Feeling the bond click into place, Shaya’s wolf and soul screamed with joy. But Shaya didn’t have the time to rejoice about it, because she needed to be free of the evil bitch clinging to her ankle. And she needed to do it before the fire now attacking the wooden walls collapsed the building and killed them both. It was hot, it was dark, it was frightening. She couldn’t hear a thing over the hissing, sizzling, crackling, and popping around her.
Coughing and panicking as her ability to breathe became more and more difficult, Shaya kicked at Amber’s face and hand, wishing she was wearing her stilettos. Amber only tightened her hold and bit into Shaya’s leg. “You weird bitch!” she croaked. Shaya reached down, fisted her hand in her hair, and pulled hard until Amber’s teeth released her. She would have shifted forms, but her wolf was too spooked by the fire.
Using her hold on her ankle, Amber dragged Shaya toward her and went to claw at Shaya’s face. But the move was clumsy and awkward—most likely as Amber was already weak from her injury. Shaya’s hand shot out and snapped around Amber’s wrist. Digging deep for every ounce of strength inside her, Shaya propelled Amber onto her back, pinning her arm to the ground. As a submissive wolf, her strength shouldn’t have exceeded Amber’s, but knowing what this bitch had done to her mate, Shaya and her wolf were close to feral—it gave her the added strength she needed.
With the hand still fisted in Amber’s hair, she slammed the bitch’s head down over and over until Amber gave a dizzy, hoarse moan. Had she been able to see anything, Shaya might have been able to find her knife or rifle and kill the bitch, but the black smoke made it impossible for even shifter vision to see much. She wasn’t sure where the door was, or she might have tried to crawl toward it, but there was the possibility that she might simply crawl farther into the hut.
Sensing that her mate was now outside, Shaya would have smiled with relief if she hadn’t also sensed the fear and memories tormenting his wolf. It broke her heart to feel just how deeply the accident so long ago had scarred him. She tried to communicate to him that he didn’t have to put himself through this again, that she didn’t want his scars to deepen, but she didn’t have a freaking clue if it was working.
Caught off guard, Shaya found herself lying on her side as Amber tried to reverse their positions. She could tell that Amber was again attempting to shift, but apparently the drug Merrick had used on her still hadn’t worn off. That or her wolf was just as spooked by the fire as her own was. Both coughing and close to passing out, they still continued wrestling with one another, weakly battling for dominance.
Then she heard the door suddenly burst open, and the scent of her mate entered the hut. Seconds later, strong hands slipped under her armpits and were attempting to lift her, but Amber locked her arms around Shaya’s waist, using all her body weight to keep her in place. Amber clearly had no intention of trying to get out of the hut, fully aware that she was dead if she did anyway. She seemed to prefer to die of smoke inhalation than by being pounced on by a pack of pissed-the-fuck-off wolves. And she wanted Shaya to die with her.
Shaya, however, wasn’t okay with that. She shoved hard at Amber’s head, but the bitch released her claws and dug them into Shaya’s waist to strengthen her hold. Not willing to give up, Shaya dug both of her thumbs into Amber’s eyes, pressing hard. Meanwhile, Nick continued pulling, only slightly hampered by Amber.
“Get off me, you neurotic bitch!” It came out more of an abrasive whisper. With the last bit of energy she had left, Shaya pulled back her fist and crashed it into Amber’s jaw. Her hold on Shaya then loosened, and the rescuing hands scooped Shaya up, breaking Amber’s grip. Keeping her tucked against him, Nick hurried through the doorway. She had expected to have to go through a wall of flames, but the way was now clear, and the fire was quickly subsiding.
Finally outside, she dimly noted that fire extinguishers were blasting the flames—things that were kept inside the caves in case of forest fires. But as he sat her inside the SUV, her concentration was solely on Nick; she ran her gaze over every naked inch of him, searching for any injuries.
“Taryn healed me,” Nick assured her. He blew out a breath, forcing one of the bottles of water Cam had brought into her hands. Shaya practically inhaled it. “Christ, baby, you scared the shit out of me.”
