| |
SAM
“That fucking idiot!”
I trembled with rage as Dane and I awaited the arrival of the cavalry. Dexter and Grayson and every other Alpha and Beta wolf in the pack were on their way.
We needed help taking down these bears and rescuing our Alpha.
We couldn’t do it on our own.
And so I trembled with fear, a block away from the bear’s apartment block.
“What now?” Dane demanded, pacing the sidewalk and cussing as he went back and forth.
I hung up the phone after I listened to the voice mail.
“Tayte. He’s...” I swallowed. I knew he’d done it.
Before I’d gotten the confirmation, I knew he’d gone to the bears and offered himself up. But to hear it on my cell was a whole other level of grief.
I cleared my throat. “He’s made a deal with the bears. His life for Celeste’s, and peace between the two packs.”
“He fucking what?” Dane glared at me.
I glared back. “What the hell are you looking at me like that for?”
“This is your fault! You blamed him for what happened to Celeste.”
“So did you!” We all had, Claire included.
“I didn’t want him to fucking die, though!” Dane’s voice cut out halfway through his words.
I swallowed the lump in my throat as I struggled to hold back a wave of grief.
“I know... I know. Neither did I. I was just angry.”
Angry that Fate had dealt us such an ugly hand. At Tayte, for being stupid enough to lie about the most important thing in our lives. And Celeste, for believing what she’d heard and not coming to us to find out if it was true.
I groaned as the realization hit.
I was angry at Celeste.
But I hadn’t been able to feel that part of it. After what had happened to her that night, I’d pushed the anger down.
But part of me felt betrayed.
Betrayed that she’d snuck out to follow Tayte like he was doing something wrong. Betrayed that she’d run from us the first chance she got. Betrayed that she’d believed such an obvious and stupid lie.
After everything we’d said and done for her, that one lie was what she’d believed? So much so, that she’d endangered her own life and that of our daughter. And now, her disbelief had endangered Tayte’s life, too.
I focused back on Dane as the screech and rumble of the pack’s trucks pulled up and caught my attention.
“First thing’s first. We have to save our Alpha before he becomes bear meat.”
The procession of cars and trucks filled up the whole street.
The pack was here.
Dex jogged straight to me. “What’s the situation?”
“Tayte’s offered himself in exchange for Celeste and to stop any future attacks against the pack, so the bears have him and intend to kill him. They may have already done so.”
I didn’t think they’d be so quick about it, but what did I know about the execution strategies of bear shifters?
Dexter groaned. “This was not meant to happen. Tayte only said that stuff about Celeste to buy us some time to work out a better strategy than all-out war.”
I glanced behind me, where dozens of young, healthy men were piling out of their cars.
“Well, it looks like the war is on.”
Dexter nodded and went over to the rest of the pack members to explain what was going on.
“We need to go. Now.” Dane nodded at a bunch of kids who’d spotted us.
They looked like bears, somehow, and when they began to run, we went after them.
We didn’t want them alerting the adults to our presence.
“Dex! Gray!”
We ran, following the kids to a huge apartment block and straight through the front door of the place.
We could hear a ruckus in the backyard and charged down the corridor to where a horror story was unfolding before me.
Tayte was chained up against the fence, and it looked like they were taking turns beating him up. He was naked, bleeding and sliced.
“No!”
The shift came on me faster than it ever had.
I ran straight at the man with the knife, who was poised to stick it straight into Tayte’s belly.
I clamped onto his wrist and ripped flesh from bone. Blood spurted through my teeth and I growled as I tore harder.
That’s when the screaming began.
Women began to run, grabbing children, as my pack charged for the men.
Bear shifters began to shift and charge the wolves. The fight was on.
Whether we meant to begin a war or not, it seemed we were in one.
I stood in front of Tayte, growling and snapping at anyone who attempted to approach.
Then Dane’s small, brown wolf bounded past me and shifted back to human.
“Oh, damn it, Tayte. What have you gone and done now?” Dane complained as he pulled at the bonds, managing to get Tayte off the fence.
I glanced at my Alpha. His arm was hanging at a weird angle. His gut was partially sliced open and as he fell forward and grabbed his belly, I almost vomited.
They’d actually gutted him, or tried to.
Part of his belly was spilling through his fingers.
I whirled around at the sound of vicious growling behind me.
A huge, black bear was down on all fours, charging me.
It was Trevor.
He was dead.
I ran straight at the bear, using the momentum to jump over him before twirling back and biting at his ears. His claws swung at my head.
I rolled and ducked and went for his hind legs.
Then there was another black wolf, flashing into my vision, coming to help me, and two huge silver wolves beside him.
It was us against them.
Two Alpha and two Beta wolves, taking down an Alpha bear.
I tore at his neck, sinking my teeth in and drawing blood.
This wasn’t a fight where we’d just walk away after our point was made.
No. One side had to lose. Permanently.
And it couldn’t be us.
Dexter’s wolf tore at Trevor’s eyes and face.
The other bears began to back away, not stepping up to support their Alpha but instead, running for their lives.
Some of our other wolves went after the bears that ran but I stayed and shifted back, my heart pounding in my chest as my human eyes took in the state of my Alpha.
He was on his knees with Dane beside him.
Oh, God.
They’d burnt his face and gashed his ear, too.
“We need to get you to the hospital. Let’s go.”
Dane and I put our arms around Tayte and he groaned in agony.
“My shoulder’s... broken.”
I tried to avoid touching his injuries, but it was almost impossible with the amount of wounds and blood on him.
“Your belly’s more of a worry at the moment, Tayte. Let’s go,” I said.
I dragged my Alpha to our car and we rushed him to emergency.
At this rate we were going to need to build a hospital in our own town.