Chapter Nineteen #2
“This is our mountain,” Levi yelled from behind them.
The men moved into a rough circle, aware they were surrounded. “All I want is my niece. She belongs with family.”
“She left you,” Eli called out. “She’s with her chosen pack.” Staying low, he worked his way closer. The wind was still in his favor, keeping his scent hidden.
“We’re her pack.” Duke didn’t seem as concerned as he should be considering the circumstances. He still believed he had the advantage. He likely thought his son and enforcers were hidden higher up on the mountain.
It was time to end this. Eli moved out into the open about fifty feet from the group. “If you’re waiting for Nash or Holden or their buddies, I wouldn’t hold my breath.”
The smug smirk on Duke’s face faded to one of grief. “My son.”
Eli had no sympathy for him, for any of them. “Did you know he was planning on overthrowing you and taking the pack? He bragged about it. He was the one who took out your brother, Kinley’s daddy.” While he had the attention of most of them, Cyrus had silently dispatched another one.
“You’re lying.” Duke howled and his pack attacked. Two of them leapt at Eli. Out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of the alpha not fighting or fleeing but heading straight up the mountain.
Kinley! He silently screamed her name as he shifted and began the fight of his life.
****
Kinley dragged her feet across the yard. No less than a dozen times she’d almost turned around. Only her vow to Eli kept her from doing so.
You’re a distraction that’s going to get me or one of my brothers killed.
His cutting words echoed in her heart until it bled.
What was worse was he was right. Nash would have killed her if he hadn’t intervened.
In a one-on-one fight with a male wolf, she could hold her own for a short time, do some damage, and maybe win if she got extremely lucky, but her presence would distract Eli or his brothers when they needed to be focused. They were greatly outnumbered.
She rubbed her hands up and down her arms as she went up the porch stairs. Rather than go inside, she stood and listened intently. The silence made her skin prickle. Not knowing what was happening stretched her nerves taut. She paced back and forth, too agitated to sit.
Nothing could happen to Eli. She pressed her hand over her heart, trying to ease the tightness of her chest. I’m in love with him. She’d been too afraid to admit it. Now faced with the prospect of losing him, there was no holding back the flood of emotions.
She slid down against the side of the house as the realization sank in. “Oh, God. I’m in love with him.” Would he want to even look at her if one of his brothers died because of her?
In such a short time, all the Sin brothers had wiggled their way into her heart.
From smart and clever Zach, to Noah with his need to feed everyone, Levi’s sly wit, Josiah’s silent presence, and Silas’s teasing humor.
She even liked dour Cyrus, with his gruff and mistrustful ways.
The love the brothers had for one another was palpable.
She envied them their closeness. They’d come to Eli’s aid, her aid, without question. That kind of loyalty was priceless.
And it was at risk all because of her. Oh, she wasn’t taking the blame for her uncle’s actions, nor Nash’s or Holden’s or any of the others from her pack.
They were destructive by nature, taking down anyone and anything in the path of whatever they wanted.
Without her daddy’s presence to temper them, they were out of control.
But she was the one who’d approached Eli, who’d gotten him and his brothers into his mess.
She wasn’t sure she’d ever get past the guilt of that.
A lone howl broke the silence. Several crows erupted from the nearby treetops and flew away. A bushy-tailed squirrel scampered up a tree to hide. She pushed to her feet and hugged a porch post for support. The fight had begun. It was Eli and his brothers against so many.
“Please be okay. Please.” She didn’t know how long she prayed before she heard someone rushing through the woods, feet pounding against the ground, body slapping against branches. Her heart leapt.
Eli!
She’d taken a step toward the porch steps when reality hit. Eli and his brothers moved like smoke through the trees, totally in tune with their surroundings. Either something was terribly wrong or it wasn’t one of the Sin brothers.
Should she go inside and hide or run? Eli told you to stay at the house. Of course, he’d never expected anyone to get past him and make it this far.
A large wolf tore out of the woods, foaming at the mouth, eyes wild and fangs flashing. Duke! This was the man behind every single misery in her life. He’s come to kill me.
Somehow, he must have found out Nash was dead. He also wasn’t stopping. She dove out of the way and launched herself over the porch rail. Duke crashed into the front door and through it. He scrambled back up on his paws and howled.
Kinley shifted and ran for her life with him in pursuit. Fear crept up her spine threatening to debilitate her. There was no escape. Duke was alpha because he was the strongest, the most brutal in the pack.
She couldn’t defeat him, not on her own.
He was gaining on her. She could practically feel his breath on her neck.
Taking a gamble, she circled the house and leapt onto the porch.
She surged through the broken door and down the hall to the office.
If she was wrong, she was dead. Her only hope was that Cyrus hadn’t locked the shotgun back in the gun safe and that it was loaded.
She skidded around the corner and slammed into the wall. Toenails skidding on the wood floor, she scrambled to her feet, shifted back to human, grabbed the gun from where it was propped against the wall, spun around, and pulled the trigger.
The loud blast made her ears ring. She’d hit her target, but the wolf yelped and kept coming. The kick from the weapon knocked her back a step. She righted herself and fired again.
The wolf was bleeding but not down. She needed a head or heart shot for that.
The beast leapt at her. Ignoring the burn from the heated barrel, she wielded the shotgun like a club, smashing the stock against Duke’s skull.
The gun snapped into two pieces. Dropping them, she shifted as she ran.
With him blocking the only exit, she ducked her head and crashed through the window.
Glass shattered. Several shards sliced through her fur.
Landing hard, she tumbled head over heels.
Duke flew out the window behind her. She rolled, barely avoiding his massive jaws and razor-sharp claws.
Panting heavily, heart pounding, she spun around to face him.
She couldn’t outrun him, and they both knew it.
There was no reasoning with him at the best of times. Now he was totally out of control.
He stalked toward her, his eyes gleaming with satisfaction. The bastard was enjoying himself. Made her wonder if Nash had gotten his taste for hunting humans from his daddy. She growled, unwilling to back down.
Duke shifted to human, the familiar smug smile on his face. “Your protector is dead.”
Pain split her heart. Eli! She shook her head, refusing to believe him. She’d know if something had happened to him, wouldn’t she? Duke lied. He’d say anything to hurt her.
“My son is dead because you refused to do your duty.” How like him to blame her for his and his son’s shortcomings. Nothing was ever his fault. It was always someone else’s. She growled again and snapped. He skittered back a step before he caught himself.
“You’ll pay for that.” He shifted back to his wolf form and pounced.
Expecting it, Kinley sprang to the side but not fast enough.
Powerful jaws gripped the back of her neck and shook her, rattling her bones.
Breathing became more difficult. Blood scented the air.
She dug her claws into the ground, desperately trying to scramble away.
Duke’s larger, heavier body pushed her down, making escape impossible.
Then the weight was suddenly gone from her. Gasping, she lay on the ground, bleeding and exhausted. “I killed her. You’re too late,” Duke screamed. Inch by painful inch, she turned her head, needing to see what was happening.
A silent and swift harbinger of death, Eli straddled Duke in his human form. Claws ripped out from the tips of his fingers. Lips pulled back in a feral snarl, he rammed them into Duke’s chest and ripped out his heart.
Kinley closed her eyes and rested her cheek against the warm earth. Eli was safe. Nothing else mattered. Then he was kneeling in the dirt beside her. “Kinley, look at me.”
Her eyes were heavy. It was a struggle, but she managed to open them, wanting to see him one last time. Strength waning, she somehow managed to shift back to human form. “Kept.” She tried to swallow and tasted blood. “Vow.” As the last word left her, so did her breath. Her world went black.