Training Their Mate [Pack Wars-Book 1] (20 page)

Chapter Seventeen

Dante yawned and covered his
mouth. Tonight was only his second night on duty watching Liz, but dammit he
didn’t have it in him anymore to stay up twenty-four hours straight. For the
life of him, he couldn’t figure out how he did all-nighters back in college.
Trax took most of the evening duties and Kurt, Drake, Clay, and Dirk watched
her during the day. They had a few close calls when they thought Liz might have
spotted one of them, but so far she hadn’t sounded the alarm.

He yawned again and shook his
head to clear the fog until another fog of Liz and his mating settled in around
him. What would he do with her if and when he got another chance? He rolled
down the window and sucked in a breath of fresh air. His cell phone buzzed, and
he checked the text.

Get
home now. Urgent. Couch is here.

Fuck
. Trax rarely texted. If his brother
hadn’t been able to call, it must be bad. Dante turned the key in the ignition
and hightailed it out of there. At this hour, the roads were mostly empty. He
broke every posted speed limit, and he prayed some cop wasn’t just waiting to
pounce. Dante took a few corners too fast, but when he neared their home, he
slowed. He decided to park down the street and approach on foot. If Couch was
there, Dante didn’t want to tip his hand.

Even if he called or texted
Trax, and Couch, in some unbelievable scenario, had his brother cornered, the
returned text might be a lie. No lights shone from upstairs, but if Couch was
in wolf form, he could see in the dark. Though how he entered their place
undetected was anyone’s guess.

Dante didn’t see or hear
anything coming from the loft. He pressed his eye to the sensor and the door
seemed unusually loud opening. He tiptoed upstairs and listened at the door
then stepped inside. Trax was here—alone. Dante’s heart shot to high
alert when he thought he might have been duped. But how was that possible?

He knocked on Trax’s closed
door and waited for his brother to answer before he went inside.

Trax opened his door looking
like shit. “What the fuck are you doing here? Is Liz with you?”

“I got your text.”

“What text?”

“Shit.”

Trax seemed to put the pieces
together fast. He rushed back into his room, stepped into his boots, and pulled
a shirt over his pajamas. “Let’s go.”

“I’ll drive.”

They both ran downstairs.

“I parked down the road.”

Horrible thoughts ran through
his brain as they raced to the car. Dante unlocked the car, jumped in, and
tossed his cell phone to his brother to show him the text.

“How did this happen?”

Trax must have stared at the
screen for a full minute. “I don’t know.”

“It doesn’t matter now. Couch
must be with Liz.” He ripped around the corner and rolled through a stop sign.

“Maybe I should call her.”

“Go ahead.” If she didn’t
answer, he’d be even more scared.

Trax pressed her number and
waited and waited. The answering machine clicked on and he hung up.

“Why didn’t you leave a
message?”

“I don’t want Couch to know
we’re on our way.”

Sometimes it was nice to be
with someone who had a clear head. “Call Drake and Kurt.”

“Good thinking.” He dialed
the other team and told them to meet them at Liz’s.

Given the short conversation,
the men had no problem giving up another night’s sleep.

Dante wanted to park right in
front and rush in, but they needed to be smart. Instead, he parked down the
street. They got out, and staying as low as possible, hustled toward the house.
As he neared, he sensed several wolves. Adrenaline raced through his brain.
Trax was the tactical one, so he let his brother lead.

Trax motioned that they go to
the side of the house and look in the window. The living room was brightly lit
but the shades were drawn, and he could only make out shadows inside.

Voices sounded, but he
couldn’t tell what was being said.

Trax pointed toward the back.
See if the back door is open. I’ll take the
front
.

Dante took off and raced
around to the kitchen side. He drew his gun and tested the door. It was
unlocked. Either Liz had been careless or this was how the men got in.

A scream sounded and all
thoughts of protocol left his brain.
I’m
going in.
When he looked through the kitchen entrance, Trax had already
broken the front window and entered.

Couch had Liz by the throat,
and his two sidekicks stood next to him with guns.

“You’re outnumbered. Get out
of my way.” Couch snarled.

Trax’s fingers tensed on the
gun. “She’s not going anywhere with you.”

Dante sensed the fear rolling
off Liz’s body. One thing his brother taught him was how well surprise attacks
worked. He placed his gun on the counter and shifted quickly. Both Liz and
Couch had their backs to him. If he got lucky, he might be able to attack Couch
and distract him. He just needed enough for him to release his hold on Liz, and
for Trax to attack.

Heart pounding, Dante lowered
his body to the ground and edged toward the side wall, inching close enough to
take that one leap. His nails must have scratched the wood floor because Couch
turned to look behind him. In that second, Dante charged, aimed low, and locked
his teeth into Couch’s leg. The man yelped.

Two gunshots sounded but Dante
didn’t look. His goal was to save Liz. Fists pounded hard bodies and faces. Out
of the corner of his eye, he saw two men fly across the room, neither one Trax.

Liz screamed.

His only way to save her was
to shift back.

It was the longest five seconds
in his life while his legs, arms, and body all cracked and expanded.

Couch was on the ground
moaning like a baby, holding his leg. One man was in a battle with Trax, and
the other guy was hauling Liz toward the kitchen back door.

Dante had no choice. He had
to go after Liz.

As
he sped into the kitchen, the
man holding Liz aimed a gun and pulled the trigger. A bullet hit him in the arm,
and although he instantly felt the poison seep into his body, he refused to
slow down.

Dante leapt onto the man’s back,
and the three of them went sprawling.

