Red Moon Rising (20 page)

“Put me down Kaden!  Put me down right now!”  Bree was
struggling against him, and he winced when her foot kicked him in the meat of
his thigh.

He cursed loudly and dropped her to her feet.  She
immediately punched him in the chest and made a break for the trees.  He
snagged her arm and yanked her to a stop, spinning her around and grabbing her
shoulders firmly.

“Enough Bree!  I will explain everything later, but for now
we need to keep moving.”

“No!”  She shouted at him.  “I will never forgive you for
this Kaden!  Never!  Sophia is my friend and I won’t leave her behind with
Draken.  I don’t care if – “

“We’re not leaving her behind.”  He muttered and shook her
lightly.  “Be quiet Bree and trust me.”

She gave him a cautious look.  “What do you mean we’re not –
“

There was a low growling behind her and her face paled.

“Kaden.”  She whispered.

“Get behind me.”  He pushed her behind his large body and
handed her the silver dagger.

She gripped it tightly as the two Lycans emerged from the
trees.

“He gave me his word.”  Kaden said loudly.

The two Lycan’s growled in unison and stalked forward on
stiff legs.  The one circled behind him and stared at Bree. 

“Back to back – now Bree.”  Kaden instructed.

He felt Bree’s bony shoulders pressing into his upper back
as she whipped around to face the Lycan creeping closer towards her.

The Lycans crouched as one as their growling grew louder. 

“C’mon then you cowardly dogs!”  Kaden shouted.  “What are
you waiting for?”

The Lycans leaped and Bree screamed shrilly.  There was loud
snarling, and Kaden watched with amazement as a large grey wolf bulldozed into
the Lycan leaping for him.  It knocked it to the ground, and the wolf buried
its snout into the Lycan’s neck and tore it open before it could even whimper.

Bree screamed again and her small body was yanked away from
his.  He turned, shouting her name, and staggered back in surprise.  The second
Lycan lay dead on the ground, its head torn from its body, and James was
pulling Bree into his arms.

He lifted her small body against his naked one and rained
kisses on her face and throat.  She sobbed his name and clung tightly to him. 

“Are you okay little one?  Are you hurt?  Have you been
bitten?”  James’ voice was hoarse as he lowered her to the ground and scanned
her anxiously.  His fingers traced the bruise on her cheek.

“No, my lord.  I am fine.”  She gave him a trembling smile,
and he pulled her close and lowered his mouth to hers.

“I love you Bree.”  He whispered.  “I love you.”

“I love you too James.”  She hiccupped and sniffed as he
wiped the tears from her cheeks.

“Are you sure you’re not hurt?  Did he – “

He hesitated and she shook her head immediately.

“No, he did not.  Kaden and – “

She stopped and gave him a look of wide-eyed panic.

“Sophia!  She is still with him!  Please, we must go back
and – “

She was interrupted by a piercingly loud howl of pain from
Draken’s camp.  The large grey wolf barked impatiently as James cupped her
face.  “Stay here Bree.”

“I’m going with you.”  Bree gasped.

“No!”  He glanced at Kaden.  “Keep her here.”

Kaden nodded as James shifted and followed his father
towards Draken’s camp.

Bree paced back and forth nervously for a few minutes before
looking at Kaden.  “We should go and help them.  They don’t know how dangerous
Draken is.”

“They can take care of themselves Bree.”  Kaden replied.

She shook her head.  “I don’t feel right about standing here
while they – “

There was an enormous howl of pain that seemed to go on
forever before it abruptly cut out.  Bree, her eyes huge and her face pale,
twitched violently.

“James?”  She whispered.  She gave Kaden a brief guilty look.
 He had just enough time to realize what she was planning before she unexpectedly
darted into the trees.  Kaden, cursing loudly, raced after her.

* * *

Draken smiled at Sophia and took her by her bound hands. 
“Come pretty one.  Join me in my tent.”

On legs that felt like wooden stilts, Sophia followed him
into his tent.

“Sit, please.  You are my guest after all.”  He motioned for
her to sit down.  She sat down on the floor of the tent and crossed her legs
beneath her.

Draken gave her a pleased look and sat down beside her.  He
caressed her cheek before producing a knife from a sheath around his belt.  She
inhaled sharply but he simply cut the rope from around her wrists.

She rubbed her wrists and stared silently at him. 

