Air Ryder (Harper's Mountains Book 3) (13 page)

Ryder linked his hands behind his head and backed up a couple of steps. He wanted to retch at what Robbie had admitted. Mom and Mason hadn’t ever told him this. Why the fuck hadn’t they told him?
Because it would hurt you worse. They were protecting you.

Ryder hated Robbie. Hated. Him.

In a ragged whisper, he asked, “You wanted to torture me? You wanted to strip my animal away? Why? Because I wasn’t like you? Because I wasn’t human enough? You fucking asshole. You arrogant fucking asshole. You aren’t top of the food chain! I am! Genetic cleansing, are you fucking kidding me? That’s why you gave up parental rights, isn’t it?” Ryder wrenched his voice louder. “Isn’t it?”

“Of course it is! I had to make a stand, and I wasn’t raising some little fr—”

Ryder hit him across the jaw to stop that word from tumbling past his lips. “Don’t you fucking say it.”

Hunched to the side, Robbie spat red and favored his swollen lip when he said, “Genetic cleansing would’ve fixed you.”

Ryder was shoved backward, and his view of Robbie was blocked by Kane’s massive shoulders. The Blackwing Dragon pushed Robbie up the wall, locking his arm across Robbie’s throat.

Robbie was red and choking, gagging, clawing at Kane’s arm. Ryder stood with his hands out, wondering what the fuck was happening.

“You think genetic cleansing fixes shifters?” Kane growled out in a terrifying voice. “It doesn’t fix shit.” He tossed Robbie like a ragdoll across the room and limped after him unrushed. Smoothly, Kane bent down and pulled a knife from where it had been hidden near his ankle.

“Kane!” Wes warned, but the Blackwing Dragon didn’t even hesitate. His limp eased with each step until he walked smooth as a predator.

Robbie was scrambling backward on the floor, terror written on his face. How utterly satisfying to watch his dad scared of pain.

Wes put himself between Kane and Robbie, but Kane shoved the Novak Raven out of the way like he was nothing.

“Ryder!” Wes yelled.

Fuck, Wes was right. As much as Robbie deserved to die, Kane would be locked up for murder. And not in a regular prison. He would be caged where they hid the dangerous shifters from the world.

Ryder bolted for him and cut him off. “Man, don’t do this. He isn’t worth it.”

But Kane’s sunglasses had come off, and his green dragon eyes were glowing and fixed on Robbie. He didn’t even see Ryder. This wasn’t Kane anymore. This was a peek at that destructive Blackwing blood that ran through him. This was a glimpse at Dark Kane.

Ryder pushed him hard, and Wes went at him, too, pushing, pushing, losing ground. The last thing they needed was Kane murdering a human in front of all these witnesses. Or worse yet, losing all control and shifting. One dragon shift in tight quarters, and everyone in here would die. There were others helping now, humans, bar patrons, trying to slow Kane down, and Bubba was dragging Robbie behind the bar.

Kane surged forward, and in desperation to save him, Ryder hit him hard, over and over across his stony jaw until his hand shattered. Pain blasted through his arm. “Snap out of it, Kane!”

“This isn’t even fucking worth it!” Robbie yelled. “You all saw this. He tried to kill me. No amount of money is worth this bullshit.”

“What do you mean no amount of money?” Ryder yelled.

“I ain’t here to apologize, you fuckin’ freak. I’m here because I’m getting paid!” he crowed through a bloody smile. “They’re comin’ for you, boy, because you’re weak. Weak, weak, weak, just like I always knew you would be.” Bubba was shoving him hard toward the door.

Ryder held his throbbing hand to his stomach, gave up on trying to hold Kane back since Robbie was getting bullied toward the exit. The struggling crowd behind him bumped Ryder hard in the back, and he stumbled two steps forward. “Who’s paying you?”

“Hunting like a pack, going after the lowest ranking member of the crew first, which is my boy. What a fuckin’ surprise!”

