Chapter Fifteen

“We need to get out of this place before they tear it down on our heads.”

Marcus looked at him. “Where is Val?”

Alex shook his head, failure shoving his shoulders down. “I couldn’t reach him. He stumbled, got up, then the Hummer…” Alex swallowed as his throat muscles burned. “I don’t know if he survived. If he did, and they’re in there with him, he won’t be alive for long.”

“I could go,” Sean said, striking fear through Alex’s heart.

“No! I promised he wouldn’t hurt you!” Alex held onto his mate as tight as he dared.

“As did I,” Marcus reminded them. “We’re a pack. No one is going to let Joshua leave here alive, do you understand that, Sean?”

“Yes.”

Alex thought that was the end of it but he was wrong. He hadn’t caught even a whiff of what Sean had been thinking.

“What I meant, Alpha Anax, was I could go out there, and…and kill Joshua. He would never expect it from me. I can’t remember when I ever fought back when he was beating me.”

“No,” Alex began only to have Marcus shush him.

“Wait, he’s got the foundation for a good idea,” Marcus said. “If he could distract Joshua, I’ll kill the fucker—and I’ll be fast and merciful, Sean, I promise you.”

“I don’t want you to do this, Sean, please. Please don’t.”

Sean turned his luminous eyes on Alex. Pain etched into Sean’s feature, lining his mouth and brow. “I have to, Alex. What are we going to do otherwise? Let them kill us all?

Pick us off as we climb out windows?”

“It might be a good idea for you to take this,” Shania said as she came over to stand in front of Sean. She held a hypodermic needle full of a murky liquid. A green cap covered its tip. “Whatever you do, do not get any of it on you or in you.”

“Datura,” Alex muttered.

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“Yes. If you need it, pop the cap off and stab whoever it is who needs to die.

This much will do them in within five to ten seconds.”

Sean took the needle and palmed it, tucking the plunger end up under his long sleeve.

As if planned by Fate, Joshua Dobson’s voice rang out. “Sean, get your scrawny ass out here before I kill this stupid fucking guard and this stupider fucking human!”

“Harley. He must still be alive, Alex. I have to do this.” Sean stood on his toes and Alex kissed him, wishing it could be longer, forever. Sean dropped back to his soles and turned to Marcus. “I’ll distract him as long as I can. I don’t think that’ll be long, though.”

“We’ll hurry, all of us.” Marcus gave Sean a quick hug as Joshua shouted again.

Alex sent a silent plea to his mate. “Come back to me, Sean.”

* * * *

Sean crept down the hall, listening to his brother’s threats. They didn’t strike terror into his heart anymore. That didn’t mean he wasn’t scared, because he was. There was a man he loved whose life was in danger, and several more of his pack whom he cared about and had to protect. He pinched the green cap between his thumb and forefinger as Joshua issued a particularly vile threat.

It was the following one that had Sean battling not to run down the hall and shove the needle into Joshua’s neck or wherever he could shove it. Hearing his brother calling Alex a faggot and threating to rip his entrails out his ass was almost the match that lit Sean’s fuse.

“Don’t let him get to you. Don’t let him win. Be careful, he may scent you already.”

“I don’t think so, Alex. He can’t smell for shit, and all I can smell is chemicals and the innards of this house, busted and saturating the air.”

Alex was quiet after that, letting Sean concentrate. He could feel his mate in his head, was reassured by his presence, which was what he needed right now.

Sean crept closer to the entryway that led to the living room. He was almost there when Marshall jumped out in front of him. “Look who we have here, the pretty little girly boy.

Joshua!”

Marshall grabbed at him and Sean tried to duck, but the other man was bigger, meaner, and more experienced with physical combat. Sean closed his fingertips around the syringe as

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Marshall caught him by the hair and yanked hard enough to bring tears to his eyes. He locked an arm around Sean’s throat and dragged him, kicking and gasping, into what was left of the living room.

And straight into Joshua’s arms.

* * * *

“Joshua has him.” Alex cringed as he felt his mate’s pain. His promise not to let Joshua hurt Sean again had been worthless.

“Alex.”

Alex didn’t give a damn this time. “What?”

Marcus placed a hand on his shoulder. “You had to let Sean make his own decision.

Joshua never did.”

Instead of making Alex feel any better that only made him angrier. “That’s easy to say when it’s not your mate out there.”

Marcus narrowed his eyes and brought his hand to Alex’s neck. His big hand closed around it, not squeezing, but the threat was there. “Do not ever tell me it is an easy thing to allow anyone in my pack to put themselves in a dangerous situation. Are we clear?”

“Yes sir,” Alex said, his anger at Marcus shifting onto himself.

