Werewolf Rage Book #2 in the Taming The Wolf Series (19 page)

Cole licked his lips and stepped forward grabbing her hands, making her flinch.
“I haven’t felt that because you were already mated when I found you. Now that you’re not anymore, there’s a chance for us. You just need time to heal Ava. When you’re done healing, and you’re ready, I want you to give me a chance. I want to be mated. I want to be mated with
you
,” he said, looking down into her eyes with an intensity that made her itchy and uncomfortable.

Ava pulled her hands out of Coles and stepped back.
“Then you have a big problem. Because I’ll never be any man’s mate ever again. The last time almost killed me. Let it go Cole,” she said staring at him cautiously.

Cole shrugged and smiled slightly.
“Time will tell. Let’s get going,” he said, walking away and around the house.

Ava slung her rifle over her shoulder and followed him closely, behind the house and through the barren fields to a small wooded area.
He found a well-worn path and walked confidently and quickly through the trees.

“Braxton’s house is just over that ridge,” he said pointing to his right.

Ava nodded. “So I remember you saying that you and Braxton used to be best friends. Was this the path you used to take when you guys would hang out as kids?”

Cole’s shoulders tensed, but he nodded his head.
“Yeah. We used to be close. But then he let power twist him and his obsession with my sister take over his life. He’s not the kid I used to go fishing with,” he said dryly.

Ava frowned and felt a sliver of sympathy for Cole.
His whole life ruined and almost ended by his friend. The anger she felt toward Braxton that always lay just beneath the surface bubbled through her veins. Cole glanced back at her curiously.

“Ah, that’s sweet,” he said with a grin, sensing her anger.

Ava huffed out a breath in irritation and wished that werewolves weren’t so good at sensing emotions.

She sensed a movement to her left and stopped abruptly, staring at a grouping of low lying brush.
She stared intently at the foliage and slipped her gun out of her holster, cocking it and taking aim. Cole turned around curiously as she pulled the trigger. A shriek of surprised pain filled the now silent woods as she and Cole ran to the bushes. Cole leaned down and pulled out the long and heavy body of a light brown hybrid. She’d shot it in the chest. She stared at the pleading eyes looking up into her face as it whined pathetically and then put a bullet into its head.

“Throw it back in the bushes,” she directed and turned away, slipping her gun back in her holster.

Cole swore softly and did as he was told, hurrying to her side. “You’re kind of freaky now, you know that?” Cole said staring at her openly.

Ava shrugged.
So she was a freak now. Didn’t being a werewolf automatically put her in that category?

“I remember the first time I met you.
You were this cute little innocent gymnast with bright happy eyes who loved to flip through the air and teach kids how to tumble.”

Ava sighed at the memory of the girl she used to be.
“Remember? Fire? Everything burnt and dead? That girl doesn’t live here anymore,” she said grimly.

Cole shook his head.
“I disagree. She’s still there. She’s just waiting until it’s safe to come out again.”

Ava smiled at the thought.
“I hope you’re right. I miss her,” she said softly.

Cole smiled at her and patted her shoulder.
“Follow me,” he said and led her off the path and through some underbrush.

She scanned the trees and bushes and focused all her senses on movement, sound and smell.
She’d never forget the foul dark smell of a hybrid. The air was clear for the moment.

Cole looked back and motioned for her to get lower and to not make any sounds.
She crouched down and moved to his side. Through a gap in the bushes she could see a large farmhouse surrounded by a wire fence. There were two men, lounging around the entry. It looked like they were playing cards. She scanned the house for cameras but didn’t see anything hi-tech. She then glanced around the farm and noticed a pack of hybrids lounging under the shade of a large beech tree. She pointed silently toward the hybrids and Cole nodded.

Cole leaned down until his mou
th was right up against her ear. “How do you want to do this? Do you want to wait for night and sneak in or do you want to just walk up to the front gate and ask to see Braxton?”

Ava grinned at the thought and then paused.

Cole frowned sternly at her.
“
No Ava
. I was just kidding. We’ll wait for night or for Braxton to leave the house. We can ambush him on the road. It would be suicide to just walk up and want to talk to the man,” he said quickly, sensing her growing excitement.

