Jerrod walked out of the room they set up as an armory, feeling less than fine about his treatment of Riley. He knew what her history was going into this. Still, he had truly been taking off guard when she lit into him with those teeth. He could tell she felt bad about it, which is why he told her not to worry. Truth be told, he was worried about it. What if Happy was right, was she a danger to everyone around her?
He brushed off the thought, continuing on into the room he left her in. She was probably back there by now, fuming that she couldn’t go along on the mission today. He would rather she remain safe. Apparently, the Other kind they were after was also interested in Happy. They wanted him to join their ranks, so to speak. Not clear on the details, Jerrod only knew that they intended to use another member of the rebellion as bait. Gorged on Happy’s blood and wearing his clothes, it would have hopefully fooled them enough to walk into a trap.
Since Jerrod was newly turned and Happy’s pack blood churned in him already, they wouldn’t need the other guy. Jerrod had just been promoted. They all knew Riley would put herself in harm’s way to help Jerrod, and it couldn’t be allowed. Not after what happened between them earlier.
He entered the borrowed bedroom, but didn’t see Riley anywhere. He checked the bathroom but there was no sign of her. Deciding that she was probably having it out with Happy still, he headed to the main room. He got there as Happy, Jade and Ebony, Jade’s sister, were coming in from the garage. The look on their faces told him immediately something was wrong. His stomach dropped, and he swore his heart stopped beating.
“Where’s Riley?” His voice sounded strained even to his own ears. The three of them looked at each other, their eyes speaking every word their lips didn’t.
“I said where is Riley? Where is she God damn it?" He clenched his fists to his sides, ignoring the sharp sting of claws digging into flesh. His jaw ached and the skin across his back felt tight, like it was being stretched to the limit.
“Calm down Jerrod. Your first shift shouldn’t be done in anger. It will be painful enough without your wolf ripping its way out.” Happy said, the weariness in his voice amped Jerrod even higher.
“Hmmm, not as painful as when your burning in the sun though. Ripping flesh is much better than charring flesh, in my opinion." Jade said with a reminiscing tone.
“Hush Jade, not needed now.” Ebony said chidingly. The brunette rolled her eyes before catching sight of Jerrod’s face.
“Um, I think you and I should go find Ethan now.” Ebony grabbed her sister’s hand and pulled her off into the kitchen area and out the front door.
“Happy, you better start talking fast. You may be Alpha, but she is my mate. Where, is, she?” Jerrod enunciated each word carefully. The press of his elongating canines made his speech barely recognizable.
“She’s gone Jerrod. She ran out of here so fast no one had time to do anything but watch.” Happy ran a meaty hand down his face and shook his head like he still couldn’t believe what she had done.
“Why? Why would she do that?” Jerrod was truly puzzled. He knew she wouldn’t be excited about being left behind, but to run out like that? With those things out there looking for Happy? God, they moved her from a place where humans were after her, to someplace where the indescribable would use her to get to Happy. He wasn’t sure which was worse. Then it hit him.
“What did you say to her Happy?” Jerrod stalked toward the Alpha, anger guiding his feet.
“I told her the truth Jerrod.”
“And what truth would that be?”
“That she is a danger to herself and others. That it was for the best.” Happy stood his ground, chin raised, eyes cold and hard. Jerrod heard more than felt bones popping and muscles stretching. He caught the process, not letting it go too far. The strain of holding down the shift was nearly unbearable. Sweat beaded on his forehead and what was left of an upper lip.
“You were going to lock her up again!” Jerrod ground out.
“I never said that, and I have no intention of it.” The words flowed smoothly from his mouth, but Jerrod knew better. He was beginning to see just how ruthless Happy was when it came to Riley.
“She is no longer your concern. She’s mine. Do you hear me? Mine!” Jerrod could barely control himself. The urge to rip out the Alpha’s throat overtook all thought.
