him. Every now and then the night flashed with a gunshot, answered by the roars and howls of beasts. The wolf inside of him was wild, alive, every muscle tense, but he left the fighting behind him, choosing to slip through the shadows instead and head for the back door. He could already smell what mattered — a splash of fear and the scent of his lifemate. Her wolf-moon was intoxicating, pulling him inevitably to the house, its hold unbreakable. He needed to be near her, to feel her, to claim her....
A sudden scream tore the air, one that he recognized; it sent a sliver of ice through his blood. His heart kick-started, pounding in his chest as his adrenaline surged, and he bolted to the house, up the back door that had been knocked off its hinges, through a scattering of gunshots. Three Changed wolves darted past him, nipping at each other's heels, one bleeding from a torn ear. He kept going... up the staircase with the broken banister, through a puddle of blood, around the corner, higher....
Then he suddenly sensed another presence, one that was powerful and chilling, filling the house with a dark energy — Gareth. Had the man started before him? The Black River Alpha was strong, enough to make Sirus' fingers itch and his breath come quicker. It was a familiar sensation, one that he welcomed. This time, they would be allies. This time, he wanted the Alpha on his side.
Sirus reached the top of the second flight of stairs and stepped out onto the landing, looking around. He could smell Jaime everywhere, her scent strong and confusing, permeating the air. His eyes landed on Gareth, the tall man hovering below a series of steps that led to a trap door in the ceiling. There was a steel grate across it. By the yellow tone to Gareth's eyes, the Alpha was barely resisting the Change, his muscles bulging against his skin, tattoos flexing. He glanced at Sirus without comment.
The men didn't need to speak — the message was clear. Jaime was being kept somewhere beyond that door, and the longer he stayed in the room, the more he could sense her fear. Her smell was mixed with adrenaline, with the wild intoxication of spilled blood. He carried the gun over and hesitated beneath the door, backing up slightly, glancing at Gareth with narrow, cunning eyes.
The dark Alpha looked at the gun. “Good idea,” he murmured around long fangs. He took a step back. Sirus turned to the iron covering, aiming at the lock that held it securely to the ceiling.
Bam! Bam!
Two bullets. The metal swung loose, revealing the wooden panel beneath. Sirus glanced at him and Gareth barely nodded. No need to speak. After you.
Chapter 19
Jaime heard the panting, wailing cries of Christine, the grunts and moans, the sobbing... and then silence. She didn't look, didn't want to see what the bastard had done to her. She didn't think her eyes could take it.
But then she heard the creak of the floorboards as Magnus stood up, turning around, looking at her. She felt the burn of his eyes. After a moment she glanced at him, fear making her heart stop; he was nothing but a bulky shadow in the far corner, hulking and evil. Christine was a dark lump beneath him, unmoving. Jaime didn't know if the girl was dead or not.
Magnus shifted away from the body, moving sluggishly, his glaring yellow eyes turned on her. The look left her chilled; Jaime couldn't control herself anymore. Emotion welled up inside of her and a scream pushed itself from her throat, ripping out of her lungs—“Aaah!”
It was terrible, a nightmare, chained to the wall with nothing but a skimpy dress between her and this monster. The power of the moon had turned him into something inhuman, rotting, malevolent. She was so scared that she couldn't move.
“Help me, please help me, please help me,” she whispered softly to herself, forcing it out with each breath, the only way she could make her lungs work. The monster was looming close to her, eyes roving possessively over her body, up and down, throat to breast to hips.... She saw him inhale. Lick his lips.
“Virgin,” he murmured softly, taking another step towards her. His hand went to the chain that snaked across the ground, grabbing the thick length and tugging on it tauntingly, forcing her to tumble forward onto the floor. She gasped, crying out, unable to resist as he pulled her closer and closer towards him. She dug her nails into the floorboards but it did no good. His grin was sick, demented, full of long, curving teeth and a dripping tongue. He was Changing before her eyes, barely able to form words. “Just what I like.”
Jaime felt the wolf rise within her, lashing about, begging to Change, to let loose and embrace the Moon, embrace the call of the night — she needed to defend herself. But no, she couldn't, to Change meant to begin her wolf-moon, to lose all coherent thought. The idea terrified her; she was disoriented as it was, scared and confused, trapped in a small room with her instincts overwhelming her. She needed to run. She needed to get away!
He dragged her another foot forward. She gathered herself for another scream—
Bam! Bam!
The gunshots made her jump, deafening her ears, making her clamp her arms over her head. She didn't hear the clang as the metal door fell off of the attic, but Jaime saw the sudden burst of light as the trap door was thrust open, and two figures leapt into the room. Her breath caught — she thought she was dreaming, or perhaps her eyes were deceiving her... had she finally gone insane? Could it really be...?