“Would you care for a drink pretty one?”

She shook her head and scooted back when he leaned closer. 
A fleeting frown crossed his face and he placed his hand on her leg.  She
growled and he grinned as her eyes glowed at him.

“Do not forget the collar around your neck my dear.  I can’t
tell you how many of my half-breed slaves have forgotten and shifted.”  He made
a noise of disgust in the back of his throat.  “It’s unpleasant to see what
happens.  Do you know that occasionally they just burst apart?  Blood and guts
rain everywhere.  It’s a terrible mess to clean up.”

She swallowed, feeling the weight of the collar brushing
against her throat, and took some deep, calming breathes. 

“There, that’s better.”  Draken stroked her hair again.  “If
you’re a very good girl and do everything I ask you to do, I’ll consider taking
the collar off from time to time.  Would you like that, my pretty?”

She didn’t reply and he frowned.  “You will answer me when I
ask you a question.  It’s rude not to, don’t you think?”

“Yes.”  She replied in a tight voice.

“I will treat you well, if you obey me without question.” 
He eyed her hips appreciatively.  “Your body was made to bear my young.  You
will give me many healthy pups – I know it.”

She shook her head.  “I won’t mate with you.”

He laughed cheerily.  “You will change your mind.  The women
I take to my bed always do.”  He winked at her, and she shuddered with disgust.

“Don’t look like that Sophia.”  He said softly.  “You should
not – “

There was a loud piercing howl just outside their tent, and
the look of good humour dropped from Draken’s face like a stone.  He growled
low in his throat and shoved her flat on to her back with a hard push.

“Stay there.”  He snapped and ran from the tent.

* * *

Bree sprinted through the trees.  She burst into the
clearing where the Lycans had set up camp and stared around horrified.  The air
was filled with growling and howls of pain as the Lycans fought each other
viciously.

She watched terrified as Nicholas leaped on to one of
Draken’s Lycans and knocked him to the ground.  With a screaming growl of rage,
he tore a wide hole into the Lycan’s stomach.  Blood and long loops of
intestines fell from the Lycan’s stomach, and it made a whining whimper of pain
and grew still.

Blood dripping from his mouth, Nicky turned and ran for a
Lycan that was pinning Marshall to the ground.  James, his red fur glinting in
the cold sun, reached him first and fell on the Lycan.  He sank his fangs deep into
the back of its neck.  It yipped and twisted, trying to bite at James, as Nicky
wrapped his mouth around the Lycan’s back leg and ripped it from his body with
a wet squelching noise.  The Lycan squealed and dropped to the ground, as James
raised his snout and howled loudly.

Draken burst out from his tent and howled with rage and
disbelief.  His body rippled and swelled and he shifted.  His clothes fell in
tattered rags to the ground.  A dark brown wolf, cowering at the edge of the campsite,
barked frantically at him.

There was a low growling to her left and Bree turned to see
a black wolf, it’s very large and very white teeth glittering in the sun,
running towards her. 

Kaden ran to the camp and stared in horror at the Lycan that
was running towards his sister.  He was too far away, and he screamed her name
as the Lycan closed in on her.  He watched as Bree stumbled backwards and
tripped over an exposed root.  She fell on to her back and raised the silver
dagger she still clutched in her right hand. 

The Lycan snapped its teeth, saliva dripping from its mouth,
and jumped.  Before it could land on Bree and tear her throat out, Sophia
appeared out of nowhere and dove at the Lycan.  Still in her human form, she
hit the Lycan in the side and drove it to the ground.  The woman and the Lycan
rolled on the hard-packed earth, both of them fighting for control as Kaden ran
towards them. 

The Lycan scrambled on top of Sophia.  It braced its paws on
her chest and lunged for her throat.  Shrieking in fear and anger, Sophia
buried her hands in the thick fur of its throat and pushed violently.  The
Lycan’s mouth, only inches from her face, snapped viciously and its hot and
rotting breath washed over her.

Arms shaking, her eyes glowing and her body trembling
violently, Sophia strained to keep the Lycan from her body.  With a sudden burst
of power, it lunged forward again and she twisted violently to the right.  Its
mouth, aiming for the soft flesh of her throat, missed and sunk deep into the
meaty flesh of her shoulder.

