Chapter 2
Chapter Two
The door to the bar opened and slammed shut.
“I don’t think the lady wants to go with you.”
“Be a smart man and go back inside where it’s safe. I won’t give you another chance.” Beck turned his back on me.
Seeing my opportunity, I nailed Dean in the nuts with my knee and swiped him across the throat with my claws.
The wound would be deep enough to immobilize him without killing the fucker, I hoped.
I wasn’t sure how long it would take for Raul and the others to return with the van, but since the parking lot wasn’t huge, I assumed it would be minutes at most.
Beck turned at the sound of Dean’s gasp. “You stupid cunt.”
The animalistic growl he let out scared me more than the thought of what my brother would say if I exposed what we were to humans.
“I’ve already called 911. I suggest you pick your buddy up and go.” The man from the hallway started walking toward us, cell phone in hand, bringing Beck’s attention back to him.
“Run,” I yelled.
The sound of an approaching vehicle had me sprinting away from the downed wolf and the open drive, putting me closer to Beck.
An enraged werewolf was unpredictable, but I couldn’t allow him to hurt a human.
Xan and Kellen had made sure Syn and I had trained with their best fighters, and while I knew I didn’t have the strength to take on a group of shifters, I prayed I was able to hold my own against one.
Beck had his back to me, but I could see he, too, had done a partial shift and was facing the gorgeous human.
The thought of him harming the man was not something I was willing to allow.
Using his distraction, I went low and took out his feet with a swift kick.
Man and wolf tended to underestimate me because I was small and acted docile. Beck was no exception.
“Aw, fuck,” the human rumbled.
At the same time, I felt the air stir. Our window of opportunity had passed, and the other wolves had returned.
“Go back inside and find Syn Styles. Have the DJ call for her. Tell her what’s happened. Go. Now.” I rocked on the balls of my feet, pushing him toward the door with my back to his front.
He snorted. “Sure thing, gorgeous. Just as soon as unicorns fly by.” His big hand came around me, trying to switch our positions.
I wanted to snuggle into him. I also wanted to shove him through the door and into safety.
As Beck got back to his feet and the others helped the downed wolf to the van, I thought they were going to leave.
Beck sprang at us with all the speed and strength of a full-grown werewolf on a rampage.
I placed myself in front of the human, knowing I could regenerate faster than he could.
His hand came around me, trying again to place me behind him.
I watched in horror as Beck brought his paw up, claws extended, hitting me with the full force of his strength on the side of my head. I flew across the pavement, head slamming into the concrete wall, making stars appear before my eyes.
I wasn’t sure what I’d expected, but it wasn’t to see my guy ready to take on a shifter. Whoa, slow your roll. I didn’t even know his name. The hit to my head must have done something to my brain.
Seeing the other two men return to their vehicle, I picked myself up.
My main goal was to help the man, and I hope we got out alive.
Surely, Syn was looking for me by now? The last thought gave me pause.
My best friend would never have allowed me to be gone for so long unless something had happened to her, too.
I let more of my wolf out, hearing seams rip and not caring that I was ruining a favorite pair of jeans.
I swore when the beautiful woman was thrown against the building.
Fear for her safety had sent me outside to check on her; seeing her being manhandled by the obnoxious man who needed a shower sealed the deal.
I’d come to the bar to get a drink or two and get laid.
Looked like I was going to get into a fight and need more than a few bottles of alcohol to erase the images of what I was seeing.
Nine, maybe ten-inch nails extended out of the man’s fingers, and the last time I’d checked, humans didn’t have that much hair, let alone fur, and the guy didn’t have either on his body earlier.
In all my training, the wars I’d fought, not a single foe compared to what I was facing.
“What the fuck are you?” I asked, thinking I should’ve brought my gun from my truck.
Three men advanced on me, looking more like something out of American Werewolf in London.
“You should’ve stayed inside like a good boy,” the half-man growled.
I felt the woman step up beside me, easing my fear that she was hurt from being tossed aside.
Like all good country boys, I pulled the knife I had strapped to my side.
The blade was longer than their claws, which I hoped was enough of an equalizer.
She squeezed my free hand, sporting her own set of extra-long nails. Although she was on my side, I hoped.
“Since the lady doesn’t want to go with y’all, why don’t we skip the pissing contest and forget all about this?” I released her hand, watching the body language of the three man-beasts. They were not experienced fighters, which gave me an advantage.
“There’s no reasoning with them. You should’ve run when I told you to.”
I didn’t take my eyes off the men as they fanned out in a semi-circle. “Darlin’, there wasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell I was gonna leave you out here to fight off these…whatever they are.”
The sound of gravel shifting beneath the man to my right’s feet had me kicking my steel-toed boot into his knee, followed by a roundhouse kick to the head.
When I looked down into the face of the man, no longer was there any indication he was human.
Gone was the shape of a human face, replaced with the muzzle of what appeared to be one of my worst nightmares.
Without hesitation, I grabbed the thing by the hair and cut his throat from ear to ear.
“You will pay for that.” One of the beasts’ garbled words cut across the night.
Before I could hop off the dead creature, I was hit so hard on the side, I was sure a rib or two was cracked.
In my line of work with the military, I’d suffered a lot worse damage and had learned to suppress the pain.
My training served me well as I rolled, keeping a firm hold on my serrated knife.
Out of the corner of my eye, I watched the woman fighting with amazing skill.