Sirus stood up. He turned, his eyes like white fire, and looked at Magnus. The half-Changed Alpha gazed back at them, his jaw long and full of razor teeth, his forearms as big as tree branches.
“Ah, Sirus,” she heard him say, his speech muddled by his teeth. “I'm so glad to see you've come.”
Jaime remembered Magnus' earlier words, that he had been waiting for her Alpha's arrival this entire time. She turned to Sirus, lunging toward him, stretching out her hands desperately. “Run, it's a trap!” she screamed — it was cut off short by a sharp tug on her chain, jerking against her throat. She tumbled back to the floor.
Sirus didn't say a word — just moved
like lightning, hitting the giant head on, forcing him to drop the chain with a wild slash to the shoulder. Magnus took the strike across the chest, not even flinching, his face curled into a terrifying snarl. Jaime's mouth gaped and she scrambled back into the corner as the two men tumbled for the floor, Magnus letting out a roar of outrage, Sirus growling viciously in return. The two men became a snarling, whirling mess, fur and fangs everywhere, blood splattering the ground, too fast for her to tell who was hurt. Jaime trembled with each blow, each snap and growl, their falls shaking the floor.
Another black shadow entered the room, and Jaime turned, briefly spotting a whirl of fur and the gleam of long fangs. A large black werewolf, one of the biggest she had ever seen, dodged across the floor to latch onto Magnus' leg. She thought she recognized the scent, though it was warped and twisted from the Moon. Gareth?
The power flowed off of them in waves, making her skin burn, making her breasts ache and her limbs grow weak and shivery. Three Alphas, their energy thick in the air, fighting right before her... it was a dream come true as far as her wolf-self was concerned. Jaime cringed back against the wall, adrenaline pounding, terror making her eyes wide and dark, her body increasingly aroused. She was losing touch, whirling back into the depths of her mind, slowing succumbing to her instincts. There was a battle going on before her of a likes she had never seen before, and all she could do was struggle to breathe. Three werewolves... one human, one Changed, and one somewhere in between....
Smash! Crack! There was the sound of busting dry-wall, splintering wood. Gareth roared, and Jaime watched with wide eyes as Magnus reared up against the moonlight, grabbing the black wolf by the neck. The Paxton Alpha hauled the wolf into the wall, drywall splitting and crumbling beneath the impact, wooden panels snapping like twigs. Dust exploded and a howl of fury caused her skin to prickle, her teeth elongating and her nails turning to claws. She glanced out of the window, seeing a hint of moonlight....
Fiberglass packed the air. The battle was now a collection of snarls and shadows, the occasional red streak of blood catching her eyes. What was happening? Who was winning? She couldn't be sure....
She watched as the men ripped and tore at each other, then slowly they moved outside, wrestling through the hole in the wall and out into the darkness. The sounds of the fight were still loud and clear, and it left her feeling desperate and anxious, full of frantic anticipation. She squirmed against the chain, dragging her hands at the clamp around her neck, wishing like hell that she was free.
Sudden movement caught her attention. Jaime gasped, sitting back, only to see a bruised body drag itself from the shadows, the girl's arms covered in gashes and blood. Jaime met her eyes across the dusty room, a bruise spreading fast across her cheek, swollen and purple along her jaw. Her clothes were ripped and stained red.
“Here,” the girl grunted, reaching the black ring of keys in the corner and sliding them to her. Jaime grabbed them with a free hand, quickly raising them in front of her eyes, squinting in the dim light. “It's the long one, with the square top.”
The girl sank to the ground again. Her voice had been so hoarse that Jaime had barely understood. She searched the keys, her hands trembling, looking for the right one... finally she found one that fit the description and jammed it into the lock at her neck, feeling it click against her skin. Yes! Desperate and shaking, she threw the collar to the ground, looking around the room nervously. Now what?
She glanced over to the hole in the wall where the sounds of fighting still drifted. Then she looked to the trap door, the exit from this nightmare. After a moment, she slid toward the opening. Her wolf-moon was so intense that she couldn't walk; it took all her strength to resist the Change, the hormones that pounded through her body. Finally she reached the edge of the stairs and she looked down. The second floor was mostly quiet, all sounds coming from deeper in the house. She glanced around the hallway cautiously, then paused, focusing on a black object at the foot of the stairs. A cold, dark object.
Her eyes glinted. She smiled... reached for it....
* * * *
Sirus leapt backwards as Gareth went swinging through the air. The Black River Alpha slammed into the wall and busted a hole through the roof, splintering wooden beams and shattering tile. Sirus tried to clear his eyes of the dust, trying to find where the wolf and half-Changed monster had ran to. Dammit, the fucker was strong! Wolves like this shouldn't exist. Sirus' muscles were rock hard and tight from his wolf-strength, but he still needed to think.
Finally he spotted the hulking shadow struggling across the roof, lurching into the darkness of the night.
