Pack, page 8
part #3 of Five Fangs Series
My flock will fight with me, Gelo linked back.
This could be chaos, I said to my brothers only. We haven't had a chance to work out any kind of strategy for using him and the witches in a fight.
Gelo, until we make a plan, don't get in our way and we won't get in yours, Mason linked him, the witches, and us.
Understood, was his response.
Sons, where do you want me? Dad asked. Evie and the kids are in the safe room, and Arch and Wayne are on guard outside.
I felt Cole's hesitation, not because he doubted his father's ability and strength, but because he didn't want to lose him. It was a fear we all had after the sickness. None of us wanted to bury any more loved ones, especially parents.
But when the pack was in danger, sentiment had to take second place to practicality.
To the border, Cole told him.
And me? Papa asked.
Also to the border, I said when Mase remained silent. I think we'll need as many fangs as we can get for this one.
Did you sense something else about the rogues? Wyatt asked through the alpha link.
No. I shrugged. Like I said, just a gut feeling.
Well, for once, I hope your gut is wrong.
Me, too, brother. Me, too.
9: Invaders
Emerson
Having the Angel of Death as your mate had a lot of benefits, including an instant understanding of danger.
Angelo sent Leo to get Thoreau to the safe room and had his gun belt on before I was done shifting. He shrugged on his weapons harness, complete with a sword hilt poking up over each shoulder, as we ran down the stairs.
"Leo?" he shouted.
"He's in the safe room with his wolf stuffy," Leo hollered as he came pelting up the basement stairs. "Scared but promised to stay there until he hears from one of us."
Best we can hope for, I linked them.
I was angry at myself for not practicing the safe room with my baby brother before now. It was going at the top of my priority list after today.
"Shift while I talk," Angelo told Leo. "We'll jog a line twenty feet apart. Don't lose sight of each other and link the alphas directly as soon as you see something. Alpha Ash said they're still heading our way, but he'll let us know if they change course."
Got it, Leo and I linked at the same time.
"Move out."
I should have been with my luna, guarding her with my life, but I understood the alphas' orders. The enemy was in my backyard, so to speak. Still, I couldn't stop myself from linking Tyler as we trotted along.
Is my little luna bunny in the safe room?
Of course.
That made me breathe easier. The alphas had spared no expense when they built their safe room. It was impregnable and had independent water and air systems. It could only be locked and unlocked from the inside, and there was an emergency exit tunnel that led to a location only the alphas knew. They had dug it themselves to keep it secret.
At the time, I'd thought Alpha Mason had invented the job to keep alphas Ash and Wyatt out of trouble for the summer, but now I could definitely see the value of it. I needed to do something like that for our safe room.
Peri's with her, Tyler continued, and the rest of us are on guard outside. What's happening there?
Nothing yet— Wait.
Cove's ears pricked up right as Leo linked me that Ruby heard something. Knowing Angelo's senses were sharper than a human's but nowhere near our level, I alerted him. He immediately froze and linked us to hold our positions and listen.
Something was moving through the forest about fifty feet in front of us, last autumn's leaf and needle fall crunching softly under irregular, quick footsteps. Whatever it was, it was lighter than a wolf. I let my mate know, and Angelo drew the two handguns from his hip holsters.
Shifter, Cove told us all, but I not smell this before.
"I smell a witch," Angelo said, drawing in a deep breath through his nose.
I smell mate! Ruby yelped, and Angelo and I both felt Leo's shock.
Before we could blink, a red fox staggered out of the undergrowth, her tongue hanging out and her sides heaving. She had her front left paw tucked up beneath her and limped along. Her beautiful amber eyes suddenly fixed on Ruby, and she ran as fast as she could on three legs, dove under Ruby, and laid there panting. Ruby sniffed all over her, pausing on her injured paw, then began licking it.
"Can she tell you anything?" Angelo asked as he scanned the forest.
Dire wolves, Ruby linked us and the alphas.
Do what you can, Alpha Jayden responded right away, but retreat rather than die.
