Unchained (Dark Shifter Romance) (12 page)

Two warring emotions surged up within him, each vying for dominance. The first was fear, fear for Lacey, fear of what she'd see. He didn't want her to know he was dead, let alone to have her watch as he was ripped limb from limb by an angry pack of hungry hounds. And it wouldn’t stop there, he knew. Running high on the bloodlust of their defeated enemy, he knew they would soon turn on her.

The second emotion was of happiness.

It was terrible of him to feel that was, even cruel. He knew she was safer anywhere else than with him right there, but he still couldn't help but feel grateful to her, looking upon the lines of her lithe body with a sense of unbearable desire.

Damn him, he wanted her there with him.

Colt’s pack, shuffling indecisively, parted way as Lacey stepped forward into the circle. She stopped alongside Jack, shoulder to shoulder. Her wolf was just as powerful as Jack's and Colt’s, tall and sleek and fanged. Though she hadn't been a born wolf, the beast that had unfolded within her was magnificent in its own way.

Belatedly, Jack realised that on some level, her instincts must told her what was happening.

He'd bought Colt a challenge of alphas. Nothing had ever said an alpha challenge only involved
two
alphas.

Jack's mind raced, trying to think of precedent. Bonds between two alphas were rare, and it was rarer still that they'd end up running a pack together. But he had heard about alpha challenges put to these double alpha pairs, and how they responded.

If two wolves ruled the pack side-by-side, two wolves would defend the pack side-by-side.

Across the ring, Colt seemed to have reached the same conclusion. Lips curled in a snarl, his white teeth glinting in the moonlight, he turned to the mass of wolves behind him. Some jerked out of his way, intimidated by the fury they saw writ large in his body language, but Jack could see the huddled shapes of wolves that did not move away at his terrifying approach.

There was the snap of jaws, a sharp whimper of submission, and then Jack was returning to the ring, no longer alone.

Jack sucked in a sharp breath. The wolf now following in Colt’s shadow was
wretched
. There was no other word for it. It was a cringing, huddled mess, its tail between its legs and its shoulders bent down low. Jack looked past the two of them, to the mass of wolves from which Colt had plucked this poor beast, and realised with a start there were many of them. The scent of fear was on the breeze, and the terrible truth hit him like a blow.

Lacey hadn’t been the first person that Colt had turned into a wolf.

He'd been collecting trophies.

He felt more than saw Lacey's hackles rise, could hear the low growl rolling within her. Whatever instincts she had, they were telling her exactly who those poor souls were, and about the fate she had narrowly escaped. If she hadn't fallen into the river and washed up into Jack's arms, she would be exactly like them: a fearful, broken creature in Colt’s sway.

With a sick feeling, Jack realised that he'd almost done exactly the same thing. He hadn't cared about Lacey when he’d found her, he'd only wanted to use her for his own ends. He liked to think that his needs were less horrible than Colt’s, but there was the same truth within them. He hadn't cared about Lacey. He just wanted to use her for his own purposes. He’d changed, of course, but that knowledge didn't help to shake the queasy feeling of shame that burnt within him.

But that feeling was short lived. Lacey swayed imperceptibly towards him, her shoulder brushing against his. He felt strength radiating from her body, and it filled him like a flame in the darkness, something warm and comforting. The sense of home.

He didn't know if she forgave him, not truly. There was no way to ask her, not like this. Wolves could communicate a certain amount, but human words were needed for concepts this complex. For now, he would have to do with her quiet strength beside him, and the knowledge that she was in this with him. Not just that, but that she had her own battle to fight against the wolf that was standing across from the circle. She wasn't just tagging along for the ride-- she wanted Colt dead as much as he did.

Without warning, Colt launched himself at them.

Jack jinked to the side, his feet sure despite the darkness, and came back up at Colt, jaws open and seeking his throat. He could feel where Lacey was even when she was behind him, her presence indelibly mapped onto his soul like she was a part of himself. She dodged Colt’s initial launch, spinning around to bite at his haunches, to rip into his stomach.

Her attempt was blocked by Colt’s cowering partner, snapping frantically at Lacey. The wretched thing had been broken and beaten, but despite that, it was still a wolf. It could tell that its alpha was furious, and that if she didn't do exactly what he wanted, that fury would likely redirect on her. She came at Lacey with a savage fury, her wild, panicky snaps only narrowly missing latching onto Lacey's hide.

But Jack didn't have time to watch that, let alone the ability to step in and come to Lacey’s aid. Colt was on him, as powerful and violent as he’d ever been, and now he was out for blood. The ring of wolves surrounding them bayed for murder, the chorus of their voices filling the air in a howling cacophony.

Jack couldn’t even hear it, too intent on dodging Colt’s lunges, trying to spot openings without leaving himself open in turn. Colt hadn't spent all his years engaging in open warfare with other packs for nothing, and he'd learnt to prove himself in the ring. He spun towards Jack, refusing to even show his belly for a second, and his throat safely hidden behind open, slavering jaws.

