Primal Heat (17 page)
Authors: Kimber White
I dodged around the desk. Dale’s skin rippled and bunched, his urge to
shift nearly crippling him as he took a step toward me. I reached out with my
mind and heart, screaming silently for help.
But, it wouldn’t matter. Dale was no more than six feet away from me.
He could shift and be on me in a split second. Even Connor and Eli weren’t fast
enough to get between us. And Bas. God. Bas. He was miles away with Willie Jr.
“How did you get here?”
It was a stupid question, but my mind raced, trying to think of
something . . . anything to keep him talking. If he wanted to talk, he’d have
to keep his wolf at bay. Only then might I have a chance to save my own life.
“It won’t help you.”
“I’m not alone, Dale. You have to know that. And you also have to know
who and what I am now.”
“Bas Lanier’s whore. That’s what I hired you for. So, in that, job well
done, sweetie.”
“I’m Bas’s mate, you asshole. And you knew the second he walked into
the room with me. If you lay a finger on me, the pack will kill you. You won’t
get out of Michigan; you won’t get out of this
room
alive.”
Dale moved so fast. I saw only a blur, and he was on me. He grabbed me,
wrenching my arm hard backward. He pressed his teeth to my neck. My flesh
burned; my stomach roiled. His touch was poison to me, and my entire body tried
to reject it. My pulse roared in my ears like thunder. Bas could sense me. But,
he was so very far away. Still, I felt a change in the pack. Connor and Eli
coming closer, running fast, but it may as well have been slow motion.
Bas flew. I felt Alec’s pulse join with him. My own muscles twitched as
I sensed their wolves spring forth. Powerful. Lethal. But filled with bleak
despair. Even they knew they would be too late if Dale decided to strike.
“Where will you go, Dale? How far do you think you’ll get?”
“Far enough,” he hissed in my ear.
“There won’t be anywhere far enough. He wants to rip your bowels out
and make you watch.” Bas’s words filled my head. I felt Alec’s presence too,
trying to calm him. Be smart. Be patient. Keep him talking.
“Kentucky,” I said, though I felt as if Bas were speaking through me. “Mammoth
Forest. The chief pack there will give you sanctuary. But you’ll only get there
if I’m still alive. If you take me with you.”
Christ! I was negotiating myself into being his hostage. But, I
understood. The only weapon I had was time. The only weapon Dale had was me.
Bas would never let him live if he killed me. I only prayed his life still
mattered to him. What if whatever waited for him with the southern packs was
worse?
“I should have killed you straight out. I see that now. That’s where I
made the mistake. I’ll give you that much credit, Abby. I misjudged you. I
thought you’d be dumber than you are. Easier to manipulate. So, kudos to you.
You outsmarted yourself until this very moment.”
He shoved me hard. The force of it sent me airborne and slamming into
Dean Stockard’s wall of law books. Seven thick volumes of the Northwest
Reporter came crashing down on my head. Pain blossomed across my shoulder as the
joint popped. The fear in my heart gave way to deadly rage. I felt Bas inside
of me, taking my pain for his own. Without him, I might have passed out.
Dale came toward me, his body crumpling and contorting, unable to
control his wolf. He wasn’t done, though.
“You win, Bas,” he said. He spoke to me, kneeling down to put himself
at eye level. Cold menace widened his pupils, and his golden irises blazed hot.
His fangs protruded, distorting his jaw. His words were barely intelligible,
his mouth quickly losing the form to speak.
“But I win too. You thought marking her would protect her. I waited for
it. Because now, you’ll feel the pain of her loss forever.”
Oh, God!
Dale dropped to his hands and his wolf sprang forth, dripping saliva
from his yellowed fangs. His yellow eyes went red as he arched his back and got
ready to strike.
Movement by the door as Stockard came back into the room. He screamed
and pressed himself against the wall.
“Run!”
The voice was mine. Dale was gone; only his raging wolf remained. Once
he ripped me apart, Stockard would be next.
The door to the hallway splintered and exploded off its hinges. Through
the blinding pain in my shoulder, I dove to the side. A flash of red clouded my
vision as all hell broke loose.
