Desperately Seeking Shapeshifter (34 page)

We rolled again, his nails gouging a long scratch across my face. “Sorry,” he hissed even as we rolled again and I desperately tried to get the upper hand.

My weight was no match for him, though. His foot connected with my belly, and he kicked me off of him with such force that I flew through the air, slammed into a nearby tree with a crack, and then fell to the ground, unconscious.

I awoke in a blur of pain a short time later. I sat up, shaking my head, focusing my gaze on the clearing.
Maynard nursed a black eye and a swollen jaw against a nearby tree, his body covered in dirt and scratches. Tony squatted next to him in the same condition. Ditto Wyatt. In the center of the clearing, Connor pounded his fist into Levi’s face—Levi had apparently awoken and decided to challenge for leadership once more.

It was clear that young, strong Connor was holding the alpha position quite firmly. I glanced over at the other watchers, who didn’t seem like they were going to challenge.

As I stood up on wobbly, aching legs, Levi raised a hand and bared his throat, yielding to Connor. The older man’s jaw was set with anger, but his hand trembled. The beating he’d taken was enough. Breathing hard, Connor hauled himself to his feet and looked around the clearing, baring his teeth. “Anyone else?”

Silence.

“Anyone?” he demanded, the sound almost feral. I felt the overwhelming urge to drop to my knees and whine for mercy, so the alpha thing must have been kicking in.

He gave a firm nod and straightened, wiping away the blood on his lip. He glanced over at me, then at Levi. “Uncle, you’re going to give Sara the key to Ramsey’s manacles.”

“And the poison,” I said quickly, thinking of Ramsey. “I want the antidote.”

“We’ll get it for you.” Connor turned his angry gaze back on the pack. “She gets to leave with him,
and no one’s going to fuck with them.” He turned to Maynard and Tony. “Especially not you two. Find your own goddamn mates. You don’t have to steal someone else’s.”

“Like you found that little cougar,” Maynard sneered, then flinched when Connor turned the force of his gaze on him.

“If that cougar will have me, yes,” Connor said. “I don’t care if she’s a cat or a rat or a goddamn snake. If I want her to be my mate and she wants to be my mate, there’s not a damn thing you or anyone else will do about it. Understand me?”

No one said a thing.

“And we’re going to join that goddamn Alliance and we’re going to act like fucking humans, not like animals just because we don’t agree with someone. Our days of terrorizing others are over. I’m tired of wolves being synonymous with bullies. We’re better than that, and we all know it.”

He looked over at me. “If you want to run with this pack, Sara, you are always welcome here. You and your mate.”

It would take a lot of trust and time before I could believe that, but I nodded. “Thank you.”

“Now let’s get you back to him,” he said. “We haven’t got much time.”

When we got back to the house, I dashed up to Ramsey’s room. He was pale and sweating, and his heart thrummed even more rapidly than before.
Tears brimmed in my eyes. “Where’s that antidote?”

Gracie showed up with the keys a minute later and gave me an awkward smile. “I’m sorry, Sara. You know how it is with the pack. We have to obey our elders.”

I said nothing. Until Gracie showed a real heart and not just whatever the pack told her, we’d never be friends.

She unlocked his manacles and said, “I’ll get Connor.”

When Ramsey awoke I was by his bedside, holding his hand. I stroked the sweaty locks of hair from his forehead tenderly, my heart unknotting a little at the sight of his eyes opening.

“Hey,” I said softly.

He looked over at me, and his mouth firmed into a hard frown. “You’re hurt.”

My jaw was sore and bruised, but it was nothing that wouldn’t heal. “I’m all right. How are
you
feeling?”

He struggled to sit up.

“Take it easy,” I said. “You’re probably a little woozy.” From what Connor had told me, the cure was almost as bad as the poison.

A low growl started in his throat. Alarmed, I placed a hand on his chest. He surged past me, and with a snarl, he lunged for Connor. I hadn’t realized he’d been standing in the doorway.

“You . . . threatened my mate . . .” His big hands closed around Connor’s neck. To my surprise, Connor didn’t fight back at all. He gave me a helpless look, as if pleading with me that he didn’t want to answer Ramsey’s challenge.

“Ramsey, love,” I said, putting my hands over his and prying at them. “It’s okay.”

“Fucking . . . bastards. Going to kill them all for hurting you.”

“Ramsey, it’s
okay
. Levi and Maynard were behind everything. Connor defended me. He’s taken over the pack.”

It took a moment for my words to sink in. He slowly unwrapped his fingers from Connor’s neck and then turned to me, listing heavily. He reached for my cheek, and I could have wept at the look on his face. “You’re . . .”

“I’m all right,” I said softly. “The pack isn’t going to bother us anymore.”