For a moment Jack realised that they were almost evenly matched-- not just him and enemy, but Lacey and the other turned wolf. What Lacey had in power and cunning, the other wolf had in desperation, clinging to what little scraps of her life she still had left. She shrieked as she attacked Lacey, fangs bared.

Colt seemed to sense this, too. He turned his back on the two women, focusing his full attention on Jack. Wherever Jack lunged, he dodged. When Jack backed up, he pressed his advantage, chasing Jack forward to nearly meet the ring of jaws that was at his back.

Jack panted, his muscles screaming in exertion. He'd been so certain that he could win, that he
needed
to win. But Colt had bested him the first time they'd clashed, and nothing much had changed since then. He hadn't done any extra training, or added bulk to his frame.

He was going to lose.

The feeling was picked up on the air, the ring of wolves surrounding them howling and crying and snapping at the night sky. His dismay was broadcast and turned into joy, Colt’s pack slavering at the thought of his imminent defeat.

Colt almost seemed to smirk, his white teeth glinting as he stared down Jack, proud and powerful. He knew he was going to win this, too. He stepped forward, dropping low, ready to launch forward for that final victorious lunge--

Lacey struck.

It happened so fast that Jack hadn't had time to notice it. She whirled around, turning her back on her own opponent, and latched on to Colt like a bear trap. Her fangs sunk deep into his into the meat of his shoulder, a perverse mirror of the way that he'd bit her. Lacey's enemy, ignored, finally had space to dart forward and bite down hard on Lacey's exposed back.

Colt let out a noise of pure pain, staggering. Jack, acting on instinct, launched himself forward.

His teeth sunk into Colt’s throat, the other wolf too taken by surprise to defend himself. The hot salty splash of blood filled his mouth, the great, strong spurts of a vital artery emptying itself out of the wound in Colt’s throat. He tightened his jaws until his own jaw muscles hurt, feeling flesh crunch between his teeth, and then threw Colt limply to the ground.

He didn't even check to make sure his opponent was dead. Spinning around, he threw his body over Lacey's wolf form, a deep primal snarl furiously tearing itself from his lungs. Colt’s broken wolf bride let go of where she'd latched her teeth, and instead of fighting, turned onto her belly. Jack ignored her, desperately trying to take in the sight of Lacey's form. The panic that threatened to completely overwhelm him crested, and then Lacey stood, dragging herself upwards, and gave him a toothy grin.

She’d deliberately taken a hit, realising as well as anyone else that they were in a doomed stalemate. She’d turned to take Colt by surprise, leaving herself open to whatever attack her own opponent wished to dish out. It was stupid. It was risky. It was a beautiful display of wolf shifter triumph, wolf instincts and a human mind working together to overcome the odds. Jack wanted nothing more in that moment than to pull her into his arms, taking her as his mate, letting their bond form powerfully between them-- but that was for another time. Around them, the ring of wolves snarled and growled murderously, violence in their eyes.

Their alpha’s paws twitched on the ground, the puddle of blood growing deeper around him, and then he was still.

Lacey pressed herself up against Jack's body, and he tried to press back against her without jostling her wound. He desperately hoped that he could provide as much comfort to her as she was to him, and that their deaths would be over quickly. She was strong and clever, but no one could stand up to a few dozen wolves at once, all of them hell-bent for bloody revenge.

She pressed her shoulder against him, as if acknowledging things. Jack felt, for one moment, a strange sense of peace. It had been short, but he'd been able to find a true mate. Numbly, he realised that he wouldn't have given up for the world. If he'd run from Colt instead of seeking revenge, he might have survived past this day, but it would have been without this beautiful woman by his side.

It wouldn’t have been worth it.

Lacey glanced warily around the circle of snarling wolves that surrounded her and Jack, desperately wishing for a way out. From the quiet acceptance in Jack’s stance, she guessed that there wasn’t one.

Damn it, Lacey!
she thought, the pain in her shoulder leaving her light-headed.
You finally land yourself a hot guy, and then you’re immediately torn to pieces by a pack of wolves? Typical. You’ve always been terrible at dating.

A shot rang out.

All around them, the wolves, now without a leader, dropped the ground. They began to look amongst each other, wildly seeking direction.

From down the main road, another figure began to step forward. It made its way steadfastly towards the mass of wolves ahead of it, rifle out and aimed at them, ready to kill…

If Lacey had been in her human form, she would have laughed.

Jenny!

Her little sister stormed up the road, training her rifle on the mass of wolves. There was a steely set to her eyes that, of one moment, reminded Lacey of their father, a resolute cop who knew exactly where he was and what he was doing at all times. The sight of it made her heart sing, even as she knew she should have wanted to scold her younger sister for being so stupid.