“Who?” Ryder roared.

Right before Robbie disappeared out the exit door, he offered Ryder a vile grin and said, “Wolves got your girl.”

Lexi poured one last line of shots and screwed the cap back on the whiskey as the groom-to-be, Axton, made a toast.

“To Lexi, who is sweet as honey and easy on the eyes. To Lexi, who has given us all something to look forward to.”

That toast was weird, but they were all drunk, so okay.

She smiled politely and lifted her water bottle as the boys howled and cheered. Axton stared at her too long before he drank his shot down. He was tall and lithe with a runner’s body. He wore a thick, dark beard, but it didn’t cover the scar on the side of his face completely. These men seemed like a rough and tumble group, so maybe he got that in a rock climbing accident or a motorcycle crash or something. His eyes were a striking gray color that probably drove his fiancé wild. Gold was more of Lexi’s color, though.

Uncomfortable with yet another direct stare from Axton, she busied herself with cleaning up and readying to leave. The men, all mid-twenties to early thirties were good tippers. She wouldn’t have stayed if they weren’t and, for the most part, they had been respectful enough. None had touched her or said anything inappropriate.

It was the way they looked at her that made her skin crawl, though. And there was some spark of excitement in the air that she didn’t understand.

“Lexi, I thank you kindly for feeding my boys and me,” Axton said in a conversational tone from across the kitchen island. “I don’t think we’ll be needing your services anymore tonight.”

Some of the men around him made strange whooping sounds, as if excited for her to leave. Weird.

“Sounds good. Thank you all for being such a fun crowd, and I wish you big luck on your upcoming wedding.”

Axton dropped his head and huffed a laugh, and when he lifted his chin again, his eyes looked lighter, more mercury silver than gray. “I ain’t the marrying kind, but I thank you for the well-wishes.”

“Oh.” She frowned, utterly baffled. “But you said this was a bachelor party.”

“Well…” He looked at the men gathering around him. “We’re a bunch of bachelors, and this
is
a party.”

“More like a war party, though,” one of the shorter men said. His dark eyes had lightened to a caramel brown that seemed to glow, and now Lexi’s fine hairs were rising all over her body.

“Great,” she said, ducking her gaze and pretending she didn’t see the changes happening here. These men weren’t human. This was some kind of crew function that she’d unknowingly been hired to serve.

She grabbed the pile of tips from the counter and folded the bills into her pocket, then shouldered her tote she’d brought with her. Half of her things were still on the counter, but fuck it. She could come back for them later. Right now, all she wanted to do was get out of here.

“Bloodrunner whore.” A tall man with tattoos all over his neck spat on the floor right where she was about to step.

Lexi gasped and stumbled over the puddle of spittle. Clutching her tote bag tightly, she walked faster toward the door. She had a set of good knives, and she would use them if pushed. When she cast a glance over her shoulder, all the men with matching, feral smiles were following her slowly.

Oh God, she just needed to get to her Jeep. Lexi threw open the door and bolted across the porch, past the bubbling hot tub, and down the steep stairs as fast as she could. It was dark out, but the lights from the house illuminated the clearing in gold, and the moon above was almost full, casting the surrounding woods in an eerie blue.

Jogging across the lawn toward the corner of the house, she pulled out her biggest knife and her cell phone. Heart galloping in her chest, she dialed Ryder with shaking fingers.

Axton appeared at her side like an apparition, blurring as he ripped the phone from her hand and chucked it at a tree. It shattered into a thousand pieces against the bark, and on reflex, Lexi slashed with her blade, catching him down the arm.

Axton hissed in pain and held his bleeding arm, but as he looked down at the red streaming through his fingers, he smiled, like he found her amusing. And now his eyes were churning such a light gray, they were almost white.

“Get away from me,” she demanded, holding out the blade. Damn her hand as it shook!

Axton’s grin turned wolfish as he held his hands up in surrender and let her pass.

