Redemption (2 page)

They’d have to sleep in the plane tonight—it was getting dark and there was no way Grey wanted to traipse through the jungle at night. His fox form was small and compact, like his human form, and he didn’t want to risk unknown predators.

“We should sleep—get a good start in the morning.”

“I agree. The pilot said we’re about a day’s walk from the coordinates Bella gave him. Not that we’ll be able to pick anything up. Why the hell didn’t Russ send a magic user?”

“No clue, but it was his call and we go with it. We can shift if we have to and track that way. Shouldn’t be too hard.”

“Whatever, man. I’m really not tired, but we should try to rest up. I want to leave at first light. Maybe eat something.”

Grey looked back at where Peter stood at the base of the steps leading to the plane. He was so tall and lean and—yeah—Grey needed to stop thinking sexual thoughts or he’d embarrass himself. He was surprised Peter was talking and it must have shown on his face.

“What?” Peter put his hands on his hips and glared.

He wanted to climb Peter like a monkey and do dirty things. He was getting hard.

Peter sniffed the air and his face turned a brilliant red.

Fuck.

Stupid pheromones.

Peter didn’t wait for an answer. He turned and marched up the steps leading to the aeroplane. Great, he’d fucked up again, but he couldn’t help the way his body responded to his mate’s. They were meant to be together and his fox couldn’t understand the separation. Grey growled and followed Peter into the plane. He was unsettled. Something about this place had him on edge, on top of his personal problems. They needed to find the other shifters and get out of there.

He knew Ive had to be fine. They were bonded and if she died or were hurt he’d feel it deep in his soul. He already had one hole there, he didn’t need another one.

“We’ll find them.” Peter assured him from his seat.

Grey had no idea how Peter did that. It was like the wolf could read his mind. It was a little disconcerting. He nodded and continued on to a seat across the way. No matter how friendly Peter might act at times, Grey didn’t think he’d appreciate him sitting down next to him.

He had to prove that he didn’t just want to fuck Peter. That was going to be hard because he wanted his mate in the worst way. It was almost painful for him not to complete the bond.

Shit. Things couldn’t get worse—could they?

Chapter Two

All hell broke loose. Ive Sheppard didn’t know what was going on. One minute she was taking a break from the heat, watching her companions do some magic thing, and the next she was surrounded by natives yelling at her. She was getting soft. She should have heard something before they were overtaken. She was a shifter and a protector. Good thing her friend and charge wasn’t here.

It wasn’t like she expected the plane flying her, Zareb, Joy Rockwell and Djimon to crash. Or the pilot to die. Or to be lost in an African jungle. It should’ve been a cake walk. Get rid of the Vessel, that evil soul-sucking abomination that had caused so much trouble in the Master’s pack house and the thing that had taken over her mate, causing him to do unspeakable things without his knowledge. Then they were to go back to the Master’s pack house where she would get to know her mate, Djimon. Help him heal from being possessed by the evil Dmitri. The Vessel was the cause of it all. It possessed dark magics that suppressed a body’s soul so another entity could take over. They hadn’t discovered if the creature Dmitri was a demon or just a spirit gone bad. They might never know.

Now she was being hauled away.

“Let me go. What are you doing?” Ive screamed.

She struggled when she saw Zareb and Joy go down. They couldn’t be dead. Oh, God. Dji, her mate—he had to be okay, right? Fate couldn’t be that much of a bitch. The man was so weak from the fight to gain control of his body and there was no way he could withstand this onslaught. She looked over and she was right. Dji screamed something in a foreign language and passed out.

Why were they taking her and leaving Joy and Zareb? It didn’t make any sense. Nothing did. They picked up three packs and headed into the jungle. Ive continued to make a racket.

She didn’t know why. It wasn’t like anyone could help her now. It was her duty to be strong. If need be she would put herself in the line of fire. The most important things were the survival of her mate and the destruction of the Vessel.

Ive needed to pay attention to her surroundings. It wasn’t like she had any magic. The other three would have been more suited to be the saviour of this little operation, but it was up to her.

