Keeper of the Alphas - Complete (16 page)

The roar was chilling and cut to the bone. By time Jayce saw the animal in the middle of the road, it was already too late. He swore and swerved the wheel, his car spinning out. It broke free of the road, mowed down a bush, and—

Came to a dead stop in front of a tree. Jayce caught his breath, his fingers gripping the wheel.

His baby wasn’t hurt. The Camaro’s front bumper had stopped inches away from the tree trunk.

“Thank you, sweet baby Jesus,” he murmured and killed the engine. He reached into his glove compartment and yanked out a revolver. Checked the barrel—six silver bullets. That would have to do. He kept it in hand and pushed out of the car, glancing around.

The bear was nowhere in sight. Jayce crept deeper into the woods, on alert. Didn’t take a genius to realize
who
the bear was. Only one Beast had balls enough to go after a hunter—the same Beast that had laid waste to a Keeper.

“Come out, Marcus,” Jayce said, his gun low and ready to fire. “You’re lucky you didn’t dent my car. Or else I’d be really pissed.”

Jayce stepped gently down on the pads of his toes, sure not to make a sound as he stalked the beast in the woods. He could see freshly snapped branches where it has passed through, tufts of brown fur snagged on trees.

He broke into a clearing. A small pond, waterfall cascading over the lump and uneven rocks above. Moss covered stones and misty falls. Almost romantic, if he didn’t feel that eerie nagging over his shoulder.

He saw the claws almost too late. Marcus swiped out and caught mostly Jayce’s shirt and sent a couple long scratches down his arm. Jayce stumbled, his back hit the dirt, and he drew his gun forward, aiming it dead center at the Beast. The
thing
, the animal, snarled, incensed. One swipe of its clawed paw could take his head from his shoulders. But one bullet from his gun…that’s all it took to end this. To put down this Beast that terrorized the woods. His finger went to the trigger, ready to pull—

“Stop!”

Cami. Her voice rang out clear as she ran over and flung herself between them. Only wearing a dress, despite the cold weather. Must’ve run all the way from the road.

A knot lodged in Jayce’s throat.

She was panting when she reached them, moving dangerously close to the bear. Jayce cocked his gun, holding it on the beast. “Cami, it’s dangerous. Step back.”

“No—no,” she said. She was short of breath, her blond hair wild, and she held up both palms frantically. “Please—it’s okay. He won’t hurt me.” Then she turned to the bear. A white plume of breath puffed from its muzzle as she bared an open palm for the animal. “It’s okay, Marcus, it’s me…”

The bear growled. Jayce adjusted his grip on his gun, but Cami shot a second palm out in front of Jayce to stop him. “It’s okay…please. Just let me talk to him.”

Jayce could
hear
his instincts screaming to shoot. But he waited.

“Marcus.” Cami’s voice was quieter as she crouched down in front of him, focusing entirely on the bear. “Look at me. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you…I didn’t know…” Her voice cracked. She sniffed. “You can’t hurt Jayce. You can’t. He’s…” Her wet eyes flickered over to Jayce. “He’s a dipshit, an idiot, and a liar, but he’s
my
dipshit. And I love him.”

The bear grunted and huffed, paws pacing tightly. Cami extended her hand and it sniffed tentatively. It nuzzled once and then, finally, bowed its head, dropped to the ground.

Bones crunched. Cracked. Fur vanished. Claws retracted.

Marcus sat crouched on the ground, naked. His head still bowed.

“Marcus!” Cami flung her arms around his shoulders and tugged him against her, wet-eyed. His thick mane of hair brushed her face when she kissed his forehead. “Thank you…”

“It’s not over yet,” he murmured gently. He averted his cold blue eyes from her and lifted them instead to Jayce. Who was standing now, but still had the barrel of his gun pointed squarely at Marcus.

“Jayce…” Cami felt betrayed. For the second time that day.

“Step back, Cami.” Jayce’s voice trembled, strained. Yet still, he didn’t budge. “That Beast killed your mother. It killed Lynn. It’ll kill you too. It’s just a matter of time.”

Cami wrapped her arms around Marcus, covering him further. “No,” she said firmly. “No, he didn’t. There’s another bear in the woods…
Aldric
. He’s the one that killed her. I know, I saw him. Look—” She pulled her hair back to bare the bruises on her neck. “You remember these? Aldric attacked me. Not Marcus. I swear.”

