Chapter 14
Maverik sent a message to all four males thoroughly enjoying taunting Harland. We’re here.
Who’s we? Remi sent back.
Everly. Do not protect her, let her do her thing.
Before they could ask anything else, they could hear Everly’s voice calling in the distance.
“Emmalyn? Honey, it’s Mom, are you out here?”
Of course, there was no answer, so Everly continued calling. “Emmalyn! If you can hear me, you need to answer me right now! This is not funny!”
What’s she doing? She knows where Emmalyn is, Kiernan thought in his head voice to Havoc, Remi, and Shawn.
It’s a trap, Havoc said.
Yeah, it is. Watch this, Remi agreed. Not sure exactly what they have planned, but Aunt Everly is badass, and if she wants justice for this fucker hurting her child, it’s hers.
What do we do? Shawn asked.
Just fade into the background until we figure out exactly what she has in mind, Havoc said.
Harland watched as the monsters became aware of the woman moving toward them. They seemed to come to some sort of silent agreement and shifted back into their beasts, then slipped into the shadows of the woods — all except the Dragon — who lifted into the air almost silently.
Harland watched as Emmalyn’s mother came into view. He knew exactly who she was. He’d watched her many times, practically calling to him from the windows in her home. He’d almost decided to take her for his new collection, but ultimately couldn’t shake the need to make Emmalyn pay for all the time he’d wasted collecting the females he’d deemed worthy, just to have them all die. It was clearly her fault they were all dead. Without her interference, he’d still be happily holding them captive.
Harland’s focus shifted back to the woman still calling her daughter, when he saw the Wolf and two Foxes tentatively step into the clearing far to her left.
“Yes, that’s it. Eat that bitch instead of me. Then I’ll run my ass out of here,” he whispered to himself.
I need him to make a grab for me , Everly thought to Havoc and Remi and Maverik.
Let’s make him think we’re considering hunting you instead of him, maybe he’ll make a break for it, Remi thought at her from above.
Maverik tucked himself low to the ground, stalking Everly like she was his prey. Havoc, Kiernan, and Shawn did the same. As they got closer to her, their focus solely on her, Remi swooped down, his claws open, grasping for her.
She ducked and screamed.
Harland burst from his hiding spot, running in the opposite direction.
Havoc quickly circled around, as did Remi, herding him back toward Everly.
Harland had no choice but to run full out, as quickly as he could back in the direction of Emmalyn’s mother. When he got close enough he barreled into her, grabbing her and holding her in front of him.
“Eat her! Eat her, not me!” using her like a shield as he turned in a circle, facing first one direction, then another.
Everly screamed, faking fear and desperation.
Harland practically spit at her. “Shut up! Shut your fucking, screaming mouth, or I’ll kill you where you stand.”
His words stopped as he realized the scent of her blood would probably send these creatures into a blood induced feeding frenzy, giving him a chance to get away. He smiled coldly as he quickly wrapped his hands around her throat, pressing his thumbs into her windpipe. “Won’t be long. I’ll just tear out your windpipe, they’ll rip you apart, and I’ll get away.”
Everly smiled at him, then winked as she shrank down into her Fox, leaving him holding her shirt as her pants fell to the ground beneath her, as she in her Fox form, dropped to the ground. The moment her paws hit the ground, Everly launched herself back at him, her mouth open, her long, sharp canines on display as she took aim at his throat.
He stumbled back a few paces, trying to maintain his balance, his arms pinwheeling as he tried to fend her off.
Everly’s lean, lithe Fox, simply twisted her body between his arms, her paws scrabbling at his chest as her jaws closed, his flesh and tendons between them.
He gave half a shriek as she began to shake and yank her own body back and forth, leaving an open wound in the side of his neck.
Blood began to spurt from the wound as she fell to the ground again, then quickly shifted back to her human form.
His expression changed to one of disbelief, then fear as she spoke again. “You should have never touched my daughter. You were a dead man the moment you even considered it.”
He whimpered as his hands flew up to try to staunch the flow of blood, as she stood over him.
Unable to stop herself, she reached down and slashed the claws of her right hand across his face, shredding the skin of one side of his face.
As she watched, the blood splatter became less and less powerful with each pump of his heart struggling to perform its duty with little blood left in his system. “After what you did to my daughter, and to all those other women I heard about, you’re lucky I didn’t feed you to the gators alive.”
