Chapter 10
Ashleigh
I didn’t see Elijah for hours. From above, I watched as the human wall meant to defend the central mansion started to break apart.
The wolf shifters had taken to their human forms, keeping their identity a secret as much as possible from the victims of the vampire clan.
Those people returned to their homes in a daze.
I could see several people carried out on makeshift stretchers. The breeze carried the bitterly strong scent of blood, both vampire and human and I slowly came to realize that the situation was quite dire for the people here.
I’d never seen anything like it before. I wanted to do something, anything really.
“Theo, I feel useless up here. I want to go down and help. The threat has passed. As long as you’re with me, it should be safe,” I said bluntly.
He looked at me with uncertainty and then back down to the scene below.
“I won’t run off. You can trust me,” I pressed, and he nodded with understanding.
“You don’t need to worry about that, mate,” a familiar voice grumbled, and I turned my head. “You will come with me, and we will get you settled in our new home.”
Elijah had come to us.
His wolf form still took me aback and if I didn’t know that I was safe with him, it would have even scared me.
His wolf was much bigger than any of his brethren.
He was almost double the size of some of the other wolf shifters.
His golden eyes shone like stars, glittering with a multitude of oranges, yellows, and reds.
His undercoat was a dark gray flecked with white and black.
He was a beast of a wolf and my heart thumped, reminding me that he was mine.
I’d been doing my best to hide it, but I’d been worried for him. I knew he’d fought his way through a multitude of situations far more dangerous than this but seeing him now right in front of me safe and sound made me sigh with an overwhelming sense of relief.
He didn’t appear hurt, but there were several places on him that were matted with blood. I could tell by the scent of it that it wasn’t his though.
“But they could use me down there,” I argued.
“Are you a doctor, little wolf?” he asked.
“Well, no,” I admitted.
“Many of the humans are in critical condition. We were able to locate several human doctors and nurses among the humans that inhabit this town, so they are doing their best to stabilize and heal those that need it. It is better for them if we keep out of their way. Tomorrow though, if you still want to offer a hand, we will do that together,” he explained.
At first, I wanted to resist him, but what he’d said made sense.
I looked away for a moment, searching the streets of the small town below.
The humans looked much less dazed and far more focused on the well-being of their fellow people.
It was possible that the entire town had been under the rogue vampire clan’s compulsion and their deaths had broken the spell.
Either way, the overwhelming threat had seemingly been handled and now it was everyone’s job to pick up the pieces.
Tomorrow, I would do whatever I could do to help put their town back together the way it was before the vampires destroyed it.
I glanced overhead, noting that there were not many hours of daylight left.
“Has the chalet been searched?” I asked.
“Not yet,” Elijah answered. “Between the three of us, we can handle it. Come. Let’s go.”
Theo followed him without question. I wasn’t used to taking orders from him and I hesitated for several more seconds. When Elijah gazed back at me, I finally took a step and began to trail after him. He paused and cleared his throat.
“As my mate, you will walk beside me, Ashleigh. All others in the pack follow not only me, but you as well,” he dictated.
Theo took several steps back, allowing me to come forward. I walked to Elijah’s side, and I felt a sense of pride immediately wash over me.
“You are the alpha’s mate, little wolf. From this point onward, your word is as good as mine,” he said.
We traveled the rest of the trail up the mountain.
Along the way, Elijah explained that the area had been cleared of vampires.
Down below, they had searched every building and structure that could be used as a hideout and had uniformly exterminated any one they found.
All of their surrounding outposts had also been dealt with.
Above us, several helicopters were flying in to medivac anyone out that needed more extensive care than the small town could provide.
The swiftness of Elijah’s takeover was both inspiring and terrifying at the same time. He was a powerful man, a dangerous one and anyone who stood against him in the future would do well to remember that.
By the time we made it up to the chalet, there were a few cars parked out front. Several of my bags had been placed on the porch and about a half a dozen men were standing guard outside. There was a thick lock on the door.
