Three Southern Beaches: A Summer Beach Read Box Set (31 page)

Nothing. Nothing happened.

His eyes narrowed and the chant became frantic. Hank and I stood our ground and waited. There was power in stillness. Let him play his hand first. Let his fury make him sloppy. We needed any advantage we could get.

Puck Flare’s eyes turned blood red and narrowed to slits. “What have you done to me?” he demanded as a spear of fire flew from his lips. “What have you done?”

Ducking so I didn’t fry was necessary, but he did ask a question. I’d been raised in the South and was occasionally polite. The man deserved an answer.

“I leveled the playing field,” I told him.

“There is no playing field,” he roared. “I am the superior being here. You are dirt beneath my feet.”

“That’s not very nice,” Hank drawled. “I think you should apologize.”

“You think I should
what
?” The Dragon was icy and calm. Surely that was not a good sign. He moved toward us as smoke wafted from his nose and ears.

Everything moved in slow motion…and then it didn’t.

It was violent and bloody and I was frozen in shock. The sounds of breaking bones and grunts filled the room. The two men were locked together, fighting for their lives and all I could do was watch in horror. It was almost balletic in its precision and I had no idea who was winning. Snapping jaws with blood-stained mouths tore at each other. Holding back was killing me, but Hank was right. He was physically stronger and it seemed like he knew what he was doing.

“Essie, destroy the eggs,” Hank shouted as he took a sharp right hook to the face.

Moving with Vampyre speed, I grabbed a large heavy tin and began smashing everything on the counters and walls. The Dragon wailed and my blood curdled. I didn’t look back and I didn’t stop. My job was as important as Hank’s. If we died, we would not die in vain.

Done. I was done. Nothing in the room was salvageable. Wait. I had moved with Vamp speed…I had Vamp strength. What was I thinking?

Turning back to the fight, I tried to find an opening. The Dragon had the Wolf by the neck. Hank struggled and elbowed the Dragon with such force that he flew backward. Both men were in bad shape. Watching time was over. It was my turn to play.

“Hey Puck, I ate a mint. Do you wanna make out now?” The utter ridiculousness of my statement threw him off his game long enough for Hank to pin him. I dove forward and narrowly avoided the explosion of flames that Puck aimed at me. Reaching for his neck while Hank had him down was my goal. The vicious head butt to my face was unexpected and my eye began to swell shut immediately.

“That hurt,” I shouted as I pummeled his face, landing a jarring left hook to his nose. The crunch of bone under my fist was sickening, but I wanted more. I was so intent on getting to his neck I completely missed the fact that I was fighting him alone. Hank was on fire and rolling on the floor to put himself out.

“You think that hurt, you little bitch?” the Dragon hissed viciously. “I will make you hurt so badly you will beg for death.” I saw the fist coming before it landed and he was right. Several more of those and I
would
beg for death. New goal…avoid the fist. Jumping back, I dropped to a fighting stance and waited for his next move. He laughed and winked.

“I like your spirit — you would have been a good egg donor. Too bad you have to die.”

He lunged and I moved to my left, raising my knee and propelling it into his Adam’s apple as he went for me. The sheer force I had used surprised me. However, it surprised him even more.  Defensive fighting was no longer an option. I fought with everything I had, but so did he.

The sound of bones snapping was sickening, especially because they were mine, but I healed instantly. Using a combination of martial arts and sheer brute force I was holding my own…
barely
. Blood ran from my forehead, my nose and god knew where else. I wasn’t going to last much longer. At least I’d destroyed his masterpiece…

The howl from my mate chilled me to the bone. Hank was dying and the Dragon had killed him. I had nothing left to lose. Nothing. The Dragon made the mistake of glancing in the direction of the sound and I knew I had one last opening. Without thinking, I sprang forward, grabbed his head and twisted for all I was worth. The shrill scream and the bones unhinging under my fingers gave me strength I didn’t know I possessed. I had no idea if Hank was alive or dead, but I was going out fighting. I twisted and I twisted. I yanked, grunted and howled. Hot liquid covered my hands and made my grip slippery, but I held on. No letting go. If I let go, I die. Break his neck, restrain him. Break it and we might live. Break. Snap. Destroy. Hurt the Dragon like he had hurt my friends—like he had hurt the Panther and Bear Shifters that had died because he wanted to play God. Dwayne’s Vampyre blood running through my veins stung. The fury and desperation I felt was my own, but it was mixed with something unfamiliar and terrifying. I needed to get to Hank and make him shift…give him my blood, make him drink. But if I let go, I would be lost. Twist. Twist. He hadn’t even asked me to marry him yet. He couldn’t die before he asked me to marry him. Twist and pull. Dwayne was going to wear a dress and Granny was going to give me away. Break the neck. My weeping sounded distant to my own ears. Gushing blood and tears blurred my vision. Twist…break.

“Essie, stop.” Hanks voice was harsh, but he didn’t understand. The Dragon was going to kill us. I just needed to twist one more time.

“Look at me,” Hank demanded. “Now.”