Bas was there. He was everywhere. Filling my head with red murder. His
wolf covered me, then turned on Dale. Dale’s cold, gray wolf circled, his snout
nearly touching the ground as he growled. Bas advanced, keeping his body
between me and Dale’s. I crawled away. One powerful lunge and Dale could still
kill me.
Then Alec’s white wolf blazed through the door, flanking Dale’s rear.
Alec and Bas formed a circle of deadly menace. Dale had nowhere left to
go. Alec struck first, tearing his fangs into Dale’s hindquarters. He should
have dropped to the ground. But, fueled by adrenaline and the desire to kill,
he stayed on his feet.
Bas arced through the air, suspended for a moment in time. He was
power, grace, and ruthless violence all at once. With a great swipe of his paw,
he had Dale down on the ground. Blood sprayed from the tear in his shoulder,
landing across my nose in a red arc. Then, Bas sank his fangs into Dale’s neck,
tearing the jugular with one brutal bite.
Dale’s death howl cut through me with a power to haunt me for the rest
of my life. Then, his fierce golden eyes went dark, staring at hell and
nothing.
Dean Stockard’s office was bathed in blood. Dale’s broken body shifted
in death, caught between his wolf and the tattered man. Alec’s white wolf stood
over him. But Bas shifted, rising to his full height.
He turned to me, diving across the space between us he slid to his
knees in front of me.
“Abby?”
I nodded but even the effort of that burned acid through my dislocated
shoulder. Bas’s eyes went wide. “Hold still.”
He moved so fast I didn’t have a chance to register his intentions or
protest. He put one hand on my back, the other on my upper arm. He popped the
joint back into place. One beat. Two. Then I screamed for all I was worth. But,
the pain became instantly manageable.
“I’m okay,” I gasped when I had enough breath to do so.
Bas pulled me to him, cradling my head against his chest.
“How?” It was all I could manage.
“I had a hunch. I don’t know. Something didn’t seem right. You coming
here felt like a trap.” As he held me against him, his eyes blazed fury as he
looked at Dean Stockard.
Stockard huddled against the wall. A dark patch spread across the front
of his tan trousers. The man had pissed himself.
“I didn’t. I swear to God. Mr. Thorp said he just had some questions.
He said the congressman sent him. I didn’t know what he was.”
Bas rose to his full height, towering over the dean. He was strong and
sure, his muscles coiled, ready to strike again. But, he also didn’t have a
stitch of clothing on. I think that terrified the dean as much as what he’d
just seen.
I grabbed the wrecked bookshelf and pulled myself to my feet. Alec came
to my side. I reached down and sunk my hand into the soft fur of his neck,
drawing strength from his powerful presence as much as Bas’s. My wolves. My
protectors.
“Well,” I said. “It seems now you know what he was. And now you know
what you sent me into at the congressman’s office. Like you said. You’ve spent
years cultivating a relationship between your program and his office. You’re
lucky I survived it. From what I understand, there’s another student who ended
up ruined by his experiences there. I think Lud Morris might like to give a
statement as well once I track him down.”
Bas’s eyebrow raised as he followed my line of thought. He folded his
arms and looked back at poor Stockard trembling on the floor.
“I didn’t. My God. I haven’t . . .”
“Mr. Stockard, do you like your lungs?” My legs were still shaky, but
with Alec keeping me steady, I took a step forward. He bared his fangs for effect
as we got closer to the dean. Bas’s lip twitched as I knew he suppressed a
smile.
“What?”
I leaned down, keeping my hand on Alec’s neck as if I had to strain to
hold him back. A fat drop of saliva fell from one of his fangs and landed on
the dean’s shoe.
“I said, do you like your lungs?”
The dean looked from Alec to Bas to me again. Then he nodded like a
bobblehead doll.
“Good. So. If you’d like to keep them today, and if you’d like to keep
me
from exposing the risk you put me in by sending me to Foster’s, I think maybe
you’ll want to reconsider that letter of reprimand.”
Stockard kept on nodding, his mouth gaping.
“In fact, I think you might do well to replace it with a glowing
recommendation both from you and the congressman. I’m sure when he hears about
what happened here today, he might see me in an entirely new light.”
Stockard swallowed and forced a smile. “Of course. Anything. Yes. We .
. . we were quite wrong.”
Bas put out a hand, sensing my unsteadiness. He helped me rise to my
feet.