The pain was immediate and enormous, and Sophia shrieked with
agony as blood flowed down her arm.  The Lycan snarled and dug his teeth into
her shoulder, ripping and tearing at her flesh as she shoved futilely at its
broad body.

It raised its head and grinned at her.  Its teeth were
dripping with her blood, and she snarled at it as it dipped its head towards
her throat.  She felt its teeth pressing against her throat above the collar,
her body pinned by its weight, and then suddenly she was free. 

She watched dazedly as Kaden, his large hands wrapped around
the struggling, snarling Lycan’s neck, pinned the wolf to the ground.

“Bree - the knife!”  He shouted as the Lycan began to slip
free of his grip.

She staggered forward, tossing the knife at him.  He caught
it neatly and drove it deep into the eye of the Lycan.  The Lycan squealed
sharply with pain and collapsed.  Kaden pulled the knife free, wiping it clean on
his pants, as blood poured from the gaping wound in the Lycan’s face.

Sophia sucked in a gasping, whining breath as Bree dropped
to her knees beside her.  She made a loud cry of distress at the sight of the
gaping, bleeding wound in Sophia’s shoulder, and brushed Sophia’s hair away
from her face with trembling hands.

“Calm down Sophia.  You’re okay honey.  Calm down – just
relax.”  She pleaded.

Sophia hitched in another breath.  The pain from her
shoulder was radiating through her entire body, and she could feel the shift
happening in reaction to the pain.  Her body was swelling, and dimly she was
aware of the silver points on the collar pressing against her thickening neck. 
A growl of pain and fear erupted from her throat as her fingernails lengthened,
and hair began to sprout on her face.

“Kaden!”  Bree shouted at her brother.  “She’s shifting!  I
can’t stop her!”

Faintly, Sophia could hear Bree shouting but it was
meaningless babble.  Her eyes glowed bright green, and then Kaden was crouched
over her.  His face was grim and pale, and he cupped her face roughly.

“SOPHIA!”  He roared at her.  “Look at me!”

His rough voice demanded obedience, and broke through the haze
of pain and the need to shift.  She stared up at him as he squeezed her face. 
“Don’t shift!  Do you hear me?  Breathe like I am.”

He bent his head until his face was only inches from hers,
and took a deep breath through his nose.  He blew it out through his mouth, his
breath warm and sweet on her face.  “Breathe with me Sophia.  Do it now.”

She could feel the need to shift fading.  It was being
replaced by a throbbing pain that made her want to cry and vomit at the same
time, but she stared into Kaden’s blue eyes and forced herself to mimic his
breathing. 

“In through the nose, and out through the mouth.”  He
murmured to her.  She took a deep breath through her nose and blew it out
harshly, and he smiled at her.

“Good girl.  Do it again.”

Bree looked around frantically.  Draken and Terrence were
bounding through the trees, and James and Nicholas were hot on their heels.

“James!”  She screamed and the red wolf stopped and looked
back at her.  “Sophia needs you!”  She shouted.

He barked twice and Nicholas whined in reply.  He barked
again before turning back towards Bree and with one last look into the trees,
Nicholas followed him back to the clearing.

Tristan was suddenly beside them, and he dropped to his
knees beside Sophia.  “Sophia, my sweet baby – you’re going to be just fine.” 
He whispered.  His face was pale, and his hands were trembling as he reached
out and took her hand.

Kaden, still straddling Sophia’s body and cupping her face,
spoke softly.  “Bree, the key to the collar is in a brown leather bag.  Find
it.”

Bree nodded and staggered away.  Kaden smiled at Sophia. 
“Keep breathing Sophia.  In and out.  Nice and slow.”

She stared up at him, her eyes dark with pain, as her father
squeezed her hand.  “James is coming, my sweet Sophia.”  He whispered.

There was an angry shout and Kaden was dragged off of
Sophia.  Nicholas pinned him to the ground, his hands around his throat, and
stared grimly at him.  “Get off my sister!”

“I’m trying to help her you stupid dog!”  Kaden hissed.

“Nicky, stop!”  Bree was back and she pushed at Nicky’s
shoulder.  “He was helping her.  Get off of him!”

Nicky squeezed his throat and then pushed away from him,
kicking him harshly in the ribs as he strode back towards his sister.  Tristan
and Marshall were pulling her into a sitting position, and she cried out as
James sat down behind her and crowded up against her back.