Heart Of The Wolf (22 page)

Selena's smirk
disappeared. “I was here first … You. Selfish. Cunt.”

Shades of
greens and browns whizzed past her before she knew she'd taken a
flying leap at the bitch who posed a threat.

The two women
collided mid-air, but Lydia, being mated, and therefore more
'werewolf' than Selena, had the upper hand.

Red and
strawberry-blonde hair merged in a tangled mess.

Lydia caught a
handful of Selena's tresses and slammed her head into the
ground.

Selena yelped
and retaliated by elbowing her in the face, right across her
nose.

Something
cracked; the scent of fresh blood became apparent although it was
impossible to tell which of them it came from.

Growls, howls
and rabid barks rebounded off the trees, all coming from the two of
them as they tussled on the ground, and she almost didn't hear the
clapping. Almost.

It seemed that
Selena heard it at the same time.

They both
locked into suspended position, arms and hands clutching at face
and neck, and anywhere they could get a good, painful grip.

Not trusting
the other enough to let go, they turned with apprehension to where
the noise had come from.

“Nothing like
a good bitch fight,” grinned a black-haired man, with cruel-looking
grey eyes. Not a man – a Trident. She could tell by the smell,
which became more prominent when at least six other Tridents came
into view, some of them having shifted, some grinning, some panting
with excitement; all of them sporting massive erections at the
sight before them.

Mega
gross.

Selena grasped
her face and threw her sideways. “Get
off
me.”

She did, but
not because of the stupid she-wolf. It was because one of the
non-shifted Tridents held a gun aimed at Taylor and she'd bet
anything there was a silver bullet in there.

Taylor stood
still as a statue, no doubt trying to figure out the best move.

“Don't hurt
him!” cried Selena, and Lydia bristled. Another female coming to
her mate's defence felt just as destructive as any actual
infidelity, but she tried to get a grip on herself. She needed the
animal calm so she could think and these fucking
feelings
were just getting in the way.

“He won't be
any trouble to you,” the strawberry-blonde continued.

Lydia ignored
her and whatever the fuck she thought she was doing. Eight Tridents
altogether, she counted. All spread out in front of them; none
behind them. If any of them moved, Taylor could get shot, but
Taylor, himself, might be fast enough in wolf form. If he shifted
and ran, he'd make a harder target, and since he was the only one
out of the three of them that could shift, he was their best chance
of getting help.

Shift and
run,
she communicated to him, mentally.
You're fast enough
to dodge them – get help.

I'm not
leaving you!

Taylor, think
– logically: I can wield. I'll take out the guy with the gun first.
Lightning's fast when it strikes. You run when it does.

She was
already gathering clouds in the sky.

Their leader
looked up with a glint in his eye. “I've wanted to see you in
action for a while, little wolf. But it's going to have to wait
'til you're on a leash.” From some tie on the side of his trousers,
he produced a collar – an actual fucking leash – made from rubber
or something.

Hell, no!

She brought
the lightning to ground before the storm had even rumbled to life
beyond the clouds; too quick for them to notice straight away. She
aimed her electric tendrils at the gun.

Taylor shifted
and ran.

A shout.

A shot rang
out, and then, the most excruciating pain tore through her
middle.

She screamed
and fell on the grass, clutching her abdomen, and she had no words
– couldn't think – because it felt like someone had punched a hole
through her front, grabbed her spine and then tore it out her body.
The very core of who she was – gone.

Her lightning
danced across her skin just as it had in the warehouse a month ago,
with her feeling trapped beneath it, unable to move. She was no
longer in control of it.

Other screams
sounded around her and Taylor's was one of them. That's when she
spied him a few feet away, fallen. He hadn't gotten very far. He
was in human form again, and gripping his torso in the same way she
was.

The third
scream belonged to Selena. She ran towards Taylor.

“NO!” It felt
as if Lydia's wolf was tearing at her skin to get out.
What the
fuck is happening?!