“He is right you know.” An almost childlike female voice said from behind them somewhere. Jerrod whirled around to find a petite woman standing off to the right of the room. Hovering between the tables piled with maps and the one that the rebels had used to dine at earlier. She was clothed in a blood-red robe, with midnight curls swirling around her cherub face. The completely black eyes took him aback as she smiled a razor-sharp smile. Rows of pointed teeth were visible through the slit in her pale lips. Jerrod heard a thud behind him and glanced over his shoulder. Happy was down on his knees head bowed.
“Goddess Nox.” Happy whispered.
“Um, Maybe. But enough about me. She is not yours to control any longer. If he can find her, she is his. If he cannot, he will be alone, without a mate, and without his child. It is simple really. Tick-tock goes the clock.” Jerrod focused his attention on the female ready to demand answers to her idiotic riddles. He took a step forward, but nothing remained in the spot where she had stood but air.
“Oh Gods, Jerrod. They have her.” Jerrod could swear he heard the brute of a man sob.
***
Riley’s head ached something terrible. She didn’t remember losing consciousness, but then again, who did? She kept her eyes shut tight, unwilling to face the nausea that was sure to following being knocked out. The face of the thing that attacked her lingered behind her closed lids, sending a disgusted shudder tumbling through her. She had never in her life seen anything so grotesque. Something akin to a shifter stuck in mid-shift with fangs longer than any vampire. Its overly large eyes were bottomless pits of black menace.
The stench was what alerted her that something was drawing near. She waited until she could hear the shuffle of footsteps and prepared to coil for an attack. She cracked her eyes open and tried to draw her legs closer to her body. She drew up short, and a sharp pain dug into her ankles. The fact that she was unconscious must be the reason that, up until now, she hadn’t noticed her flesh being charred or smelled the burning. Damn silver. Despite herself, she let out a gasp, alerting the creature to the fact that she was awake.
“Good to see I didn’t cause any permanent damage. The boss might have been a bit angry over that. You are very pretty, good mating material.” Riley's stomach heaved, and she didn’t even try to stifle the gagging noises she made in her throat. The disgusting thing laughed, and its large deformed hands dug into her arms as he wrenched her off the floor. Near crippling pain shot through every cell in Riley’s body. She was breathing slowly and trying to battle back the pain that enveloped her. It was useless. She was a mated wolf. It would only get worse the longer he touched her.
“Does it hurt much? I can smell him on you.” Riley looked into the things face as a grotesque semblance of a smile cracked its ugly features. Its razor-sharp fangs pressed against his bottom lip, and his tongue snaked out between them. Bile rose in her throat as the wet pink appendage slicked across her neck.
“Let go of me! You sorry bastard!” She used every ounce of force she could gather to shove at his chest. It let out an oomph, and his hold loosened and sent her flying back to the dirt covered floor. She hit with enough force to steal her breath and bite her tongue. She looked up just as a fat fist rained down a series of punches. Pain exploded in her face, and she felt her left eye immediately start to swell. Oh Gods he was freakishly strong, she thought, as another blow broke a rib.
“Please, no more.” Riley gasped out. Her lungs burned, and she couldn’t suck in enough air. The pain was reaching an unbearable point, but she wouldn’t pass out. No, she was awake as if some sadistic God was making sure she felt it all. Her wolf struggled to breach the barrier of her subconscious. She could feel her tearing at it fighting to get free. She was too far gone to grasp hold of the energy she needed to focus. She couldn't do anything but cower as the monster raised its hand for another blow.
“Enough Soto!” The thing froze instantly at the sound of a male voice bellowing from beyond Riley’s fading vision. She could swear fear lurked in those huge black eyes.
“I- She..." The thing never finished, it crumbled to the ground in a heap of writhing screaming flesh. The shrieks were so shrill that Riley swore her eardrums burst. She covered her ears with her hands as tears rolled silently down her face. Saved from a monster, by one that was even more powerful.
She got her first look of the man as he entered her cell and crouched next to the pitiful mass a few feet from her. Dressed in a steel-grey business suit, he chided, actually chided at the lump crying on the ground. His arms rested neatly on his knees as he spoke to the thing.