She could practically
see
Jayce’s brain working a mile a minute behind his eyes, trying to put all the pieces together. His Adam’s apple bobbed and he said, “Doesn’t matter…he’s still a Beast. They’re killers, Cami.”

“Not this one.” Cami hugged Marcus tighter and he winced, groaned. Blood trickled down his chest. Looking very vulnerable. Very
human
.

But it was Cami that Jayce was watching,
really
watching. Cami and her big, honest doe eyes. “
Please
, Jayce.”

Jayce felt his gun arm grow suddenly heavy.

“It’s law,” Marcus said hoarsely from his crouched spot. “Hunters have to obey a Keeper’s order.”

“Yeah, well.” Jayce grit his teeth. “Maybe some laws are made to be broken.”

“No!”

Jayce fired, but not before Cami threw herself against him. His arm jerked up and the bullet whizzed over Marcus’s head. With a couple bone-cracking snaps, Marcus’s Beast retracted deeper into the woods.

Cami struggled for the gun in Jayce’s hand and he tried to push past her and run after the bear. Instead, she grabbed his shoulders and said firmly, “
Jayce
! Jayce, just…stop. Look at me. What’s going on with you?”

He looked at the spot where the bear had vanished, his face crumpled in frustration. “You’re not the Keeper, Cami!” he shouted at her. “You don’t have the right to make these decisions. You haven’t even
been
here. You haven’t seen what this town has been through—the animal attacks, all of it. You left. And I get it—your mom sent you away—I
know
. But you never once came back.” Jayce’s eyes glazed over. “You never stopped to think that maybe we…
needed
you.”

Cami blinked, her heart fluttering like a hummingbird in a very small cage as she looked into his eyes. “Jayce, I’m…I’m sorry…”

“I loved you, Cami,” he said, suddenly bare, vulnerable. “Even when we were kids, I loved you. You were the only
good
thing in my life. And when you left…” He swallowed hard. “Everything fell apart.
I
fell apart.”

Night darkened the woods. She could still see the glint of his wet eyes and the curve of his frown.

“Jayce,” she murmured breathlessly. “I…”

A rustling broke her train of thought. This place put her on the edge all over again. Her eyes flickered around, her heart beating hard against her ribcage. Every turn, she expected to see those red, glowing eyes come after her.

Something was watching them. She could feel it, like a magnetic pull on her spine. “I don’t think we’re alone,” she whispered.

“Mm. Give the human a prize.”

Jayce and Cami spun around and saw her leaning against a tree. Naked. Sleek, hourglass figure. Raven hair over her shoulders, boldly exposing the swell of her breasts and her hard, pebbled nipples. A wild thatch of black hair between her legs. Her smile was cruel, though, unnerving, and her eyes flashed a golden yellow.

Jayce set his jaw. The grip on his gun tightened and he stepped in front of Cami.

“Is that any way to greet a lady?” the woman asked.

“You’re not a lady,” he sneered. “You’re a bitch.”

“Charming. Like your father,” she mused, her voice low and throaty. A look of surprise crossed his face and made her smile. “Surprised that I know you? Your father killed off my pack.” Her eyes darkened. “I’ve been waiting on this for quite some time.”

“Let’s not waste another second, then,” Jayce said.

Her face twisted in a frown and she snarled. She fell on all fours, bones cracking, and Jayce braced himself, bending at the knees, stabilizing. “Get back!” he shouted at Cami, who retreated quickly.

The wolf—full-size, grey and sleek—lunged off of the rock face. Jayce was ready with the gun and he lifted it to strike, but the she-wolf barreled into him. It knocked the air out of his lungs and the gun out of his hand. It skidded, then sunk uselessly into the pond.

She was on top of him, jaws snapping at his face, a deep growl rumbling through her throat. He tucked his feet in and kicked her in her belly, throwing her off. The bundle of grey fur skidded and slammed into a thick tree trunk.

Jayce reached into his sock, where he kept a silver blade hidden. The wolf clambered to her feet and he yanked it out just in time for her to leap at him again. When she did, he sunk it deep into her fur, twisted.

She yelped. A bad wound, a painful wound, right where her neck met her chest. Bleeding, reddening her fur, dripping down. But not fatal. Not yet, anyway. He was pinned to the ground, hard, and her claws shredded his shirt, his chest. She pinned him down and sunk her fangs into his shoulder. He felt blinding, ripping pain. And screamed.

The scene was sickening. The waterfall cascaded peacefully, the pond gurgled, and Jayce grew limp trapped underneath the wolf. It tore into him like a ragdoll, threatening to shake him to pieces.