“I think we’re done here,” I said, linking my right arm with Bas’s and
keeping my left hand on Alec’s back as the three of us stepped over the dean
and walked out of his office.
I made it a half a dozen steps down the hallway, then neatly threw up
into one of Stockard’s potted plants.
Alec mimicked me puking into the plant for about the tenth time as they
regaled the rest of the pack with everything that happened back at Stockard’s
office. I sat in Bas’s lap, resting my head against his shoulder. My hand flew
up to my mouth as I tried to stifle a yawn.
We’d gathered back at the Wild Lake lodge. Seth had prepared a huge
wild game dinner, and my wolves had gorged themselves for hours. The pack was
together, happy, healthy, whole.
“That’s all well and good,” I said. “But I’m still out of a job.”
“Oh, I’m fairly certain there’s an opening at W.L.O. How do you feel
about corporate law after you graduate?” Bas said. I shook my head and lobbed a
roll at him. The effort of doing it brought an ache across my back from my
injured shoulder.
Sensing my growing exhaustion, Bas smiled, nipped my ear, and carried
me up the stairs to the master bedroom.
“Oh, no,” I said as he stretched me out on the bed. “I’m spent.
Wrecked. You can’t possibly think I’ve got anything left.”
Bas smiled as he peeled off his shirt and shed his jeans. I couldn’t
even think about doing the same. My shoulder was wrapped in a sling, but still
throbbed. Bas hooked his fingers through the loops of my jeans and pulled me
gently forward. Wordlessly, he unfastened them and slid them off me.
Mercifully, he left my t-shirt alone.
He spread my legs and entered me slowly, gently, but filling me
completely.
“Hush,” he said as he smoothed the hair away from my face.
And he was right. I was tired, but I still needed him like this as much
as air in my lungs.
“Are you sure you’re all right?” he asked. “Things got a little intense
back there.”
“I’m more than all right. You came for me, Bas.”
“Always, my love. And God, Abby, you were incredible afterward. You
sure you don’t have a little bit of wolf in you?”
I laughed then winced at the pain shooting through my shoulder. “Well,
Mr. Lanier, don’t sell yourself short. Just at the moment, I have quite a lot
of wolf in me.”
He buried his face in my hair and snorted with laughter.
“I love you,” he said. His eyes flashed silver when he looked into mine
again.
“I love you, too.”
“Are you sure you want this? Granted, the last couple of weeks have
been a little more intense than usual, but I’m not going to lie to you and say
life with a pack of werewolves will ever be dull. And I wasn’t kidding about
the corporate job. And don’t think I’m doing you any favors. It’s a tough gig.
But, I think you’re suited for it. Plus, I’ll fire your ass in a heartbeat if
you slack off.”
He leaned down and nipped my uninjured shoulder.
“Mmm.” I carved my fingers through his hair and tilted his head down so
I could lean up and kiss him. “I think I can get used to it you and your wolves.
But, maybe we could take it easy, at least for a little while.”
“I’ll try.” Bas moved in me, sending a wave of pleasure through me.
I smoothed my hand down his back. “It’s not all the way over though, is
it?”
I’d seen looks pass between Alec and Bas all night. Something had him
on edge still. He’d tried to shield me from it.
Bas stayed inside of me, but he brought his weight up on his elbows.
“It’s Kane,” he said.
I bit my lip. I’d been afraid he’d say that. “You think he knew Dale
was coming after me?”
Bas pursed his lips together. “Dale should have been long gone and out
of the state if Kane had done what he promised immediately. So, either Kane
didn’t
banish Dale. Or it was something worse. He gave him permission to stay. Either
way, Dale never would have been there this morning if Kane had kept his
promise. Best case scenario, it means I can’t trust him. Worst case scenario,
he’s working with whoever Dale was.”
My heart stuttered. “God. You mean directly against the Wild Lake
packs?”
“I don’t know for sure.”
“What are you going to do?”
Bas kissed my forehead. “Don’t worry, my love. You don’t have to take
on all the pack problems on your first day.”
I slapped Bas’s ass. “Don’t do that. Tell me. I’m in this, Bas. All the
way.”
He smiled and kissed me soundly. Then, he flipped me so I straddled
him. It got harder and harder to concentrate on the conversation.