“I warned you what would happen if you harmed her did I not? We need her alive to lure the Furiae’s here. They won’t come for a dead woman. The wolf will know. They are kin remember?” The man stood and with a shiny black dress shoe kicked the creature across the room. It landed still and silent by the door of the cell.
“They have such brute strength and impeccable instinct for hunting and killing, but no common sense. Ah well, it is something that will have to be bred out of the next batch.” He came closer, crouching next to her in the same position he did beside the creature. Riley watched his beady brown eyes rove over her, seeming to take stock in her injuries. He ran a hand through his slightly long jet-black hair and let out a sigh.
“This will have to be healed; even you can’t overcome such damage without shifting. And that my dear, I won't allow.” He reached out to her, and she shrank back. If he could bring down that thing without even touching it, what could he do to her?
“Don’t be so dramatic wolf. If I wanted you dead I would have stood back and enjoyed the show.” A faint light encompassed his hand and suddenly she could breathe freely again. She sucked in a deep lung-full of air and marveled at the way all of her pains gradually faded into nothingness. All but the burning of the chains around her wrists and ankles.
“Why?” It was the only word that would clearly form.
“To get to your beloved leader of course. She always comes for her own. And you my dear, don’t get much closer than her hulk of a wolf Happy. Since we cannot have him, we will take his kin. In the end, the results are the same. She will come and bring her sister with her. Once I have them where Nox cannot aid them, I will do whatever I want without fear of the Furiaes.”
“Why do they matter? You can heal with a thought, surely you have enough power to do whatever you want anyway.” Riley protested. A snarl distorted his lips, and a feral growl reverberated through the room. She cringed when he stood and prayed that he wasn’t going to kick her too. Instead, he began to pace around her.
“The Furiaes you see are the only creatures that can kill a God. We are incapable of killing each other, and forbidden to kill a human. A Furiae has no such limitation. Imagine bringing forth into the world the one thing that can kill you. Ugh, when those women sprang from my wife’s womb, you could not imagine the horror I felt. Vengeance, Grudge, and Wrath; the law keepers of the world. My own children who would strike me down without a moment’s hesitation. I thought I had taken care of them long ago, how was I to know they had spawned?” He continued his pacing as Riley tried to figure out what the hell he was talking about.
“Ok, you want to kill Jade and her sister? So kill them already and let me go.” She said rattling the burning silver chains. She thought maybe he was considering it. He ceased his pacing and a blank stare began falling over his features.
“Time for talking later. My wife wishes to have a word.” His form wavered, and he disappeared from the room.
“Damn it!” Riley pounded her fists on the ground.
***
Jerrod looked for hours, following Riley’s quickly fading scent. The minute he left Happy kneeling on the floor of the condo, he caught her unmistakable smell. If he didn’t find her, Happy would be the first Alpha to be taken out by an Omega. His mind swirled with regrets when it came to Riley. He let Happy, fill his head with shit, and in turn treated Riley like she was less because of it.
His gut knotted at the thought that maybe he wouldn’t find her. He was going to get his mate killed because he didn’t trust her. No, he would find her. He would find her and show her how much she meant to him. How much he loved her. Yes, he did love her. He knew it now. The possibility that he would never see her again loomed. It was so clear. He not only wanted her from the moment he laid eyes on her, he loved her just as long. How had he been so stupid?
He stopped taking in the air around him, testing it for the millionth time, looking for Riley’s scent. He caught it beyond the walls of a crumbling Police station. All that was left was a few letters of the word Metropolitan. The last three letters hanging from various angles next to the equally skewed P O L. The rest was missing along with the bricks that used to hold them proudly. Holes gaped on either side of the building. Jerrod imagined the bomb ripping through the building, killing the constables who were housed there.
He got closer doing his best to be silent. If she was in there he was sure she wasn’t alone. The same rank stench that he got a whiff of earlier in the hunt, hit his nose again. It was putrid, like rotting flesh and old damp earth. She was in there somewhere alright, now he just needed to figure out how to get to her.
