Christmas Three (5 page)

3

Chapter Five

The feeling of loss buckled his knees and Dominic dug his fingers into the cold earth. He had been out clearing brush and trees on the large plantation to make room for the Acadia pack to move to
Cormina
when he felt like he was punched in the gut, but quickly realized this blow wasn't just physical but bond-deep.
Tempest
.
She was in the hands of Vernon and the rage he felt was unlike any that had ever coursed through him before.

His wolf clawed its way to the surface even as he tried to push it back. He barely managed to hold it at bay, but his howl of pure emotion broke free from his throat. He’d kill them
all,
rip their heads from their bodies.
If Tempest is harmed in any way…
Oh, I’ll make them suffer. I’ll make them pay.
He looked up as he heard a crash. Alex came barreling out of the house; the force of his hands hitting the back door took it straight off its hinges. Alex tossed it aside, not caring where it landed.

“They have her,” Alex snarled.

He was angrier than Dominic had ever seen him. There was a small tree growing close to the house and its trunk was now about the size of his calves which meant its roots were solid in the soil. Alex ripped it out of the ground like it was a toothpick in soft icing and launched it across the yard.

Dominic took a deep breath and then another and another to keep his wolf contained. He knew he would have to help Alex control himself and soon. He was accustomed to his own anger, the rage that always seethed under the surface. His life was a hard one and he’d learned long ago how to deal with it. But Alex was the one who always thought first before any decision. He was the one who controlled his temper so much that sometimes he pushed it down way too far and when it finally came to surface it was like a volcanic eruption. They needed to think, to plan, and then rain down their vengeance. He vaguely noticed the dirt and grime caked on his hands as he grabbed Alex by the shoulders.

“Alex, control it, damn it, control it before I punch you in the face!” he shouted.

“They have her, Dom, they have our mate,” Alex said brokenly. “We should have never let her go alone.”

“Tempest would have kicked our asses if we followed her into town.” Dominic grabbed his best friend, his brother by the back of the neck and gave him a little shake. “First we think and then we hunt.”

“And we kill.” Alex met his gaze and Dominic could see the restrained violence in his friend’s eyes.

He nodded. “We kill and everyone will know never to try to use Tempest as a pawn again. It will always end badly for them.”

Alex inhaled through gritted teeth and Dominic understood because each breath felt like physical pain without their mate. Tempest was their reason for being. She came into their lives and became everything they needed and loved. How dare Vernon rip that away and think he didn’t have to deal with the consequences?

Their heads turned automatically, not because of a sound but a scent on the air. A smaller wolf—a female—came running out of the dense trees and brush. It was Vanity, and Dominic felt his rage burn again. How did she escape and Tempest did not? Had it been a trap to set them up from the very beginning? She shifted as she bounded towards them and became human with two legs, very naked and pregnant.

“She made me leave. I didn’t want to, but she ordered me to and as my Beta I had to obey,” Vanity said in a rush as if she sensed Dominic’s thoughts.

“It’s true. You know she would want to protect Vanity and the child more than herself,” Alex murmured. “What did she say to you?”

“She told me to get to you as soon as I could,” Vanity said looking from one of them to the next. “But you sensed it, didn’t you, that she was gone, that they had her? Your bond is more than just mated, it’s soul mated.”

“Isn’t it all the same thing?” Alex asked in frustration.

Vanity shook her head. “No, while some mate because their wolves connect, others have a rare bond where their souls connect and bond and it is fate, destiny or whatever you want to call it. But the three of you are connected in ways that even death can’t break.”

“Are you saying she’s going to die?” Alex snarled.

“No, no of course not!
That’s not what I meant!” Vanity stepped back. “Please, you must go now. I think she will use the Beta in her to hold the pack in submission. But fear of Vernon can make that a very short time.”

“They are going to try and use the whole pack against us?” Dominic said.

“Then we kill anyone who stands with them,” Alex ripped the pants from his body and was ready to shift. “We circle the entire grounds before I move in and you give them hell if any come your way.”

“Vanity, you stay here and, uh, fix the door or something,” Dominic said.

“I refuse. Tempest is my Beta and I am coming with you,” Vanity said firmly. “I can sneak in, get to one of my friend’s trailers and from there I can spread the word that no one should stand with Vernon. Once they know you two are willing to lead the pack, no one will stand with them.”

“Vanity, do you think you can get into the camp before we enter and get the others to stand down?” Dominic
asked,
his mind racing towards an idea.

“Of course.
They didn’t see me leave; someone had to have told them I ran,” Vanity said. “I’m thinking it was one of the women looking for extra favors and I have an idea who.”

“Will she be a problem?” Dominic asked.

“No, I’ll have it taken care of.” Vanity gave a sweet smile. “For our new Beta, things will fall right into place.”

“What are you thinking, Dom?” Alex asked.

“We clear the slate. Vanity gets a few of the single females to lead Vernon’s three out into the woods to me. I’ll have them down before they can even
scent
me. Then we walk in and the fight between you and Vernon stays in the ways of pack law,” Dominic said.

“If necessary, we can get Tempest out of his camper easy enough,” Vanity said.

“Then let’s go. I want to reach Acadia sooner rather than later,” Alex said.

Dominic nodded. “Let’s go get our mate and lead the new
Cormina
pack.”

“We take him down together.” Alex held out his hand and on impulse Dominic embraced him.

“Together,” Dominic repeated.

They shifted quickly and ran off into the dim evening light. It was well past four heading towards six. A war had been started and they would finish it. Alex howled as he ran and Dominic answered, and Vanity joined. To anyone hearing it, the sound would have crawled down their spine and got under their skin and into their souls.
We’re coming, Tempest, sweet baby, we’re coming,
Dominic said mentally. In some ways he knew that she would know they were coming and that she could hear them because of the bond that they shared. Love brought them together and it would stay with them through the storm.