“I didn’t get kidnapped on purpose,” she rasped. His tight hug would have hurt her if she hadn’t needed that contact as much as he did. “How is everybody?” From her position in the vehicle, she could only see Jaime, Dante, Ryan, Cam, and Rhett. Shit, shit, shit.
Feeling the panic zooming through her, he pulled back and cupped her chin. “They’re alive, don’t worry. Unfortunately, they’re not in great shape.” He paused as a cough interrupted him. “But Taryn was in the process of healing them when I left. My guess is she’s probably just half-healed them so she doesn’t exhaust herself. Gabe and Caleb drove one of the SUVs out here and picked them up while Cam and Rhett came out here with the extinguishers and drinks.”
“Speaking of half-healing…Amber didn’t fully heal you, Nick. She purposely didn’t, because she wanted you to keep going back to her. You know what it means, don’t you? It means the only reason you got ill again was because of her. Taryn’s healing should be permanent.”
The betrayal didn’t cut deep, as he’d never felt anything for Amber, but it still wasn’t pleasant to know that someone who had once been a member of his pack could betray him that way. “In that case, I’m glad no one went back in to save her. What she did goes against the principles of every healer.”
Realizing that a few people appeared to be circling something at the side of the hut, she frowned. “What’s going on?”
Nick sighed. “Jesse, Bracken, Zander, and Derren went after Logan and Merrick, and brought them back.” He cupped her face. “I need you to stay here for me.”
Shaya bit her lower lip. “You’re going to kill them, aren’t you?”
“Yes.” He waited for her to yell at him or at least try to talk him out of it, but she instead nodded.
“Make it painful.”
Startled by her words, he almost smiled. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
Still vibrating with fury and fear for his mate, Nick strolled over to the group near the hut. They instantly parted, letting him through. He went to stand before Merrick and Logan. Their expressions were blank, but undiluted fear was wafting from both of them, pleasing his enraged wolf. They knew they weren’t getting out of this alive.
Logan’s voice was shaky. “If you kill me, the rest of my—”
Nick held up a hand to silence him. “I’ve heard it all before from your friend Lee-Roy. It never worked for him, and it certainly won’t work for you.” He looked at Merrick. “You’re supposed to be dead.” Under any other circumstances, Nick would have been glad to find out that Merrick was still alive, that he could let go of the guilt he had been carrying for a very long time. But not now; no, the son of a bitch really did deserve to die. “Know what’s ironic? I always felt bad, since I never meant to kill you. But now I’m actually wishing I had.”
Merrick laughed, but it was a nervous sound. “I don’t doubt it.”
“What I can’t understand is how you’re alive.”
A slight shrug. “The day you almost killed me, I made a deal with Logan that if he brought in a healer to fix me up, I’d tell him everything I knew about you and the other prisoners in there—the codes you all used, what positions you’d all given yourselves, what everyone’s weaknesses were. We’re like-minded, he and I.” The wolves all growled, disgusted by him.
Derren came to stand slightly behind Nick, glaring hard at Merrick. “You betrayed your own kind.”
“They’re not my kind. My kind wouldn’t have ostracized me from my own pack.”
“Trey’s pack ostracized him,” said Nick, “but he didn’t decide to make his entire race pay. There are no excuses for the things you’ve done.”
Apparently Merrick didn’t care, because he i
gnored that. “I should have been Alpha of my pack! And I should have been Alpha in juvie!”
“No, you shouldn’t have.” Nick’s voice was even and quiet. “You’re everything that an Alpha isn’t: cocky, cunning, self-centered, fickle, and bullying. Everyone saw it, and everyone hated it.”
“They respected and followed me until you came along and challenged me.”
“No, they existed in small, tight groups. And those groups feared you, sure, but an Alpha who tries to rule through fear and intimidation isn’t an Alpha. It’s that simple. And so is your fate.”
“Nick,” said Jesse. “We know this guy did you wrong, and we know he kidnapped your mate, but he’s also responsible for the kidnapping and deaths of our family members—my sister, Bracken’s cousin, and Zander’s nephew.”