“If I challenge Kane outright, I have to be prepared for the
consequences. I have to take him out. If I take him out, I inherit his pack.
I’m not sure I want to do that. The dynamic of
this
pack is about as
perfect as I can make it.”
“So what then?”
Bas went still. He looked at some far-off point over my shoulder. My
heart hammered in my chest as I understood his thoughts clearly.
“Alec,” I said, swallowing past a dry throat.
His eyes flicked to mine. “You feel him?”
“What? No. Not like you. But, yes. He’s different than the others,
isn’t he? Stronger?”
Bas nodded. “It’s been coming on for a while. He’s got Alpha in him,
Abby. Eventually, it’s going to be a problem for the pack.”
It made me heartsick for a moment, thinking of Bas having to either
send Alec away or fight him to keep his pack. It couldn’t be what either of
them wanted.
“So you’ll send him to deal with Kane?”
Bas nodded. “I don’t have a choice.”
I leaned down and kissed Bas’s shoulder. “When will you tell him?”
“He already knows. And the sooner the better. He might already be
gone.”
I reared back. “Without saying goodbye?”
“Don’t worry. If Alec has the power inside of him I think he does, we
haven’t seen the last of him. And, he’s part of this pack forever. He can’t
really leave all the way.”
I took a breath and closed my eyes, stretching my mind and heart out. I
felt the Bas’s steady pulse beating strong inside of me along with his love. I
felt the others too. Strong, defiant Alec. Wise Seth. Young and rambunctious
Aaron and Ben. Connor and Eli, my protectors. Sophisticated Curtis. Finn.
Davis. Tobias. Fearless Callum. They were mine. I was theirs. My pack. My
heart.
I looked down at Bas. My love.
“I think it’s time,” I whispered.
He smiled and cocked his head to the side. “Already? Do you think
you’re up for it? You’ve had a day.”
I nodded. “Now more than ever.”
Bas arched his back, pressing himself into me even deeper. My sex
throbbed. My heart hammered inside of me. Bas was heat and light. Desire and
life. He was mine and I was his.
He sat up and moved my hair away from my neck. He licked me once, his
skillful tongue edging the mark he’d made. But now, tonight, he’d make it even
deeper. Sealing my connection to him. Making it stronger. As I thrust my hips
against him, Bas sank his teeth into the mark, drawing blood and pain for a
fraction of a second. Then, blossoming pleasure.
The pain was gone. From my shoulder. From my heart. My soul filled with
Bas’s love and the strength of the pack. As he marked me a second time, my eyes
caught the light of the moon. There on the ridge to the north of the lodge,
bathed in silhouette, were eleven strong wolves. I cried out Bas’s name as the
pack’s howls rent the air.
As I crested down, warmth flooded my heart, and I knew where I
belonged.
THE END
Thank you so much for coming along for the ride with Abby and Bas.
Writing their story was such a blast for me. Er . . except the part where
Abby’s journey gave me flashbacks about my own first year law student days.
Sure, I didn’t have to deal with a murderous, vengeful rogue werewolf wanting
me dead, but Civil Procedure I and Contracts? Horrifying, you guys!
About half way through this book, I pretty much feel in love with Alec.
He was one of those characters that came out of nowhere for me. Um . . . and
then when I finished Primal Heat and started giving him my full attention?
{fans self} Anyway, Alec’s book is next and it’s called Savage Moon. Kane still
needs a reckoning after his naughty deeds and Alec’s inner-Alpha is ready to
rise up and take charge! That is if he can figure out how to control himself
around Kane’s sexy, sassy dark haired mate. Let’s just say she’s more than
Alec’s match. You can catch Alec’s story in
Savage Moon
. Click
here
for more information.
If you’re new to the shifters of Wild Lake, you can find out some of
the things Bas was up to before Abby rocked his world in
Dark Wolf
. He’s also got a part in my
companion series,
Claimed by the Pack
which kicks off with
The Alpha’s Mark
.
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See you on the wild side!
Kimber
Claimed by the Pack Series
Rogue Alpha
(featuring Mal)
Dark Wolf
(featuring Luke)
Primal Heat
(featuring Bas)
Savage Moon
(featuring Alec)
More to Come! Check
http://www.kimberwhite.com/wild-lake-wolves
for the latest releases.