Ava slowly stood up, unbuckled her pistol belt and took off her thigh holster.
She handed the holstered gun to Cole and then checked her cargo pocket for the folding tanto knife. She felt her other pocket for the bear spray and smiled. Then she pulled the Beretta out of the holster Cole was holding and put it in her cargo pocket next to the knife. She had all she needed. She turned to walk away and then looked at Cole with a slight frown.

“Stay here.
When you hear the screams, rush to the house and find Cyrus. Get him free and meet me back at the plane. If I’m not there, just take off anyways. I can take care of myself. Got it?” she asked, turning back to look at the house again. She expected him to argue, but instead he nodded his head.

“It’s as good a plan as any I could come up with. Good luck,” he said and then shocked her by pulling her back into his arms and kissing her passionately.
She was pulled off balanced and surprised so it took her a few seconds to regroup. By the time she’d positioned her knee to make contact with his privates, she was released and pushed toward the house.

Ava looked back over her shoulder at Cole and glared.
“You’re going to regret that,” she promised darkly.

Cole grinned and tried to look guilty. “I doubt it.
Now get going, unless you want to make out a little first?” he asked hopefully.

Ava sighed and shook her head in disgust
. She checked her weapons one more time and then stood up. She smoothed her face and closed her eyes and tried to remember what it used to be like to be a young innocent girl. She changed her posture and expression to suit her needs and then headed off.

Ava came out of the woods, and ran her hands through her hair nervously. She swallowed hard and began weeping silently as the two men finally noticed her and jumped up, running toward her. She grabbed her arms and stopped in her tracks, as new sobs wracked her chest.

“Who are you!” screamed one of the men, grabbing her by the shoulders and staring down into her face.

She opened her wet eyes and shuddered. “I’m here to talk to Braxton. I’m Ava Paskell, and I want to trade my life for Cyrus Carlston’s,” she said, biting her lip as another sob escaped her.

The man, in his twenties and wearing a tight white t-shirt with the arms cut out to show off his muscles better nodded briskly.
“Excellent. Braxton was hoping you’d show up,” he said with a grin and then shoved her roughly into the arms of the other man.

The other guard was older, with a shaved head and a quiet menace that put her on guard more than the younger man’s muscles.
The younger guy opened the gate and they walked in, not even bothering to shut the door. The older man’s grip was so tight on her arms she could feel a bruise begin to form. She frowned slightly, but then remembered what her goal was.

“You’re hurting me,” she whined pathetically, pulling against the man’s grasp.

The man laughed and squeezed her arm tighter, enjoying his moment of domination. “Honey, you aint experienced pain yet. Just wait until Braxton gets a hold of you,” he said, his voice delighted with anticipation. “I can see now why he wanted you so bad. You’re delicious,” he murmured in her ear, making her rear back and shudder in fear. The man laughed uproariously as the younger guy looked back at them with a frown.

“Knock it off Lance.
This one belongs to Braxton,” he warned and then walked through a hallway that led to a large open space at the back of the house. Ava scanned the area quickly. Basic family room. Sliding glass door, windows and a lot of open space. There was a group of men talking at a table as they ate breakfast. Braxton was one of them. She’d remember his scent anywhere and schooled her features. She needed to look vulnerable, terrified and in love. Braxton would go for the bait if he saw what he wanted to. An opportunity to destroy her.
Too bad Cyrus had already beat him to it,
she thought dryly.

Braxton’s head raised as if he smelled her and
he slowly turned around in his seat. When their eyes connected, she felt the impact in her bones. This man had been waiting for her. She watched quietly as he rose from his chair and moved toward her as if he were gliding, his hands outstretched and his face a dark mask of pleasure.

“My darling one.
Welcome home,” he said with a grin as he stood in front of her. The man who’d been holding her arm so cruelly let her go and stepped back quickly. “Where did you find my treasure?” Braxton asked, looking quickly at his two guards.

The older man answered first.
“She just walked up to the gates crying her eyes out and wanting to exchange her life for Cyrus Carlston’s,” he said with a harsh laugh.

Braxton grinned and caressed her face with a fingertip, making a path from her eyebrow to her chin.
“Of course she did,” he murmured.

Ava whimpered and tried to move away from him, but he snaked an arm around her waist and kept her in place, coming nose to nose with her.