* * * *

“You’re so pretty. You might not want to accept it, but being my mate could be a good life for you,” Vernon said casually. He stroked the obvious bulge in his pants as he watched her. “There’d be no others, all I want is you. Our children would be—”

“Whoa, let me stop you there,” Tempest said.

She was tied to an old dining room chair that saw one too many moves and one too many people sitting on it. It was old and rickety and Tempest had no doubt she could break free if she wanted. But he hadn’t left her since they got to Acadia.

“If you plan on doing that, you’d better have some serious drugs somewhere in this filth,” Tempest said. “Something that can knock me unconscious, because I will fight you every step of the way and then hang myself after you touch me.”

“So much drama.”
Vernon laughed. “It’s not a problem. I can tie you to the bed and whip submission into you. Some of the girls actually came to like the belt.”

Revulsion filled her chest. “You are a monster, a perverted piece of filth.”

Vernon took a swig from a bottle of whiskey. The camper smelled of old sweat and stale alcohol. “You see what’s going on? Three women already came and got my boys to show them a good time, to submit to their masters. Learn from them girls or your time with me won’t be pleasant.”

We’re coming, Tempest, sweet baby, we’re coming
. She heard Dominic’s voice clearly in her head about two hours ago and closed her eyes when she did. Vernon thought she’d dozed off, but she was seeing her wolves, beautiful and untamed racing towards her. Dominic black as the darkness around them and Alex a golden brown blur as he moved through the night. Vanity was trailing them but still keeping the pace.

It was hours ago that, one by one, his men had been called away by a female of the pack. She’d been using what little she knew about being a Beta to try to influence Vernon since then. The ability to soothe any wolf seemed to be part of her Beta powers. She didn’t have to touch him, just tap into his sick twisted bond to the pack and give him what was akin to a mental back rub. And combine that with the alcohol, he was almost to the point where he’d roll over and fall asleep. But in turn, it made her very tired; it was very taxing to her system. Even so, she knew the instant when her men arrived and when the tide had changed and it no longer mattered.

She smiled serenely at Vernon. “You’re going to die tonight.”

He threw the now almost empty bottle at the wall and moved from his seat quickly to grab her face between his hands. Vernon slapped her once,
then
twice, so hard she tasted her own blood as her lip had been cut open. She didn’t cry out; she just looked at him until he broke his gaze and looked away from her.

He then put his face very close to hers, the smell of his breath made her stomach roll. “Keep it up, bitch. If I’m going to die, why aren’t your men already here? My wolves are out rutting and they left you to me. Your men have their tails tucked between their legs and have probably taken the bitch Vanity as their new whore.”

“If that’s so, why hasn’t any of your wolves come back, Vernon?” Tempest laughed. “I doubt it takes any of you too long to get off. Shall I tell you why they’re not back and why you are here alone? It seems for being pack leader you really don’t know a whole lot about pack life. The word Beta means something different than what you seem to believe. Think you were just sitting there all compliant because you wanted to? Or was it my influence to sooth the pack and the wolf in you? Why is it so quiet outside, I wonder?”

“Vernon, leader of the Acadia wolves, we challenge you as pack leader!” Alex’s voice came through the thin metal walls of the trailer loud and clear. “Fight for the right to lead!”

“That’s why. Because they’re here,” Tempest said “Time to meet your judgment.”

He untied her quickly but roughly and grabbed her by the arm. Vernon forced her out the door and the sight that greeted them made him stop in his tracks. The entire pack was gathered and Tempest recognized faces of many she’d met, including Vanity who was wearing a large T-shirt and jeans that were much too big for her. Most of the other members of the pack stood naked and proud and it always amazed her that no one seemed to be uncomfortable with all the nudity.

“You can’t challenge me. You aren’t part of this pack and I have the Beta. From the time she accepted Vanity into your home she became mine,” Vernon snarled. “Get them off our grounds.”

“Pack law says we can challenge you since we helped you defeat rival wolves,” Alex said. “We became Acadia when you accepted our help after Jack died. You held up to the agreement he made.”

“I did not come here willingly. I was taken from my truck and brought here under duress by him and the three that follow him,” Tempest said. “I am Beta only to my mates who stand before you.”

“Shut your mouth,” Vernon snarled.

“I was with her when they took her. My Beta wanted to protect me and my unborn,” Vanity cried out. “I have felt her gift calm my child and heal the bonds that have been rotted by Vernon’s rule.” She looked around the pack. “Speak up! I know you feel it too!”

Tempest saw them all, tired, worn, scared, and hungry and hoped to God she could be what they needed her to be. She closed her eyes and connected with that invisible bond they shared as one people. She thought of the love she shared with Alex and Dominic, the friendship she had with Vanity and gathered all the love and peace she held in her heart that she could muster and sent it out to the people who needed some kind of hope, especially with Christmas only days away. More images of what Vernon had done came to her and it horrified her. She took it all in until she cried out and fell to her knees.

She looked up at his hard face with cold, frightened eyes and felt no pity for his fate. “You truly are an evil man.”

“I felt her…” “My baby stopped fussing…” “I no longer feel hopeless...” were only a few comments that were called out from the pack.

Vernon, as if sensing his demise, tried to back away but men came from behind the trailer and closed off his escape.

One man stepped forward and Tempest watched as his eyes found Vanity and held her gaze as he spoke loudly. “I am Heath of the Acadia wolves and I say this challenge should be accepted. Who seconds this?”