Selena landed
by Taylor's side, laid her god damn hands on him and turned him
over onto his back.

He'd passed
out.

Right now, she
sort of wished she could pass out, because the pain was unbearable.
Tears of agony and loss streaked her face.

Something was
fastened around her neck: the collar.

The Trident in
charge pulled the leash tight and then pinned it to ground under
his foot.

She
growled.

He pulled it
tighter. “Now, now … just be thankful it's not silver.”

Whatever the
fuck that collar was made of, it dissipated her electrical charge.
She was still producing lightning, but its impact had been reduced
to almost nothing. And it meant the bastard could touch her, which
he did.

Running a
thumb up and down her stomach through her dress, just above her
belly button, he brought his face right into hers and took a deep
breath in. “Aaaaah! Can you smell that? The sweet aroma of an
unmated female.”

Oh, god, no –
she hadn't heard that right, had she?

“I didn't
think the old woman could pull it off. You can't unmate someone, I
said.” He grinned. “Goes to show, you learn something new every
day.”

She glanced
over at Taylor, unconscious, Selena hovering over him. “No…”
She'd
done this! But how? How had she done this? Was she
working with the Tridents?
Traitor. SHE'S the traitor!

“Yes, my dear,
but never fear. The storm is upon us, the moon will be rising
shortly, and
this
…” he produced a syringe filled with yellow
liquid and held it in front of her, “is your lucky day. Do you know
what this is?”

She stared at
him with rage, wishing he would die somehow.

Yes, the storm
was here. Thunder cracked overhead and the first drops of rain
fell, but she had no control over any of it – couldn't even move a
muscle.

Unmated.

She swallowed
back a sob.

Somehow, she
was unmated again.
That's
what the pain that sliced through
her was about. Taylor had felt it too. What about Ryan and
Lawrence?

“This,” he
tapped the syringe, “is a mating formula. We carried on the good
work of Dr Trident, trying to discover ways to make our species
better; to conquer extinction. Each one contains a unique code that
when shared by two Tridents – or a Trident and a human which is
more commonly the case – combines their DNA to mimic that of mated
couples. Recently, we figured out how to make the formula
compatible with wolves. We have a way of mating with
your
kind now. And I can't imagine anything better for our survival than
being mated to a storm-wielder, can you? Guaranteed coupling every
full moon, and in the spirit of partnership, you may as well know
this: we've almost perfected a breeding formula, too. Necessary,
since The Trident have never once succeeded in producing offspring.
Now, things are going to be different – finally.” He leaned into
her, menace pouring off him as his pheromones infiltrated her
nostrils. “I'm going to pump you 'til your belly's big and
round.”

“Fuck you,”
she managed to get out.

He grasped her
face and plunged his tongue into her mouth, lips covering hers.

She
gagged.

“You will be
fucking me soon, little wolf – willingly and happily, and begging
me for more.”

He wrapped his
hand around her right arm, straightening it. “I wondered if
unmating you from one, would unmate you from all.” He lowered his
head and ran his tongue along the vein at the crease of her elbow,
scenting her.

If she could
vomit, she would have.

“Seems like it
– I can't detect any mates attached to you at all.”

A flicker of
her eyes towards Taylor told her he was still out. Selena sat
astride him, licking him from his navel to his neck, scenting him
in the same way the Trident was scenting her.

It both
alarmed and calmed her to know that those debilitating, vile
emotions of betrayal at watching the scene were, for once, not
coming from her gut like they had when she was mated – they were
coming from her heart; from her soul. It would have been a
beautiful affirmation of her true feelings had the situation been
different.

I love you,
Taylor.

Something
sharp pressed into the skin of her arm. She hissed at the feel of
the syringe going in.

“You're going
to regret this. I swear to god, I'll find a way to kill you.”

The Trident
ignored her, smiled, and emptied half of the fluid into her. She
felt it slide into her veins like poison.