I landed with a thud on my back, momentarily stunned.
The large animal on top snapped at my neck.
I grunted in pain from the weight on my ribs, knowing I needed to get the upper hand quickly or I’d be a dead man.
What were wolves’ weaknesses? Never had I thought I’d need a silver bullet or wondered if that was actually a myth or truth.
Either way, I was going to die if I didn’t get out from under the snapping jaws.
Using all my strength, I heaved, bucking until I finally knocked the wolfman off.
Claws slashed my chest as we fought. The burn, like acid eating my skin, made it hard to focus.
I waved my knife hand. “Come on, pussy, is that all you got?”
An enraged howl, and then the animal came at me with more force than cunning. I sidestepped, slashing upward with my knife, slicing through fabric and tissue. I turned, giving a hard kick to the beast while he was doubled over. Erasing the distance between us, I snapped his neck.
A roar shook the ground. I spun to face the leader, watching in horror as he tossed the woman aside. With a quick assessment, I saw her chest rise and fall.
“I understand it’s hard to get laid when you look like you were dropped from the ugly tree, and hit every branch on the way down, but really, there has to be someone out there for you,” I taunted him, needing him to come closer, away from the woman.
All of the men had partially shifted into a part-wolf, part-man, a seriously grotesque combination.
The beast growled and lumbered on his jacked-up legs.
If I made it out of this alive, I was sure I’d be needing therapy for months, maybe years to come.
My side no longer burned. It turned into more of a kill me now ache, the likes of which I’d never experienced.
I’d been held prisoner for over three months in a foreign land, had been tortured for days on end, and had never wanted to die.
Those days and nights were nothing compared to what was going through my system right now, but I fought the pain back.
One more to dispatch, then I could fall down.
I switched the knife to my left hand, using my right to shield the injured ribs, keeping my eye on my opponent.
Basing my decision on the way he hadn’t reacted to my words, except to growl and come closer, I moved forward.
A mistake, I realized a moment later, when I was within leaping distance and found myself with a two-hundred-plus-pound enraged beast on my chest. My knife flew from my hand.
All the air left my lungs in a big whoosh, and then the large, gaping mouth that could easily enclose my entire skull was heading straight for my throat.
I reached up with both hands, trying to stop the inevitable, but against the supernatural strength, I knew it was useless.
Not willing to give up and turn my neck for the thing, I stabbed my thumbs into the beast’s eyes.
Howling, the beast shook me off, but blood ran from the now-empty right socket, making me happy I’d at least caused it some damage.
The last thing I saw was razor-sharp teeth coming straight for my face. As I grappled with the leader’s head, I turned and felt the hot breath on my neck and then pain so immense I yelled out. Black dots swirled in my vision, and then the heavy weight was knocked off me.
I tried to get up, but my body wasn’t listening to my mind.
The sound of fighting brought me out of the daze and the darkness trying to swallow me.
I saw the woman holding my knife, her back to me in a fighter’s crouch, protecting me.
From her posture, I could tell she was ready to kill.
My nature wouldn’t allow me to lie there and let a woman fight my battles.
With the last of my strength, I rolled to my knees.
The fight seemed to have gone on for hours when it could only have been minutes. The sound of a car coming down the gravel drive had all three of us looking in the direction of the noise.
“Your days are numbered, bitch.” The leader scooped his two fallen buddies up in a fireman’s hold and tossed them into the still-running vehicle, speeding away in a spray of gravel.
“We gotta get you outta here.” My angel knelt next to me, her cool hand brushing my hair back.
I thought I would just lie back and let the darkness envelop me, but she had other plans.
“Come on, big guy, I’m going to need you to help me. You’re way too heavy for me to carry.”
Grunting was my only acknowledgment. What didn’t she understand about me wanting to lie down and rest?
“Lava is running through my veins, darlin’.
Find my phone and call 911. Find out why they didn’t send a car out when I called.
That’s the only thing that’s gonna help me.
” My voice sounded raspy to my own ears and lacked conviction.
I knew I was dying from the injuries I’d sustained and wondered how she was going to explain to the authorities what had happened.
“Shit, you’ve been bitten. Fuck, fuck, shit.” She leaned forward and sniffed my neck, ripping my flannel and T-shirt down the front.
On the verge of dying, I was amazed to feel my dick harden when the woman licked at my wound, easing the pain.
In the next instant, I nearly shot off the ground when her teeth sank into my already wounded shoulder.
Instead of more pain, ecstasy rolled through me.
I grabbed the woman around the waist, uncaring about my injuries, making her straddle my thighs.
The last time I’d dry humped a female was in junior high with a girl three years my senior.
Like then, the girl on top of me panted and climaxed right along with me.
The only difference was that then, I could get up and get a towel to clean myself.
I wasn’t sure I could move, let alone get up.
Clearly, my dick hadn’t gotten the message we were in danger, the way it still pressed against my zipper.
“You two need to get a room for crying out loud.” A man’s laughing voice jerked me out of my musings.
“Don’t move. Wait until he goes inside so he can’t see the blood on you.”
I didn’t want to tell her I didn’t think I could move even if I’d tried, so I gave a brief nod and stared into her beautiful brown eyes.
Her golden-blonde hair fanned us like a curtain, shielding us from others.
I wondered what she’d look like spread out naked on my bed and felt an answering jerk from my cock.
Damn, the thing had never perked up quite so fast before.