In her heart of hearts, she might wish her brother was there to help, but she was happy Grey was far, far away because if she had to die Ive didn’t want him to feel it. She dug her feet into the ground, making a small trail, but she stopped fighting. For now.

She couldn’t understand a word being spoken. It had to be Afrikaans. She really needed to learn the language. If she’d known more about her mate before her and Vivian—her friend and the princess of the fox den—had run to the wolf compound, she would have taken the time to learn the language.

As it was, the vision had caused her and Viv to run before they were ready. Then Viv had got hurt and their lives had been go, go, go. Nothing was certain and, for an orderly anal person such as herself, it was pure hell.

Ive lost focus, everything looked the same. She would never be able to get back to Joy and Zareb. She and Dji were on their own and, right now, he wasn’t going to be of any help. Just who were these people? Shit. Were they just locals pissed off because the group was on their turf or was it more than that? Could the evil that was Dmitri have come back to take over Dji again? Wouldn’t Dji be more powerful in his homeland? Was Dmitri from here too? There were too many unanswered questions for her liking.

This would be on her terms, as much as she could make it. Ive stood up straight and held her head high. She might not be of royal blood, but she could damn well put on a good show.

The man who had dragged her through the jungle was trying to speak to her and shaking one of the backpacks at her. Like she could answer him. Ive glared, trying to stare him down. He could stand there all bloody day, but she still wouldn’t be able to answer. Her only hope on that front was if Dji woke up. God, he’d be so confused. It was bad enough he was so down on himself. He couldn’t have stopped the Vessel’s possession.

Men could be so pigheaded sometimes. Taking all the blame when there was none, and it was worse when the guy had a hero complex. Dji was very old school in so many ways. Ive just wished he would wake up and do some magic mojo to get them out of there.

The slap came out of nowhere. Ive saw stars. What the hell? It wasn’t like she could rub her cheek, either. They’d tied her hands and had her on a rope lead. Did they really believe she’d run into the unknown? Right now it was better to stick with someone who knew the terrain.

What was with her screwed-up luck? Could nothing go right?

The tribe guy continued to wave the bag around. When she still didn’t answer he hit her harder. That totally wasn’t helping! She moved her jaw around. It didn’t feel broken, but she didn’t know how much more hitting she could endure. Fuckin’ bastards. If she’d had her hands free she’d have clawed their eyes out to make them wish they’d never taken her.

She wasn’t expecting the sucker punch to her stomach. She doubled over and then he threw an uppercut that Ive could see coming from her hunched over position. As much as she wanted to back away, there was no way it was happening. It clipped her chin and she flew back, hitting the ground—then nothing. The blackness seeped in.

Djimon snapped out of his self-imposed trance when he saw Ive go down. He roared and tugged at his captors, charging the man who’d dared touch what was his. He started to shift when a wall of magic cut him off.

“Genoeg.”

The word echoed through his whole body and he stopped in his tracks. They were speaking Afrikaans, his native tongue, but who were these people and why was the old one telling him ‘enough’? They should know better than to harm someone’s mate.

“
Dmitri, wat is fout met jou? Hoekom is jy optree op hierdie manier, ons prober om jou te help.”

“What’s wrong with me?” Dji was trying to figure out why this man was calling him Dmitri and how he was trying to help him by beating on Ive.

He may have been out of it—that’s right—Dmitri, the soul who’d possessed his body for so long. They thought—this wasn’t good. Could he pretend? He might be able to, he’d lived with Dmitri inside him for so long, but he hated that spirit and thought he was through with him. That’s what this trip was all about—get rid of the damn Vessel and start a new life.

“English, old man. What is the meaning of this?” Dji stood taller and shrugged off the hands holding him, letting the arrogance he remembered from Dmitri take over, and Dmitri didn’t like to speak in Afrikaans, which was why he’d taught this tribe of renegades English.

“Dmitri, we saved you. This woman,” the old man spat on the ground towards Ive. “She held you captive and has the sacred instrument we need and won’t tell us where it is. The one you told us we would have back one day. That is why you are here, yes? It is time.”

