Logan's Rattler (18 page)

“You sold out your own kind for the hopes of a witch pulling off bringing your mate back from the dead?” Finn asked in disgust. “Did you ever think that your mate wouldn’t want this? That he wouldn’t approve of you sacrificing Logan?”

Rhett wasn’t aware that his dead mate had contacted Carter and that Lindsay did indeed disapprove of what Rhett was doing. If Rhett succeeded in killing him and implanting Lindsay’s soul in Logan’s body, there was a good chance Lindsay would deny Rhett his love.

And all of this would have been for nothing.

“Rhett, listen to me. We have a witch at our compound that can see into a person’s past and when we were in your bedroom, Lindsay contacted Carter. He doesn’t want this. Logan is his family. He doesn’t want him to suffer.” Finn moved even closer to Logan. “You need to stop this before you hurt more than you already have.”

“You lie!” Rhett shouted.

“No, I’m not, and think about it. You know I’m not. Lindsay was a good man, and I’m going to venture you used to be if he fell in love with you.” Finn gentled his tone. “Please there’s still time to save yourself.”

Rhett’s face went blank. He turned to look at Logan then back to Finn. He was quiet for so long Finn hoped that he had reached the man. But then the eyes of an out-of-control man on the edge met his.

“I don’t need to be saved but you do.”

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Finn braced himself as Rhett jumped across the fire and punched him square in the jaw. He heard Logan gasp but couldn’t see his mate from where he laid sprawled on the ground. He rolled to his side and climbed to his feet. Rhett stood a few feet away. His second nature was rising to the surface. He was neither man nor wolf but a combination of the two.

“We fight to the death.” Rhett’s voice had a harsh, gritty sound to it. “And by that, I mean yours. I can make Lindsay see the reasoning behind my choices. We loved each other once and we will again.”

The sadness in the other man was so strong and evident, a part of Finn’s heart broke for the other man. But this wasn’t the way. The only thing this would accomplish would be Rhett’s death because if he failed in killing the wolf, his friends wouldn’t.

Finn took a deep breath and allowed the change to flow over his skin. His hair receded until it was all gone, and his skin transformed into smooth scales. His nose elongated, forming his snake head, then his fangs fell down, dripping venom. Venom that would end another paranormal’s life. And he had every intention of gifting Rhett that one mercy. Nothing but death would end the man’s pain.

“Then let this begin,” Finn hissed as his tongue flickered out of his mouth, tasting the air.

Rhett attacked in a flash. He snarled and chomped down his massive jaws, just barely missing Finn’s throat. Finn’s snake body moved without sound, with easy grace, and he spun around and struck. But Rhett was too quick. He grabbed Finn around the throat and tossed him back.

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The sound of feet moving forward drew Finn’s attention. In the low lighting, he could make out Klaus coming up behind Logan to free his binding. Rhett was too distracted to notice. Knowing his mate was now safe, Finn let loose for the fight of his life. He rounded on Rhett, putting the man’s back to the tree where Logan sat, not wanting Rhett to take the attack near Logan.

“You can’t beat me, you fool.” Rhett slashed out with his claws tearing the flesh across Finn’s chest. Finn stumbled back from the blow. “I have nothing to live for but this. I will be the victor.”

Finn regained his footing and edged closer to the wolf. Rhett didn’t have anything to live for, and that did make him a dangerous man. Losing a mate could drive a person insane, and by the looks of it, Rhett was one of those poor souls. Even if the witch could perform the spell, it wouldn’t matter because Rhett would be dead.

Rhett came running at him again, and Finn swung out and punched the man in the chest. He faltered for a moment then continued forward. Finn stepped to the side and kicked out his left foot, landing the blow at the small of Rhett’s back as he passed by.

Rhett howled out in pain but didn’t go down. It was like the man was on a pure adrenaline rush, able to withstand any amount of pain Finn threw at him.

They started to circle one another again. Finn darted his attention to the tree to make sure Klaus had gotten Logan free. A sigh passed his lips, and he thanked the gods that at least Logan would be safe.