Adrenaline pumping through her, Lexi backed toward the gravel parking spot she’d left her Jeep. Some instinct deep inside of her screamed,
don’t give him your back
!

But this view was terrifying. Axton’s men were following her slowly, too gracefully, all of their eyes glowing in the dark like monsters. They were spreading out slowly, the ends of the line curving toward her, herding her.

When Lexi’s shoes hit the line of gravel, she turned to sprint for her Jeep, but what she saw made no sense. Her Wrangler was laying on its side, wheels pointed directly at her.

No. No, no, no, that was her escape!

“We’ll let you keep your little knife,” Axton said in a voice that was too low and growly now. “We’ll even give you a two-minute head start. Makes the chase more fun that way.”

“W-what chase?”

“My pack needs to hunt. We’re predators,” Axton explained, canting his head like an animal. “You understand?”

“Please. I just want to go home.”

One of the men wrenched his voice up an octave and repeated, “Please!”

“Please let me go home,” another taunted her.

Axton pointed through the woods with a bloody finger. “That way is the main road. Reach the asphalt, and we’ll let you live.”

“I don’t trust you.”

“Probably wise. Werewolves aren’t known for their trustworthiness, but what choice do you have?”

Behind him, bones snapped and men hunched over. Snarling, growling beasts burst from his pack one-by one, each twice the size of a regular wolf with bloodlust glowing in their eyes.

Lexi couldn’t breathe from the terror that settled into her chest. She backed up, shaking her head in denial. This couldn’t be happening. It couldn’t!

Her back hit the undercarriage of her jeep, and she whimpered, clutching her knife in a white-knuckled grip.

Axton’s face was elongating, his frost-colored eyes locked on her as his bones broke and his muscles reshaped gruesomely. And right before he morphed into a black-furred wolf, he fell to his hands and knees and snarled out, “Run, little bunny.”

With a gasp of horror, she bolted around the Jeep and looked around the back of the house for their cars. They had to drive here, right? But even if she spent the time to find them, would the keys be inside? Probably not, and then she would’ve wasted her two-minute head start.

She didn’t have time for the tears that blurred her vision as she sprinted for the dirt road that would lead her to safety. Tears would slow her down, and she needed to keep her head, not fall apart right now.

She had to reach the asphalt of the main road.

Think!

Lexi dropped the tote bag and stripped out of her white chef coat. She wore a navy tank top and black skinny jeans underneath. They would still smell her easily enough. Hell, she was probably leaving a trail of fear-scent behind her, but at least she wouldn’t be a fucking beacon in the white coat.

Behind her, the howl of a wolf rose on the wind, followed by another and another. God, if she could’ve just gotten the call into Ryder sooner, or even if it had rung once, her number would’ve flashed across his caller ID, and he would’ve known she needed something. Now, no one would know she was in trouble until it was too late. Until she was cold and lifeless in these woods.

The image of him mourning her burst against her mind. Fuck. She couldn’t’ leave him like this. He’d been hurt enough.

Don’t think like that. Just run. Fight. Live. Be strong.

Lexi pushed her legs faster as she bolted down the even ground of the dirt road that would lead her to the main turnoff. The wolves would find her easily here, but if she cut into the woods too soon, she faced the possibility of getting turned around or lost.

The knife flashed in her hand every time she pumped her arms, and it settled her fractionally. At least she wasn’t weaponless. At lease she could take one of the wolves with her.

Go for the throat, not the ribs. Cut arteries in the neck, render the esophagus helpless.

Her legs burned, and her lungs felt like they would burst. There was movement to her right in the woods. It was a lone, white wolf, keeping pace with her and cutting in gently. Shit. Had it already been two minutes? They were so fast!

Panicked, Lexi swerved into the woods on her left and cut an angle due north toward the road. The ground was uneven and harder to run on. One twisted ankle, and she would be done for. Howling came from her right, and now there were two wolves, the white one and a dark gray one. More pressure, and she was veering off course. What choice did she have? They were too close.