“I don’t believe you,” he rasped, his throat dry.

“I don’t blame you,” Connor said, his voice harsh. “That’s twice now that my kind has attacked and injured your kind. We can’t make it right in a day, but we can make a start.” He looked over at me. “And we’re going to start with meeting with the Alliance.”

Well, technically, we started with getting Ramsey home. He was exhausted and weak, and every time he saw one of the other wolves, he’d start snarling,
anger burning through him. It took a while for Connor and me to half drag, half carry his big body through the woods, but we made it to Connor’s car, and he drove us back to where Ramsey’s truck had been abandoned.

“I’ll meet you tomorrow morning,” Connor said. “Alliance and pack meeting. There, we’ll decide what to do with Maynard and Levi. As long as they’re here, they’re going to keep breaking the rules we’ve established. I can’t have that if we’re to bring the pack to any sort of order.” He said the words heavily, suddenly looking much older.

“What did you have in mind?” Ramsey said wearily.

“Ritual execution?” I said cheerfully.

“I don’t know if that’d be such a good idea,” Connor said.

“I do,” I muttered. “And you know as well as I do that the Russells aren’t going to be happy with a slap on the hand and a warning. Neither am I. They attacked my mate.”

And that, I wouldn’t forgive.

When we got into Ramsey’s car, he stripped off his T-shirt. To my surprise, he tugged me close and pulled it over my head.

I’d forgotten I was naked.

“Where are your clothes?” he asked me.

“Probably back at the gas station.” A hysterical laugh bubbled out of me, a mixture of relief and absurdity.

He hugged me against him, plastering my body
to his. The steering wheel bit into my back, but I didn’t care—I breathed in his scent, sweaty and faintly medicinal from the antidote. He smelled so familiar and wonderful that I wanted to suddenly weep. The laughter died in my throat, and I snuggled in as he tucked me close against his arm and wrapped his arms around me.

“Did they hurt you?” he asked quietly. “Tell me the truth. If they hurt one hair on your head, I’ll go in there and break every single one of their necks.”

“They tried,” I admitted softly. “I fought back, and I think that Maynard and Levi didn’t know how to handle that.”

The rumble in his chest was low and approving. “So I only need to snap two necks.”

“No,” I said softly. “You just need to hold me for a bit longer. We’ll let someone else take care of the details.”

His grip on me tightened and he pressed a fierce kiss to my shoulder. “You were all I could think about,” he said roughly. “When they attacked me, when they drugged me, I fought. I kept fighting because all I could think about was how I was leaving you unprotected. It drove me insane. I thought I would die if anything happened to you. I would never leave you—ever. You know that, right?”

My hand moved down his chest, and I pressed against his heart. I could feel the slow, steady beat of it, his muscles tensing with emotion even as he cradled me close, and knew he was moments away from turning right back around, going into that
house, and making the others sorry they were ever born. So I stroked my hands over his body to soothe him and pressed a kiss to his neck.

“I’m free of them, Ramsey. I fought back when they tried to cow me and make me step into place. I fought back and I
won
. They can’t try and force me to obey anymore. Connor’s in charge now, and things will be different.”

“Until the next alpha comes along and tries to think you’re his,” he said darkly.

“I don’t think so,” I said thoughtfully. “It’s hard to explain, but . . . I’m not scared anymore. Not of the wolves or what they can do to me. When I was frightened, I was frightened for
you
and what they’d do to you. And I realized that I didn’t have to be afraid anymore. There’s a strong core inside me that I’ve found and they can’t take away.” I knew now that if shit hit the fan, I could take care of myself, and I would. I was no longer the scared rabbit but the wolf.

I was my own alpha. It was a feeling I liked.

I smiled, then leaned in and kissed his neck again. I’d never get used to the wonderful taste of him. I wanted to lick him all over and eat him up. I wanted to crawl inside his skin and never come out again. He captured my mouth in a searing kiss.

“I love you,” I breathed against his mouth when we pulled apart.

“I love you, Sara.” His fingers brushed over the bruise on my cheek. “But if we don’t drive away soon, I might have to go back in there and crush some skulls.”

I slid out of his lap and onto the passenger seat. “Then take me home.”

Ramsey went instead to Midnight Liaisons, where Beau and my sister were armed with shotguns, and Russells were preparing to send a posse out to the Andersons. We quickly explained what had happened and arranged the meet-up with the wolf pack in the morning.

My sister hugged me and demanded that I sit and let my wounds be taken care of, and an extra set of clothing (I always kept a spare at the office) was dragged out for me. I didn’t mind my sister’s fussing—I knew it was her way of coping with stress—but as soon as I was dressed and covered in Band-Aids, I returned to Ramsey’s side.