“It’s not too late, Remi’s right there,” Havoc said, having shifted back to human and joined her.
Everly looked up at Remi, slowly circling overhead.
“No.” She leaned over Harland’s face growing more and more pale by the second. “I want my face to be the last he sees, so he’ll be sure to recognize me when he sees me in the next life. I’ll bargain to be exactly wherever you’re sent, because when I get there, it’s game on again, motherfucker. I will hunt you and rip you apart for eternity.” She smiled menacingly while watching his eyes go from afraid to flat and unseeing.
“Stupid fucker,” she grumbled as she kicked him twice before she stood back.
“I’d say that’s revenge,” Maverik said from right behind her.
“I’d like to do it all over again.”
“We’d all like to, but if Emmalyn can’t do it herself, it’s only fitting that you do,” Havoc said.
Remi landed and shifted into human form. “Couldn’t have done it better myself, Aunt Everly.”
“Thank you, Remi.”
Kiernan and Shawn shifted back into their human form as well, and inclined their heads to her. “I’m impressed,” Shawn said.
“Same. How’s your daughter?” Kiernan asked.
“She’s not awake yet. But she’s better. If y’all can take care of what’s left, I think I’ll be getting back to her.”
“You head on back, Aunt Everly. I can turn him to ash,” Remi said.
“Thank you, Remi. I’ll see you boys back at Barron’s.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Havoc said.
“You ready, Ms. Badass?” Maverik asked.
“I am.”
“Let’s go, then. If they’ve noticed we’re gone, we gonna be in for a world of shit.”
Havoc turned and looked at them as they walked away. “Are you kidding me? Look at her.”
Maverik took a second and really looked at Everly. She was covered in blood spatter, and her eyes shone like the Fox that lived inside her. “Yeah, I doubt anybody will give us too much shit today. You might hurt them.”
“Bastard shouldn’t have fucked with my daughter,” she growled, stomping her way back the way she and Maverik had originally come.
“You want your clothes, Aunt Everly?” Havoc called out.
But it was too late, she and Maverik had already shifted and set out at a run for Barron’s house.
~~~
The front door opened and Maverik walked through the door, still zipping his jeans. All conversation stopped as he met every eye in the room with a smirk. He waited by the door as Everly stepped through it, still nude, and wearing the blood of the man she’d just slain.
“Holy shit!” Kaid shouted, jumping up and rushing to make sure Everly was okay.
“What the hell happened?!” Brandt demanded, reaching Everly before Kaid did.
“Do not touch me. I’m fine,” Everly half-growled.
“Yeah, she is!” Maverik crowed proudly. “Should have seen her. I’d choose Everly to be on my zombie team any damn day!”
“Everly…” Delilah said, from her perch on the edge of the sofa.
“What?” Everly snapped. “Are you actually going to try to tell me if it was your child he hurt you wouldn’t have personally gone after him?”
“Not at all. What I’m trying to say is why didn’t you let me go with you? I would have enjoyed the sport, I think.”
“Everly?” Tempest said, approaching her cautiously since it was clear she was still worked up.
Everly turned her still angry gaze on Tempest.
“Would you like a bathrobe?” Tempest asked kindly.
Everly looked down at her body, then around the room at all her family. They were shifters, most of them anyway, and nudity didn’t phase any of them, but the blood was probably a little over the top. Everly nodded quickly.
Tempest gestured toward Everly and a deep green satin robe appeared on her body, belted at the waist.
Everly looked down at the robe, then at Tempest. “Thank you.”
Tempest smiled at her. “You’re welcome to use the shower, or not. Whatever you prefer.”
The bedroom door opened and Bam walked out. “What is going on out h…” he stopped short of finishing his sentence when he saw his mate. She was now clothed in a green satin robe, which was slowly beginning to display smaller wet spots of blood. Blood soaked through some of the strands of curls near the front of her head, and her face, neck and hands were bloodstained, too. His face became stony. “What did you do?” he demanded going directly to her.
He stood so close to her that she had to crane her neck to look up high enough to look him in the eye. “I killed the Sonofabitch! And you know what? I’d kill him again.”