“Half for
you…” He pulled the needle out and looked down at his watch. “Five
minutes until moonrise. I shall relish our union, little wolf.
Until then, the rest of my pack are in need of relief.”

Oh, god,
please no…

He threw her
dress over her waist and pulled her underwear down to her
knees.

Please no…

Three Tridents
came into view. She refused to look at them, knowing exactly what
she'd see.

“Boys … be my
guest.” He grinned down at her as he spoke to them, letting his
eyes travel places they had no business wandering over. “You've got
less than five minutes – I trust that won't be a problem.”

Chapter Fifteen

She shouldn't
be wasting any time, but this was just
divine
… and already
more than she'd hoped for only last week.

Selena wiggled
down Taylor's body and went for that dip above his hip once more.
That spot – right there –
mmmm
… there were no words.

And the moon
was rising – she could feel it peek over the horizon, even if she
couldn't see it. Her entire being shuddered with want and tears
sprang to her eyes that relief was finally hers. She glanced over a
Lydia.

A Trident,
shifted and in obvious lust, fell onto his knees between her
legs.

Oh,
god…
She looked away and backhanded that vexatious guilt that
seared through her – it wasn't her problem, and it's not like she
could do anything about it anyway. She had to fix herself
first.

She reached
into the pocket of her cardigan, and didn't register what it was
straight away, that had utter dread stampeding though her
system.

It's gone.

What? She
wasn't computing.

It's gone.
It's gone. It's GONE.
“NnnneeEEAAAAHHH!” Not a scream, but a
caterwaul of despair and rage rolled into one. And loss. Because
time was almost up, and she'd just lost the game.

Not a game –
her life.

IT'S
GONE!
The syringe was gone!

And then the
world went to hell.

She
experienced it all in strange slow motion, her hearing muffled from
disbelief. Every movement took an age; every noise sounded like the
thunk of death's hoof beats as it hunted her down.

There was a
roar.

She turned and
saw a motorbike, Lawrence on it, hurtling out of the woods,
crashing through every damn thing including three Tridents. They
went flying every which way, one of them straight into the beast
crouched by Lydia who wasn't going to get his happy after all.

Another roar,
and a white van emerged from where the bike had been. Any Trident
left standing met its bonnet head on.

The van ground
to a halt, its side door all but exploded open with a furious
shove, and out jumped Ryan, sledgehammer in hand and Selena pressed
herself further into Taylor because she was actually in fear of
him. Ryan wasn't just angry – there wasn't a word to describe the
look on his face.

The Trident's
leader – that black-haired guy – snarled, sprouting teeth and fur,
but refrained from shifting fully. That couldn't have been
easy.

He brought a
syringe up to his arm—

The syringe!
Find the fucking syringe!

That snapped
her out of her dulled state.

Both Ryan and
the sledgehammer went flying at the leader, and Selena tore her
eyes away from the scene, left Taylor where he was and scurried
over to where she and Lydia had brawled. It must have fallen out
somewhere here. It had
definitely
been in her pocket when
she'd come upon Taylor conversing with Lydia.

Fuck!
Tears blurred her vision.
Where is it?

Another look
up and everything was confusion personified. Men, or wolves (she
couldn't immediately tell which) in white robes had joined in the
fight against the Tridents. Who the hell were they? Had they come
from the van?

Find the
syringe!

Taking a deep
breath and hoping beyond hope that everyone was too busy to bother
with her, she edged towards the battle, and couldn't believe her
luck when the rays of the setting sun glinted off something metal …
a needle.

Selena leapt
at it.

To her right,
Lawrence was driving the head of a Trident into the ground with the
front wheel of his bike. Blood sprayed.

Ryan had the
leader's arms in a death grip, forcing his limbs backwards – ribs
cracked, but that Trident was a fucker to kill. He head butted Ryan
in the nose, and that's all Selena had time to see because her
mating pains tore through her chest like a carving knife.
The
moon!