Dji closed his eyes but, when he did that, flashes of the past hit him hard and he fell to his knees. Blood and bodies, so many dead and it was all his fault. He couldn’t do this. He was Djimon the protector of his tribe and he’d let them down.

“She doesn’t speak our language and who are you to touch my woman that way?” Dji opened his eyes and demanded.

“I am the tribe shaman and I am to help you create more soldiers to take over the world. Why are you being this way, Dmitri? What has she done to you? She did not say she was yours.” The old man pointed at Ive.

“Don’t touch her again, or I will rip you apart.”

“You are not yourself, sire.”

“No, I’m not and stop calling me Dmitri or sire.”

“What is the meaning of this?” the shaman demanded.

Power surrounded Dji and it wasn’t of his own making. If he’d had better control of himself, this puny magic user would have never been able to get the drop on him. Here he was wallowing and it was happening again. People would die and it would be his fault.

“I am the protector Djimon and you will release us now.”

“Dmitri warned us of this. You have taken back over? We will fix that. Where is the Vessel?”

It was Dji’s turn to spit, right into the shaman’s face, and he was slapped for his efforts. He growled. Dmitri would never take over again. Dji would kill them both first.

“You will never have the Vessel. It will be destroyed and you will be nothing. I will see to that, old man.”

“Brave words for a man who is so weak. I should have known right off you were not Dmitri. Bring them both.”

One of the old man’s henchmen picked Ive up and threw her over his shoulder. Dji growled. They touched what was his and he would have none of it. Power swirled inside him, starting in a small ball working its way up and up—his fingertips tingled. It was time—his magic was coming back and ready to burst, the release—he needed it now. Then it was cut off again. Fuck.

“We’ll have none of that, Djimon.” The wall of magic was back and it moved around him, tightening more and more until he was trapped.

Dji threw his head back and howled. No—not again, never again would he be held captive. He drew from an inner strength he didn’t know he had. Some reserve that had helped him to break free from the evil spirit. There was a man on each side of him and he ripped his arms out of their hands and grasped their wrists, tugging them around until he knocked them together—hard.

He was going for the shaman. If he took him down he could get his magic back—the power still constricted him, making him move like he was wading through water. He was so close he could almost touch the old man. Looks were deceiving—the shaman appeared brittle with wrinkles upon wrinkles covering his body and face, but the outstretched hands were enough for Dji to bounce off and hit the ground.

No. No, no, no, no, no!

He slammed his fist into the earth, using the dirt and essence from the land—anything that would help him to break the magical hold. Again, things were out of his reach and he hated having no control over his destiny. A new, primitive energy surged through him, but it wasn’t enough. Once his power was blocked he couldn’t get out of it. Not now when his strength was at its lowest.

“Do not worry. Dmitri will be back soon and you can sleep until you can be returned to the Ancients.”

They must not have trusted him to stay calm because someone brought out twine and wrapped it around his throat and wrists—if he made one wrong move he’d choke himself. He would have to reserve his powers and not fight anymore. There had to be a way out of this. He might die, but he needed to save Ive.

Chapter Three

Grey woke up grumpy. His neck hurt from the uncomfortable plane seat and Peter was nowhere to be found. That shouldn’t have surprised him in the least. The second Grey got too close, Peter ran away like he was on fire. He sat up and rubbed his shoulder. It wasn’t helping. He jumped, not expecting anyone to be around, but Peter was behind him, moving Grey’s hands out of the way.

No way could he mistake the wonderful smell of his mate. So outdoorsy and pine scented, it reminded him of Peter’s green eyes. Grey swallowed. He needed to get his libido under control because any moment—a groan stopped his thoughts. It was too late—his cock was hard and throbbing and his mate could smell his desire. Peter was too close and touching him. His body was in overdrive, wanting to mate and make Peter his for good. Peter rested his head on Grey’s and breathed in deep. Grey could hear every move Peter made.

He didn’t want this moment to end. If he made any move, he’d scare Peter away and they’d be back to square one. Grey had to take it slow, let Peter lead.