“All right, let’s go.” Marcus stepped back and stripped, shifting in seconds into a pure white wolf. Alex stripped as well, adding his light grey wolf to the pack. Once they’d shifted, Marcus led the charge down the hall—a quiet, stealthy lope as Joshua’s laughter echoed off the walls.

* * * *

Joshua laughed, his rank breath wafting over Sean’s face, spittle spraying his skin.

“They handed your worthless ass over real quick, didn’t they? Even your mate didn’t want you!”

“How did you know?” Sean asked eyes darting around as he tried to count the shifters in the room. There were sixteen, but five of them were the women in the pack that Sean suspected hated Joshua. He’d planted his seed in every one of them, whether they been

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willing or not. Sean didn’t think he was deluding himself when he read disgust and loathing in their expressions as they looked at Joshua. Sean made sure Alex had the information and his opinion about the women, then he concentrated one keeping Joshua talking, letting the words flow through to Alex as best he could.

“You told me, idiot. Not in those exact words, but enough that I knew.”

Joshua hauled him up close and dragged Sean across the room, towards the hall that lead to the office. “You were supposed to only love me, me, you ungrateful little shit! But you started spewing this line of bullshit about how you saw this boy and how he smelt like perfection and you were going to love him more than anything. After everything I did for you, you fucking stood there grinning like some sappy angel and told me that shit?”

“He’s my mate, Joshua. You know we’re—”

Joshua slapped the rest of the words away. Sean cringed as his lips split.

Blood ran into his mouth and down his chin. “He was a fucking he! That isn’t natural, and I don’t care what anyone says, there are no gay destined mates!”

“If it’s unnatural, why’d you rape him then? That makes you evil and unnatural by your own definition!” Sean shouted, blood speckling Joshua’s face from the force of it.

Joshua laughed and shook him until Sean’s ears rang. “The mate bullshit is unnatural for queers. Fucking whatever I want is my right. And it just so happened you decided your mate was a cute boy with a bubble ass that I’d wanted to fuck for years. I’d just been too scared to do it, but you, well you gave me the incentive.”

He leant down until he was nose to nose with Sean. “Fooling him into thinking I cared about him was almost as good as fucking him. Almost. Did he tell you about it? About how he cried and begged me to stop?”

“Shut up,” Sean muttered. Joshua’s eyes rounded, and Sean yelled it again as he popped the cap off the syringe. “Shut up! You sick son of a bitch!”

Joshua glared and the sickening smile that used to send shards of fear to Sean’s soul stretched his lips. “Well, seems like someone’s got the idea they can back-talk.” Joshua lifted and heaved, and Sean was flying backwards, the syringe slipping from his hand right before his head cracked against the wall.

* * * *

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Alex couldn’t exactly tell Marcus what Sean was passing along, but he did try to give him a head count. Alex butted Marcus’ flank with his muzzle.

Marcus’ whipped his head around and snapped. Alex whined softly and stopped, bobbing his head towards the living room and pawing at the floor.

Jesus, like that counting horse on TV. Fuck. Alex whined again and pawed at the floor, quick flicks of his nails as Marcus and the other wolves watched. Marcus waited a second when he stopped pawing, then the Alpha Anax snuffled and turned around, leading them on.

They were almost to the entry way when a large white wolf with silver tipped ears and tail came charging at them. Marcus let out a growl that set Alex’s fur on end, and the fight was on. Alex followed Aidan and Zane, the rest of their small pack coming as well, except for Nathan, who wouldn’t leave his mate.

Aidan surged into the living room, snarling and snapping his teeth, baring them at anything that moved. Zane edged up beside him, his head low as he howled a challenge to the enemy. Alex spotted Val, unmoving, blood pooled beneath his head. He started to charge towards him only to be stopped by the sight of his mate being flung through the air. The syringe fell from his hand, and he hit the wall so hard his head cracked it.

Alex changed directions, bounding over anyone who got in his way. A wolf charged him, not one of his pack, not a friend. Alex bared his teeth and lunged, taking the other wolf on instead of trying to avoid the charge.

The need to get to his mate clawed as his guts like the devil’s own nails. He let that need take him, open his jaw and rip and rend, blood and fur coating his tongue. His teeth sank deep, he growled as more blood gushed into his mouth. Alex clamped down tight and shook his head.

The other wolf stopped—moving, breathing, living. Alex released the wolf’s neck and leapt over his body, only to nearly cough up his heart when a human screamed right beside him. Skidding to a halt, he saw Harley, kicking at a snapping black wolf that crept in a circle around him.

Aidan flew past him, heading, Alex saw, towards a shifting Joshua Dobson.

Zane was a silver grey blur as he followed his mate. Alex needed to get to his mate, but the black wolf had laid his ears back and was tensed to strike.