Em's a beta, Leo's a former alpha, and I'm me. Angelo shot me a cocky wink. We'll hold the line, alpha, and give them hell.
Meeting his eyes, I smirked and nodded.
Leo, I said, send her to our house. I'll tell Reau to meet her on the porch and take her back to the safe room with him.
As Leo sent his little mate off, I linked Thoreau and caught him up to speed. The fact that she was Leo's mate didn't faze him, but meeting a real, live fox shifter had him jumping with excitement.
I rolled my eyes.
Get back to the safe room with her as soon as you can, I told him. And she's hurt, so be careful.
I will, Bubba. Promise!
Here they come, Cove rumbled to us and the alphas.
I closed the link with Thoreau to focus and heard twigs snap and the rhythmic thud of running paws.
Shrieking yips broke the early morning silence, and the rising sun glinted off the mass of dark fur coming toward us in an unfurling carpet. Angelo cocked his guns, Cove crouched into attack position, and Ruby bared his fangs.
What's your ETA? Angelo linked the alphas.
Seven or eight minutes, Alpha Cole said.
But we're here, someone linked us.
Delta and Lake, Zayne and Zayden Maxwell's wolves, filled the gap between me and Leo. I glanced at my mate to see Beatrix standing on his far side, strands of her hair rising as a fiery halo built around her.
Angelo stepped forward, his guns up and trained on the lead wolf.
"You've crossed into Five Fangs territory!" he bellowed. "Stop where you are!"
The dire wolves slid to a stop, leaf litter kicking up from their paws, and I did a quick head count as they focused their burning red eyes on my mate.
Twenty of them, I linked the alphas. Near as I can count.
Leave at least one alive to question, Alpha Mason commanded.
Confident in us, isn't he? Zayne smirked, making me, Leo, and Zayden chuckle.
The lead dire stepped forward, and a sound like breaking glass filled the air.
That fox is ours. Give it back.
"She is the mate of one of our wolves," Angelo called out. "Whatever claim you have on her is gone. Now, leave in peace or die in pieces."
A man, a witch, and four little wolves. The dire scoffed. Who are you to threaten us? Stand aside or die yourselves.
"Bring it if you're hard enough, pup." Angelo grinned. "You'll be my first kill of the day."
The dire laughed, a piercing screech that made Cove's ears hurt, then surged forward.
Angelo's guns barked, then barked again, and the dire dropped, his body soon lost in the trampling paws of his pack mates as they swarmed toward us.
Guess they think they hard enough, Cove murmured with a smirk.
Guess so, I snorted. Let's find out.
#
Quartz
Jayden kept me in check until we heard the sounds of fighting, then gave in to the inevitable.
Permission? I growled.
Granted, but leave one alive, he reminded me.
No promises, I growled, and he rolled his eyes.
Leaping over a fallen tree, I landed in the midst of the battle. Not wasting time, I attacked the first dire wolf I saw. Dropping low, I sank my fangs into his belly, dug my paws into the dirt, and yanked hard. Blood burst in my mouth as his guts spilled out, and I danced back as he whirled and snapped at me.
Even if dires had accelerated healing, which they didn't, he couldn't retract his intestines back into his body faster than I could lunge, and I clamped my jaws around his throat and shook my head like a dog does with a squirrel. He pawed at me, and one of his wickedly sharp front claws caught my left ear.
That pissed me off good and proper.
I liked when Posy played with my ears.
Keeping my hold tight on the dire's throat, I pushed him up onto his back paws and rose with him, then jerked down with all my strength. My jaws ripped out his trachea, and red sprayed me like a shower from the new hole under his chin.
He swayed for a second and his crimson eyes glared at me, but he was dead. His brain just hadn't caught up with that fact yet.
Already forgetting him, I whirled back into the fight, one ear flapping by a thread, my white fur drenched in the blood of my enemy, and a windpipe dangling from my grinning maw.
And you wonder why everyone is scared of you, Jayden sighed.
I don't wonder at all, I sneered and leaped at my next victim.