And the three males needed vengeance, needed closure. Nick could understand that. He could. Had the situation been reversed, he’d have demanded the same. Besides, he’d be getting closure for every juvie member by killing Logan, who had also played a part in kidnapping and attempting to kill his mate. He could give this other piece of shit to Jesse, Bracken, and Zander if that was what they truly wanted; he’d beaten Merrick once before anyway. Nick’s decision must have been obvious in his eyes, because Merrick’s expression turned to a mixture of confusion and anxiety.
“You’re not going to challenge me, one to one?”
“If I did that, it would be over quickly, wouldn’t it? This way, you get to suffer for a little while. I find that I like that idea. You don’t deserve mercy, Merrick. Neither of you do.” He extended his claws, dancing his gaze from Merrick to Logan and back again. “You both tried to take from me the only thing I’ve ever loved. As you can imagine, I have a serious fucking issue with that.” He stepped a little closer to the man who had raped and killed so many young shifters. “This might hurt a little.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
THREE MONTHS LATER
As Jaime yapped beside him at the dining table about something or other, Nick forced a smile for her. Oh, she was a nice enough girl and stuff, but he just didn’t do the friend thing, and apparently a person didn’t have a choice in the matter when it was Jaime. He noticed that his mate, who was sitting on his other side, was stifling a smile of amusement at his discomfort—as usual.
Just a little longer, he reminded himself. Just a little longer, and then he and Shaya would be finished with their evening meal and leaving Phoenix Pack territory, and they would only be returning as visitors.
Since the night of the battle, he and Shaya had been living on pack territory temporarily. Although they had slept in the motor home outside the caves, they were still constantly harassed and, as such, had had very little time alone. Nick and Shaya weren’t the only ones who had remained on pack territory. Derren, Roni, Eli, Kathy, Jesse, Bracken, Zander, and Kent—who had sold the salon—had remained too. Why? It wasn’t that they expected Nick to start a pack. No, it was because they believed they already were a pack.
Hell, even Caleb thought he was part of this supposed “pack.” To his surprise, Nick found that he actually liked Caleb despite the male’s close friendship with Shaya. Although Caleb was protective of her, it wasn’t to the extent that he imposed on Nick’s role. Also, Nick was grateful to him for being there for Shaya growing up when her mother wasn’t.
If Nick was honest with himself, he would admit that being an Alpha again would be a challenge he would enjoy, because this time he’d have his mate with him, and he would be an Alpha of a dispersed pack—something his “pack” had subtly hinted they would all be fine with. That meant he would have plenty of time alone with his mate. The “pack” all deferred to Shaya a lot, treating her with respect and acknowledging the inner strength that many people would have overlooked.
In essence, they had made her their Alpha female, and she was perfectly fine with it since it didn’t interfere with her position as a mediator. She had gotten the job, just like he had known she would. Naturally, she was ecstatic. The only time he had seen her happier was the evening of their mating ceremony.
As planned, they had the ceremony a few days after the attack, when everyone was fully healed. Trey performed the ceremony for them, just as Nick had done for Trey and Taryn. Shaya had looked absolutely beautiful; he could vividly remember every detail—her halter-neck dress had been azure in color, all satin with a layer of silk beneath the skirt that had trailed slightly below the satin. As tradition, he had worn a simple suit, which had been a dark gray—the same color as his wolf’s fur. And for the first time since he’d first surfaced, his wolf had been truly and utterly content. He still was.
The after-party had been pretty funny as Rhett had gotten so drunk he’d actually passed out near the music speaker. Seriously, how was that even possible for someone with shifter hearing? But then, Nick supposed it wasn’t every day a male discovered his mate was pregnant. To Rhett’s dismay, Grace was refusing to “take it easy,” in spite of the fact that she had fussed over Taryn when the Alpha female was pregnant with Kye. Nick knew that the day Shaya became pregnant—something he would know just by a slight change in her scent—would be one of the best days of his life, but it would still shock the shit out of him, just as it had Rhett.
His mother, who was currently laughing hysterically about something with Shaya, Roni, and Eli, had been leaving not-so-subtle hints about him giving her grandchildren sometime soon. She absolutely adored Shaya, which was why she had spent a good portion of the mating ceremony snarling at Gabrielle—who had been extremely well behaved that night, not insulting Shaya even once. Stone had been pleasant enough to Nick, but he’d patted his Glock a few times and given Nick a look that said, “I’m watching you.” Whatever.