She felt helpless. Nervous anxiety traveled over her skin like electricity, lifting her hair. Growing, building. She tried to imagine a small box inside of her, tried to be brave and lock it away, but the hinges were rattling violently, her sanity threatening to burst.

Images flashed through Cami’s head. Jayce. Aldric. Her mother, ripped apart under the bloody muzzle of a bear.

The cold splintered around her bare skin, digging in sharply. She was alone. All alone. The dark of the woods had swallowed everyone whole, one by one, and it threatened to leave nothing but polished bones and bad, repressed memories—

“No!” Cami shouted. Furious, unrestrained rage burst inside of her and she lifted a hand towards the wolf—

The animal screeched and flung itself backwards, off of Jayce. Its fur was alight with flame, a twisting, writhing ball of fire. She tried to shift, but only managed to turn into something hideous, half-woman, half-beast, rolling to escape the pain, belly crawling towards the pond. There was a splash, and then silence, the roar of the waterfall swallowing any sound.

Cami panted drily. She felt emptied, spent, but her palm felt throbbing hot. Her whole body, in fact, had melted away the cold and she felt warm, churning. Terror-stuck and powerful.

Jayce coughed, groaned.

“Jayce—oh God.” Cami rushed over to him and sank down beside him. He was glassy-eyed, shivering, blood coating his arm, his chest, the side of his face. There was blood, so much blood, it made Cami’s heart squeeze with fear.

“Cami…” His voice weak, he murmured, “I’m sorry…I’m so sorry…”

“Step aside,” Marcus said firmly. He appeared, as though from thin air, behind her. Cami choked on tears, her eyes pleading. Wordlessly, Marcus crouched down and lifted Jayce up in his arms, like a child. Jayce’s eyelids drooped, consciousness fading. “We’re leaving,” Marcus said and began to carry Jayce through the woods in quick, full strides.

Cami followed, but stopped briefly at the top of the hill. She glanced down into the pond, where the frothy water churned around the waterfall.

Her heart rattled loudly in her ribcage, that electric feeling still coursing up her arm. She squeezed her palm closed, tightly, as though to contain…
whatever
she’d unleashed.

Had that been her? Had she really—?

“Cami!” She heard Marcus bark her name and she turned away quickly, leaving the scene behind her.

Jayce wouldn’t stop groaning in pain, not even when Marcus laid him down on the dining room table. He was slick with sweat and blood.

“Marcus,” Cami said, a desperate edge in her voice.

Marcus ripped off what little remained of Jayce’s shirt, then said to Cami, “I need something to clean him up with so we can assess the damage.”

Cami nodded and in a second she was in the kitchen. She grabbed a large bowl and filled it with water and then snagged a couple dish towels. She carried them both into the dining room and dropped them on the table, immediately soaking a towel and gingerly patting away the blood on his chest.

Marcus followed suit, but then slowed. Cami noticed a look that darkened his face and said, “What is it?”

“This isn’t all his blood,” he murmured. “Some of it is hers.”

“Thank God,” Cami said. He was coated in it; she was sure he’d have bled out right then and there—

“Don’t get thankful yet.” Marcus’s crisp blue eyes met hers. “It means he’s infected.”

“Infected,” Cami echoed hollowly.

“If he survives this, he won’t be the same.”

“What do you mean, ‘if’?”

Marcus stared at her pointedly. Jayce coughed and shivered, and his eyelids fell closed.

“No, no, no.” Cami dropped down and grabbed his hand in hers. She looked up at Marcus with pleading eyes. “Please,” she said.

Marcus stared down at Jayce. Then he lifted his own wrist to his mouth and bit into it until it began to bleed. Cami flinched visibly when Marcus dropped his arm and hung it over Jayce’s chest, letting his own blood drip onto the other man’s wounds. “It’ll help with the process,” Marcus said.

The healing or the transformation? Cami couldn’t be sure.

It made her think about the she-wolf. Writhing on the ground. Cami swallowed, then said, “That…the wolf…did I…kill her?”

Marcus glanced up briefly. “I don’t know.” And then an admission. “I’ve never seen anything like that. Not even from your mother and she was the most powerful Keeper around here.”

That sinking realization made Cami feel suddenly small. She was a freak, something strange, something dangerous like the rest of them. She just stroked Jayce’s hair back, pressed a kiss to his forehead, then murmured, “It’s okay. It’ll be okay.”