“You went out, tracked him, killed him, and didn’t even bother to tell me that you were leaving! What if something had happened to you?”
“Nothing is going to happen to me. I’m a shifter for God’s sake.”
“Emmalyn is a shifter, too. A Bear shifter! And something happened to her!”
“He caught her off guard. I wasn’t off guard.”
“Damnit, Everly!” Bam snarled.
“Don’t damnit me! I am not some weak little inexperienced female that needs saving! I never have been. I think you forget that sometimes.” She turned and left the room, her attention on the bathroom and the shower Tempest had mentioned.
“You should have told me, Everly!” Bam insisted.
“Why, so you could stop me?” she half-yelled.
“How could you risk yourself like that! I wasn’t there to protect you!”
“I was fine. Maverik and the boys were with me.”
“What boys?”
“Havoc, Remi, Kiernan and Shawn. And it’s all taken care of. You’re welcome.”
“You still should have told me, Everly!”
“I kind of told you.”
“When?!” he demanded.
“I said I’d be right back. Did I not say I’d be back?”
“That is not the same thing and you know it!”
A slight rumble rattled her slight chest, and she pegged him with a stare that said she would not be apologizing for her actions. “I need you to understand that I had to avenge my child. I need this from you.”
He sighed and simply looked at her.
“Are we done here?” she snapped.
“Next time you tell me,” he said, pointing a finger at her.
She looked at the finger he pointed in her direction, then raised her glare to his eyes.
Slowly he retracted his finger and let his hand fall back to his side.
“I’ll try,” she said, turning her back on him to continue out of the room.
“Everly!” Bam called after her.
Everly stopped and turned to face him, her expression clearly indicating she was not in the mood for any type of bullshit.
“Did you make him suffer? Was he terrified? Did you make him regret he ever even considered a second thought about our Emmalyn?” Bam asked.
“Absolutely. And I made sure the last face he saw as he died was mine. I told him he’d need to remember what I looked like so when I track him down in hell he’ll know it’s me that’s tracking and tearing his throat out over and over and over again for eternity.”
Bam nodded and smiled satisfactorily. “Good girl,” he said.
“Oh, Everly, you won’t be going to hell,” Avaleigh said.
“We’ll see. I might not be done yet,” Everly snapped.
“Don’t worry, Everly! I’m sure I’ll be there too. Oh! We can get matching outfits and dress like Thelma and Louise when we hunt him down again,” Delilah said with a gleam in her eye.
Everly grinned coldly at Delilah, then merely winked at her as she turned to go in search of that shower.
~~~
After Everly showered, she stepped out of the shower, wrapped in a towel, wondering if she could borrow something from Barron, or maybe just send Maverik to her house to get some of her clothes. The last thing she wanted was to put the robe back on. It reeked of the human’s blood. She turned to look at the robe hanging on the hook behind the door, and smiled to herself when she saw the clothes she’d had on when she’d hunted the man down. Only they were perfectly clean, no dirt, no blood splattered on them, nothing at all. She reached for her jeans and shirt and held them to her nose, inhaling deeply. They even smelled freshly laundered. Had to be Tempest.
Everly finished drying off, then used her towel to get most of the water out of her long, thick curls, then put her clothes back on. She walked out of the bathroom and into the living room.
“Feeling better?” Avaleigh asked pleasantly.
“She wasn’t feeling poorly to begin with,” Delilah muttered.
“We brought your clothes back,” Remi said.
“Thank you, Remi. I appreciate it,” she said, running a hand absentmindedly over the hem of her shirt and the top of her jeans.
“Tempest cleaned them for you, though,” Havoc said.
Everly smiled at Tempest, who was sitting in a chair with Brandt uncharacteristically hovering.
“Are you hungry, Everly?” Janie asked from the kitchen.
“No, thank you,” she said.
“How about something to drink?” Janie asked, walking into the living room to hand her a big glass of tea. Janie paused to hug her before she handed over the tea. “You know? I’ve never wanted to be a shifter more than today. To see you avenge your baby like that, I wish I could have that much strength.”
Everly hugged Janie again. “You have us. We can do it for you if ever need be.”
Janie nodded, but she seemed more sad than she should have been. She handed the tea over then went over to sit with Bane. Bane pulled her close and patted her shoulder before kissing the top of her head. “You good, my heart?” he asked.