"Go on, scat!" Jenny yelled, gesturing with her rifle at the wolves in front of her as if there were little more than some stray dogs. "Get out of here before I put some lead into your mangy hides!"

The mass of wolves, now without their leader, didn’t know what to do. Some stepped forwards towards Jenny, but then stopped, no one willing to be the first to get a bullet between the eyes. The chaos grew louder, yips and howls, filling the air, desperately in need of guidance.

God, her shoulder hurt! Despite the ragged pain lancing through her, and the tacky sensation of blood cooling and knotting in her fur, Lacey began to step away from the pack, heading slowly towards Jenny. Jack walked alongside her, those fiery eyes staring down any pack wolf who looked like they were about to attack. Slowly, surely, Jenny, Jack, and Lacey began to back down the road, Jenny keeping her gun trained on the wolves.

It was going to be okay, Lacey realised. When she'd woken bolt upright that night, she’d known that something horrible was about to happen. She'd raced down the hill without fully understanding it, just knowing that she had to be there. She needed to protect Jack, just as much as she needed him to protect her. They needed each other. Her instincts had shown her the right path, and now this whole nightmare was about to end. Just as long as they kept walking backwards, keeping all the enemies ahead of them…

Bright lights flooded the streets. Lacey slammed her eyes shut, wincing, that sudden brightness making stabbing pains shoot through her skull, and then everything went to shit.

She could hear Jenny yell “Come on!", the sound of her feet running down the street, and Lacey chased after her, thankfully hearing the sound of Jack running alongside her. Behind them all, there were the sounds of human footfalls, boots slamming onto the bitumen, and then the sound of gunfire. The yelps and howls of wolves filled the air once again, but now they were laced with pure fear.

Her eyes adjusting to the sudden light, Lacey looked up and saw a helicopter, keeping its spotlight trained on the street where she had been just moments before.
Surely that many people hadn’t come out of a single helicopter!,
she thought. Risking a look over her shoulder as she ran, she looked back at the scene.

When she realised where the cops were coming from, she felt the urge to laugh. She saw hands appear on the stark concrete of the storm drain, person after person coming out the way she had she herself had came in.
I guess I gave them some ideas,
she thought, wildly, and then she turned all her attention to running.

"Here!" Jenny cried, leading Lacey and Jack towards her house. She led the two wolves shifters into her house, then yanked up the false floor of her bunker. She shooed them inside, and crawled in after them, shutting them away into darkness.

Lacey licked her sister's hand, desperately wanting to communicate. She couldn't change back into human, and she didn't think Jack could either. For as long as the moon was high in the sky, they were both wolves.

And she had no illusions as to what would happen if the cops found wolves tonight. She didn't exactly get the impression that they'd stop and ask to see their driver’s licenses.

"Shh, Lacey, I get it, it's okay," Jenny said, rummaging around the tiny space for something. “Hang on for just one second...”

Outside, in the ring of wolves, Lacey had been able to see perfectly fine despite the lack of lights, the moon the only illumination she needed. But here, down the dark, it was absolutely black. Jenny's didn't seem to mind, and Lacey supposed she'd been down here long enough to learn the simple layout. Jenny bustled around between Lacey and Jack in the small room, finding whatever she was looking for, and then let out a cry of "Aha, here we are!"

With a jerk of surprise, Lacey felt something slip around her throat. She felt Jack jump a little as well, and discovered that Jenny had got them both…

"Leashes!" Jenny said, the smile in her voice evident even in the dark. She let out a shaky breath, then laughed. "It doesn't matter if you can't turn back, I’ve got this plan, I
know
it’ll work."

For a moment Lacey wondered at what Jenny had just said. She'd never told Jenny that she'd have to stay transformed that night. She knew that for a fact. And yet Jenny had reacted as if she had told her…

The darkness, she felt Jenny's title. "On," she said, voice suddenly uncertain. "How did I know that mistake. I guess it just feels like I can?

From Jack's direction, she felt something bubble up inside her, some knowledge transferred. It was the pack bond, he knew. And because he knew it, she knew it too.

She panted, the wolf version of laughter. Jenny was no longer her family: she was part of her
pack
. They were bound together not just by blood, but by the bond that thrummed between the two of them.

Soon, the three of them heard the sound of boots thudding on the street outside. "Hello? Down here!" Jenny cried, cupping her hands to her mouth. The boots came closer, and then paused, and then light began to flood the small bunker.

The three of them looked up into the faces of some sort of military men, their faces hard. The men drew their guns, aiming them at Lacey and Jack, but Jenny threw out her arms to protect the two of them. "Wait, they're just dogs!" She held up their impromptu rope leashes, one in each hand. "See? Please don't shoot my puppies!"

Slowly, the soldiers put down their weapons. "Okay, ma’am. Are you hurt? Let's get you out here."

And just like that, the three of them were on their way to safety.