“Where is he?” Finn’s head snapped back to Rhett, and the man was looking toward the tree where Logan no longer sat.

“Someplace you will never reach him.” Finn ran forward and dropped his shoulder, taking Rhett to the ground. Fists started to fly, making it difficult for Finn to bite Rhett. Just one bite would end this, but the man was a force to be reckoned with. His lunacy made him ten times stronger than any other paranormal.

Rhett bucked his hips up off the ground, causing Finn to lose his balance. He fell hard to the side, hitting his head on a jagged rock in

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the process. His vision became blurry, and his breath rushed out of his lungs. Pain shot from the top of his head down to the tips of his toes.

Rhett flipped to his feet and reached in the pack he had sitting next to the fire. Finn watched through hooded, heavy eyes as he pulled out a long, shiny blade. It had a wide serrated edge and was about twelve inches long, just perfect for removing another man’s head from his shoulders.

Finn tried to get up. But every time he tried, his vision swam before him. Blood trickled down his neck from the gash on the back of his head. The more he tried to move, the more the world beneath him swayed. He fell onto his back and stared up at the night sky. He prayed the other warriors would come to his rescue because it looked like he was going to need their help after all.

“I guess you just weren’t strong enough to defeat me.” Rhett walked closer until he stood above Finn then placed his boot-covered foot on Finn’s chest, holding him pinned to the ground. “I’ll find him.

Mark my words I will.”

Rhett started to bend over, with the knife held high. The blinding pain encompassed Finn’s body, and he couldn’t move, not even to shout for help.

Come on, guys! Anytime now would be great for a rescue.
Finn wanted to send up a smoke signal or whistle for his friends to come help him out. As Rhett moved closer to him, the sound of rustling in the bush drew both his and Rhett’s attention.

Logan came crashing through the shrubbery. His savior was his mate.

“Please, Rhett don’t do this,” Logan cried. “Dear god, don’t.”

With Rhett’s attention on Logan, Finn made his move. He grabbed Rhett around the ankle and sat forward. Finn struck hard and fast, piecing Rhett right through the thick leather of his boot. The poisonous venom oozed into the puncture marks on Rhett’s body, and the effects were immediate. The man fell to the ground in a heap. Finn

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barely had enough time to roll out of the way before the other man collapsed on top of him.

Logan ran to him and fell to his knees at his side. “I thought I was going to lose you.”

His mate buried his face into Finn’s chest and cried the hottest tears Finn had ever felt against his skin. Finn placed a hand at the back of his mate’s neck and held him close, giving him the silent comfort the man needed.

The shift crept over his body and Finn’s snake form reverted back to human. He cringed when he tasted Rhett’s blood on his tongue.

Finn turned his head to the side and spat out the vile filth, wiping away the excess. He then placed a finger under Logan’s chin and gently titled his head up toward his. “You can never lose me, honey.

You’re stuck with me.”

Logan smiled through his tears, and Finn rose up on his elbows to kiss his mate’s soft lips. He caught the long, drawn-out moan that left his lover’s mouth. Nothing tasted better than Logan, nothing. Finn probed his tongue against Logan’s lips until the man relented and let him into his warm moist heat. Logan curled his fingers into Finn’s shoulders, his short nails digging into the skin. It was as if Logan thought Finn would leave him, if the death grip the man had on him was anything to go by.

The chatter of the other warriors grew louder as they got closer to the campsite. Finn broke the kiss to look at his friends.

“Seriously, guys, were you going to let him start slicing my head from my shoulders before you came to my fucking rescue?” Finn smiled as he joked with them.

“Hey,” Ben said with a mischievous grin on his face. “I know you pretty well, and you would have never let us hear the end of it if we stole your thunder.” Ben’s voice grew serious. “I know what it’s like to want to save the man you love, and I wasn’t about to take that away from you.”

Finn nodded his head in thanks. “I appreciate that.”

