Adele, Claire - Guardian of His Love [Wolves of West Texas 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage and More) (14 page)

Jared eased the dildo from her tight hole. “I’ll dispose of it,” he said as he gave Rafe a disgusted look.

“You guys can let go of her arms but keep your blindfolds on,” Beau directed. “Derek, you can take her to the bedroom where she waited before the testing.”

Derek swept Kelly into his arms and headed for the bedroom. She was almost limp, totally relaxed against his chest.
Damn Rafe
.

Jared followed Derek. “She’ll be all right, Derek,” he said. “The drug should wear off in a little while.”

Derek eased her onto the bed and kissed her gently. “We won, Kelly,” he murmured to her. She moaned softly and opened her eyes, smiling at him. She reached her arms up to hug him, and he wrapped her in his arms and held her tight.

The loud rumble of a truck sounded outside.

“What the hell,” Jared swore. He handed Derek a washcloth. “I’ll check it out while you take care of your lady.” He left the room.

Chapter Ten

Derek heard Jared’s heavy footsteps as he hurried to the front door.

Kelly sighed and turned on her side, slipping her hands under the pillow. Derek gently wiped the evidence of the testing ceremony from between her legs and butt cheeks. She moaned again.

Obviously, the aphrodisiac hadn’t worn off yet.

Derek heard Jared’s footsteps as he came back down the hall.

“You might want to check out what’s happening out front. The Hawks have discovered that you and Beau and his friends are here. The Hawks don’t want Beau and his pack in their territory. Rafe is mad and ready to take out his frustrations on the Hawks. This could be your chance to take down the Hawks. My cell is on the table if you need it to call the cops.”

“Thanks, Jared. I’ll go see what the Hawks have in mind. Will you stay here and look after Kelly until I come back?”

“Sure, I’ll be glad to. She should sleep for a while anyway.”

“Thanks, bud.” Derek dressed in his jeans and knit shirt and headed for the front door.

When he opened the door and locked it behind him, he heard angry voices raised against each other. He turned to see Beau and Rafe standing their ground with their brothers on either side. The Hawks made angry, obscene gestures at them. Derek joined Beau at his side. With a clear sky and a full moon, it was easy to make the Hawks out.

“What’s going on?” Derek asked Beau.

Beau glanced at Derek. “Those guys say they want you, and the rest of us can disappear from this part of Texas.”

“What did you say to make them so mad?” Derek joked.

“Me? Nothin’. It’s you they want. Hell if I’ll let scum like those guys threaten Kelly’s future husband.”

“No way those bastards can take you while we’ve got your back,” Rafe said.

Derek was surprised at Rafe’s words “I wouldn’t think you’d care, Rafe.”

“Hell,” Rafe swore. “It looks like you’re going to marry into the family that owns the land next to mine. Don’t want any bad feelings between us.”

With more than a half-dozen Hawks threatening them, Derek needed all the help he could get.

“This could turn out bloody, guys. The Hawks consider this area their territory. I’m sure they don’t like the fact that your pack has been ranging through this part of town. We’ve been trying to get this whole gang put in prison. So far, it looks like we’ve only arrested about half of them. Get ready to shift at the first sign of aggression from the Hawks.”

They didn’t have to wait long. The Hawks charged, shifting to their werewolf shapes as they ran.

“Shift!” Derek ordered. Adrenaline shot through him. The oncoming battle brought out his beast. Pain streaked through his body as he morphed to the giant werewolf shape of his ancestors. He roared his battle cry. His entire body enlarged, and his canines elongated. His hands sported claws, razor sharp for slashing.

Derek glanced quickly around him to see that Beau and Rafe and their brothers shape-shifted as well. They looked more like giant wolves than Derek and the Hawks did. Must be the difference in families.

They bounded forward and met the Hawks’ charge. Horrible snarling sounds filled the night as the werewolves pummeled and slashed their enemies.

Outdoor lights came on as people were disturbed by the noise of the battle. Soon, sirens screamed in the distance.

Derek knew the police had been called by someone. He kicked and slashed at his raging opponent. Suddenly, one of the Hawks howled something, and they all disengaged and ran down the street.

Derek raced after them, determined the Hawks wouldn’t get away this time. Beau and his pack followed close by.

The Hawks raced into the foothills above. Derek and Beau’s pack raced after them. The Hawks turned when they reached the edge of town.

Derek recognized the area as the foothill bordering the deep arroyo where the mansion was located. They were above the neighborhood at the end of the cul-de-sac. The Hawks could easily find shelter in the mansion.

“Don’t let them get away,” Derek roared. Beau’s pack ran ahead of Derek. They cut off the Hawks from reaching the house.

The fighting proved vicious and brutal. The Hawks fought for their freedom. Derek knew they would fight to the death to avoid arrest. Their loud snarling assaulted his acute hearing. Derek lost track of the others as he battled a raging opponent. Finally he was able to take the Hawk down with a slash to his midsection. He dove for the werewolf’s throat and held on until the Hawk stopped struggling.