“We thought you might look poorly on us kicking in the door, so we waited for you, boss,” Atreyu smirked.
“Good choice,” Elijah rumbled, his amusement obvious.
He walked over to the car and shifted quickly.
He didn’t hide his nakedness and I couldn’t help but admire his pride.
He pulled on a pair of pants and shrugged on a shirt.
He indicated for me to come over to him.
When I arrived, he used his body to shield me.
“Shift into your human form, little wolf. If there are any humans inside, I’d like to not give them a heart attack from seeing a pack of wolves barge inside,” he commanded.
“But someone might see,” I whispered, sitting back on my haunches.
“They will not, but they will certainly hear what happens to a naughty wolf who ignores her alpha’s command,” he continued. I blanched at the insinuation.
“You don’t have to do that,” I replied bashfully.
“Then be a good girl for me, little wolf,” he pushed.
With a sigh, I allowed myself to shift back into my human form. My nipples pebbled in the chilly breeze and true to his word, he used his big body to block any wandering eyes. No one was looking though. They appeared to actively be studying everything other than us.
Elijah reached for me and pinched my nipple firmly enough to make me cry out.
I bit my lip in an effort to keep quiet.
He grasped at the other and twisted both hard.
I knew better than to try to knock his hands away.
Agony radiated across my breasts and when he finally released them, it intensified to a sharp and painful sting.
For several more minutes, my nipples ached from his cruel touch.
“In time, you will learn to trust me, but I will never hesitate to remind you that you’re mine, my pretty wolf,” he declared.
My heart swelled. I turned away, not wanting to accept it and understanding on a fundamental level that fate wasn’t going to give me a choice.
He opened the car door and handed me my bra and dress.
He deftly tossed my shoes in front of me so that I could slip my feet inside them without losing the coverage of his massive frame.
Quickly, I dressed myself. When I was done, Elijah grasped my chin roughly and pulled me into a kiss that left my lips sore and swollen.
I kissed him back just as greedily. By the time we finally pulled apart, we were both breathless with need.
“When I put you to bed tonight, I plan on wearing out that pretty little pussy,” he murmured, and I couldn’t help but quiver at the suggestion. “First, though, we need to make sure that our new home is safe for you.”
He took my hand and led me to the door. I watched as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a key.
Without hesitation, he unlocked the deadbolt and swung open the door.
Immediately, my nose was hit with the thick aroma of dust and disuse.
The porch creaked behind us, and I looked back to see both Atreyu and Theo at my back.
As a group, we walked into the chalet. The first room was a large living area, but most of the furniture was covered in sheets as a protective measure.
I didn’t sense anything unusual. It just seemed like the place hadn’t been occupied for a few years, but nothing was worse for wear.
We searched the ground floor and found it abandoned.
There was nothing on the upper floors either and I was overjoyed to see how many of the rooms had massive windows that let in an incredible amount of light even though the sun was nearly set by now.
When it came time to search the basement, we traipsed down the stairs one by one. Elijah went first and once the four of us all reached the bottom, it soon became obvious that we weren’t alone down here. There was at least one vampire below ground with us.
Elijah lifted his nose to the air, scenting the place and trying to determine exactly where and how many of them were there. He didn’t move into action right away. Instead, he knelt down, closing his eyes and concentrating on the myriad sounds and smells all around us.
When he was ready, he crept forward.
The basement was far more massive than I had anticipated. There were several unused rooms and quite a few that were full of boxes and sealed crates. As we moved further inward, I started to hear signs of life not too far ahead.
Somewhere, a deep rattling breath echoed in one of the rooms. For a moment that seemed entirely too long, silence reigned and then another breath sounded.
Elijah moved ahead slowly, lifting his arms while fully preparing to use his fists.
He rounded the corner first and sucked in a horrified gasp.
He lifted his arm to stop me just as one more rattling sigh reverberated and stopped.
I waited to hear another, but it never came.
“It is too late for the both of them,” he murmured. Quickly, he shut the door and I looked past him in concern.
“Both?”