God damn it, none of this is Harley’s fault! Fuck!

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Alex leapt, slamming into Harley’s side. The poor man screeched, nearly making Alex’s ears bleed from the heinous pitch.

The black wolf had leapt as well, after Alex, and pain seared Alex’s side as sharp teeth tore into him. He kicked up and bucked the other wolf off, then turned and lunged right for the shifter’s throat. The black wolf side stepped and Alex pivoted, swooping in fast and hard—and deadly. Arterial spray splattered Alex, and everything else in the vicinity, including Harley, whose screeching stopped as his eyes rolled back in his head. Alex shook, finishing the kill, then spat the nasty thing out.

Now he needed someone to protect Harley! He howled, begging, and nearly pranced with relief when Alison appeared, limping slightly but otherwise her usual vicious wolfy self. Alex touched his nose to hers then ran, desperate to reach Sean. He skidded to a halt beside his mate, nosing his face, his bloodied lips. Sean was breathing, his heartbeat strong.

Alex licked his sweet skin, from the mark at the side of his neck up to the sensitive skin beneath his ear.

“Wake up, Sean. Open those beautiful eyes for me.” Alex felt the warmth of Sean’s mind in his and whimpered. Sean hadn’t gone away, not in his mind.

He was unconscious, but not permanently damaged, and…he was waking up. His lids fluttered and slowly rose.

Sean smiled at him then grimaced and brought a hand to his split lips.

“Hurts.” He sat up cautiously and eyed Alex before scrubbing at Alex’s thick fur. “You’re even sexy as a wolf.

Damn. I’m shifting.” Sean had his shirt off before he finished the thought but then he stilled, his shirt in one hand. “Alex, the syringe! Where is it?”

They spotted it at the same time.

“Daria has it!” Daria, one of Joshua’s pack members. She held it in the air while her attention was centred on the two wolves trying to kill each other.

Aidan’s fur was splattered with blood, rivulets ran from a gash at his hip.

Alex’s side throbbed in sympathy as the wound the black wolf had given him flared with pain.

“You’re hurt!” Sean’s hands were on him, patting and prodding. Alex whined as Sean touched the injured area on his side. Sean threw his arms around Alex’s neck and buried his face in Alex’s scruff. “It’s not too bad.

Right? You’ll be fine.”

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Alex licked his mate’s face, tasting blood and tears. Sean lifted his head and turned it towards the woman still holding the syringe. The green cap was gone. Daria held it by the plunger.

“Daria!” Sean let go of Alex and pushed himself up. The woman looked at him, fear emanating from her so strong the scent of it coated Alex’s throat.

“Put the syringe down! Put it down!”

Daria glanced at the syringe then at Aidan and Joshua. Aidan knocked Joshua aside, but the bastard wouldn’t be deterred. He lunged at Aidan, just missing his throat. Aidan leapt back and snarled, lowering his head as his ears flattened to his skull.

“Daria, please. It’s deadly—”

Daria dropped the syringe like it had burned her fingers. She stepped back as if it would shoot up off the floor and plunge itself into her. Sean dove for it, his hand just missing it. Alex yelped as Marcus barrelled past him, bumping his injured side. He watched as Aidan backed away and Marcus leapt in front of Joshua Dobson.

Marcus lunged and Joshua yelped as he didn’t quite move fast enough.

Blood streamed down his shoulder, soaking into his dark fur. Marcus lunged again, snapping his teeth as red tinged saliva dripped from his

muzzle. Joshua skittered back several steps, growling and giving his own show of teeth.

Marcus lowered his head, his broad shoulders rippling, tensing. Strength coiled in his muscles then released as he shot through the air. Joshua never drew another breath. Marcus came down on him, a furious white storm of death. His jaws clamped around Joshua’s neck.

Blood spurted in an arch, dripped and puddled on the floor as Joshua’s body jerked and spasmed. Marcus growled and tossed his head, breaking bones and ripping out Joshua’s throat. He tossed the carcass aside then howled, and the room fell silent. The only movement came from Aidan, who picked up the syringe and muttered something about disposing of its toxic contents.

Alex shifted. Sean sobbed and Alex reached for him. “I’m sorry, Sean. I know you loved him—”

“No,” Sean rasped, turning his tear-streaked face up to look at him. “I hated him from the moment you told me what he did to you. And I wanted to kill him myself when he laughed about it, bragged about it. But I didn’t, and he’s dead, and…I’m so relieved because

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he can’t ever hurt anyone again.” Then Sean sniffled once, and tugged off his sweats, and shifted into a beautiful strawberry blond wolf. Alex shifted back and their voices joined with Marcus’ and the other members of their pack, singing of justice rendered.

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