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“No sweat, but we did have a backup plan set in place in case your ass needed it,” Ben teased.

“You let Logan go to distract Rhett, didn’t you?” he asked Klaus.

“Well.” Klaus’s face scrunched as if he was thinking of a way to explain what had happened. “Technically that wasn’t the plan, but your mate elbowed me pretty fucking hard in the ribs, so he kind of got away on his own.”

Finn looked back at his mate. “You’d risk yourself to save me?”

He knew the answer, but it was always nice to hear the man Finn loved confess his affection.

“I’d die for you a thousand times over again.” Tears sprang to Logan’s eyes. “I love you, Finn.”

Before Finn could respond, the sound of coughing interrupted them.

“Lindsay.”

Logan pulled away from Finn to stare over at Rhett, who lay motionless on the ground. A rattlesnake bite from a shifter was deadly to other paranormals. It was a death sentence. There had yet to be a cure for such a bite.

Finn grabbed Logan’s arm as he moved toward Rhett. The venom caused paralysis, but Finn didn’t want to take any chances. “It could be a trick.”

Logan understood Finn’s hesitation, but it seemed like the right thing to do. Rhett needed to find peace. Even though this man killed his best friend, Logan still had his humanity and could show this man some mercy.

“Let me go to him,” Logan said softly. “He’s dying. I feel like I owe this to Lindsay.”

Finn looked to Rhett then back to him. He gave a quick nod, and Logan crawled over to Rhett.

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“I’m here, Rhett.” Logan took Rhett’s hand in his and cradled it to his chest.

“I’m so sorry for what I’ve done,” Rhett rasped out. “I never meant to hurt anyone, but I’ve missed you so much. I’d have done just about anything to be with you again.”

“It’s okay.” Part of Logan could sympathize with the man. Living without the love of his life had to be a grueling existence. He ran his hand through Rhett’s sweat coated hair and tried to sooth the man in his final minutes.

“I shouldn’t have let you run into that fire.” Rhett began to cough, and blood bubbled up in his mouth. “I should have been the one to die in that fire not you.”

“Shh, don’t talk like that.” Logan didn’t know what else to say.

What Rhett did was wrong, but he did it for love. Logan wondered how he would have reacted had the shoe been on the other foot.

“We’ll be together soon, promise.”

“Logan.” He looked up at Ben when the man spoke. “Ask him if he knows the name of the witch who he made the deal with,” Ben said in a low voice, but Logan didn’t think it mattered. Rhett seemed pretty out of it and probably didn’t even notice the other men standing around.

“Rhett, can you tell me the name of the man who made you this deal to bring me back?”

Rhett started to wheeze, and his eyes lost all focus. Logan laid his fingers against the hot flesh of Rhett’s cheeks, trying to bring him back to the present.

“Rhett, please, do you remember the witch’s name?”

“Damon.” Rhett’s breath came out in a hard gasp. “His name was Damon.”

Logan looked up at Ben. The man looked over to Klaus, and the witch gave a jerky nod. Whatever they needed to know Rhett must have been able to provide that bit of information.

“Will you be there waiting for me?”

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He looked down when he heard Rhett’s small whisper. Logan’s eyes stung from the unshed tears building up. This man had caused him so much pain and hurt, but it wasn’t in him to not show compassion. Lindsay was his ancestor and the least he could do was help ease Rhett’s transition from this life into the next.

“Of course I will.” Logan smiled through his sadness, trying to be strong.

Rhett’s breath drew shallow, and his eyes went blank. Logan saw the instant the man’s soul left his body. He just hoped he hadn’t lied and that Lindsay would be there to greet Rhett when he crossed over.

Warm hands peeled his fingers from Rhett’s grip. He felt like he couldn’t breathe, so much death and sadness unlike anything Logan ever felt before.

“Honey, don’t be upset. You gave him more than he deserved.

You showed him compassion when he had none to offer you.” Finn wrapped his arms around him, and Logan sunk into the warm embrace.