“Gareth!” Sirus yelled. His companion's body was dangling from the monster's grasp. “Wake the fuck up!”
Gareth had to be faking it, he had to... but that bash against the roof had been pretty hard. Sirus hesitated only momentarily, then leapt after them, the moonlight burning against his skin. Ugh, he stumbled as though a weight had been dropped on his shoulders. The urge to Change was so strong it almost made him collapse.
He shook his head, forcing himself to ignore it, staring instead at the limp body in Magnus' grasp. He glared at his enemy, his nemesis, the man who had ruined his life and destroyed Jaime's. The Paxton City Alpha was huge in his half-Changed form, his fur storm gray with dark streaks. The iron gray hair of his buzz-cut turned into fur on his cheeks and back, a short tail sprouting from his pants, his legs long and inverted. All of his muscles bulged with power. Sirus hesitated, wondering if he would have to Change too in order to take him out. Dammit, Gareth....
Suddenly the limp wolf twitched, the body abruptly twisting and contorting in Magnus' grip, lashing out at him with a clawed hand. Magnus growled and dropped him. By the time Gareth hit the floor, he was already prepared to attack, a massive wolf of similar size and brutality. His fur gleamed black. His eyes shone yellow.
He snarled, snapping at Magnus' leg, latching onto his knee and tearing him down to the tiles. Magnus fell to the roof with a roar, his claws ripping into Gareth's fur, blood flying through the air. Sirus dove forward — getting into a one-on-one wrestling match with Magnus the Gray was suicide....
He dove into the fray, muscle growing and elongating, teeth sinking in to Magnus' arm. The inner wolf took over his senses, pushing aside all reason, demanding that he rip the bastard apart. Maybe Jaime was right, maybe revenge wasn't so bad... it certainly felt damned good. He snarled and thrashed with his claws, ripping up lengths of skin, butting into muscle... the blood was thick against the rooftop. Magnus roared and gurgled as Gareth dove for his throat. But suddenly Magnus twisted, pushing out from under them, swinging one clawed hand — wham!
The blow hit Sirus against the head, sending him crashing to one side, his senses whirling; dammit, he'd been too distracted, too caught up in the heat and the fury. He hadn't seen it coming. Sirus fell off the roof, tumbling almost twenty feet to the ground. He landed on his side, stunned. Magnus leapt after him, throwing Gareth from his back, howling in victory. Sirus tried to compose himself, but it was too late. He looked up just as the gray Alpha landed next to him. Magnus' massive, clawed hand whirled at him, fast enough to sever his neck, sailing through the air. It was on a direct course with his head. There was no time to block—
Bam!
Blood misted the air, so sudden that Sirus fell back. At first he didn't know what had happened, then he looked up, staring at the gray Alpha. Magnus staggered above him, suddenly losing balance. The giant werewolf stumbled. A dark hole appeared on his forehead, a trickle of blood running down the front of it. A... a bullet? A gun?
Sirus turned, eyes bright gold, to find himself staring at a small, fragile figure at the edge of the woods. She held the gun out in front of her with two hands, swaying slightly on her feet. A light wind fluttered her thin dress, giving him a glimpse of the body underneath, the fact that she was naked. A sudden surge of heat coursed through him; his blood rushed to life, his fangs sharpened for reasons other than blood. The wind blew
again, carrying to him the tantalizing call of her wolf-moon, the spicy scent that permeated the air, hypnotizing him. He senses heightened, focused solely on her. The dead body behind him no longer mattered, nor Gareth, nor the distant shouts of fighting. Her scent was a magnet. She drew him like a fire.
The girl's fangs gleamed, her hair drifting lazily across her face. She faltered slightly, the gun falling to her side, and looked at him with large, dark eyes. Something was vacant about that look... something blank and primitive. The human was absent. His sniffed the air, testing it slowly, judging her, studying her like a predator. Wherever Jaime had gone to, this wasn't her... it was a thinly disguised animal. The wolf-moon was beginning. The heat was coming off of her in waves.
Abruptly Gareth stood next to him, wounded but whole. The black wolf threw his head back and let a loud, primal howl rip from his throat, deep and haunting in the night. It chilled the air, sending shockwaves through Sirus' body, awakening the instincts in him, the animal that resided at his core. It was a symbolic note, one that spoke of the death of an Alpha, of a change in power. The night grew still. The sounds of fighting faded as each wolf turned and listened.
Sirus felt the call deep in his bones; he was no more immune to it than the next wolf. His muscles bulged. Fur began to run along his jaw and arms. He dropped to all fours, fully transformed, and the howl of victory burst from his throat too. Now the fighting would end. Now, they would begin a new game....
More wolves began to answer his call, their voices lighting up the mountain. Sirus turned to look back at his lifemate, his gold eyes shining. Jaime continued to stare at him a second longer, her gaze dark and wide... then she dropped the gun, turned, and fled.