“Mmhmm,” Janie answered, smiling up at him. “We’re going to need to get Daisy home so she can rest pretty soon.”
Delilah wasn’t the only one who detected a slight lie in the evasive answer Janie gave Bane.
“I’m okay for now,” Daisy said. “I just want to make sure she at least wakes before I leave.”
“I’m going to check on her now,” Everly said.
“We’ll be right out here if you need us,” Tempest said.
Delilah stood up and stretched her arms over her head, twisting her back this way and that. “I’m going to step outside and call Tessa.”
“Where is she?” Avaleigh asked, just realizing that Tessa wasn’t there.
“She’s spending the night with a friend.”
“Oh, that’s nice,” Avaleigh said.
“It is. I like that she’s beginning to bond with kids her own age,” Delilah said. Then she looked at Janie. “Janie, would you like to step outside with me while I call Tessa?”
Janie looked up at Delilah. “I’m okay right here.”
Delilah rolled her eyes, then pasted a fake smile on her face. “I’d really like it if you’d walk out on the porch with me. I have something I’d like to share with you.”
“Oh! Okay. I’m coming!” Janie said, standing up and following Delilah outside.
Valerie, who was sitting with Harley quietly coloring at her feet, looked over at Maverik who was far too happy. He felt her watching him and turned one of his mega-watt smiles on her. “Hey, baby,” he said.
Valerie didn’t smile back. She watched him expressionlessly.
“What? What’d I do wrong?!” he asked defensively.
Harley sat back and looked at him. “Poppy, I think you should have told Val you were going to help Daddy and everybody catch the bad guy. You didn’t,” she said, shaking her head.
“Valerie, I just didn’t want anybody to stop us, and I knew that it was important to Everly.”
“You should have told me you were leaving,” Valerie said coldly.
“You always gots to get permission. You can’t go off on your own without permission, Poppy. Everybody gets mad,” Harley said, rolling her eyes.
Maverik looked Valerie in the eye. “We weren’t alone out there. Havoc, Remi, even Kiernan and Shawn already had him pinned down and were just playing at terrifying him. It was perfectly safe, Valerie.”
“I’m not saying it wasn’t. But you need to let me know when you go gallivanting off. When are you going to learn that?” Valerie asked.
“Probably never. I ain’t lying to you. Sometimes I just have to follow my instincts. If I stop to talk it through with you, you’ll come up with all kinds of reasons that it’s not a sensible decision. And, Valerie, my love, you have to understand that I’m not meant to be a sensible male. I’m all about the instinct. But if it’s ever serious enough that it might be more dangerous than usual, I’ll let you know then. I promise you that. How’s that?” he asked.
“It’s better than nothing,” Valerie answered.
“Better than before,” he pointed out.
“True,” she agreed. “And for the record, I’m not angry you went, I’m irritated you didn’t bother to let me know you were leaving.”
“How long it take you to figure out that I was missing?” he asked.
“About three minutes.”
“You see? You already knew what I was up to,” Maverik said, grinning at her.
“He’s not going to ask permission is he?” Harley asked, looking up at Valerie.
“Nope. He never does,” Valerie said.
The front door opened and Ronan stepped inside. “Hey, I hurried over here the minute Kiernan and Shawn got home. Any word on Emmalyn?” he asked.
“I think she’ll be okay. She’ll just need some time to heal,” Natalie said.
“Oh, good! I was worried. Glad she’ll be okay,” Ronan said. He walked over to his dad and held out his hand for a high-five. “Shawn was telling me about you bringing Everly out to take her vengeance on the bastard. Wish I was there!” Ronan said proudly.
Maverik shushed his youngest son. Shaking his head just enough for Ronan to be able to see it.
Ronan tried to ask why he was shushing him, and Maverik cut his eyes from Valerie to Ronan and back again.
Ronan laughed.
Maverik smirked, and Valerie shook her head and sighed. “What am I going to do with the both of you?” she asked.
“Hey! Me, too. Don’t forget about me,” Havoc said.
“Oh, no. You’re mated. You’re Analise’s problem now,” Valerie teased.
“You know you love us, Mom. You’d be so bored without us,” Havoc said.
Valerie smiled and refused to acknowledge Havoc was absolutely right.