Eli, too, had easily taken to Shaya. Of course he had. She had a natural ease with people that Nick was sure would make her fantastic at her job. She, Kathy, and Eli had been conspiring together about ways to keep Roni from returning to her wolf form for another long period of time. If anyone could accomplish that, it was Shaya.
A big relief was that, so far, he hadn’t had a single headache since Taryn healed him. Not one. Nor had he had any other problems that might signify his cognitive functions were beginning to degenerate again. At Shaya’s request, Taryn occasionally laid a hand on his forehead to see if any luminous patches showed up under his scalp. But there were none. If what everyone speculated was true, the only reason he had gotten ill again after his first healing was that Amber had deliberately failed to fully heal him. As such, Shaya was confident that he was healed for good now. His gut told him that she was right.
Nick was pulled from his thoughts when a chunky ginger cat sprang onto the table and then onto Jaime’s lap, hissing loudly at Dante, who was opposite her. Nick looked down at the animal that always managed to scare the hell out of his dog. In Bruce’s defense…“That is one motherfucking ugly cat.”
Jaime gasped in horror while Dante nodded his agreement. Cuddling her cat close, Jaime turned on her mate, cursing him for being antisocial toward her pet. Gabe consoled her until she ended her rant with a huff, though he and Hope were chuckling to themselves.
“These disputes between them about her freaky pet are commonplace,” Gabe told Nick, petting Bruce, who had taken a liking to the male. “Dante gets jealous of the attention Hunk receives from his mate.” Dante didn’t deny it.
Although Nick had initially disliked Dante for warning him away from Shaya—in fairness, he had been merely trying to protect Shaya—Nick had come to like the Beta male. Over the past few months, Dante and Tao had taken it upon themselves to subject Jesse, Bracken, and Zander to the training given to enforcers. Nick knew why; they were preparing them to be enforcers for Nick. Yep, the Phoenix Pack was also taking part in the plan to make him an Alpha again.
As Shaya stood and leaned across the table to retrieve the bottle of ketchup from Kent, Nick couldn’t help but enjoy the view. “You truly do have the most perfect ass.” His mate merely smiled b
rightly.
“I strongly agree,” said Dominic, endangering his life once again. When Nick growled, he raised his hands. “Just kidding.”
Kent sighed at Dominic before turning to Nick. “I’d hit him for you…but look how pretty he is.”
Roni fingered the shirt Dominic was wearing. “Nice shirt. Can I talk you out of it?”
As everyone laughed at her teasing, Dominic pointed at her. “Stop doing that. If you’re not going to marry me and let us be filthy-minded together—”
“You stop doing it to mess with my brother, and I’ll stop doing it to you.” As usual, Roni and Dominic then began to quibble. Nick noticed that Marcus didn’t appear to like the byplay that often went on between Roni and the pervert. Marcus watched and flirted with Roni a lot, who just responded with blank looks. Unlike the other females here, she was resistant to his “charm,” which was a good thing because it meant Nick didn’t have to kill him. Sitting there now, Marcus looked confused more than anything else…like someone who felt as though he had lost his magical powers. And Trick appeared to find it hilarious.
When Grace took Nick’s empty plate and topped up his coffee mug, he gave her a nod of thanks. He had to admit, he’d miss her cooking. Like Lydia, she was also good with injuries; they had both been a great help to Taryn when many had been wounded after the battle. Hell, Tao and Dominic had come very close to dying. Eli, Trey, Marcus, and Trick had also been badly hurt. Taryn had been totally and utterly pissed with Trey about it, as if he’d wanted to get shot or something.
At the moment, though, the Alpha pair was perfectly happy, sitting together at the table, playing with their son and laughing as Kye frowned at Cam’s attempt to play peek-a-boo with him—as if the kid was offended that Cam thought such a game would be enough to entertain him. Nick felt a distinct pang of longing. He wanted that with Shaya one day. As if she sensed that, she smiled at him and placed a hand on his thigh. Her hand was nowhere near his cock, but it didn’t matter—like that, he was rock hard. “Can we leave now?”