I stopped and stared. He was alive and I was too. Had I broken the Dragon’s neck? Was he restrained? I glanced down at my hands and screamed. In a death grip I held the head of a Dragon. His body lay on the other side of the room. Dead eyes stared at me and I dropped the head in horror.

“How did I do that?” I gasped and my body shook like a leaf. “I didn’t know I did that. How did I not know?”

“Essie, it’s okay. You’re okay. The Vampyre took over and you decapitated him.”

“Decapitation means to cut a head off. I yanked it off of his body,” I said in a shrill voice I didn’t recognize. Curling into a ball, I rocked back and forth and tried to get a handle on myself. “I don’t want to be a Vampyre. It’s dark and wrong.”

“You’re not a Vampyre. You’re a wolf. Dwayne gave you—us a gift. We’re alive because of what you did.”

“I tore his head off,” I said flatly and then started to laugh. I knew I was probably in shock, but all of a sudden I was crazily happy about the fact that I’d just torn the head off of a Dragon. This wasn’t much different than other jobs I’d been on…
actually it was
. I’d used weapons and I’d been detached from the situation. I didn’t know the victims personally and I hadn’t torn their heads off with my bare hands. No amount of psychotherapy or even a lobotomy was going to dull the memory of this one.

“Would it have made a difference if you’d used a sword?” he asked as he gathered me in his arms.

“I’m bleeding on you,” I muttered.

“Yes, and I’m bleeding on you. You saved our lives. I was on fire, for god’s sake. We should be dead.” He held me close and his body shuddered. “You do realize we’ll have to name our first child Dwayne.”

That gave me pause. As much as I loved Dwayne, I wasn’t crazy about his name. “Do we have to?” I asked.

“Yep.” Hank grinned and pulled me to my feet. “Come on, Essie the Ripper. We need to check on the others.”

“I think I would have felt bad even if I’d used a sword.”

“Why? You did what you had to do.”

“Honestly, I don’t feel bad about killing him. It was him or us. I feel bad about my loss of control and the small but significant fact that I had no clue I’d torn his noggin off of his body.”

“That must be a little odd,” Hank agreed. “But it was sort of hot in a female Rambo kind of way.”

“Oh, hell no. You got turned on by watching me rip a dude’s head from his shoulders?”

“No. That was actually fairly gross. It was watching you fight and own it. You were a machine.” He held me tight to his body and I drank in his strength and calm.

“You know, this Vampyre thing will wear off and I won’t be such a machine anymore,” I said as I snuggled closer.

“I’m good with that.” He laughed and pulled me from the carnage. “I’ll take you any way I can get you.”

“Ditto,” I said and never looked back once. “And if you ever call me Essie the Ripper again, I’ll rip something off you.”

“Duly noted.”

Chapter 14

The Tinas were bound in silver chains and hung upside down. Appropriately, the evil she-wolves hung from the very same rusted out pipes the girls had been attached to. They were missing teeth, and from the smell, they’d clearly had a little upchuck session. Junior was in the corner staring at Sandy Moongie like a love struck puppy. Hmmmmm.

“You look like hell,” Sandy said as she looked me up and down, not looking much better herself. “I sure hope the other guy looks worse.”

“He does.”

“Is he dead?” Junior asked.

“Quite,” Hank told him.

I was relieved Hank didn’t go into details. I wasn’t sure that was a story I wanted told. Ever.

“We didn’t kill them,” Debbie said, referring to the strangely subdued Tinas. “We would be no better than them if we did.”

“But we fought, Essie. We defended ourselves like you said.” Frankie grinned bashfully and wiped the blood from an ugly gash she sported.

“They were something to be reckoned with,” Junior said with pride, eyes still glued to Sandy. “These gals had it covered. I just stood back and watched.”

I caught a quick exchange of glances between Sandy and Junior and I bit back a grin.

“I have their teeth if you want them.” Jenny tried to hand me a collection of blood-stained pearly whites.

“Um, no. While I’m honored and proud of you and um…no.”

Jenny grinned and shoved the teeth in her pocket as the gals fist bumped each other in victory. As we contemplated what to do with the traitors, a shrill hiss and a gust of icy wind ripped through the room. Everyone gasped in terror and ducked for cover.
Could a Dragon live with no head
?

“I was amazing,” Dwayne squealed triumphantly as he landed gracefully in the middle of the room. “I did the meld and they bubbled and turned a lovely bluish-orange-green and then BOOM! The sound was incredible. Absolutely fabulous—like fornicating cats and Madonna.”

“Holy hell, did you fly here?” I asked as I got shakily back to my feet and decided not to broach the cat/Madonna thing.

“You had the car keys. What was I supposed to do? This place is a disaster. Of course it’s not quite as bad as downtown,” Dwayne announced as he took in the room.

“Understatement,” Hank muttered and Dwayne grinned evilly.

“It is a mess,” Junior agreed. “Who’s gonna clean this up?”

“The Council is cleaning up the debacle,” Dwayne informed us victoriously. “I called up your boss, Angela and read her the riot act. I got her up to speed and then I tore her a new one. I forbid her to send you into anything so dangerous again. I have been worried sick and that is not good for my digestion. I told her to send down a crew because there are Dragon innards covering half the town and I assumed there would be more to take care of out here. Do you want me to mind meld the Tinas?” He cocked his head toward the hanging traitors.