He crept around to the side with the biggest hole. Peering into the shadowed interior, he caught sight of a sliver of light from underneath a door on the far side of the room. He went inside, cautious not to step on the broken glass and computer parts littering the ground. The crumpled paper was hard to avoid since it covered every inch of the room, from leaning desks to the blood-stained floor.
The closer he got to the door. He could hear her. His heart sped up, and relief washed over him. She wasn’t dead. That was what mattered most at the moment. Even though her words were vile curses, they were the sweetest thing he had heard all day. He couldn’t hear anyone else in the room with her, but they wouldn’t be far.
His senses on high alert, he moved in, opening the door slowly and praying that the hinges didn’t squeak. When silence greeted his ears, he let out a breath that he wasn’t aware he was holding. Scanning the room, he noticed it was a holding tank. Both walls were lined with cells divided by gray brick walls. The rotting stench in this room was so bad he stifled the urge to vomit.
Another round of curses sounded from one of the cells near the end, and his feet began moving before he could think. As he passed the first cell, he realized he might have made a mistake. A large misshapen lump began to stir on the metal cot attached to the wall. It stood tall, reaching a dizzying height. It looked like a shifter stuck between forms and extremely pissed. It charged the cell door but was stopped by a chain linked around its ankle.
“You should not be here.” Its speech was garbled but understandable. The voice was feminine sounding beneath the guttural rumble.
“You have come for her. You are a good mate. Most would not. They see us and run in terror for they know our master and cower in fear. You must hurry, he will return soon.” She went back to her cot and sat hiding her grotesque face in her hands. It was odd, but he could feel the deep loneliness and shame exuding from the creature. Despite his better judgment, he got closer.
“Let me help you.” He said softly.
“There is no help for me. I am in the only place I can ever be.” She looked up at him, the tears spilling from her coal-black eyes to run down her fur covered face. Looking closely, he could almost make out the beauty she might have been.
“I’ll get you out. You can run. Go far away from here where he won’t find you.” He didn’t understand the compulsion to help this woman. He knew he should be focused on getting Riley out, but the sadness coming for this creature tore at his heart.
“Go! Free your mate! Leave me! Go! Now!” She bared her elongating fangs at him and lunged at the door. He took a step back, and she settled into her bed curling into a ball.
“Jerrod?” Riley’s sweet voice whispered from down the hall. He raced towards her, ignoring the occupants of the other cells. Some growled, while others merely lifted their heads only to lay them back with indifference. He reached the cell Riley was in and stopped. She was chained down by both arms and legs in the middle of a dirt floor. It must be used as some kind of punishment cell judging by the array of chains that hung from various places in the wall. A huge mass of fur and flesh lay only a few feet from where Riley was chained.
“Oh, Jerrod, thank the Gods.” Riley said his name like an answered prayer, and tears slid down her dirt caked face. The door to the cell stood open, and he entered wearily, eyeing the creature that lay unmoving .
Are you ok? He asked her hoping she would hear him. She only stared at him in expectation, so he presumed she was locked down tight.
“Do you know where the keys are?” He whispered to her nodding at the chains that bound her. “I think he has them.” She said as she pointed at the creature. “I think he’s dead. He hasn’t moved in a long time.”
“What the hell happened to him?” he asked.
“Erebus.” That single word made Jerrod shudder. Erebus was the God that started this whole mess. The God that had taken so many Other Kind, ordered the experiments, and turned Jade and these creatures into what they were.
Jerrod moved to him and began searching through the pockets of his tattered pants. His fingers brushed metal, and he hooked it, pulling out a single key on a small ring. He grabbed a chain only to recoil from the searing pain that burned through his palm.
“Be careful, they’re silver.” Riley let out a shaky breath and watched Jerrod grab the chain with the tail of his shirt and unlock them one by one. As soon as they were off, she launched herself into his arms. All he could think about was how much he wanted to keep her there, in his grasp, for the rest of their lives. He brought unsteady hands to her face and kissed her with every bit of his soul.