Shit
. Had he hurt Liz? “Liz, get the gun.
It’s—”

He didn’t get a chance to
finish his sentence before Couch’s bodyguard rolled on top of him and pounded
his face.

Liz crawled away, and Dante
grabbed the man’s neck. He twisted his head, wrapped a leg around the man, and
rolled him over. He got off two well-aimed punches to the man’s jaw, bloodying
him pretty badly before his arm lost its strength and he collapsed.

“Dante!” Liz shouted.

Couch limped into the kitchen.

Fuck
. He couldn’t move.

The sound of a gunshot
reverberated in the room and Dante’s heart nearly stopped.

#

Liz’s hands shook as she
watched Couch’s eyes widen. The stench of gunpowder filled her nostrils. She’d
shot the bastard, yet there was no sense of remorse—nothing but
adrenaline filling her veins. Her heart slammed against her chest, not
believing she’d pulled the trigger.

“You fucking bitch.” He
dropped to his knees.

Vomit threatened to rise into
her mouth, and she stepped back. Only then did the scuffle a few feet away get
her attention and register on her brain.

Dante’s eye was swollen shut
and blood dripped down his arm.
Oh, my
God. He’s been shot.
Shot with a bullet that would send poison through his
body.

Shattering glass sounded from
the living room, but her legs wouldn’t move. Trax was with Couch’s man. Dante
seemed to need her help more, only she didn’t know how. One second Dante was on
top and the next the other guy was above him.

Her vision blurred. She
blinked to keep focused. Arms turned dark and bones cracked. Two legs
disappeared and then two arms. The head of a wolf formed until a whole wolf
surfaced. Just as quickly, Dante swirled and transformed, but the first wolf
attacked the collection of limbs and fur.

She aimed the gun at the mass
of fur, but her hands were shaking too hard to shoot. Besides, she might hit
Dante.

Couch grunted and moved
toward him.

Damn
. She hadn’t killed him. She slid the
pistol part of the gun back to cock it and held her arms steady.

“Don’t move or I’ll shoot you
through your fucking heart.” Only then did she remember the button that would
turn on the red laser. When Couch looked down at his chest and spotted the dot,
he sank back onto his heels and the expression on his face sent satisfaction
straight to her heart.

Beside her, the sound of
flesh ripping almost made her heart stop. As much as she wanted to watch Dante
do battle, she refused to take her attention off Couch.

Trax came through the doorway
and hope shot through her. In a flash, he had Couch tied up. Relieved, she reeled
around. When she looked at the two wolves, one had his throat torn out. The
other wolf sat panting.

Her stomach flipped.

“Dante?”

He didn’t answer. Her heart
sank. Even if he couldn’t talk, Dante would find a way to acknowledge her.

“Yes, it’s Dante.”

Once more, a blurry mass of
fur spun. Two legs appeared along with arms. In seconds, Dante was standing in
front of her. He glanced between the man on the ground, Couch, and then her.
“Are you okay, sugar?”

“Yes.” Tears of joy streamed
down her face. “I am now.” She rushed to him and threw her arms around him,
careful not to make his injury worse.

How had she ever thought
these men didn’t love her? Trax stepped around Couch. She stepped away from
Dante and let Trax pull her into an embrace. His lip was bloody, and he had a
few scratches, but otherwise he looked unscathed. His warm comfort was
everything she ever wanted in a man.

“Anyone home?”

Trax leaned back. “In here.”

“I see we’re a little late.”
Two men who looked familiar strode in. Liz faced Trax for an answer.

“These men are two other
members of the Pack.”

“Ah, the good guys.” She
smiled.

“Babe, you have no idea. I’ll
tell you all about it later.” He turned to his two friends. “You think you can
take care of these jerks for us while I take Liz home?”

“Sure,” Kurt said.

Dante held his wounded arm.

She searched his body to see
if he’d been seriously wounded anywhere else. “Are you going to be okay?” The
poison would already be racing through his body.

“It stings, but we’ll call
Deland to deal with the poison.”

“I’m going with you.” She
didn’t want to be away from her men for a moment more. “Let me change and throw
a few things in a case, okay? I want to make sure you two get your just reward
for saving my life.”

Trax sidled up to her. “Oh,
babe, you have no idea how long I’ve waited for you to say that.”

He kissed her and the adrenaline that was
already in her body mixed with a rush of hormones. Her pussy went wild.

“Hey, I’m the injured one
here. Shouldn’t I get some sympathy?”

They broke apart and Trax
laughed. She smiled. It had been a long time since she’d heard that precious
sound come from him. She’d made a promise to herself to force him to laugh more
often.

Liz still couldn’t believe
Harvey Couch had been captured and soon would be brought to justice. She’d
never forget the thrill when she’d pulled the trigger. Sure, she was horrified
at first, but now she was glad. In a way, she wanted him to heal from his wound
just so he could rot in jail for the rest of his life.

Trax pulled out his phone and
made a call. He disconnected. “Dr. Deland is ready to take care of you.”

“He’ll treat you in the
middle of the night?”

“We werewolves get special
treatment.” He winked.

“Sweet.”

Even though her car was in
the driveway, they all piled in Trax’s SUV. She insisted on sitting in the back
with the wounded soldier.

“So tell me what happened,
sugar.”

She wasn’t sure she wanted to
relive the details right away, but she was willing to share what Couch told her
about her mom. “It’s kind of a blur. After I heard something in the house, I
picked up my gun and snuck into the living room. I pointed the gun at Couch,
but if I shot him, his two henchmen would have shot me. At the time, I didn’t
care. All I wanted was some closure.”

Dante rubbed her leg as if
she was the one who was injured instead of him.

“He’s a sick bastard all
right.”