“Now don’t hurt my feelings Ava.
I’ve been waiting so long for you. It seems like eternity,” he breathed out softly, running his hands through her hair.

Ava bit her lip and looked up through her eyelashes.
“Please. Please will you let Cyrus go if I agree to stay with you?” she asked hesitantly.

Braxton sighed and looked up as if he were thinking about it.
“Now that’s a good question. I had a lot of plans for Cyrus. He killed a few of my men and half my hybrids. It will take me years to rebuild my numbers.  I’m really kind of put out with him to be honest. But the idea of keeping you here with me of your own free will and choice, now that gives me something to consider,” he said, running his hand down the length of her arm to her hand. He picked up her hand and brought it to his lips, kissing each finger slowly.

Ava shuddered in fear and tried to pull
away, knowing Braxton would just love her fear all the more. His excited grin told her she was right.

“I won’t agree to stay with you until I know for sure that Cyrus is safe and away, back home,” she said firmly with only a small quiver in her voice.

Braxton’s eyes gleamed at her in pleasure. “So brave. So strong and valiant. You’re the perfect woman for me. Fate has been kind,” he said over his shoulders at the six men still in the room. “Have you ever seen such a woman?” he asked.

The men all stared at her with hard dead eyes as they
shook their heads obediently. Braxton closed his eyes and sighed. “Today is going to be a good day. I can feel it,” he said, clapping his hands and turning around.

Ava looked nervously around the room, shrinking away from the younger guard who was standing close to her.
“And Cyrus? Can I see him one last time?” she asked softly. “I know I’ll never see him again. I just want to say good bye,” she asked, letting a few tears slip down her cheeks.

Braxton frowned and put his hands on his hips as he paced the room, looking up at the ceiling briefly.
“I could probably arrange that. In exchange for something of course,” he murmured looking at her with a light in his eyes that caused a real shiver of revulsion to course down her spine
. Desire
.

“I’ll let Cyrus walk out of here right now.
He can transform into a wolf and be halfway home by dinner time. Kiss me here and now and we’ll let Cyrus go free,” he said with a wide friendly smile on his face.

Ava swallowed sickly and took a deep breath in, knowing she should have expected this.
She felt the knife and the gun in her pockets and comforted herself with the thought of what she would be doing with those weapons very soon.

She nodded her head slowly and pushed her hair over her ears, before looking up at Braxton, her lips quivering.
Braxton’s eyes grew brighter as she walked slowly toward him.

“That’s right Ava.
Come to me,” he murmured softly.

Ava came to within inches of Braxton’s lean hard chest and then lifted herself up on her tiptoes as she tilted her head up to his.
She closed her eyes and fitted her mouth to Braxton’s kissing him softly before slowly lowering her feet back to the floor and letting her hands fall away from his chest.

She looked up cautiously at Braxton and found him looking surprised and pleased.
“Very well,” he said, his voice deeper now. “Come with me,” he said softly.

Ava lowered her head demurely and followed Braxton down a hallway to where a few bedrooms were.
She sensed two men, not the guards who had brought her in, behind her. She’d have to take out three men and then be ready to face the rest. Hopefully Cole would hear the commotion and help her take out a few. But goal number one? Taking out Braxton. With the head of the snake gone, the town was open to being ruled by somebody sane.

Without any fanfare, Braxton opened the door to a small bedroom and ushered her inside.
The room was musty and dark and she could sense someone in the corner, watching them. Braxton flipped the light switch and she saw him. Cyrus was chained to the wall and laying on a bare mattress, staring at her with burning red eyes. He was only dressed in a pair of raggedy looking, holey jeans. His pale chest was completely bare. Covered with bright red scars as if someone had clawed him over and over again. He looked thin and he had a beard now. His hair was longer than she’d ever seen it before.
Cyrus
. She hadn’t thought she’d ever see him again.

She allowed
a distressed whimper to escape her lips and she jerked forward to go to Cyrus like Braxton would expect, but was pulled back immediately by Braxton’s steely arms. He held her tightly against his chest as the two men went forward and unlocked the handcuffs keeping Cyrus in place.

“Cyrus, I want you to be the first man to congratulate me,” Braxton said in a heart
y voice. “I’m getting married tonight. Ava Paskell has done me the great honor of agreeing to be my wife. I’ve never been happier,” he said, laughing at Cyrus’s suddenly pale face.