“No!” everyone yelled in unison.

“Just a suggestion,” Dwayne huffed, completely offended.

“Well, I don’t know about you, but I want to get out of here,” Frankie said.

“What time is it?” Dwayne asked frantically. “I have a show tonight and I’m doing all three
Charlie’s Angels
.”

The girls looked confused. “Don’t ask,” I said. “Let it be a surprise.”

“Do we just leave them?” Sandy asked.

“For the moment, yes,” Hank said as the Tinas hissed and swore. “Enough,” he bellowed. The Tinas whimpered and everyone else flinched. I might be the alpha’s mate, but Hank was definitely the alpha. “You have disgraced yourselves and this pack,” he went on coldly. “Your behavior merits death, but that is far too good for you. You will be shunned. I will leave you in your final hours of belonging to a pack and let you think about what you have done. After tomorrow I never want to lay eyes on you again.”

We filed out and left the Tinas hanging upside down in the holding cell. We heard their sobs as we formed a circle outside.

“We’ll shift and run back. It’s the fastest way and everyone needs to heal,” Hank instructed. “I want everyone at the sheriff’s office. We’ll notify your families and tonight we celebrate.”

No one cheered. We were too tired and still in shock, but heartfelt smiles were shared.

“Essie, can I ride you back to town?” Dwayne asked.

“No, you can’t.”

“Fine. It can’t hurt to ask.” He grinned and levitated into the air.

Everyone shifted except Hank and me. We watched as our pack made their way home. The beauty of the wolves always left me breathless. The fact that I was one of the magical creatures awed me.

“Can you shift yet?” Hank asked.

“I don’t know,” I admitted. My wolf felt lethargic inside me, but she was pleased. “You do realize you have some explaining to do, Mr. Dragon Slayer.”

“I didn’t slay the Dragon, pretty girl. You did.”

“You know what I mean.”

He stared at me for a long minute with a sexy half grin on his face. “It might piss you off.”

“It would take a whole hell of a lot to piss me off at the moment, so unless you’re married with ten kids, in which case I’d kill you…now might be a good time to confess,” I told him as my body tensed. What in the world could he tell me? He was half Dragon? Impossible. His new hobby was offing Dragons? Unlikely. I waited impatiently.

“I’m WTF.”

Not what I expected.
At all.

“Right.” I laughed and waited for the punch line. It didn’t come. “What do you mean you’re WTF?”

“When I discovered where you were and what you were doing I watched you.”

“You mean stalked me?”

“Some might define it as that.” He grinned. “You were beautiful, amazing, confident and strong. I didn’t think you were ever coming back, so I joined.”

I was speechless. He was going to give up everything he loved for me? “Why?” I whispered. “You are the alpha. You have a pack and a career and a life…”

“Because it means nothing without you.”

My knees buckled and I crumpled to the ground. How could I ever have been so stupid to have left this man? No one in my long life would ever love me like he did. No one.

“The pack. What about the pack?”

“The pack was never supposed to be mine in the first place. It just so happens my amazing mother gave birth to two alphas and I was more prepared than the rightful alpha to take over at the time of my father’s retirement.”

“Junior?”

“Yep.” He grinned and shook his head. “It’s time for my big brother to step up and lead our pack. He’s been ready for a while, but he would have never challenged me for the position. We’re far more than just two alphas—we’re brothers.”

“So, we’re not staying?” I asked, unsure what I really wanted.

“Right now I will leave that up to you, but I think Junior will have an easier transition if I go away for a little while.”

I mulled over everything I had just learned and I felt lighter than I had in years. I could love the man of my dreams and still do what I’d become passionate about? Stuff like this never happened for me…

“Hank, my parents…” I couldn’t get it out. It hurt. Why after so long did their death cause physical pain?
Maybe because they didn’t have to die
.

“I already know,” he said as he wrapped me in his arms. “Granny told me.”

She’d certainly been busy, but I was grateful I didn’t have to speak the horrible story out loud. My Granny loved me fierce even if she couldn’t keep her damned mouth shut.

“We’ll go,” I said firmly. “We’ll go back to Chicago and let Junior find his place. I have to find out what happened to my parents and…”

“We. We have to find out what happened to your parents and then we will figure out what’s next.”

I laid my head on his chest and listened to his heartbeat—so strong, sure and mine. No matter what else life handed me, I knew my first priority would be to take care of the alpha who loved me.

“I feel very attached to you right now,” I whispered as I breathed in his scent.

“I can work with that.” He chuckled and held me tighter.

“I’m also feeling the need to jump your bones.”

“As much as it pains me to take a rain check, and let me be very clear,” he said, referring to the impressive bulge in his jeans. “It pains me. I think we should get back to town and make sure our people are okay.”

Reluctantly I slid from his arms and stood up. “I agree, but I will take a rain check.”

“That’s good because it’s definitely going to rain tonight. All night.”

“You sure about that, Big Boy?” I giggled.

“Never been more sure about anything in my life.”