#
Wyatt
Running at full speed, my brothers and I tore into those dire wolves like the wrath of the Goddess.
Quartz killed one within seconds of our arrival and already had another by the balls.
Yes, literally.
Garnet and Topaz each battled a dire, and Sid and Granite paired up to take on one. Cove and Ruby were also partnered, as were Delta and Lake, who probably didn't know how not to fight as a team.
Beatrix was already there, and her sisters arrived soon after we did. Blue and green hexes and fireballs hissed through the air and slowed the dires that they hit, which is when Angelo danced in. He'd ditched his pistols at some point and now swung a razor-edged sword that cleaved off the dires' heads like their necks were nothing more than silk scarves.
Dad and Papa got there almost at the same time and dove right into the fight, each one targeting a dire, and our warriors soon followed in twos and threes until we had thirty wolves on our side.
The battle was won at that point and, minutes later, there was only one dire still breathing. Garnet had it pinned down with his jaws clamped on the back of its neck. The witches bound it with magic, and four of our warriors carried it back to Emerson's, where they'd borrow some clothes and a vehicle to drive it to our cells.
While Sid, Topaz, Dad, and Papa tried to convince Quartz it was safe to give control back to Jay, Garnet linked with our girl and the betas to let them know it was okay for Posy and Peri to come out of the safe room, but we wanted them to stick around until we got home. Posy, of course, volunteered to make a big breakfast for them.
Meanwhile, Granite accompanied Angelo as he checked each dire to make sure it was dead. No one wanted a surprise later.
They were chasing a fox shifter? I asked him as we went.
"Yeah. She's Leo's mate and a witch. Pretty sure an earth one, since I didn't recognize the scent of her magic."
Jackpot! Granite crowed. Full coven in the pack!
And a fox shifter, I added. The sickness wiped them out by the skulk, you know, and now they're the rarest of us all.
"I can't wait to see what kind of offspring we get from these blends of shifters," Angelo said with a laugh.
I thought of the donkey dragon babies from the movie Shrek and giggled.
Five Fangs is already a haven for waifs and strays, I joked. Might as well add in a few mutant babies to keep it interesting.
"Interesting?" Angelo shook his head. "I don't think 'interesting' is the right word to describe a nest of feathery pups with beaks and furry chicks with fangs."
That image made Granite laugh so hard, he snorted snot bubbles out of his nose.
#
Thoreau
Sitting on the couch in the safe room, I petted the ball of soft red fluff curled up beside me and hummed happily. She was so pretty and soft!
Reau, let us in, please, Bubba linked me. The danger is gone now.
The fox said not to let anyone in while she was sleeping, I told him, and she's still sleeping.
Well, I am your bubba, and I'm telling you to let us in. Bubba sounded like he was trying not to laugh. The alphas want to talk to her, and Leo needs to make sure his mate is okay.
All right, but if she gets mad and buries me in an earthquake, it's your fault! I warned him and carefully stood up so I didn't wake the fox.
What makes you think she'd do that? he asked as I unlocked the door and opened it.
"She said she would bury anyone in an earthquake who woke her up." I blinked up at him.
"Did she say anything else, Reau?" Leo pushed past me into the room and dropped to his knees in front of the fox.
"Just her name," I said with a shrug. "Bubba, can we have breakfast now? I'm starving."
"Sure." Bubba scrubbed his big hand through my curls. "The alphas, the witches, Mr. Barlow, and Mr. Price are joining us. Angelo's making a feast of pancakes and bacon."
"Pancakes?" I squealed and clapped my hands. "Oh, boy!"
I moved to race up the stairs, but Leo called me back.
"Reau!" he whined. "What is it?"
"What's what?" I scowled, cranky to be held up when pancakes were in my future.
"Her name," Leo sighed. "What is it?"
"Poppy Torres." I grinned as I looked at him and remembered the rest of what she'd told me. "Oh, and she said to tell you that if you try to run away or reject her, she'll hunt you down and gut you like a fish."
Laughing at Leo's big eyes, I ran up the stairs, hoping Gelo didn't forget to put chocolate chips in my pancakes.