Derek stood and scoured the moonlit landscape for Beau’s pack. They were scattered along the edge of the arroyo. Derek ran to help the guy nearest him. The Hawk had Tyler beneath him.

Derek slammed his body into the Hawk, knocking him off Ty’s body. Derek closed his massive jaws on the neck of the sprawled Hawk. He crouched on the goon’s back to hold him down until the Hawk quit moving.

“Thanks, bro,” Ty said.

“No problem,” Derek replied.

Together, they scanned the top of the hill for others needing help. But the noise of the battle faded. Shapes rose from the desert floor, each one searching for others.

“Count everyone,” Derek ordered. “Do you see six of your pack?”

“I count four, five including myself,” Ty said. “Someone’s missing.”

Derek started running for the closest werewolf standing. It was Beau. They had no time to lose if one of their pack was seriously injured.

“We’re missing someone,” he told Beau. “Let’s form up and find out who.”

The three of them ran to the others and discovered Rafe was missing. They needed to find him quick in case he was badly injured. Derek hoped Rafe hadn’t thrown caution aside and gotten himself killed.

“Spread out. Some of you go uphill, and some go down. I’ll head into the arroyo and see if he’s down there.”

“I’m coming with you,” Ty said.

As they searched, and the blood lust wore off, they all shifted back to their human forms, their inner beasts quiet at last.

Derek heard a soft moan. “Over there,” he told Ty. They made their way down the side of the arroyo. It was steep and rocky with limestone outcroppings.

“Is that him?” Derek asked, pointing to a large, dark form on the ground at the bottom of the hill.

Ty and Derek scrambled down the hill with small rocks knocked loose and rattling down in front of them.

“Rafe,” Ty cried out as he reached his unmoving brother. “He’s out cold.”

Derek felt for a slashed throat or belly but found no blood there. “He must have hit his head on a rock.” Derek continued to search for life-threatening injuries. Rafe had plenty of wounds all over him. In the bright moonlight, some looked more serious than others. “Let’s get him out of here. We’ll have to carry him up the hill.”

With Ty’s help, Derek lifted Rafe over his shoulder. “Brace me, Ty, if I stumble.”

They started up the steep slope. It was slow going. Derek was out of breath by the time they reached the top.

“I know a lady who lives nearby. She may be able to help us with Rafe’s wounds before an ambulance can arrive. Hopefully, he won’t need an ambulance.”

“Sounds good,” Ty said.

Beau and the others joined Derek, and together, they headed for Darlene’s house.

“Is she the lady who wouldn’t tell us where Kelly was?” Beau asked.

“Yeah,” Derek said as he carried Rafe toward her back fence.

“She’s a good friend to have,” Lucky said.

“She’ll be pissed that we’re all naked, though,” Colton added.

Derek hadn’t thought that far. “I’ll go to her back door and warn her while you all stay in the darker shadows.”

At Darlene’s back wall, which was part of the continuous rock wall around the gated neighborhood, Derek paused for breath. “We need to lift Rafe over the wall. A couple of you climb over and Ty can help me transfer him to you.”

The wall was only about five-and-a-half feet high, fortunately. No one around here wanted their views of the mountains obstructed by a high wall.

Ty moved close beside Derek and helped him shift Rafe’s big body over the wall to Beau and the other guys. Dallas took Rafe over his shoulder.

Derek and Ty vaulted the rock wall. Derek hurried ahead of the others, around a big swimming pool illumined by moonlight, and across a large covered patio to Darlene’s back door. There was no doorbell. He knocked loudly on the door. When he didn’t hear any sound inside the house, he knocked again.

The curtain inside moved and Derek saw Darlene peeking around the edge of it. “Darlene, it’s Derek. I need your help. Sorry, I don’t have any clothes on.”

She opened the door. She was wearing pajamas and a silk robe. “What’s going on?” she asked, curiosity in her voice.

“We found a friend seriously injured in the arroyo. I thought you might be able to help us with his scrapes.”

She peered at the guys surrounding Derek. “You all!” She didn’t sound happy.

“Please, Darlene. We need your help. We’ve been in a gang fight. We don’t know if he needs an ambulance or not. If you have some bath towels, we could make ourselves decent.”

“Come in,” she said. “Follow me. We’ll put him in the guest bedroom, and I’ll find some towels for you.”

They all followed her through the den and down the hall.

She opened the bedroom door and they followed her inside. “Wait until I remove the covers,” she said.

She whisked off the bedspread and draped it over a nearby chair. Derek helped her with it as well as with the covers. When only the sheets were left, she motioned for the guys to lower Rafe to the bed.

Rafe moaned but didn’t open his eyes. His brothers and friends made him as comfortable as they could on his back with a pillow under his head.

“My God,” Darlene exclaimed. “What happened to him? This is the guy who gave me such an argument about Kelly.”

“We’re not sure exactly how badly he’s hurt,” Derek said. “We were attacked by some of the goons who lived in the mansion up the street. We found Rafe at the bottom of the arroyo behind your house when the fight was over.”

“I thought I heard a pack of dogs fighting out there,” she said, frowning.

“Those guys are pretty animalistic,” Derek said.