She skidded down a hill on her butt, hand out behind her to steady her from toppling over as she dislodged dirt and leaves on the way down. She knew where she was—the creek. If she went straight across and kept the moon on her left, she could still make it to the road.

As she reached the creek bank, pain slashed through her palm as she cut it on a rock. “Fuck,” she gasped out breathlessly, clenching her hand into a fist to staunch the immediate wet stream. If they couldn’t smell her before, they sure as hell would be drawn by the blood. Another wolf song lifted on the breeze, this time on her left. They were closing on her, and she had to move.

Lexi pushed upward and ran straight into the creek. It was flowing steadily because of the spring rains, and when she reached the middle, she sank in to her hips. Frantically dragging her legs through the current, she plunged her injured hand into the cold water and hoped it helped.

Lexi yanked her shirt over her head, then wrapped the tank around her hand and gripped it hard to hold it in place. Wincing at the pain, she clutched her knife tighter and sprinted through the woods. The terrain eased into an incline, and she huffed and puffed as she climbed higher and higher. She didn’t recognize this area anymore, but there were three wolves on her right. And to her horror, there were now three on her left loping beside her through the blue trees, snapping at each other, snarling, waiting for something Lexi didn’t understand. She was completely trapped into moving wherever they wanted her to. Seconds stretched to minutes, and it felt as if she was in a dream. One where she ran and ran and never escaped the shadows that were chasing her. Terror pushed her on, even when her body wanted to give out. Even when her legs shook and her stomach heaved. The incline evened out, but she could hear them. She could feel them right behind her. Any second the wolves would be on her. Their teeth would be shredding her flesh, and she would die on her stomach, alone.

Ryder, Ryder, Ryder.

She almost didn’t see the ledge until it was too late. Lexi locked her legs and skidded on the loose dirt. She spun and went to her hands, clawing desperately on the dirt to stop herself. Her foot slid off the side, and she grunted in panic as she scrambled back onto solid ground. A rock dislodged under her and tumbled down. She listened in horror for the rock to hit the ground below with a resounding crash. Seven seconds.

That’s when it hit her—what the wolves had done.

The road was so close, less than a quarter of a mile due north, but separated from her by this ravine. The wolves had hunted her as a pack, pushing her and maneuvering her until the road wasn’t possible to reach. Until there was no way she could win this game. She hadn’t ever really had a chance. Rage and fear boiled in her middle as a massive black wolf approached.

She moved to run to the side, but the white and gray wolf were there, teeth bared and glowing against the shadows. On the other side, there were four more wolfs, stalking closer, heads lowered, razor sharp teeth promising a painful death.

Axton lifted his chin and perked his ears like he was proud of what he was doing. Like he was proud he’d hunted her down and won. Proud murderer.

Lexi spat at him. “You’re a coward.”

Axton’s eyes narrowed to slits, and he lowered his head, eased backward on those massive paws of his like he was giving his pack a gift. The gift of flesh. The gift of killing. He and his people were mindless psychos who had convinced themselves killing was just what predators did. But she knew bigger predator shifters than them, and the Bloodrunners would never disrespect human life like this.

The wolves snapped and snarled, but Lexi couldn’t go out like this. Not under their teeth. Oh, she knew what the bite of a werewolf would do to her. She would be Turned in the last moments of her life, and she would be damned if she died a member of Axton’s pack.

She would die human, and fuck the werewolf games.

Lexi gripped the bloody shirt to her chest, breath shaking in terror. The air smelled of pennies. The wolves went mad, snapping, ducking forward and back. There was pack dynamics she didn’t understand. A feeding order maybe. Didn’t matter now.

Biting her lip against the whimper of fear that clawed up the back of her throat, Lexi stepped backward. The wolves lifted their heads in unison, ears erect, confusion in their eyes.