Ava glanced quickly at Cyrus, her eyes dark with warning.
He was staring at her in horrified silence, refusing to say anything.

“Please Braxton, please let me hug him one more time,” she begged, pushing against the arms that held her so tightly.

Braxton grinned at Cyrus over her head, enjoying the other man’s pain at seeing the woman he loved in his arms. “You know I think that’s a good idea darling. Show Cyrus what he gave up by stealing my mate from me. An eye for an eye. I love it. Dean, Peter? Give these two some space. You’re crowding our guest. Now this is a tender moment isn’t it? The final good bye between two lovers. Oh it’s breaking my heart,” he said laughingly as he pushed her firmly toward Cyrus.

Dean and Peter stepped back to stand on either side of Braxton in case Cyrus made a run for it.
She smiled slightly. It was working perfectly. “Oh Cyrus,” she said, her voice filled with pain and fake tears as she walked slowly toward him.

Now that Braxton and his men couldn’t see her face, she let her mask drop and she stared at Cyrus warningly.
He stared at her, searching her face and then blinked once. He got it. She raised her arms up toward his neck as if she were moving in slow motion, milking the emotion for Braxton’s enjoyment.

And then faster than a blink of the eye, she reached down for her gun, pivoting in one smooth movement. She paused for a moment, as Braxton’s mouth fell open and his eyes widened in shock.
She allowed herself one small smile of victory before pulling the trigger. There was a loud ‘
bang
’ and the flash illuminated the dark room as if it were midday. The small brass casing tumbled in the air almost in slow motion.

A small blackened hole appeared where his heart should be and his mouth worked slightly as if he was trying to say something before his knees buckled and he pitched forward.
Before his chest hit the floor, she’d put a bullet between the eyes of the guards, Dean and Peter just like her firearms instructor had drilled into her. The sound of the gun shots triggered the pounding of feet in their direction.

She glanced over her shoulder at Cyrus who was still standing still, staring at her as if he were frozen.
“Stay back,” she ordered and crouched down as man after man ran through the door. She picked them off easily and quickly. These brutes were so confident in their muscles that they overlooked the obvious.
Don’t bring claws to a gunfight.

The last body through the door was a wolf.
She aimed the gun at the wolf’s head and pulled the trigger.
Click
. She was out of bullets. She growled in frustration and pulled the knife from the pocket on the side of her leg, flicking it open in one smooth motion. As the large silver wolf jumped toward her, his mouth open in blood lust, she swiped the knife through the air in a clean arc slicing the wolf’s throat as she moved out of its way, allowing the momentum to carry it over her shoulder and onto the mattress, where it lay panting and unmoving before laying it’s head down in death.

She cocked her head and listened for the sounds of any more running feet before turning back to Cyrus.
She stared at him silently as she slipped her gun back in her pocket but kept her knife at the ready. They still had a bunch of hybrids to face before they were free.

“You ready to go?” she asked politely, raising her eyebrow at him.

He continued to stare at her silently and she sighed in exasperation.
He was probably too weak to move. Cole would have to come back for him and carry him out. “Fine, just stay here. We’ll come back for you with the truck,” she said and hopped over Braxton’s back to get to the hallway. A second later, Cyrus followed, staying close to her back. She ignored him and walked back to the now silent kitchen.

She pointed to the platter of eggs and bacon and looked back at Cyrus.
“If you’re going to make it back to Paskell you better fuel up. We’ve got a few minutes. Cole’s waiting for us in the woods. We’ll take care of the hybrids. You just stay back. If one gets loose and comes after you just call out,” she instructed as she pushed the eggs toward Cyrus.

He glanced at her before collapsing in a chair and grabbing the food with both hands, shoving it in his mouth quickly as if someone would stop him.
She cringed at the thought of what he’d been through in Braxton’s care and went to the fridge. She opened it up and found a carton of orange juice. She filled a glass and handed it to Cyrus who drank thirstily. When he put the glass down, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and stared at her, his light blue eyes clear and almost on fire they were so bright.

“Ava,” he whispered, so much emotion laced in that one syllable that she looked away.
“You shouldn’t have come for me. It was too dangerous,” he said, his voice so low and scratchy it sounded as if it pained him to talk.