10: Foxy Lady
Leo
I looked down at the gorgeous creature curled up beside me on the couch and felt my heart stutter.
I hadn't seen her human form yet, and I didn't need to. I loved her already.
And I didn't deserve her.
There was no way to know how many shifters had died before they ever found their mates, but I knew exactly how many my hands or my orders had killed in the last year. How many people I'd condemned to live without their Goddess-given mates.
So how in the name of the moon did I deserve a mate? Me. A demon-tainted shell of a man whose existence was dependent on a luna's pity and her alphas' charity?
I knew why I was living where I was. The alphas wanted to make sure I didn't have any lingering diabolical influences, hence the Angel of Death as a housemate. The luna, Goddess love her kind heart, wanted to make sure I didn't have any suicidal tendencies, hence the mother hen known as Beta Emerson Jones as a housemate.
And as for our third housemate, Thoreau considered anyone a friend who treated him with the least bit of kindness, whether it was letting him ride a dirt bike or helping him get his shirt buttoned right or just making him a 'peabutter sammich.'
I swear, that kid would live on those if you let him, I chuckled to myself.
A flicker of electricity stirred the hair on my arms as my mate began to shift, and I realized I knew nothing about fox shifters. I didn't even know if the fox was a separate spirit, like it is for us wolves, or only a form, like it is for bird shifters.
I do know I should have gotten her some clothes, I growled at myself as I stood up.
Stripping off my t-shirt, I held it out in one hand while keeping my back to her.
"Sorry," I muttered. "I can get you something better to wear in a minute."
I felt her take it from my hand and let my arm drop back to my side.
"This is fine," she murmured, and I could hear a smile in her voice. "It smells like you. Like peaches. Mmm. Yum."
Peaches! Mate says we smell like peaches! Ruby yipped gleefully, and a little heat flared across my cheeks.
"You smell like lemons. Fresh. Clean. Pure." Everything I'm not. "Are you okay? I saw your one paw was hurt. Do you need healing?"
"No, just needed enough sleep to heal myself. I've been running for three days. You can turn around, by the way."
Lifting my eyes to the ceiling, I took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
One look, I told Ruby. One look to hold onto after she rejects us.
She won't, he smirked.
Don't make it more painful than it has to be, I growled at him.
"Mate? Are you okay?"
A small hand touched my bare shoulder, and I shivered as sparks flared where our skin connected. I heard her sharp inhale and knew she felt them, too.
I still didn't turn to face her. I knew that if I saw her, I'd lose all the strength it was taking me to do the right thing.
"Listen," I muttered, my voice low and rough, "Reau told me what you said, and I won't, but I suggest you reject me."
"What makes you say that before I even know your name?" she asked.
Because I am going to wreck this, I told her silently. I am going to smash this so bad, you won't feel guilty when you leave me. I want you to hate me so your precious heart can be free to find a better life.
"Leo Espen Halder," I bit out coldly and turned my head just enough to see the hand still on my shoulder, "so you can say it correctly when you reject me."
"Well, Leo, I'm Poppy, and I think the first thing you should know about me is that I do a thing called what I want." Now she sounded like she was laughing. "And rejecting you is not something I want. Why do you want me to?"
"If you knew the things I've done, you wouldn't ask. You'd just run." I barked out a harsh laugh. "I cannot and will not ask you to sacrifice your future. Reject me now and be free to seek your happiness wherever you want."
Her hand left my shoulder, and my heart constricted at the loss of her touch. Ruby whimpered as the sparks fizzed out, but then wiggled with excitement when a flurry of movement brought her around in front of me. My eyes drank in her beauty; I could not have imagined a more perfect woman.
Her hair was stick-straight, black as a raven's wing, and flowed down her back in a dark river. My shirt was huge on her, but couldn't hide her round curves. Her liquid black eyes locked on my face as she studied it as thoroughly as I was studying hers.
Perfect cupid's bow lips, high cheekbones, and toast-brown skin, taut and smooth like a plum.