“I’m never going to let anything happen to you ever again. I promise it Riley.” Jerrod said when he finally pulled away.
“Don’t go making any promises you can’t keep.” A guttural voice said. Jerrod's eyes flicked to where the creature had been laying only to find him standing up with his teeth bared. Jerrod pushed Riley behind him and got to his feet in one swift motion. Knowing the best defense was a good offense, he charged straight into the hulking mass. His teeth rattled in his head, and his shoulder screamed in pain. Damn these things were pure muscle and ugly.
It brought down its hands down, clapping Jerrod on the back of the head. He fought the dizziness and swept his foot behind the creature bringing them both to the ground. Dangerously sharp fangs came too close to his throat, and he felt the sting of ripping flesh. He could hear Riley’s screams behind him, but pushed them out of his head. If he failed, they were both going to die, of that he had no doubt.
Jerrod’s fist connected with the side of the beast’s head and felt the satisfying crunch of bone. The thing howled in pain but didn’t let up. A burning pain ripped up Jerrod’s side as the beast raked claws along his ribcage. This time the scream ripped from his macerated throat. He felt the wolf inside him clawing to the surface, and God help him, he let it. He felt his bones pop and crunch and muscles tear.
Jerrod was vaguely aware of a growl behind him, but he didn’t care. He had his prey right where he wanted him. Beneath Jerrod’s huge form the creature struggled to throw him off. He watched absently as his hands that were no longer hands clawed their way down its face. Then Jerrod was flying through the air, his stomach heaving and his back cracking as he slammed into a wall.
He stood still on all fours, a shrill whine escaping him as his back protested. The beast charged. Jerrod crouched the muscles in his hind legs, preparing to lunge. Out of the corner of his eye, a honey-colored flash of fur streaked across the room landing on the beasts back. Tearing at anything and everything she could reach. The creature reached back as if to throw her off, and Jerrod leapt.
His teeth sank deep into the soft flesh of its throat. Blood poured into his mouth, and Jerrod pulled. He landed on his feet swinging his head to the side disposing of the flesh caught in his maws. Riley jumped as the beast went down landing next to where Jerrod stood. It didn’t take long for it to grow still as the blood pooled beneath its body.
Come on, we need to get the hell out of here before the other guy comes back. A whole pack wouldn’t stand a chance against him, let alone the two of us.
I need to do something first. It won’t take long I promise. Jerrod led the way with Riley following closely behind. He stopped in front of that first cell, watching the woman stand from her cot.
What the hell Jerrod? She’s locked up; she can’t do anything to us.
I know. I’m going to free her.
Are you out of your fucking mind? Riley’s hysterical voice followed him through the painful but swift transformation. She growled behind him and pushed on his leg with her muzzle, but he ignored her. He was willing to bet that this one key opened everything in this place, from cell doors to shackles. He slid the key in the door and smiled as his assumption proved correct. The door swung open and Jerrod stepped inside the cell with the woman. Funny, it was hard to think of her as a creature even though she was just like the rest. There was something different about her.
“You have your mate, what are you doing? You risk too much, young wolf.” Her words were hollow. He could feel the gratitude that radiated from her. He knelt down next to her and unlocked the chain around her ankle. As the bonds fell to the floor, he felt a great sense of peace wash over him. He did the right thing.
“You must hurry. Go now. He is coming!” She growled out. Jerrod didn’t hesitate; he bolted from the room with Riley fast on his heels. They cleared the building, just as a growl loud enough to shake the ground below them, rang out. He wasn’t sure if the woman had made it, but was powerless to do anything else. At least he had given her a chance.
They kept running for so long Jerrod’s lungs and thighs burned with exertion. He had no idea where they were going, but he knew one thing for sure, it wasn’t back to Happy. No, he and Riley were going somewhere far away from all of this. It was selfish, but the Goddess told him he was going to be a father. He wasn’t willing to risk Riley, or his young for anyone. Jade and Happy would have to carry on the fight without them.